system comments and dvd drive

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minibeardeath
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system comments and dvd drive

Post by minibeardeath » Fri Apr 06, 2007 10:32 pm

i am in the process of compiling a list of hardware for a new comp that im gonna build and i would like some feedback with regard to loudness (im designing it for when i go to college in the dorms so it needs to be relatively to very quite
MINE Rev.B
AMD athlon 64 X2 5000+ 2.60GHz
SilverStone LC20 Multimedia Server Case
SilverStone FX121 Crossflow fan
nexus 80mm real silent fan
USB Beverage chiller
EVGA GeForce 8800 GTS
Western Digital 250 GB SATA HDD
Western Digital 250 GB SATA HDD
Western Digital 250 GB SATA HDD
Western Digital 250 GB SATA HDD
natural ergonomic keyboard 4000
ASUS M2N32-SLI Deluxe Wireless Edition
Razer Diamondback gaming mouse
Windows XP Service Pack 2
OCZ 850w GameXStream Power Supply
Kingston HyperX 1024MB PC8500 (2x512mb)
sound blaster x-fi xtreme gamer



also i need reccomendations on cd/dvd drive to put in the beast. ( i currently have an external usb dvd drive (dead silent on the right surface) , but i definiatly need it to handle cd~ and dvd~ +/- rw disks)
thanks already

GamingGod
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Post by GamingGod » Fri Apr 06, 2007 11:36 pm

Why the X2? Right now intel is on top. A e4300 lightly overclocked will cream anything that AMD has out right now, and they will soon drop in price to $113.

Also 4 harddrives are going to be loud. They have larger capacity harddrives out now, 1TB drives will be released shortly, and 500-750GB hardrives are already around. WD and Samsung tend to the quietest. Also you are unlikely to need more than 400w (if it is a reasonably branded power supply). Seasonic and Corsair (which is made by Seasonic) are the most recommended for efficiency and silence.

It seems like a waste to get a high performance system and only 1gig of ram. If you went with a core2duo you could get 2gigs of ddr800 for about $140.

halcyon
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Post by halcyon » Fri Apr 06, 2007 11:41 pm

DVD:
- Silent unit does NOT exist
- Decent quiet are the ones that you can throttle down with software (Pioneer drives up to DVR-109, using QuietDrive from Pioneer and Plextor up-to PX-760 using Plextools Pro)

minibeardeath
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thanks

Post by minibeardeath » Sat Apr 07, 2007 3:42 pm

im going w/ x2 cause im gonna be using the rig for lots of multi media and gaming. also, part of the reason that i wanna go w/ 4 x 250gb instead of 2 x 500gb is mainly price(there is $200 total difference), also 4 drive is faster access.

and the bigger psu is if i want to upgrade to sli in the future

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Post by ~El~Jefe~ » Mon Apr 09, 2007 7:28 pm

If you are building AMD now, it is for the 1.9ghz brisbanes and a ATI 690G chipset board. thats where the sex lies.... you can run vista ultimate and some light gaming and 1080p content for like 350 bux total in relative silence.

otherwise, it is the Allendale by Intel. Gaming = allendale or higher but allendale OC's like a mofo without noticable heat excess.

amd is meant at this point for gaming IF you already own one. If you dont, you go intel cheapie line and it flows well. All in all its gfx card but still, the intel shines.

I am awaiting barcelona/agena..... I am so tempted to spend the cash and get a 185 opteron for this machine and call it a day.... but I know too well that barcelona will rock.

minibeardeath
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new question

Post by minibeardeath » Tue Apr 10, 2007 6:08 pm

i have looked around and have chose this mobo to use if i go w/ intel:
MSI P6N SLI Platinum
i hav also decide to use this ram
PNY XLR8 Dual Channel 2048MB PC8500
now i need to know which intel dual core processcor would be best to get keeping in mind that my parents are making me wait until end of august before i buy and assemble everything :cry:

also is 850w over kill???


also i need recomendations on a reliable 17"-19" screen because my current screen only has vga input and the 8800 only has digital or s-video out (plus my screen is only 13" :cry:

sorry if my wirting is confusing and thanks for the advice

~El~Jefe~
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Post by ~El~Jefe~ » Thu Apr 12, 2007 10:46 pm

I dont know if it is overkill, but I do know that it sux.

corsair: the 620 version. If you have the cash for a 140 dollar psu, thats the one you want. It is like 1/8th the volume level of that 850psu.... go check the review on here. i love the psu, insanely quiet and powerful.

