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[Cauliflower of Love]

I need to get a computer built. It's strictly a work machine for graphics, illustrator, photoshop and things of that sort, some 3d rendering stuff(not a priority). I got a video card set aside(550 XGL) that I'm using now. I need the best mobo/cpu combo for this type of work. So teach me. Oh yeah, the less $ the better . No fancy aesthetic bullshit. 100% functional.

Already Have:
Zip
Monitor
HD - Barricuda
Video Card - Quadro 550XGL


Need:
Mobo-
CPU-
RAM-
Case/PSU-
DVD Writer -

So help a brother out GAF.

 

[Diablos]

I would get an Athlon XP 3200+, 1GB of RAM (dual channel)... as for your DVD burner, get a lite-on. They're the best. NEC drives are too picky and some have problems even reading data. Plextor's are overpriced. Lite-on is the best.

 

[xsarien]

You really, really don't need to keep the Zip in this day and age of rewritable mini CDs and DVDs.

 

[DaCocoBrova]

If he has it he might as well use it.

Get a PSU seperate, and not bundled w/ the case unless they give you a choice of PSU brands/models.

 

[RaymondCarver]

Antec supplies in Antech cases work well. Go for Antec.

 

[BigGreenMat]

I would bit the bullet and get an Athlon 64 3500+ along with a Abit KV8 for socket 939. Ram 1 GB dual channel kit from a decent brand. Case is up to you really, but I would go for an Antec Neo480 or Neo550 with modular cabling as there are going to be standard shifts and you can adjust your cabling to the type you might need.

 

[xsarien]

Antec supplies in Antech cases work well. Go for Antec.

Yeah. Antec's are very good. They don't have much in the way of aluminum cases, but their steel shit is grade A awesome. Also, if money's no object, Liang-Li makes a nice aluminum case, but they don't give you a PSU with it.

 

[Cauliflower of Love]

How is this for a dvd burner? Pricewise :
click me


So far two suggestions. I'm planning on overclocking whichever I get so with that in mind, which is more cost effective. No pentium suggestions?

Athlon XP 3200+, 1GB of RAM

Athlon 64 3500+ along with a Abit KV8 for socket 939. Ram 1 GB dual channel kit from a decent brand.

 

[Diablos]

I guess it wouldn't hurt to get an Athlon 64 (thinking ahead is always a good idea) but it will be more money at the end of the day. Never settle for less that 1GB if you are doing multimedia.

Also: You are throwing your money away if you buy that Plextor drive.

Here's a Pioneer 16X DVD+R, 4X DVD+R Dual Layer drive for $78: http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=27-129-156&depa=0

And a Lite-On 16X DVD+R, 2.4X DVD+R Dual Layer drive for $78 as well: http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=27-106-961&depa=0

Both also support -R discs as well.

 

[xsarien]

No, you are throwing your money away getting that Plextor drive.

Meh, says you. Ever since I've gone Plextor, I've never looked back.

 

[Diablos]

Please see my previous post. If you buy a Plextor over those two drives, you're just being foolish and spoiled!

16X and 4X dual layer capability out of that Pioneer one. They make excellent optical drives. The Plextor doesn't even support dual layer. If you want to think ahead you will want to buy a DL capabile drive.

Lite-on drives are great; they'll read ANYTHING you put in it and are very reliable. I have a lite-on 12x CD-RW drive from like at least four or five years ago, still works as good as it did when I bought it.

 

[xsarien]

Please see my previous post. If you buy a Plextor over those two drives, you're just being foolish and spoiled!

16X and 4X dual layer capability out of that Pioneer one. They make excellent optical drives. The Plextor doesn't even support dual layer. If you want to think ahead you will want to buy a DL capabile drive.

Speaking for myself, and not for the person who started this thread, I'm not touching DVD burners at all until they speed up. I got burned (so to speak) when I jumped into CD burners too early, and was stuck with some 4x piece of shit until I could justify spending more money on the system.

And by the time they're up to the speeds I want, Plextor will probably have a DL drive - SATA, to boot - available. Early adoption is for suckers.

Edit: Spoke too soon, looks like Plextor went DL already:
http://www.plextor.com/english/news/press/716_pr.htm

Still not fast enough for my taste, though.

 

[Diablos]

Yeah and that Plextor is prolly way overpriced.

Well, he needs a new comp. The Plextor is $4 less than the other two yet doesn't have dual layer capability. Not a very wise choice. He'd be much better off getting the Pioneer or Lite-On.

As for what you said... I hear you, but I have already successfully taken my LDW-411S (4x) to 8x thanks to a hacked EEPROM and semi-hacked firmware. I can burn a near full DVD in around 10 minutes; how much faster do you really need? Once dual layer gets to 8x-12x it won't be that bad either. And I'm sure that Pioneer and Lite-On drive will get its firmware eventually hacked for 8x DL writing capability (for the Pioneer at least; 4x for the lite on). There might even be official firmware that does it.

I don't see why you would need a SATA DVD burner unless it's 52x or something. If you have a SATA hard drive, then your DVD burner has the whole IDE channel to itself basically. 8x is like what, 11 megabytes/sec? Ultra ATA 133's real world throughbut is like ~50MB with an 8MB buffer on the drive. You tell me if you really need SATA for DVD burning...

