new pc, suggestions, opinions

[palkot]

I have been building "useable" computers for myself out of old parts for years and I'm finally able to spend some real money on something that's going to last for a long time. I've posted everything (all on newegg) that I'm getting and I wanted to run it through and get any second opinions, warnings, compatibility issues, basically 'halt on all errors' so I'm doing as little RMAing as possible. Here are my priorities:

1. quality and then affordability (the stuff that matters)

2. I'm building a *small* recording studio with this as the backbone, so it needs to handle that. I realize two optical drives and a second HD will probably be in order. (any suggestions on the drives are welcome)

3. I don't do a lot of gaming, but that might change on a small scale.


EVERCASE E4252-AB (BEIGE) 10-bay Case Retail 26.00
Aspire (Turbo Case) 500W 12V Dual Fan Aluminum Power Supply, Retail 64.00
Asus Motherboard for AMD Athlon XP/Duron Processors, Deluxe Retail 125.00
AMD ATHLON XP 2500+ "Barton" 333 FSB PROCESSOR CPU- RETAIL 90.00
Dynatron DC1206BM-L610. New Silver Color w/ dense fins High - End Cooler w/ 4500 RPM Fan. Retail. 6.00
CRUCIAL MICRON 512MB 64x64 PC 2700 DDR RAM - OEM 85.00
Palit Microsystems DAYTONA Geforce4 MX 440 AGP Model 220641-281A Retail 48.00
Creative Labs Sound Blaster Live! Dolby Digital 5.1 SB0220 - OEM 40.00
WD WESTERN DIGITAL EIDE HARD DRIVE 80GB 7200RPM OEM, DRIVE ONLY 68.00
Iomega Internal EIDE 250MB Zip Drive -Beige OEM Version 69.00
Aopen KeyBoard KB-855 107-key Windows Layout 7.00
Logitech SBF69 Corded Optical Wheel Mouse PS/2 - OEM 14.00

Thanks for any replies!

[Budfred]

I would check out the individual legs of that power supply to make sure it has the guts to handle all the stuff you are planning to throw at it. You can find out more about power supplies here (http://firingsquad.gamers.com/guides/power_supply/default.asp) and about some specific brands at Tom's.... (http://www6.tomshardware.com/howto/20021021/index.html)

I would consider getting a bigger hard drive, especially if you are going to do a music studio. You can get a 120 gig retail for almost the same price if you are willing to deal with rebates. You just need to watch the sales...

I would scrap the Zip drive, it is not worth it for the proprietary media that it uses and limited distribution anymore. When you can buy a CDRW for $10 that will burn disks several times that of the Zip drive... why bother with the Zip??

Also, I would think about getting a DVD +/- RW for the second otptical drive. The prices are dropping and they can handle most of the optical media out there now. I just picked up an I/O Magic for $150 after rebate.

I don't know much about sound, but I am guessing you are going to want something more than the card you mention and some really good speakers. Again, for the recording idea, you will probably want a lot more RAM and that also means an NT based OS like Win2K or WinXP.

Others will have other thoughts..........

[saphalline]

I recommend one of Antec's cases (comes with Antec power supply). These are high quality cases and so are the power supplies - the DX835BII is a good one.

I'm not sure where the Dynatron cooler comes in, tho :confused:, you've chosen a retail CPU so it comes with a heatsink/fan unit.

As for the video card, do you realize you can get the exact same video performance if you go for a mobo with the NForce2 IGP chipset (onboard video)?

I like the hard drive choice (but maybe the "JB" version would be better) but what's up with a Zip drive?? No one uses those things anymore! Well, no one buys a new Zip drive anymore at least.

Last but most important, the sound card. If by "recording studio" you mean audio, then an Audigy2 is a given. 24-bit 192KHz recording and playback, and a 102dB signal-to-noise ratio make this thing one of the best consumer sound cards on the market. There are other options, too, but the aging SB Live 5.1 isn't one of them.

As for the optical drives, that depends. Do you want a DVD recorder? CD-RW drive? Off-hand, I'd recommend a Plextor 48x24x48x for its pure performance or a LiteOn 52x32x52x for a budget alternative, then a Pioneer DVR-A06 for DVD reading and writing duties. Expensive yes but the best optical drives available today.

EDIT - good point on the RAM and speakers, Budfred.

Throw in another stick of that RAM and you'll be good to go (not to mention taking advantage of the dual-channel DDR capabilities of the chipset).

For the best PC speakers, look to Klipsch. Their 2.1's are the ultimate, even after all this time. And the Logitech Z series in 4.1 or 5.1 are also on par with Klipsch offerings.

[palkot]

[QUOTE]Originally posted by Budfred
I would consider getting a bigger hard drive, especially if you are going to do a music studio. You can get a 120 gig retail for almost the same price if you are willing to deal with rebates. You just need to watch the sales...

Do rebates work the same with online purchases or do I have to go to a computer store?


Also, I would think about getting a DVD +/- RW for the second otptical drive. The prices are dropping and they can handle most of the optical media out there now. I just picked up an I/O Magic for $150 after rebate.

OK, if I get a DVD-RW I imagine quality is important. But drive #1 burner you mentioned for $10.. I guess el cheapo, doesn't really matter?


I don't know much about sound, but I am guessing you are going to want something more than the card you mention and some really good speakers.