Are you making a gaming computer? I always ask this question: what games? if they are intending to play them.

Another thing to note: AMD, dollar for dollar, is now on par with intel's offering or better than intel's offerings. the 2.6+ ghz chips are to be had for a low cost.

you could get a 2.6 ghz chip, 4 gigs ram, and a new 8800 series card.

Intel core duo is getting like a few % points higher at the moment with its 6600 series chip. However, it is a costly chip, the boards are never as nice for intel, and soon, by like september, you will be wanting to get a quad core AMD. there is no doubt you will want one, and if you have socket AM2 now, you can just upgrade the chip.

Your memory selection is miniscule. please get 2x1gb dims or 2x2gb dims to start with. your computer will eventually run VISTA one day and 1 gig is not enough for xp even! Vista is a 4-6 gig machine. 2 gigs now, then 2x2 gig dims later will get you to 6 gigs eventually. I plan on making my new system with 2x2gb of memory. My current xp pro system has 2 gigs in it now and just barely gets maxed out on the latest games.

Stalker uses 1.12 gigs of system memory when I have it loaded. :)

I would recommend samsung's spinpoint series 500gb harddrives. IF you want to raid them, use 2 of them glued together by raid. My tip for more storage are external FIREWIRE drives. you can then mix and match whatever is cheap and good quantity and build your own external drive. Personally, I would say 1 500gb drive by samsung and a 500 or whatever external.... cut down a lot of noise. The spinpoint model hd's have been reviewed on here with remarkable results. they also do not get hot compared to other brands. Firewire is the best interface, most stable, high speed no nonsense. I turn off my big drives when I am not using them which is like 99% of the time.

You will want more ventilation using larger fans (I am guessing). I suggest checking out to see how well that case breaths in air. lots of cases have large exhausts, but intakes are small....damn writing a lot should go to sleep... you have a lot to read on here....


please disregard comments about core duo is better. i got brainwashed for a few months until a couple of days ago when a friend showed me how pathetically small the performance difference is and how you have to spend 200-300 dollars more to get that to show up for intel.

your challenge, after you go the suggested corsair psu, wil be to quiet down the 8800gts card and then the cpu fan. that will take some talent.

minibeardeath
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this is an updated parts list

Post by minibeardeath » Sat Apr 14, 2007 7:40 pm

for my build conatining parts for amd or intel (the first section of the list is interchangeable parts) (this psu will likely change in the future)

MINE Rev.B CPU Cooler
LIAN LI PC-C30B Black
nexus 80mm real silent fan
nexus 80mm real silent fan
nexus 80mm real silent fan

USB Beverage chiller
EVGA GeForce 8800 GTS
SAMSUNG SpinPoint T Series HD501LJ 500GB
SAMSUNG SpinPoint T Series HD501LJ 500GB
natural ergonomic keyboard 4000
Razer Diamondback gaming mouse
Windows XP Service Pack 2
OCZ 700w GameXStream Power Supply
sound blaster x-fi xtreme gamer


INTEL
Intel Core 2 Duo E6700 2.66GHz
MSI P6N SLI Platinum
PNY XLR8 Dual Channel 2048MB PC8500


AMD
AMD Athlon 64 X2 5000+ 2.60GHz
ASUS M2N32-SLI Deluxe Wireless Edition
PNY XLR8 Dual Channel 2048MB PC8500

please comment on current list :D

also i kno that xfx offers the 8800 in a fanless version. how much hotter does that get and how much extra height will that add cause i kno the lian li case is only 6.6" tall.

minibeardeath
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as for games

Post by minibeardeath » Sat Apr 14, 2007 8:15 pm

i plan on FEAR, Doom, possibly som of the battlefields (lots of FPSs and lots of mmorpg), edler scrolls, ghost reacon, also rpgs like all of the mysts, civ IV, also i plan on doing lots of video stuff. not just watching but i want to minor in cinematography and film so i needs good graphics powers. also i will get a Tuner at some point so i can do tv and hook up my PS2

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Post by ~El~Jefe~ » Sat Apr 14, 2007 10:09 pm

well, I will say that even if you had a 2.2ghz amd cpu, you wouldnt see much of a difference as you are pushing it all with a maxed out card. So, I would go amd truthfully. Or a 6600 not a 6700. excess in heat/wattage for not much of a difference that cant be easily made up oc'ing it if needed ever in the future.

