US$750 AMD Home Office Use First Timer

[RoscoeM]

Have dug around and read more articles than I thought I ever would and came up with the following:

First - I want a computer that will be easily upgradeable for the next 5 years or so (the one I'm on now is 8 years old and just starting not to be able to run current software). Thus the AMD Socket AM3 and DDR3 RAM which look like they'll have a better chance of being around than an Intel Socket 775. An I-7 and the appropriate board just seems to be too expensive right now.

Second - Since I don't play graphics-intensive games - actually don't do much gaming beyond the random game of solitaire - at all - am looking for a motherboard with good onboard graphics - thus the ASRock one here with the Radeon 3300 graphics. I know that someday I'll want a graphics card, and this board looks like it will accomodate that without too many issues and is from a respected manufacturer.

Third - I want a RAID 1 array. All it takes is one hard-drive dying and all the accompanying angst to convince me this is the safe way to go as long as I also back up to a portable drive or to one of the storage websites. A terabyte should be more than enough for the present.

Fourth - I have a keyboard, monitor, speakers, mouse that work well and I like, so don't need to replace them.

Fifth - This is basically a family computer - word processing, PowerPoint, spreadsheets, basic databases, internet surfing, some minor photo and video editing. We're not playing the latest games, but it's not unusual to have most of the above happening all at once when I'm creating a presentation for work - thus the - for the moment - grossly overpowered CPU, just to make things smooth.

Fifth - will either load XP to start (yes, I know I'll need a floppy for the RAID if I go that way and have one on hand) or Windows 7 RC, both in anticipation of Windows 7 later this year when it comes out. Windows Vista just seems like ME - which I ripped out of the computer I'm on now as soon as I could ( I told you this thing was eight years old - but a DVD writer, some extra RAM and a 22 inch HP flat screen later and it's still going strong.)

Sixth - This comes in, with current combo discounts, at Newegg at $660.93 before shipping. That floors me considering what I've paid for computers since buying my first CPM machine in the early '80's - a "transportable" Osborne Executive with a 4 MHz Z80A processor, 128k of bank switched RAM, 8k of ROM a 5" amber monitor and two 5 1/4" floppies - and when I bought it it was considered just about cutting edge.

So, here goes. Please point me in a good direction if you think I'm off base.

Thanks

Roscoe

AMD Phenom II X4 955 Black Edition Deneb 3.2GHz 4 x 512KB L2 Cache 6MB L3 Cache Socket AM3 125W Quad-Core Processor - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16819103674

ASRock M3A790GXH/128M AM3 AMD 790GX HDMI ATX AMD Motherboard
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813157152

G.SKILL 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 (PC3 10666) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model F3-10666CL7D-4GBPI - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820231200

COOLER MASTER Centurion 534 RC-534-KKN2-GP Black Aluminum & Mesh bezel / SECC Chassis ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16811119106

SeaSonic S12 II SS-500GB 500W ATX12V V2.3 / EPS12V V2.91 SLI Ready CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS Certified Active PFC Power Supply - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817151034

2 x HITACHI 0A38016 1TB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive - OEM
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16822145233

LITE-ON Black 24X DVD+R 8X DVD+RW 24X DVD-R 6X DVD-RW 12X DVD-RAM 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-R 32X CD-RW 48X CD-ROM 2MB Cache SATA CD/DVD Burner - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827106291

[glc]

Asrock boards are not good quality. Get a real Asus. Yes, Asrock is owned by Asus, but the boards come out of the ECS factory.

Western Digital Caviar Black drives are much better than those Hitachis.

You also have the option to wait till fall and get a i3/i5/i7 on the new socket 1156. The boards will be considerably cheaper.

[RoscoeM]

Sounds reasonable - I was a little wary of the Hitachi drives anyway, so that helps push me in a better direction. I've had good luck with WD drives in the past.

So, how about:

ASUS M4A78T-E AM3 AMD 790GX HDMI ATX AMD Motherboard - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813131366

Also, do you have an opinion about the Western Digital Caviar Green Drives like:

Western Digital Caviar Green WD10EADS 1TB 32MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive - OEM
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16822136317


Thanks again

Roscoe

[Khalil]

Thats a good choice for a motherboard, the green WD is good and will work well for you unless you need to game or render with the computer then the Blacks are better.
The AM3 is a stable platform and will serve you well for many years.

[RoscoeM]

Thanks to both of you. I think I've got it now. I appreciate your insight.

Roscoe