 

[teh_pwn]

Why is everyone suggesting AMD chips? He's building a work machine. The only AMD CPU that would be good for this would be AMD 64 Socket 939.

I would suggest a P4 C 800 FSB chipset because that's far more cost effective than AMD chipsets for applications, multitasking, and photoshopping.

 

[xsarien]

Yeah and that Plextor is prolly way overpriced.

Well, he needs a new comp. The Plextor is $4 less than the other two yet doesn't have dual layer capability. Not a very wise choice. He'd be much better off getting the Pioneer or Lite-On.

As for what you said... I hear you, but I have already successfully taken my LDW-411S (4x) to 8x thanks to a hacked EEPROM and semi-hacked firmware. I can burn a near full DVD in around 10 minutes; how much faster do you really need? Once dual layer gets to 8x-12x it won't be that bad either. And I'm sure that Pioneer and Lite-On drive will get its firmware eventually hacked for 8x DL writing capability (for the Pioneer at least; 4x for the lite on). There might even be official firmware that does it.

I don't see why you would need a SATA DVD burner unless it's 52x or something. If you have a SATA hard drive, then your DVD burner has the whole IDE channel to itself basically. 8x is like what, 11 megabytes/sec? Ultra ATA 133's real world throughbut is like ~50MB with an 8MB buffer on the drive. You tell me if you really need SATA for DVD burning...

Quite simply, IDE cables are teh suc k. (Even rounded ones.) SATA's performance isn't quite where I'd like it to be right now, hopefully by the time I want to build my next PC it will be.

Also, I don't hack my shit, not my Gamecube, PS2, XBox, and certainly not any component in my computer. I may be a borderline Commie Pinko Hippie Bastard as far as my politics go, but I'm ultra-conservative with my computer. I don't throttle it beyond the listed specs, because I like my warranties.

Also, the Plextor drives have 8MB buffers, take that, Lite On.

 

[Diablos]

Quite simply, IDE cables are teh suc k. (Even rounded ones.)

Also, I don't hack my shit, not my Gamecube, PS2, XBox, and certainly not any component in my computer. I may be a borderline Commie Pinko Hippie Bastard as far as my politics go, but I'm ultra-conservative with my computer. I don't throttle it beyond the listed specs, because I like my warranties.

Also, the Plextor drives have 8MB buffers, take that, Lite On.

Heh, my 411S@811S performs just fine with the right firmware and media. If it kills the life of my drive a bit, that's fine. I want it to break a year from now anyway, so I have an excuse to buy a dual layer drive

I'd take dual layer capability over a 6MB buffer increase any day. Who needs and 8MB buffer when most people have dual channel memory and Athlon XP/64's or P4 HT CPU's??

 

[xsarien]

Heh, my 411S@811S performs just fine with the right firmware and media. If it kills the life of my drive a bit, that's fine. I want it to break a year from now anyway, so I have an excuse to buy a dual layer drive

I'd take dual layer capability over a 6MB buffer increase any day.

I'll take both in a few months, maybe a year. I drive my hardware into the ground before I replace it, so I'm not that cool with firmware cracks that could pontentially damage the hardware and kill it before the built-in obsolescence kicks in.

 

[teh_pwn]

Oh, and here's my advice in more detail:

P4 3.0 C:
http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=19-116-156&depa=1

Abit IC7-Max 2 Advance:
http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=13-127-152&depa=1

1024 MB Corsiar PC3200 RAM:
http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=20-145-450&depa=1

I'd double check the RAM compatibility at abit's forums, but that should do what you want at stock speeds. You can probably OC to 3.2-3.4 GHz.

 

[Cauliflower of Love]

I'll put the dvd burner on hold, that's not really important and can be bought later. I agree, I got burned(look at me ma! puns!) with a burner I bought for like 250 ..... 8/4/32 when they came out, so I'll sit that one out.


So now, I just really need a cpu/mobo/ram suggestions. teh_pwn's suggestion seems sound to me, anybody else?

 

[Drey1082]

Alright, i dont' want to take anything away from the thread starter, but I figured it unwise to post a new thread with this one still on the front page....

I'm also thinking about building a computer, but i'm new at this, so I'm looking for advice. If I make rookie mistakes, try not to laugh too hard....

Here's what i'm planning to order as of now... (I have more to go, hdd, etc.) I'm a little concerned about what type of ram to get (DDR, DDR2).

Case: ATX Mid Tower + 350W AMD/P4 PS. 5bays
Motherboard: ASUS P5GD2 915G LGA775 DDR2 VGA PCI-e GB-LAN SATA RAID ATX
CPU: Pentium 4 540 3.2GHz LGA775 1MB Prescott OEM
Ram: 1GB (1024MB) PC3200 DDR SDRAM - 128x64 - 2.5 Volt - 184 Pin DIMM Gold (I don't know if this is compatible)
Video Card: ATI Radeon X700 Pro PCI Express 256MB DDR3 Video Card w/TV-Out & DVI
DVD Writer:Aopen DUW1608 DVD+/-RW 16x Internal IDE Dual Layer

*Ducks from pc building n00b flames...

 

[Diablos]

Drey, get the pioneer or lite on burner!

 

[Drey1082]

Drey, get the pioneer or lite on burner!

I'll have to check that out....

 

[Diablos]

Yeah just check the links above.