Advice for building a computer

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Advice for building a computer

by smorzando Sep 29, 2006 5:45AM PDT

i wouldn't worry about the paste. your brother's needs are not extreme computing and he's not going to put a lot of grind on the processor and generate such a significantly greater amount of heat that it couldn't survive the small difference between the different pastes.

satas are easier to hook up than IDEs, and they look better. they have a similar config, there's a power supply and the data cord. performance differential is, in most cases, negligible. hot-swappable, whoopie! there is a difference though between SATA and SATA 2.

i just built a box out of similar components, and came up with a lower price, using an AMD 3000+ 939 pin processor, which you can find on pricewatch for about $60. the heat averages around 30-32 C, with just the in case 12cm fan set to low, low, low. no heatsink. just msi board in an antec case. amd's generate less heat than pentiums and you get more bang for your buck. the other nice thing is the upgrade path is much longer than with Pentiums.

on core duos and high end stuff it's a different story.

if you're sold on the pentium option, you should be fine, in any case. i just wanted to try something new out, given my requirements and budget, i decided on the amd.

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your're throwing money away on obsolete tech

by ramarc Sep 29, 2006 10:56AM PDT

i don't know what you budget is, but if you can afford $20 more, you should consider these components instead.

your mobo: intel 945gntl - $107
i have this mobo (bought last summer). it won't support core2duo or any newer CPUs.
alternative 1: intel 946gz - $95
the 946gz does support core2duo and gives you more of an upgrade path in the future. it only has 2 ram slots though.
alternative 2: Asus P5L-VM - $104
this mobo with 945 chipset supports the core2duo also and has 4 ram slots.

your cpu: p4 531, 3ghz single core - $93
alternative 1: p4d 805, 2.66ghz dual core - $92
alternative 2: p4d 820, 2.8ghz dual core - $120
all p4 single-cores are more/less obsolete now. the future is dual-core (2 cpus on one chip). either of these will give you better overall performance than a single 3.0ghz.

your ram: kvr ddr2-667 512mb - $64 each
alternative: geil GX25125300SX ddr2-667 512mb, cas 3 - $62 each
faster ram = faster performance. i assume you're planning on getting 2 (1gb total).

your hard drive: wd caviar se wd1200js 120gb, 8mb cache - $68
alternative: wd caviar se wd2500ks 250gb, 16mb cache - $78
double the size for $10.

all my prices are from zipzoomfly.com.

if you don't plan on overclocking, the preapplied thermal pad that comes with intel cpus is adequate. you could use thermal paste instead, but if you're not familiar with its use, stick with the pad.

as for installation, socket 775 is almost foolproof. the only possible gotcha with sata drives is the cable... make sure you have the type that locks. both my recommend mobo's provide the locking cable.

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I thought of that

by tubaloth Oct 1, 2006 1:55AM PDT

Most of the stuff I have prices has been through newegg.com

alternative 2: Asus P5L-VM - $104

This isn't bad. I hadn't seen this before. I guess I kind of tried to stay a way from Micro ATX. But it seems like all the boards at getting made this way. The only other board that I saw had to jump again in the chip set. Intel BOXDG965RYCK Socket T (LGA 775) Intel G965 Express ATX Intel Motherboard but this 116, not much more then the other one.

alternative 1: p4d 805, 2.66ghz dual core - $92
alternative 2: p4d 820, 2.8ghz dual core - $120

The 805 is still only 533 FSB, I wouldn't mind 820 but that adds about $20 to the price. I do think it is worth it, but my brother doesn't really want to spend $500 on a machine he would like it to be less. With the Pentium D. and the better mother board we are up to about $25 more right now.

alternative: geil GX25125300SX ddr2-667 512mb, cas 3 - $62 each

I would like this, I don't know for some reason the Intel Boards require the 1.8 volts. The only 1.8 Volt RAM is all 5 Cas. After searching Intels site the Kingston Ram is the only one I could find on Newegg's site. To keep it close to $500 only one stick for now.

alternative: wd caviar se wd2500ks 250gb, 16mb cache - $78
For what they are doing, the 120GB fine. I agree more the better. He doesn't see it exactly that way, 10 more for something he well never use does make sense in his mind.

Thanks for the info. I wish I could go the P D route, but it just starts adding up a little bit more. I know I could do it all for another $50 more, but he doesn't seem to want to go that route.

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its your/his money but...

by ramarc Oct 1, 2006 4:42AM PDT

intel 946gz
is $10 cheaper than the 945 mobo you spec'd.

p4d 805 vs. p4 531
if you're ripping a cd, the p4 531 is faster. but if you're ripping a cd, and surfing the web or doing anything else, the 805 will make up its lost ground. in typical use, you won't notice much of a difference. and with the 805 you could save money and drop down to ddr2-533.

geil GX25125300SX ddr2-667 512mb, cas 3
this is 1.8v ram and will work with intel mobos (remember, i have a 945gnt). that's why i recommended it.

and it seems penny-wise, pound-foolish not to DOUBLE your hd space for $10. with the 946gz mobo, the two configs are identical in price.

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it's money but...

by smorzando Oct 1, 2006 9:57AM PDT

i understand where ramarc is coming from and it's good advice. but there's an opportunity cost, to remember. if he's never going to use that extra hundred + GB why buy it?

i wouldn't order an extra entree at dinner if i'm not going to eat it. it's wasteful and, worse, that $10, or whatever, can't be used for something else.

i'm in the same boat as the poster. my sister-in-law needs a computer so that her daughter can play SIMS 2. she doesn't need much more than 20GB to do that. and i have that hard drive sitting around right here. why bother tricking out her computer at this point, when she's not going to use it.

given the requirements laid out here, on-board video is probably a good savings, as well.

eh, whateve.r

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Yep

by tubaloth Oct 2, 2006 8:34AM PDT

I do agree the motherboard would have been better, but oh well, it is not going to matter sense I already order all the parts. I know what you mean with the Hard Drive and space! I am way full on my 80gbs. My Brother had a 40 gb on his PC and when it all crashed I hooked up to my PC so I could back up files (mostly picture). Much to my surprise they used maybe 5-8 gbs is all. They had over 30 gbs free, and they had the computer for over 3 years.
Now maybe once they realize they have the space they well start to use more. They don't don't use their computer for music. They mostly store pictures but even that isn't much. I backed up all the files I could find (Music, Pictures, and what not) and it fit all on a CD. I think they should be fine. Besides I throw on there 40 gb IDE Hard drive anyways just for pictures.

Does anybody know a good walkthrough on how to install a P4 775 socket? Or a Sata hard drive? Thanks

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