Building A New Computer (Recommendation of Parts)

[antiant]

first off i'm going to have a computer built by someone, however i just want some recommendations of parts (i'd like to do some research of course, reviews etc before buying things), if that's not too much trouble to ask. As far as what i'll be using it for, i'll be using my computer to do the following:

1. Burning CD/DVD's (i've heard nec is pretty good?)
2. Downloading (i have a lot of music and 2 external harddrives, 80gbs/320gbs)
3. Music/Movies/Sound
4. Multi-tasking (i usually have many things open at once, so i need something that will handle this)


My budget is around $1,000 to $2,000 (maybe $2,500) at the most and i would like something pretty fast and i want all the "bells and whistles" (or the majority of it), i expect this computer to last me a long time, so i want to get the best of the best, so to speak

Things that i want in my computer:

1. OS - windows xp, home edition (also, i'd like to have enough requirements for vista, if not a little more than the minimum needed to run it)
2. New printer, scanner, copier, fax etc that has quality-like outcomes, i also have a digi cam (panasonic dmc-fz3), so if i want to make prints, i want that to come out good as well and if i can get all this in one, that would be a lot better
3. Don't need a monitor, already have one (viewsonic), don't need a mouse (microsoft) or keyboard (microsoft) either
4. 2.0 usb & firewire (maybe 4 in the back and 2 in the front, for usb)
5. Universal card reader
6. Fast DVD/CD burner/reader but also want good quality outcome and if it can put the artist on the cd and or the artwork that would be a plus
7. I use my headphones (sennheiser hd555), computer as source, i'd like a soundcard or something that can make those sound good, what i have now isn't cutting it, my cd player puts out better than what's on my computer and i'd like to use my headphones on my computer)
8. Lots of RAM like 2/3 GB's etc whatever makes my computer run faster
9. I leave my computer on quite a lot, like overnight and for long periods of times, however i do shut my monitor off when i do this, so if anything can help in this area or any tips, that would be appreciated as well
10. A possible tv tuner (doesn't have to be fancy, but decent)

*i won't be using it for gaming and i don't need any liquid cooling system

also, if there's anything else that i might of left out or think i might be interested in, feel free to mention it...i'd also like to have everything needed to run vista in the future if i decide to upgrade the OS, so if there are some "must" categories that i should get as far as vista is concern, please by all means suggest them

I don't know much about building computers, so i hope this makes some sense, thanks in advance for any help

(i've asked other forums too, but i know there are a few people here who know their stuff and would like to get some opinions here as well)

 

[JahJahBinks]

If I were you I would wait on the new Intel Conroe, or wait for AMD to slash their price.

 

[antiant]

i have been suggested a build and in that build, one of the following, AMd 4600+x2 what do you think of this? and when is this suppose to be coming out? (i thought they were already out?)

edit: forgot to mention, if anyone can come up with a possible build, i would really appreciate it

 

[Duggeh]

If you are buyign new optical drive(s). Nothing is better than plextor. Nothing.

 

[JahJahBinks]

Well, I built a computer before while I was heavily involved in an overclocking online community, so I was imprinted with the idea that you buy the cheapest or one of the cheapest processors in a line-up and overclock every juice out of it. (just like how Head-Fi teaches everyone about Bose and such). So about a year ago I bought AMD 4400+ then sold it later for 3800+. I was able to get similar performance with watercooling and it was fun. Anyway, since you want no overclocking I would still recommend you not to spend more than $500 or so a processor chip. As for memory 2GB is more than enough and it is Vista proof. What else you may help you enjoy the building process is to have a good chassis that has enough room to allow you to make the interior "clean", and a good power supply that's quiet and up to the demand.

The big question is do you burning CD/DVD's a lot? or once every so often. Because a $700 Dell can do the job you described quite well, so if you gonna build it expect the cost to be less. Remember, if you want to get the fun out of building a computer then go ahead, but if your main reason is to save money I'd say building is not always the best option.

 

[antiant]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Duggeh If you are buyign new optical drive(s). Nothing is better than plextor. Nothing.

yeah so far, that's what i've been recommended...also heard of nec, but i don't know

 

[EhJayKim]

In general, I really like Fortron power supplies. There are many PSU's to stay away from. PCP&C is great, but you will be paying a very very high premium, I think the fortron blue storm or something along those lines might be really good.

