I could use advice on building a new computer

[Ron Knights]

At this moment, I want to put a couple finishing touches on my current Windows XP desktop before I start a new computer. But I love building these things!

I get a bit confused about some terms and stuff. That's why I bought 2 GB of DDR2 memory for my computer, when it needed just plain DDR dual channel... or something like that.

:)
I have a limited income, so I'd be trying to get the most for my money, and buying the parts over several months.

We can start with the 2GB of PC2-6400 800mhz that I already have.

I don't do games. I do graphics work, and create video tutorials.

I want a full tower case, with plenty of room for hard drives. I'm a big guy, and need room for my hands.

I could probably go for a dual processor AMD... I think the AMD chips are cheaper than Intel chips?!

It might be nice to start with one that has an on-board nVidia video card.. and has the option of installing a PCI E video card later. I don't need SLI. One video card will be good enough.

I would prefer a motherboard that has Firewire and USB already available.

I'll probably be running XP (if still available) or maybe Vista (Vista has worked fine on my new HP notebook computer.)

Multimedia and graphics (Poser, Carrara, etc) are my priority. Those programs use the CPU for their rendering work... so I don't need an incredibly powerful graphics cards.

So does anyone have recommendations?

[hockey man]

What is your budget? Also, what type of apps are we talking here? Pro level graphics work? Or just rec stuff?

[Ron Knights]

Hmm, well the budget would be around $1,000, or a bit over. But the purchases would be spread over several months... so that's negotiable.

Graphics apps, as described:
Poser: http://my.smithmicro.com/

Carrara (etc.): http://www.daz3d.com/

I want to produce some tutorial videos, along the lines of those I've done for YouTube, only better: http://www.youtube.com/ronknights

You could call this "rec work." It's a way to express my creativity, and to help teach other artists.

[hockey man]

To be honest, neither of those apps are to crazy. So $1000 should be okay. Now do we need to get the OS, Monitor, peripherals, etc in that budget? Or only the case?

[mjc]

Looks like that 780G board and the Athlon X2 4850e that you posted before, Hockey Man, would be a nice combo for this build...


AMD Athlon X2 4850e (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103255) $67

Foxconn A7GM-S AM2+/AM2 AMD 780G (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813186141) $67

That comes in at $140...and in another 2GB of RAM, upgrade the OS to some flavor of Vista Home, to make full use of the RAM (and come in a tad cheaper than the leftover copies of XP that you can find)...leaves over half the budget for case, drives, PSU...and anything else that can be upgraded.

[Ron Knights]

Wow, you guys really know your stuff... thanks for the tips.

I'd want a decent case, with plenty of room for discs, etc. This one looks good to me, what do you think?

http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=1215768&Sku=ULT31824

OK, let's look at Vista for an OS... Do I need Vista 64 for 4GB of RAM?!

I want to go SATA for the hard drives and DVD burner... Wouldn't mind 2 DVD drives... for convenience.

DVD burners are pretty inexpensive. I got a SATA Liteon for $29 last year.

I want one SATA drive for the OS and programs. The main drive doesn't need to be huge... I don't like partitioning drives.

I'd want at least one data drive to start... maybe 1 TB. Ideally, I'd want 2 drives of matching size... so I could easily backup all my data.

Poser uses thousands of files to make art (simplistic explanation). It takes weeks to reinstall all that stuff.

I'd like to start with at least 2 internal hard drives.. one for the OS and one for the data... then I could add more drives as I get the money.

Of course, I'd need to see how many SATA drives the Motherboard handles, and plan accordingly.

Oh, I want to get an nVidia video card because nVidia cards are best for the graphics apps I use.

Of course I want to get a decent power supply as well... and a 19+" widescreen monitor.

I might "cheat" a bit. If I got the new computer built, I could convert my current XP computer to a multimedia computer. The XP computer would be connected to my LCD TV with the VGA or Svideo input.

That would free up my 19" LCD monitor for the new computer.

[mjc]

That board has room for 6 SATA drives...

Now...

SATA DVD drives can be had for right around $25...

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&N=2010100005%201036506653%201038406820&bop=And&Order=PRICE

A pretty decent 500GB hard drive...

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136178 $65

DAZ/Poser/etc are very CPU intensive...that is one reason that they aren't used for graphics benchmarking very often, the motherboard suggested has a very decent onboard video solution, that if 4 GB of RAM is used in the system that should provide more than enough 'muscle' for those apps...I hadn't heard anything before about Poser being optimized for Nvidia cards, but it is possible...but if that is the case, then a change in motherboards is warranted. Will need to look into it a bit further...

[hockey man]

Vista Home Premium 64 bit is a good option because it can use all 4 gigs of RAM. That would get my vote. Plus, I did do a quick Google spelunking and found nothing about Poser being better on nVidia. I'll have to look a little longer though.

[Ron Knights]

Thanks again for the tips, guys.

In the past few months I've bought a SATA DVD ($30), and a SATA 500GB hard drive for the XP computer. (Good price, just forgot the amount.)

If you're researching info on Poser, it's best to browse the Poser forums!

DAZ3D: http://www.daz3d.com/

Content Paradise: http://www.contentparadise.com/

But if you're not into Poser or DAZ|Studio, it would be an extra burden to consider.

Just trust me on that issue. I've been doing Poser for 8 years or so..

My understanding is that nVidia is better for Poser and DAZ|Studio. One thing I remember for sure is that OpenGL works better on the nVidia.

At any rate, I will ONLY buy nVidia graphics cards.

With that in mind, I won't try the suggested motherboard.

But I have my eye on this Motherboard-CPU Bundle.

http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=4088315&Sku=MBM-750A-8450

XFX nForce 750a Motherboard CPU Bundle - AMD Phenom X3 8450 2.10GHz Processor Retail

Oh, yes, Vista Home Premium 64 is very inexpensive.