XP PC Build

[krummelt1]

I built a PC about 7 years ago and it has served me well. It is now time for another. I have some what I feel are different requests:

1. My old computer has a 300 gig "storage" drive in it. It is an IDE drive and I would like to be able to install that drive in this computer, as a secondary drive. I am willing to buy another drive for this build
2. Main computer use will be surfing the internet, and watching streaming media. It will be parked in my media cabinet and the video card needs to output HDMI so I can watch the streaming media full size on my TV. I have a 3 or 4 year old 21" wide screen I will reuse otherwise.
3. Decent sound. I intend to also stream things like Pandora to my stereo.
4. I also intend to do some light AUTOCAD, SolidEDGE, and Chief Architect.
5. O.S Plan: XP/Ubuntu.
6. Budget around $500

I am not married to any of these ideas and if I am way off my rocker please let me know. Thanks alot, This site is great.

[Nikon]

for simplicity i would suggest windows 7. a new computer will almost certainly use a sata HDD as the main drive, and xp does not have any native sata drivers, so you will have to use a program like nlite to copy/modify/burn your xp disk to include the proper drivers.

[jdeb]

1. I would be careful with that 7 year old drive, that is a disaster waiting to happen. You could use it externally but I would not put anything important on it.

2. ASUS M4A88T-M AM3 AMD 880G HDMI Micro ATX AMD Motherboard
Newegg.com - ASUS M4A88T-M AM3 AMD 880G HDMI Micro ATX AMD Motherboard

AMD Athlon II X2 260 Regor 3.2GHz
Newegg.com - AMD Athlon II X2 260 Regor 3.2GHz 2 x 1MB L2 Cache Socket AM3 65W Dual-Core Desktop Processor ADX260OCGMBOX

Kingston 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1066
Newegg.com - Kingston 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1066 (PC3 8500) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model KVR1066D3N7K2/4G

Western Digital Caviar Black WD5001AALS 500GB
Newegg.com - Western Digital Caviar Black WD5001AALS 500GB 7200 RPM 32MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive

save your money up and install a second, larger WD green or black hard drive for storage (external or internal), I prefer blacks because of the 5 year warranty and performance.

Antec EarthWatts Green EA-430D Green 430W power supply
Newegg.com - Antec EarthWatts Green EA-430D Green 430W Continuous power ATX12V v2.3 / EPS 12V 80 PLUS BRONZE Certified Active PFC Power Supply

SILVERSTONE GRANDIA GD04B Micro ATX Media Center / HTPC Case
Newegg.com - SILVERSTONE Black 8.0mm aluminum front panel, 0.8mm SECC body GRANDIA GD04B Micro ATX Media Center / HTPC Case

LITE-ON Black
Newegg.com - LITE-ON Black 24X DVD+R 8X DVD+RW 8X DVD+R DL 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 - Bulk - CD / DVD Burners

Total comes to 472.00 before shipping

I am also assuming you have a tv tuner and the OS's already.

[Nuclear Krusader]

Originally Posted by Nikon for simplicity i would suggest windows 7. a new computer will almost certainly use a sata HDD as the main drive, and xp does not have any native sata drivers, so you will have to use a program like nlite to copy/modify/burn your xp disk to include the proper drivers.

Latest versions of XP-OS do have SATA drivers. That being said, I agree that XP is no longer a wise investment and that Windows 7 is the way to go.

[Raiden619]

Here is a build I looked up...that you can use as reference if you like


Newegg.com - Antec Sonata Proto Black 0.8mm cold rolled steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case

Newegg.com - Western Digital Caviar Blue WD2500AAJS 250GB 7200 RPM 8MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive

Newegg.com - Antec EarthWatts Green EA-430D Green 430W Continuous power ATX12V v2.3 / EPS 12V 80 PLUS BRONZE Certified Active PFC Power Supply

Newegg.com - A-DATA 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 (PC3 10666) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model AD3U1333B2G9-DRH

Newegg.com - ASUS P7H55-M PRO LGA 1156 Intel H55 HDMI Micro ATX Intel Motherboard

Newegg.com - Intel Core i3-540 Clarkdale 3.06GHz 4MB L3 Cache LGA 1156 73W Dual-Core Desktop Processor BX80616I3540

Newegg.com - LITE-ON Black 24X DVD+R 8X DVD+RW 12X DVD+R DL 24X DVD-R 6X DVD-RW 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-R 32X CD-RW 48X CD-ROM 2MB Cache SATA DVD Writer - Bulk - LightScribe Support - CD / DVD Burners

Subtotal came out to 470.93

[glc]

You people are blowing the XP/SATA drivers issue way out of proportion. It all depends on the exact controller and what mode it's in whether drivers are required. If they are required, all you need is a floppy drive and disk. Most new boards don't have floppy controllers any more, but that's what a USB floppy is for.

[jdeb]

Originally Posted by glc You people are blowing the XP/SATA drivers issue way out of proportion. It all depends on the exact controller and what mode it's in whether drivers are required. If they are required, all you need is a floppy drive and disk. Most new boards don't have floppy controllers any more, but that's what a USB floppy is for.

thank you

[kilgoretrout]

5. O.S Plan: XP/Ubuntu.

If you plan on running ubuntu as well as windows, I would not recommend ATI graphics - they are an absolute pain on linux. Go with nvidia; their linux drivers and support are excellent. I also agree with glc re installing winxp on a sata hard drive - it's no big deal and can be easily done.