I like the new hd's :)

can I sway you to get Corsair's 620 watt psu? If you get it, you will love it. 5 year warranty on it and its super quiet at idle AND at gaming. Check it out on here (reviewed recently). i own, and well, it ownz. Your current psu will be way loud for your system.

I noticed that you mentioned a fanless 8800 gts. I love fanless gfx cards. Why? because they come with an amazing heatsink and a warranty for it to work without a fan.... then I add a floater fan somewhere in the case to cool it, like a 92mm or 80mm fan undervolted. it didnt need a fan before, but, they last longer and in a quiet system, sometimes airflow is a bit low.

lian li makes really nice cases. most of us on spcr use heavy steel cases as they dont vibrate as easily as well crafted aluminum lian li. however, they are premier cases and have more class than my black meat hunk of a 35 dollar Antec case.

You need a fan controller for your case. I suggest a 4 knob job. You might add a fan for the vid card if get to modding that evga one or if you add a fan to a passive one. I always use this company called DIY that makes 3 knob black ones that fit into 3 1/2 bays. simple, well built but you might need 4 knobber. zalman makes internal, inexpensive fan controllers that you just set and close the case, if you dont have room on the face of that case.


i have a Plextor 760a dvdrw drive. very smooth when you run plextools and tune it down.

minibeardeath
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actually

Post by minibeardeath » Sun Apr 15, 2007 4:41 pm

i went and looked at the corsair after posting my system specs and have since decided to use it.

also is $299 for 2gb of ram (2x1gb) overly expensive or average for ram?
Tested Speed: 800 MHz
Latencies: 4-4-4-12
Voltage: 2.1v

bonestonne
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Re: thanks

Post by bonestonne » Sun Apr 15, 2007 5:16 pm

minibeardeath wrote:im going w/ x2 cause im gonna be using the rig for lots of multi media and gaming. also, part of the reason that i wanna go w/ 4 x 250gb instead of 2 x 500gb is mainly price(there is $200 total difference), also 4 drive is faster access.

and the bigger psu is if i want to upgrade to sli in the future
SLi doesn't actually consume all that much. i have a friend with an 8800GTS, his PSU, when you work it out, barely handles what he gives it, but the system runs stable and absolutely fine. you'd easily get away with 600w

also, drive access wont be faster....it will be very stuffed, unless you're using striped RAID, the drives will give normal performance, not better. also, what are you going to need a whole terrabyte of internal storage for? i have a 400GB external hard drive, it has less than 70 gigs on it right now...i think that if money is that big a deal, get maybe two 250GB drives, and a larger external if you really need it later. its a messed up thought that you'll actually need all the space you have with such a large drive...even movies don't take up all that much space, so the chances of you filling up 500 gigs is just slim. also, having a terrabyte of internal storage is going to make it a hot item, and people will want to take it.

not only that, but you may want 2 gigs of RAM, it will make all the difference, as 1gb will give marginal performance for that processor.

as for optical drive, an LG DVD+/-RW 18x or 20 burner will be sufficient. i have a Benq DVD+/-RW 16x burner, have had it for like 3 almost 4 years, doesn its job perfectly. 18 and 20x compared to 16x for dvd burning isn't much better...burn a dvd what, 3 or 4 minutes faster? for a dvd any burner is a good speed.

also, if you're shooting for that kind of performance, what about a GTX over the GTS?

minibeardeath
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look at my updated parts list

Post by minibeardeath » Sun Apr 15, 2007 6:52 pm

i have changed to 2 gig of ram, 2 x 500 gb hdds ($120 cheaper than 4x250gb), the psu is gonna be a corsair 620w, and the reason for not the gtx is that it is almost twice as expensive as the gts

while its true that dvds only take up ~8gb, video editing uses hugely more memory. also i already have over 80gb of music/vidoe for my ipod and i want to get lots more. memory is a touchy issue w/ me cause all my past comps have always been strapped for memory (my last only had 20gb, b4 that only 12, and my current only has 40 gb, 20 of which is taken up by all my myst games and civilization IV) and now that i can control the memory i want to guarantee that ill always :D have enough

also, should i go w/ 1 stick of 2gb ram or 2 x 1gb
(cause 1 x 2gb is bout half as expensive as 2 x 1gb)
Last edited by minibeardeath on Sun Apr 15, 2007 8:30 pm, edited 1 time in total.

