[doctorrice]

Here's what I have down so far, i'm the biggest pc noob you'll ever
come across, so please work with me here lol,
my budget is 700 bucks (not counting monitor/ will pay for LCD HDTV
separately and use as monitor) for a video editing/ moderate gaming pc.
i use a canon sd1000 filming videos @ 30 fps from 640 by 380, so the
files are HUGE, 175 mb for like 2-5 min of film... etc, so i do lots of
filming with videos that size, i need to build a pc that can handle
loads of files that size using adobe premiere or adobe elements.
antec sonata III ATX mid tower case w/500 Watt PSU going for 129.99 @ newegg
intel core 2 duo e6600 2.4 ghz 229 @ newegg, but willing to switch to e6750 (only 200 @ newegg)
western digital caviar 250 gb 7200 Rpm 16 mb cache SATA 3.0 gb/s HD 69.99 @ newegg
thinking of some patriots/cruicial/corsair 2 x 1 gb for ram
ASUS p5n-e 650i sli mobo 129 @ newegg
want vista home premium or should i go business edition?
ok here's my problem, i need a graphics card, and i see that some are
GDDR3 and GDDR2, will my mobo handle GDDR3?? i dont really know how to
find out, i looked at the specs, its hard to tell.... heres the
graphics card i'm looking at for it... EVGA geforce 7600 GT 256 mb 128
bit GDDR3 PCI express x16 SLI support, 75 @ newegg.
how do i find out if my mobo supports that graphics card or GDDR3 ???
cuz i looked at the charts, GDDR3 graphic cards are way outperforming
the GDDR2's...... plus if anybody have any recommendations for memory,
or for the perfect graphics card, please help me out lol
another thing, is it just me or everyone prefers the intel core 2 e6600
than the e6750, even tho the e6750 costs like 20 bucks less????????
ALSO, i'll be using an olevia 27 inch 227v 720p LCD HTDV or 32 inch 232v
720p LCD HDTV with VGA to connect to my pc to use as both a monitor and
360 playing. max res is 1366 x768... will i have to select the right
video card in order to view it properly or what should i do for best
results??
i could upgrade olevia's to the 527v series and those have DVI inputs, some are tellin me DVI's display higher quality???
Thanks!

[RoryH]

Real quick, and suggestions may follow later from me, but certainly from others, I would consider getting a much larger HDD than 250 GB; maybe 750, or even consider then new 1TB from, I beleive, Hitachi. I say this since you indicate that just few minutes of film run @ 175 MB's! You would eat up HDD space real quick with only 250 GB's.

[lilxkid24]

If your going to store lots of photos and games on there get like a 500gig hdd. Heres the specs on the intel.
Support 775 Socket
Frequency (MHz) 2400
Bus Processor -
Process technology 90 nm
Size L1-Cache -
Size L2-Cache 4 MB
Frequency L2-Cache -
Architecture Intel
MMX Yes
3D Now! No
SSE Yes
SSE 2 Yes
I would go with Home Premium if your going to get vista. Well for memory maybe 2 gig might not be enough for you, maybe you can consider 3 gigs. Yes your computer can handle GDDR3. If you want a good graphics card you can get a 256 mbgeforce 8600+gt. There
great for gaming too and its not really that expensive too. Personally i dont prefer intel at all, i would go with amd since its a lot cheaper for speeds unrecognizable if you get like the same ghz etc.

[rkinne01]

Consider an AMD Chip over Intel, they cost less. Use the extra dough for a bigger HD.
I would also check competitor prices, sometimes I get better deals on New Egg but sometimes Price Watch will do better.

Have you priced a store bought machine over custom built ones? I had bought a Gateway back in November even though I had intended to custom build. I came in $500 bucks under budget even after purchasing a video card (integrated video sucks), I got a package deal which included a nice discount on a couple pieces of software I wanted. Purchased systems also include warranty on EVERYTHING, with custom systems you'd have to contact each manufacturer is something goes wrong, which is a huge headache.

As for your mother board specs, these can be found on the web site of each brand (ASUS for example).