[jdeb]

I just delivered this exact build for a budget HTPC with Ubuntu only. Everything works flawless. But with that being said, I generally agree with your statement. In keeping with what his budget is and being that I just made one, I was surprised at the performance, thus making the recommendation. I find it hard to build a one under 500.00 with the addition of a NVidea card and a different chipset and he is running Auto Cad light as well. The only difference in the build was the addition of a TV tuner card that he had previously used in his old machine.

http://www2.ati.com/drivers/linux/ca..._104_linux.pdf

[glc]

I also intend to do some light AUTOCAD, SolidEDGE, and Chief Architect.

Onboard video is not going to handle that well at all. Nvidia has relatively inexpensive cards that will do the job. The new GT430 will also put audio through the HDMI, which the 200 series doesn't do.

[krummelt1]

Here is what i was thinking with XP:

Running on todays hardware will really make it run faster since it was designed with yester year hardware in mind. . .

I already have it and can save $100.

Flip side of my argument is that XP does not take advantage of new hardware.

[Nuclear Krusader]

Originally Posted by krummelt1 Running on todays hardware will really make it run faster since it was designed with yester year hardware in mind. . .

It won't because of all the updates and service packs. XP has gotten so bloated that it doesn't really run any faster than W7.

And because it was build with yester times in mind, quite a few of the new web technologies give it an indigestion.

[glc]

XP has gotten so bloated that it doesn't really run any faster than W7.

I'm not finding that to be the case. I put fully updated XP on an Athlon 1700+ with 768 ram yesterday and it runs very well. The only thing that you need to watch out for is driver support.

[raftero]

if i were building a new computer i would use W7 but not because xp is slow, i have it on this computer i built a couple years ago and it runs plenty fast. this is the one listed with the asus board in my sig. and by the way the xp home i installed had all the sata drovers on it.

[Nuclear Krusader]

When I built my current workstation I bought a copy of XP Pro SP2. It ran fast, and until the day I upgraded to Vista it ran fine and fast. I don't wonder why: I hardly ever installed updates and I never installed SP3.

[jdeb]

I have not found that experience with XP. I have it on a laptop (XP Pro sp3) and it runs faster than just about every laptop I have ran across running Vista or 7 with more memory, granted most be peoples laptops would be better if they decrapified them. I have XP MCE loaded on this box (see signature) but I usually boot into Ubuntu. It runs as good as Ubuntu. This PC is mainly for my Grandson, the children's learning applications that are available for Ubuntu are excellent and he loves them.

[Nuclear Krusader]

Computer habits I guess. Many machines come here and XP is loaded with so much crap that it's quite incredible. I have indeed noticed a, erm, noticeable decrease in the overall system speed after I've just installed XP and after I've updated it; hence my previous post. A person's mileage may vary, I guess. MY XP installation ran fine, but that's because I, besides disabling automatic updates, also kill on sight ANY software updater and any program that runs at startup or puts itself in the systray without my express permission.

Oh, and to get a little back on topic here, I forgot to mention that my SP2 copy from AD 2008 came with Serial ATA drivers and played nice with all my hard drives. The only XP for which I've had to use the F6 key during installation was my ancient SP1 copy.

[krummelt1]

clearly I have been out of this game for awhile and this might be a stupid question but how do i hook up an IDE drive to either of these MOBO?

I liked the standard case better than the HTPC case as it fits better in my cabinet.

If I choose to spring for a video cad would it change the builld around?

I could spring for more if the gains are worth it.

Do I need to purchase a floppy drive to get the SATA to work

[glc]

IDE = PATA. There's one PATA connector on most new boards.

As long as the board has a PCI-Ex16 slot, you can add a video card.

You MAY need a floppy drive for SATA with XP.

[krummelt1]

will I be able to stream HD and display it with either of these setups? computer will be wired to router. . . I neglected to mention HD on my original post

[krummelt1]

Ok so I have been lazy. I did not buy the above parts when I originally put this together.. So same original goals

1.My old computer has a 300 gig "storage" drive in it. It is an IDE drive and I would like to be able to install that drive in this computer, as a secondary drive. I am willing to buy another drive for this build
2. Main computer use will be surfing the internet, and watching streaming media. It will be parked in my media cabinet and the video card needs to output HDMI so I can watch the streaming media full size on my TV. I have a 3 or 4 year old 21" wide screen I will reuse otherwise.
3. Decent sound. I intend to also stream things like Pandora to my stereo.
4. I also intend to do some light AUTOCAD, SolidEDGE, and Chief Architect.
5. O.S Plan: XP/Ubuntu.
6. Budget around $500


Has the market changed enough over the past two months to justify a different configuration? Any good Christmas deal?

I appreciate all the help. You guys are the best.

[dab11999]

You can transfer your old IDE hard drive to a SATA drive using this nice little piece of hardware.
drivewire - universal hard drive adapter
SATA drives read and write faster.

[glc]

Nice adapter, but it's costly compared to this one:

IDE/SATA to USB 2.0 Cable Adapter - Turn Your 2.5", 3.5" or 5.25" IDE or SATA Drive Into A USB Drive! 2020