Novice seeking advice on first DIY system

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Jubei
Posts: 29
Joined: Sun Feb 26, 2006 7:58 am
Location: Hong Kong

Novice seeking advice on first DIY system

Post by Jubei » Tue Feb 28, 2006 6:00 am

Hi, this is my first post.

I have finally decided to build my first PC with the following components primarily for MP3 encoding and playback, storing photos, some video playing and encoding as well as light gaming (real time strategy stuff). My concerns are whether this is good enough or overkill and whether this is an "easy" to handle build stable system for a first-timer. I have no prior experience in building PCs or flashing bios etc.

Pretty much decided but open to suggestions:
AMD 64 3200+
Asus A8N-E
Corsair Value 2 x 512MB
WD 200 GB SATA
BenQ 1640 or Pioneer DVR-110D
Cooler Master Centurion 5

Undecided:
- Video card: GeForce 6600GT or ATI X700. Is there any difference between brands (apart from price)? Any suggestions of which brand? Would Geforce 6600GT be more stable since the mobo uses a nVidia chipset??
- PSU: Antec Smart Power 450W. Anyone heard of Magic Pro or 2theMax's line of PSUs?? Is 450W sufficient? (I would like to add a TV Tuner card, an audio card, a secondary optical drive and hard disk evetually). If not, how much power should I aim for??
- Am looking for a 17" LCD - currently learning towards Samsung 730B or 730BF.

Thanks in advance.

stupid
Posts: 544
Joined: Tue Nov 29, 2005 2:21 pm
Location: NYC, NY

Post by stupid » Tue Feb 28, 2006 7:22 am

The X700 is slower than the older Radeon 9800 Pro, go for the 6600GT. Good brands are Asus, eVGA, XFX to name a few.

A 450 watt PSU is overkill, a quick glance at your system suggests that it should not even break 200 watts at full load. Go for the Seasonic S12 330. It's efficient, quiet, and reliable.

Since I don't own a 17" LCD I can't recommend one. But I can offer a bit of advice, the lower the response rate, the more likely it is a 6-bit rather than 8-bit LCD monitor. What does that mean?

8-bit - True 16.7 million color, vibrant colors and sharp. More expensive than 6-bit LCDs. Fastest response time is (grey-to-grey) is 8ms.

6-bit - Only 262,144 actual colors. 16.2 million color interpolated (basically guessing and mixing different colors). Colors are not as bright and text are not as clear as an 8-bit LCD. Bad for viewing video especially HD content. Response time can be as low as 2ms (grey-to-grey). Geared towards gamers. Cheaper than an 8-bit LCD. Most people cannot not tell the difference between 6-bit and 8-bit unless it is a side by side comparison.

qviri
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Post by qviri » Tue Feb 28, 2006 7:38 am

FWIW, I have a Samsung 172N driven by a Matrox G450 and I love it. Bright and sharp as the edge of the subtle knife.

Jubei
Posts: 29
Joined: Sun Feb 26, 2006 7:58 am
Location: Hong Kong

Post by Jubei » Tue Feb 28, 2006 8:35 am

Yeah, I've been looking for Seasonic PSUs but have yet to find them in Hong Kong (where I live). Loads of Taiwanese PSUs but hard to find the brands taked about in these forums except Antecs.

And thanks for the input about the graphics cards.

JimX
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Post by JimX » Tue Feb 28, 2006 9:23 am

Forget the Centurion, the air intake is very restricted, and cooling suffers. Look at the recommended cases.

jaganath
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Post by jaganath » Tue Feb 28, 2006 9:27 am

I've been looking for Seasonic PSUs but have yet to find them in Hong Kong (where I live). Loads of Taiwanese PSUs
That's really strange; Seasonic IS a Taiwanese PSU. The company is headquartered in Taiwan, PSU's are made on the mainland (across the border from you).

J-Power

J-Power is the official distributor for Seasonic in Taiwan.

QuietOC
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Re: Novice seeking advice on first DIY system

Post by QuietOC » Tue Feb 28, 2006 9:31 am

Jubei wrote:- Video card: GeForce 6600GT or ATI X700. Is there any difference between brands (apart from price)? Any suggestions of which brand? Would Geforce 6600GT be more stable since the mobo uses a nVidia chipset??
Neither. The best deal in that price range is the X800GTO. 128MB cards can be had for as little as $100. I got my refurbished 256MB card for $121 shipped. Overclocked it scores over 5900 in 3DMark 2005. The new ~$150 X800GTO's (especially the "16" verisons) are often fully unlockable X850XT's, but mine is just a hard locked standard 12 pipeline X800.

Jubei
Posts: 29
Joined: Sun Feb 26, 2006 7:58 am
Location: Hong Kong

Post by Jubei » Tue Feb 28, 2006 10:17 am

That's really strange; Seasonic IS a Taiwanese PSU. The company is headquartered in Taiwan, PSU's are made on the mainland (across the border from you).
I know . . . but the local computer shopping malls are loaded with things like 2theMax, Magic Pro, GTR and the like. They can be significantly cheaper. It's the same with cases - the are loads of cheap cases and the recommended cases on this forum can be difficult to find. Very often because these are not cheapo enthusiasts' items only one hard-to-find shop will stock it. For example, after browsing thru this site, I went window shopping - lots of fans and heatsinks that LOOK like the Zalman HSFs, but with very dubious marking. The could be re-badged items but who knows.

Nonetheless, next week I will be going to the best stocked computer mall, so I may still find these Seasonic PSUs and other items.

Jubei
Posts: 29
Joined: Sun Feb 26, 2006 7:58 am
Location: Hong Kong

Post by Jubei » Tue Feb 28, 2006 10:26 am

stupid wrote:A 450 watt PSU is overkill, a quick glance at your system suggests that it should not even break 200 watts at full load. Go for the Seasonic S12 330. It's efficient, quiet, and reliable.
Is 330W sufficient after adding the soundcards, TV Tuners and extra optical and hard drives??
In thinking about purchasing a 450W PSU, I was projecting the need for more power in the future.

stupid
Posts: 544
Joined: Tue Nov 29, 2005 2:21 pm
Location: NYC, NY

Post by stupid » Tue Feb 28, 2006 12:19 pm

Jubei wrote:
stupid wrote:A 450 watt PSU is overkill, a quick glance at your system suggests that it should not even break 200 watts at full load. Go for the Seasonic S12 330. It's efficient, quiet, and reliable.
Is 330W sufficient after adding the soundcards, TV Tuners and extra optical and hard drives??
In thinking about purchasing a 450W PSU, I was projecting the need for more power in the future.
Yes, but don't go for a generic PSU. You want a good name brand like Enermax, Antec, Seasonic, Fortron, etc. They use better quality parts.

A good 330w PSU can handle the A64 X2 4800+, GeForce 7800GT, sound card, 3 hard drives, DVD Burner, RAM and the motherboard. Total power consumption will be about 275w under full load. Add in two TV Tuners will probably bring up the total to 305w.

Your system will be using less power. You can opt for something bigger like the Seasonic S12 380 if you want more headroom in the future. But unless you are an extreme gamer and are considering an SLI setup 330 watts should be fine.

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