You should decide on what OS you're using before you buy the video board. If you use XP the card you've chosen should be fine but if you're going with Vista I'd go with a Geoforce 8500. The 8500 doesn't cost much more and will give you the Vista ony DirectX 10 engine. Vista Home Premium is the right edition for you over the Business Edition which is geared more towards business apps than video editing. You could get Ultimate Edition but in my opinion the extra options you get aren't worth the extra bucks (notably Dreamscape and Bitlocker), if you get Premium and later decide you want Ultimate then you could upgrade using the Anytime Upgrade system.
Message was edited by: rkinne01

[doctorrice]

thanks for the response so far guys, here is what i'm considering now based on what you guys have said and others,
others suggest that i look at intel core 2 q6600 since its 279.99, and i'm really considering that, based on charts and opinions, and i'm gonna stick with either of these graphic cards - 8600 gt (119.99 @ newegg), and 8600 gts 132.99 @ newegg, vista home premium, 3 gigs of ram that will cost me around 110 on newegg after rebates, i hope i dont generate alot of heat, cuz i'm new to the whole add new fan (zalmer + artic silver) thing... plus i hope my antec 500watt powersupply is good enough?

a couple of you guys mentioned AMD, i dont know much about them, so a tip would be nice, i already know about their x2 6000+ which costs 179.99 @ newegg.



let me know!

[lilxkid24]

Ok i really should be doing my hw now since its nearly 11 lol but what the hell il just help you. AMD 64x2 is also a duo core proccessor like Intel duo core. Intel is of course more expensive because its more popular. Speeds lets say 2.2ghz, you have an intel and amd chip. The Intel one will be more expensive and the amd one will be cheaper. The stats are nearly the same except for the cache which is not really that important anyway, but to get to the point the speeds will be unnoticeable just by the pure eye. Well you can compare some numbers here http://techreport.com/articles.x/12091
For your video card if you want to game get the best one you can, like you said you checked newegg. Heres the report from Geforce site on the graphics card.
GeForce 8600 GTS GeForce 8600 GT
Stream Processors 32 32
Core Clock (MHz) 675 540
Shader Clock (MHz) 1450 1180
Memory Clock (MHz) 1000 700
Memory Amount 256MB GDDR3 256MB GDDR3
Memory Interface 128-bit 128-bit
Memory Bandwidth (GB/sec) 32 22.4
Texture Fill Rate (billion/sec)10.8 8.6

Well pick the one you want. It shouldn't generate a lot of heat if you have the proper watt. Heres a review on the intel core 2q6600
http://www.techspot....re2-quad-q6600/

[doctorrice]

hey thanks for the response, the comp is gonna be running off a 500 watt power supply, and reading around, some are saying that the 8600 gts/8600 gt will take up 300 watts, and if i add in the quad core q6600, i'm kinda concerned lol,i've stopped by their sites but could not find either info,the nvidia is hard for me to take a look at since i'm on dial up right now

[mphenterprises]

Hi DoctorRice. If I may interject for a second. I would strongly advise you read this Document regarding Power Supplies. In short, a 500 Watt Power Supply will not be sufficient for your needs. The Document goes into more detail.

[rgreen4]

Doctorrice - you asked about the Intel E6600 and E6750. One of the reasons that people may seem to like the E6600 more is that it is a slightly older chip. The E6750 is one of the more recent releases and uses a 1333MHz FSB whereas the E6600 uses a 1066MHz FSB. The 1333 speed is only found on newer motherboards.

I recently assembled a new machine with a slightly different Antec case, a Gigabyte P35DS3P motherboard, the E6750 CPU, an MSI Geforce 8600GT video card and assorted other goodies. My case came with a 430Watt PSU which I have upgraded to Antec's 550Watt.

I would recommend you consider a 160-250GB drive for OS and Programs and two 500-750GB drives in a Raid1 configuration for data. You are going to have a lot of time and money invested in video and large drives take large drives and a lot of time to backup. The Raid1 is a mirror configuration which means that everything that is on drive1 is on drive2. (drive0 is the system and program drive). The data will still need to be backed up to another source on a periodic basis, just not as often.

We have a lot of requests for assistance, and the more backups you have, the safer you are. Remember if 1 backup is good, 2 is better.

