building new computer take a look

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Jimmymite

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Here is the computer I am building. Just FYI. I am using the YSM1's and a delta 1010lt. I want to know if you guys think this has enough muscle and if there are any compatibility problems.

AMD Athlon XP 2600+, 333 MHz FSB, 256KB L2 Cache Processor - OEM
$88

Kingmax 184 Pin 512MB DDR PC-3200 - OEM
$80

STR8BUY ALLOY ALUMINUM USB-229-BK Mini-Mid Tower Case
$75

Seagate 120GB 7200RPM IDE Hard Drive, Model ST3120026A, OEM
$96

This is the bare bones of what I want to get. The total on these is 339. If anyone has any suggestions on a good cheap video card that supports dual monitors that would be great. Other than that I will be filling it out with misc. stuff such as keyboard, mouse etc...
 
I didn't see a power supply listed with the case.

And the power supply that comes with that case if there is one probably isn't that great. Unless you care more about a fancy case it shouldn't cost that much. I'd get a cheapy case for $10-$20 off eBay, cheapy doesn't mean it's crappy. I've found good cases on eBay for that much with a 300-350 watt power supply, and nice ventalation.

This card looks alright for $50
http://www.newegg.com/app/viewProductDesc.asp?description=14-170-042&depa=0

supports dual video display and it even comes with an adapter for the DVI to VGA
 
where's the mobo, that put on another 50 bucks atleast
 
Also, you may want to check Best Buy for that hard drive you listed. I swear I saw that same one from Seagate or one similar. It was I think $110 out the door, but with a mail-in rebate which made the actual cost of the drive $50-$60
 
reply

Thanks for the advice. Here's a couple of follow ups.

What's a mobo? And what one would go good with what I have?

The video card looks good. I will definitely be purchasing that one.

With my setup all I need is a standard ATX case with a standard power supply right? I was thinking a 450 watt. Is that to much?

This setup I'm building will be good enough for up to 8 tracks in at a time right?
 
Re: reply

Jimmymite said:
Thanks for the advice. Here's a couple of follow ups.

What's a mobo? And what one would go good with what I have?

The video card looks good. I will definitely be purchasing that one.

With my setup all I need is a standard ATX case with a standard power supply right? I was thinking a 450 watt. Is that to much?

This setup I'm building will be good enough for up to 8 tracks in at a time right?
Click to expand...


Mobo is slang for motherboard. If you don't know what that is, I would not suggest building your own computer.
 
reply

I appreciate the advice but I'm definitely going to be building it on my own. I have some friends who can help me with the actual building of it but they don't know what to get in relation to recording. I know that you need a mother board but I assumed that the first item came with the motherboard. I've been looking on pricewatch.com and they have motherboard combos listed. I thought this was a combo. I guess I need to find a motherboard that matches my processor.
 
Price watch does have a PRocessor+mobo section

but what you listed is indeed only the processor (not even a fan for the processor) which you'll also need. The cheapest Processor+Mobo on pricewatch for the processor you listed is $104.00 but I can guarentee the mobo is complete crap.

Are you going for a quiet PC or doesn't matter?
This will help with suggestions on stuff.

I would deffinately check eBay for the case, I saw a model of the case you described but in silver and you're wasting quite a bit of money on the design of the case. I checked eBay after initially seeing this topic and saw ATX Mid-Tower cases going for $20-$30 after shipping, decent design, good ventilation, 350-400 watt power supplies, some with fans for the case.
I think even Newegg has some good cases/decent power supplies in the $25 range


Also missing from your list is a media drive (CD-ROM, DVD-ROM, CD Burner, DVD-Burner)

What I would do is minimum, get a DVD burner. There's a nice handful of DVD -/+ R/RW drives going for about $100, I'd recommend skipping a CD burner, since I can guarentee you'll soon be wanting a DVD burner to back up all your project data.

and to answer your question your system once you get all the parts to make it operate full-circle should be able to do 8 tracks no problem, though I myself would upgrade the RAM to 768 min- assuming you're running WinXP (what Operation System, will you be running?) and for most people 300 watt power supply should do fine, but I'd say at least 350 to be safe- unless you put all the wasteful lights in your system like the original case you mentioned then I'd step to 400-
 
reply

Thanks for the detailed reply.

What mobo would you suggest for the processor I have listed?

I will go ahead and change to a cheaper case on ebay or newegg.com and that price difference will allow me to buy a mobo and keep what the same base price intact.

Indeed I am going to need a disk drive. You read my mind. I was planning on getting a DVD burner because it works for both Cd's for burning off reference discs as well as DVD's for data backup.

I would like a quiet PC to a point but most of the recording will be done in the tracking room so the computer can be a little bit louder. I'm not to worried about that right now. I'll probably just stick to a basic fan.

I'm running Win XP, and as far as RAM goes I was planning on getting a 512 stick and then once I have an extra $120 or so getting a 1 gig stick and running 1 1/2 gigs of ram. Is this doable?