According to a suggestion from a friend who does PC recording, I'm going to use a USB port (RCA to USB interface) for the main signal input. This supposedly reduces a lot of hiss and interference you would get from a sound card and it works just as well depending on the software. (special sound cards with multiple channel interfaces run about $700) I'm still going to shop around tho.

Thanks for the thoughts.

[palkot]

[QUOTE]Originally posted by saphalline

I'm not sure where the Dynatron cooler comes in, tho :confused:, you've chosen a retail CPU so it comes with a heatsink/fan unit.


Right, I'm actually intending to get an OEM CPU because I'm a little hesitant to trust retail cooling products. I figure just whatever's lying around they throw in the box.. ?


As for the video card, do you realize you can get the exact same video performance if you go for a mobo with the NForce2 IGP chipset (onboard video)?


I'll look around, thanks. I picked that MB b/c it got rave reviews especially with the 2500+ barton. I know very little about video chipsets, so when I picked the Asus I didn't look for it.

btw, are you saying the video card isn't that great given I could get it as onboard video instead of paying for the card, or are you saying I might as well get the onboard video?

Thanks for the suggestions.

[Budfred]

Some online stores will offer rebates too, but they are mainly the ones that have brick stores like CompUSA and BestBuy.... If you want to go this route, let me know and I'll check the ads again. I usually scan them each Sunday and if I know someone is looking for something, I compare and let them know....

The the optical drives, quality is important for both, sort of... Cendyne makes a highly rated CDRW and I have seen it offered for as little as $10 after rebates. The DVD +/- RW I bought is not highly rated that I know of, but it was cheap. I figure the technology is changing so fast that by the time each drive goes out of warranty it will already be obsolete and I will be looking for a blue laser drive to replace the one that failed. I would avoid anything that you know is poor quality or simply an unknown brand, but I will go for a good price on something that seems mid-range....

[saphalline]

USB audio needs tons of software to do it justice, which eats up a lot of CPU power. Granted it's certainly viable on today's hardware, but FYI - a music CD is recorded at 16-bit/44.1KHz per stereo channel.

I double-checked the capabilities of the Audigy2 on Creative Labs' website. I was wrong, the signal-to-noise ratio is 108dB. Also, the Audigy2 can record DVD stereo audio quality at 24-bit/192KHz, or 5.1 surround at 24-bit/96KHz. It also has some multimedia effects like THX-certification and EAX 4.0. Given these specs (and the fact that it's all done in hardware in real-time) I doubt you'd be able to find a competitive USB solution. Especially since the Audigy2 Platinum can be had for less than $200!

Actually, no. The retail heatsink/fan unit is thoroughly tested for that specific processor speed. If they used something cheap, there would be no warranty! Yes you'll get better cooling with a third-party offering, but do you need it? Keep in mind that using a good cooling system will void your CPU's warranty.

Yep, the GF4 MX series of video cards are horrible by today's standards. I'm sure you picked it for its cheap price, but the latest value cards are based on the GeForce FX 5200 and Radeon 9200, and they both wipe the floor with a GF4 MX! However, by getting onboard video, you can have a working system now for cheaper and still be able to upgrade your video card later on. I suppose it depends on just how soon you'll be playing 3D games. :p

[sleddog]

Just a note on the hard drive...

The Seagate Barracuda V 120gb, 7200rpm with 8mb cache is a beautiful harddrive; fast and dead quiet. Using a couple myself.

Barracuda 7200.7 Plus - ST3120026A (http://www.seagate.com/cda/products/discsales/marketing/detail/0,1081,580,00.html)

[BigBlue66]

Power Supply - Dump the Aspire for an Antec TruePower 430 watt unit. It will handle what you're planning to use and then some.

HSF - If you really want to use a third-party cooler, I highly recommend the Vantec Aeroflow. Yes, it's more expensive, but with coolers you generally get what you pay for.

XP 2500+ Barton - Good choice.

A7N8X Deluxe - Another excellent choice.

TIM - You don't mention what you'll be using, but I highly recommend Arctic Silver Ceramique.

RAM - Get another 512mb stick. I run one gig (2x512) of Kingston HyperX PC2700 on my A7N8X Deluxe with zero problems and very fast performance, especially in Dual Channel mode.

Zip Drive - Agree with other replies.

Soundcard - Agree with the Audigy2 Platinum. Yes, it's more expensive, but well worth it. I'm really enjoying mine.

Speakers - Depends. The Logitech Z-340s kick out a lot of high quality sound and even has a headphone jack on the satellite speaker with the power and volume control...which works even with the speakers off. My kid has the Z-640s...they really sound good. The center channel addition really adds to the quality of the sound.

Evercase - Looks OK. If it will support a 120mm in bottom front, definitely use it. The rear fan stamped fan grill doesn't look too restrictive. I like the side-panel fan setup. Might consider cutting a top blowhole to help with exhausting hot air.

[Budfred]

BestBuy has the Seagate hard drive that sleddog recommended for $80 after rebate this week. Nice price....

[steveo]

Creative Labs Sound Blaster Live! Dolby Digital 5.1 SB0220 - OEM 40.00

SB Live! has a latency problem when it comes to recording which is hard to overcome. Audigy2 has dealt with this problem.

[palkot]

Thanks again and again for the feedback!