minibeardeath
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Post by minibeardeath » Sun Apr 15, 2007 8:27 pm

~El~Jefe~ wrote: I noticed that you mentioned a fanless 8800 gts. I love fanless gfx cards. Why? because they come with an amazing heatsink and a warranty for it to work without a fan.... then I add a floater fan somewhere in the case to cool it, like a 92mm or 80mm fan undervolted. it didnt need a fan before, but, they last longer and in a quiet system, sometimes airflow is a bit low.
i was just looking around and unfortuneatly xfx has ended their fanless 8800 gts series :cry:

~El~Jefe~
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Post by ~El~Jefe~ » Sun Apr 15, 2007 8:37 pm

My recommendation for the 760a Plextor is not for burning but because it can be silenced and is a reliable drive as well. yeah, its expensive though compared to 60 dollar drives that do things well enough.

I would not really recommend super fast ram. I am a big fan of Patriot memory. It is the only memory I have seen (on forums even) that holds 1T timing with 2x1 gig dims in my 939 board at 2.5 3 2 timings. It is always cheaper for its speed. There are other companies that offer great selections too (OCZ, Crucial), but I just wind up getting patriot and calling it a day.

I would just get 667 speed memory and push it up manually if you felt it was necessary. I just checked newegg and saw the memory I would consider at $189 and its 145 after rebate! Hm. that's a nice start for 145 dollars. The benchmarks I see show small impacts of raising memory bus speeds on games. it helps, but 100+ dollars saved here and there is always nice I think. remember, if you go AMD, memory speeds still mean less than it does to intel machines. (on die memory controller for amd) It always helps, but not nearly as a new vid card does or another 0.1ghz in cpu speed .

Oh, on hd size... 500gb is enormous. I have 160 gb and a 200gb external. the external never hits 30% filled when I edit crap. If I have to load a few things on it for pre editing, (movie wise), it can fill up but like... that still is 140 gigs less when I add my main hd and my external to a 500gb samsung. However, I agree that 1 terrabyte is really, really neat. :)

If I had a more unlimited budget though, I would get 2x2gb sticks for 4 gigs from day one. Video editing and photoshoping is all ram. XP cant use more than 4 gigs though. However, it seems that 2 gigs is minimum for 32 bit version of Vista.... I would then max it at 8gb's on vista ultimate 64 bit version. hehehe. bragging rights one day ;)

minibeardeath
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Post by minibeardeath » Mon Apr 16, 2007 8:00 pm

does the 0.1ghz make that much of a difference
emember, if you go AMD, memory speeds still mean less than it does to intel machines. (on die memory controller for amd) It always helps, but not nearly as a new vid card does or another 0.1ghz in cpu speed .
also on the HDD i may go raid 1 so i have a backup of everything cause on mymoms comp she's had to replace the main hdd twice on seperate occasions due to virus issues :oops: (it was my bro's fault both times)

lastly on the gfx card if i go w/ the 320mb vs the 640mb how much difference is that gonna make (i.e. is it worth the extra $200)

also on the ram what is a reasonable factory timing setting?

minibeardeath
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Post by minibeardeath » Mon Apr 16, 2007 8:11 pm

for win xp should i go OEM or retail?

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Post by Beyonder » Mon Apr 16, 2007 9:57 pm

minibeardeath wrote:for win xp should i go OEM or retail?
Whatever is cheaper and legitimate.

re: Intel/AMD options - The X2 is no slouch when it comes to video editing/multimedia/gaming, but the C2D is definitely faster. Between the 5000+ and the E6700, the E6700 outperforms the 5000+ by a decent margin in just about every benchmark I've seen.

On the other hand, it isn't really a fair comparison given the E6700 costs $500 and the 5000+ is about $160.

minibeardeath
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Post by minibeardeath » Tue Apr 17, 2007 5:32 pm

Beyonder wrote:On the other hand, it isn't really a fair comparison given the E6700 costs $500 and the 5000+ is about $160.
thats why im gonna go w/ the amd most likely

btw why is there a $200 dollar difference? is intel just trying to make more money or is it cause they had to create a whole new processor design then put it on a smaller architecture whereas all amd had to do is put 2 athlon 64s on a smaller architecture (cause athlon 64 was originaly designed for multi core)?

thanks and sorry if i didnt make any sense :oops:

minibeardeath
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Post by minibeardeath » Mon Apr 23, 2007 8:43 pm

would all my previous specs fit into anantec p150?

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