So here is a list of what I probably still need minus the obvious such as monitors keyboard mouse etc....

mobo
DVD burner
fan (s)? Is a basic processor fan going to be ok?
video card (I'm getting the one that nosferous suggested)
 
mobo

thinking about this mobo

ASUS nForce2 Ultra 400 Chipset Motherboard for AMD Socket A CPU, Model "A7N8X-E Deluxe" -RETAIL
$116
 
processor/motherboard

might switch to

AMD Athlon XP 2500+ "Barton", 333 FSB, 512K Cache Processor - Retail
90

ASUS nForce2 Ultra 400 Chipset Motherboard for AMD Socket A CPU, Model "A7N8X-E Deluxe" -RETAIL
116

Good idea?
 
case

What would you suggest? On an earlier post they suggested getting one on ebay for like 30.00.
 
I wouldn't skimp on the case since generally cheaper cases have cheaper power supplies. I'd spend extra on the case since it could see several configurations before it's obsolete, and you want plenty of headroom for all the stuff you might install without running into instability issues.
As for the CPU, I 2nd getting a 2500+. It's not really a difference in price, and every one I've seen can overclock easily. Like I've said in a few other posts, you can get the 2500+ Barton to 3000+ speeds without even trying. Best bang for the buck out there. Also, a Barton has 512KB L2 instead of the 256KB L2 like a 2600 Thoroughbred B has, and the Barton runs a little cooler. In Athlon XPs you don't see 512KB L2 till the 2800s with the exception of the 2500+. Doesn't make any sense, but that's the way AMD did them.
I'm not sure if the extra L2 helps in recording or not though. I had a 1600+ and upgraded to a 2400+ then sold that chip 2 weeks later and got a 2500+ I OC. The 1600+ has some problems playing back my most elaborate Acid tracks, but even the 2400+ solved that problem. I figured it might had an added advantage where there's alot of plugins running repetitive code but I can't say for sure one way or another....
 
case order

I ordered this for 36 including shipping

POWMAX Case with Side Panel Window (Black), Model "CP03294HL-5"

I had to meet everyone in the middle. I can't really afford a high dollar case but don't want a completely cheesy one so this is what I settled on.

Daffydrunk thanks for the detailed advice. I am feeling good about a 2500 barton. I will be ordering that with the ASUS nForce2 Ultra 400 Chipset Motherboard for AMD Socket A CPU, Model "A7N8X-E Deluxe".

I should have all of my purchases by the end of the month.
 
I have an A7N8X Deluxe board, and it's been excellent- just don't plan on going to a Motu soundcard with it (which I know you're currently not planning) -as I've never seen anyone with an operatable Motu soundcard with the board, with the exclusion of the game of chance 828MKii

Your RAM plan sounds excellent, and the mobo you're looking at I think can handle 2-3GB of RAM. I assume that model has three RAM slots in it, like my board. If you don't plan on going higher than 1.5GB of RAM, I'd just get three 512 sticks- it's quite a bit cheaper (two 512s, than one 1GB)

Now that the processor you're getting is a retail version and not OEM- it will come with a suitable fan for the processor which is good, but you're gonna end up switching it out when you decide to finally quiet down the PCs sound.


------
I think cases have become far to critical in peoples decisions, a case is a case as long as it's got at least one fan in the front and one in the back and slots to hold all you plan to put inside it's golden. You buy a cheap case for the body to hold the internal parts, not the power supply. And it takes most generic Power supplies that comes with most cases (unless you buy from overated companies like Alien Ware) at least a year to give out- in which time you can upgrade to a quite dual fan power supply like Enermax Whisper supplies- which a quality supply it's self is going to run at least $50. I once got into the whole 'pretty|cool case' phase. I researched a TON of cases from the cheapest to the most expensive. And generally there wasn't a real dfifference in quality 'til you got to $70 for a generic looking case, no cut windows, no power supply, maybe not even front USB, IEEE connections, but a well laid out inside, with a sliding mobo-plate. - I put lights in my case, decked out all the fans I could put in, even a fan control piece for the front of the case. All ran off a generic 300 watt power supply for over a year, I only changed it out 'cause I wanted better exaust and a quieter PC.

The case should be the least of the worries, motherboard is the most important, especially when it comes to it being used for recording audio.

-----
For DVD-Burner I recommend:
LG GSA-4040B DVD MULTI DRIVE

there's another version of the drive with an 8x write, but I haven't read reviews or known anyone who's used it. But this model has got high marks.
 
Re: case order

Jimmymite said:
I ordered this for 36 including shipping

POWMAX Case with Side Panel Window (Black), Model "CP03294HL-5"

Click to expand...

I've actually bought that case although I can't remember if it came with a 350 or 400 watt PS. I actually liked it and the kid that uses the computer to play games has no probs so far. Should be fine, and I think the power supply that's in those might hold up for a long time as well even if the case is on side side of low budget...
 
cooling options

I am getting ready to order the above parts next week. What do I need to get in regards to fans/heatsinks and other cooling devices. I want to overclock if possible and also keep the sound as low as "possible". Does the fan size matter with the case that I ordered. I know it comes with one fan but I should definitely replace it with a better one and I would definitely need one on the front as well correct? Any help would be great. I'm nearing the end of my computer building journey.
 
Depending on where you get the heatsink fan, I'd try to get a heatsink that has an 80mm fan. This is the same size (3") fan you see in the power supply and case fans. These flow good and only spin a little over 2000 RPM. Quiet. The niofty thing about buying a heatsink that comes with an 80mm fan is you can buy an 80mm glowing case fan and mount it to the heat sink so your CPU lights up. The power supply has a fan in it and I think that case comes with a glow fan. Maybe mount one of the fans in the front that will suck air in....
 
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