[mphenterprises]

rgreen4 said:

Remember if 1 backup is good, 2 is better.

And if 2 backups are better, 3 is a life saver... You get our point. :-)

[doctorrice]

hello rgreen4,

thanks for answering the e6600 and e6750 question!, i'm still really thinking about the e6600 or the e6750 since its cheaper and my mobo can handle it... but heres the more updated version of the computer i wanna build, let me know what you think, others are welcome to comment, help, etc,

cooler master cenutrion 5 CAC-T05-UW ATX mid tower 40 @ newegg

OCZ gameXstream OCZ700GXSSLI ATX12V 700W power supply 100-240V 105 @ newegg

asus p5n-e sli lga 775 nvidia nforce 650i sli atx intel mobo 127 @ newegg

intel core 2 quad q6600 kentsfield 2.4 ghz 280 @ newegg

xfxpvt84judd3 geforce 8600 gt 256 mb, 120 @ newegg

western digital caviar 250 gb 7200 rpm 70 @ newegg (looking for a 320 gb for around 60-70 but cant find it on newegg at the moment, plus this will be a starting drive, till i get more money to purchase another 500-700 internal drive)

corsair xms2 2 gb (2x1gb) ddr2 sdram 800 pc2 6400 ... 64 @ newegg

lite on or samsung dvd drive for 30-40 @ newegg

227v or 232v for monitor, and some logitech laser mouse/keyboard

VISTA home premium



also regreen4, so to do the mirror thing, does that mean everything i save on drive 1 will automatically be on drive 2 like u said? then what do you mean that the data will still need to be backed up to another source on periodic basis? i'm a little confused on that part... let me know thanks!

[smax013]

doctorrice said:

also regreen4, so to do the mirror thing, does that mean everything i save on drive 1 will automatically be on drive 2 like u said? then what do you mean that the data will still need to be backed up to another source on periodic basis? i'm a little confused on that part... let me know thanks!

RAID 1 will use two disks, typically of the same size (it will treat a larger disk as if it is the same size as the smaller disk I believe). The two disks are exact mirrors/duplicates of each other. The RAID system will put the data on one disk when you copy the data over. Then it will work on copying/mirroring that data to the other drive. The end result is that you have a duplicate back automatically. So, if one drive pushes up daisies (i.e. dies), then your data is still safe on the other drive. You can then get a replacement drive for the dead one and the RAID system will then eventually mirror the data from the remaining working drive to the new replacement drive.



It is still a good idea to do a completely seperate backup to either another complelely independent drive or some other media (i.e. DVDs or tapes). This is in case something happens to BOTH drives in the RAID array (i.e. maybe something like a direct lightening strike on your house that completely fries the RAID device). The frequency of this seperate backup would largely depend on how paranoid/proactive (depending on if you are a glass half empty or half full type person) you are.

[doctorrice]

hey thanks smax, i understand how it works now! for now i'm gonna get one 320 gb hard drive, and will invest in another a little after.

here is my final build, based on everyone's opinions, it contains links to the products on newegg, so let me know, also some stuff are cheaper shown from pricewatch, but it links me to other sites, such as xtreme gear... anybody heard of them? i might buy a mobo from them, or should i just stick to newegg for better service?

-Cooler master centurion 5 CAC-T05-UW black aluminum bezel, SECC Chassis ATX Mid Tower case - 39.99 @ newegg after 10 dollar rebate
http://www.newegg.co...N82E16811119068
-OCZ gameXstream OCZ700GXSSLI ATX12V 700W power supply 100-240 V- 104.99 @ newegg after 35 rebate
http://www.newegg.co...pk=OCZ700GXSSLI
-Asus p5n-e sli lga 775 nvidia nforce 650i SLI atx intel motherboard 126.99 @ newegg but 115.00 free shipping @ pricewatch
http://www.newegg.co...N82E16813131142
-intel core 2 quad q6600 kentsfield 2.4 ghz 2 x 4mb L2 cache LGA 775 processor 279.99 @ newegg
http://www.newegg.co...N82E16819115017
-XFX PVT84JUDD3 geforce 8600 GT 256 mb 128 bit GDDR3 pci-e x16 sli supported card 119.99 @ newegg after 20 rebate
http://www.newegg.co...&Tpk=PVT84JUDD3
-western digital caviar SE16 WD2500KS 250 gb 7200 rpm sata 3.0 gb/s hard drive @ newegg for 70 , or Seagate barracuda 7200.10 st3320620as 230 gb 7200 rpm sata 3.0 gb/s hard drive oem 79.99 @ newegg
-Corsair xms2 2 gb (2x1gb) 240-pin ddr2 sdram 800 (pc2 6400) dual channel kit desktop memory retail 64 @ newegg after 40 rebate
-Lite on black 20 x dvd+-R DVD burner with lightscribe black sata model lh-20a1l-06 ... 40 @ newegg but could be 20