-A

 

[antiant]

Quote:

Originally Posted by JahJahBinks Well, I built a computer before while I was heavily involved in an overclocking online community, so I was imprinted with the idea that you buy the cheapest or one of the cheapest processors in a line-up and overclock every juice out of it. (just like how Head-Fi teaches everyone about Bose and such). So about a year ago I bought AMD 4400+ then sold it later for 3800+. I was able to get similar performance with watercooling and it was fun. Anyway, since you want no overclocking I would still recommend you not to spend more than $500 or so a processor chip. As for memory 2GB is more than enough and it is Vista proof. What else you may help you enjoy the building process is to have a good chassis that has enough room to allow you to make the interior "clean", and a good power supply that's quiet and up to the demand.

sorry for the ignorance here, but isn't the intel conroe priced around 1,000 or so? I could of sworn i read something like that recently and i've also heard it's been outperforming amd, which means amd will have to cut their prices?

jah: I don't really have a "budget" per se...so whatever is recommended would be fine, i'm kinda going all out on this one...and yeah i burn cd's a lot in fact i've stopped because mines too slow and i don't have the patience lol, but if it was faster then yeah...

 

[JahJahBinks]

Quote:

Originally Posted by antiant sorry for the ignorance here, but isn't the intel conroe priced around 1,000 or so? I could of sworn i read something like that recently and i've also heard it's been outperforming amd, which means amd will have to cut their prices? jah: I don't really have a "budget" per se...so whatever is recommended would be fine, i'm kinda going all out on this one...and yeah i burn cd's a lot in fact i've stopped because mines too slow and i don't have the patience lol, but if it was faster then yeah...

that's only the best. Core 2 Duo E6300 starts at $183 (according to unofficial source)

 

[Duggeh]

Quote:

Originally Posted by antiant yeah so far, that's what i've been recommended...also heard of nec, but i don't know

I used NEC, until i foudn plextor. NEC are second best, and popund for pound (because plexto rdrives ARE more expensive), offer a better value for the average user. If however you are archving your cd collection to your hard drive, or you have scratched worn or slightly iffy discs, the Plextor drives WILL have less read issues and better read capabilities than the nearest rival. They are quite simply put, better engineered.

 

[antiant]

ok i found the pricing regarding the cpu:

Model
Clock Speed Bus Speed L2 Cache TDP Price

1. Core 2 Extreme X6800 2.93GHz 1066MHz 4MB 75 W $999
   Core 2 Duo E6700 2.67GHz 1066MHz 4MB 65 W $530
   Core 2 Duo E6600 2.4GHz 1066MHz 4MB 65 W $316
   Core 2 Duo E6400 2.13GHz 1066MHz 2MB 65 W $224
   Core 2 Duo E6300 1.86GHz 1066MHz 2MB 65 W $183

not sure what tdp stands for or does, however

 

[JahJahBinks]

tdp is thermal design power, that's the maximum power dissipated by the processor. AMD claimed that Intel fudged the number to show average value not the maximum in order for Conroe to look better than their products.

 

[citystar]

This is the desktop system I had built last week from my local computer store in Australia for multimedia and general use (note: aussie dollars).

CPU: AMD x2 Dual Core 3800+ $428
Motherboard: ASUS A8N-SLI SE $139
Case: Antec Sonata II (comes with Antec SmartPower 450W power supply) $179
Memory: 2x 1G DDR400 Kingston $260
Storage: Seagate SATA 250G Hard Disk Drive $116
Video: 256MB 7600GS Leadtek $169
CD/DVD: 16x BenQ DW1650 Dual Layer DVD-RW (Black) $47
Audio: Creative X-Fi Xtreme Music $185
Card Reader: USB2.0 External All-in-One Card Reader $14
Software: Windows XP Home $119
Computer Assembly: $60

The Sonata II case is stylish black and is very quiet. It includes the following jacks/plugs at the front: mic-in; headphone; 2x USB; and Firewire. The X-Fi XM sound card is great for watching DVD’s and offers bit-perfect output for music. I have not included an all-in-one printer or digital camera since I have limited experience with these products. Hopefully this will give you a basic idea of what to look for. This totals to $1716 AUD which is around $1285 USD. This hopefully leaves some budget for your printer and digital camera.

 

[antiant]

thanks citystar i will definitely take a look at that further and compare, also i don't need a digi cam (already have one), sorry for the confusion, just something that's good to print my pics off of like a printer/ink jet etc

 

[Denim]

I generally refer to some of the tech sites for advice. Here is a link to one site that gets you started. I don't always agree, but it's generally pretty close to the mark.