[doctorrice]

hey, thanks for posting the document link to power supplies,

but for the pc noob that i am, i'm kinda concerned about the compatibility/fitting issues of my PSU, i bought this exact one: http://www.newegg.co...&Tpk=ocz%2b700w

it is an ocz 700w sli ready power supply,

i am putting it in this case:http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119068

a cooler master centurion,

the ocz has a 120mm fan on top of it, is that supposed to be right side up or down, also it does work with my selected case right? because i'm worried about the fan on top of it generating heat onto the case as it goes...

lol i might not be making any sense... but i've been looking all over the place to find the answer, let me know what ya think

[mphenterprises]

Hi Doctorrice. Yes, you are making perfect sense. Each custom case is designed to hold aftermarket Power Supplies. The one thing I can suggest is not to get frustrated if the Power Supply does not line up with the screws at first. You can turn the Power Supply 360 degrees until you find the arrangement that aligns the holes in the case to the holes in the Power Supply.

The fan of the Power Supply will not generate any heat. More than likely, that fan will point downward inside the case. As long as you have sufficient cooling and ventilation inside the computer, heat will be dispersed.

[doctorrice]

thank you for your response! you gave me confidence in the items i purchased, i'll see to it that the power supply fits nicely. thanks again!

[mphenterprises]

With Pleasure. :-) If you have any other questions, please ask.

[rgreen4]

The traditional and lower powered power supplies all had their fans at the rear of the case and pulled the air through the power supply, now on some of the newer higher powered power supplies, the are mounting a larger fan on the bottom of the power supply and it pushes the air through the power supply and out the back.
When I upgraded the PSU on my new build from 430 watts (traditional rear fan) to 550, I was concerned about drawing air in from the back and blowing down into the case. I had based this mistaken position on a series of cases I had seen with a top vent. After mounting my new PSU in the case and making all the connections, I hooked up the computer and booted it up. After it booted the first thing I did was place my hand at the back of the case and I felt the normal rearward airflow out the rear van.

If you have not mounted the PSU yet, you will note one of the screw holes is not in a perfect rectangular pattern, thus keying the position of the power supply. While it can be mounted in other positions, it would require a lot of work.

[ConnorS]

Hi,
So, if you're going to store lots of video & pics. on your PC, and use it for gaming, you really need more than a skimpy 250GB drive, because 1 hour of uncompressed medium-quality video takes up around 13GB of space, and HD or Blu-ray can take up almost two-three times that amount! I would reccomend a 74GB Western Digital Raptor 10,000 rpm for your gaming, and at least a 400GB 7200-rpm additional Hard-Drive for your videos and photos.
For your processor, you may want to look into AMD's Athlon X2 series, since they're a lot cheaper than Intel's Core 2 line. Plus, you can upgrade an AMD X2 4000 to an AMD X2 6000 without paying much; versus upgrading an Intel Core 2 Duo E6600 to an Extreme QX6850 costing almost a thousand dollars.
With your graphics card, I don't know much about GDDR3, other than that it's the latest and greatest. I also have no idea if your mobo supports GDDR3 either. If you need help deciding, you may want an nVIDEA GeForce 7900GT or more to satisfy your gaming needs.
If you want all this stuff though, it'll be hard to get for $700, you want a budget of at least $900-$1,100.
Hope this helps you on finding your PC.:-)