New computer after 5 years, can you help me?

[phaolo]

Hello, my current pc is 5 years old, so I've decided it's time to buy a new one (that could last the same).

I see a lot has changed, so I looked for some info on the web.

I've compiled a list, according to what I read and found in nearby shops.

There are many things I don't know however, for example which graphic card model is the best or if to buy a dual or quad core processor.

Can you help me?

COMPUTER: (I already have monitor, OS, speakers, main hdisk)

21,60 euros --- 2 years warranty, assembling, spedition

81,60 euros --- ASUS M2N-SLI DELUXE, SOCKET AM2, NFORCE 570 SLI, DDR2, PCI EXPRESS X16, SATA, RAID, DUAL GBL (no idea if this mobo is ok. However I always used an asus with no problems)

93,90 euros --- AMD ATHLON PROCESSOR 64 X2 DUAL CORE 6000 SKT AM2 A 3.0 GHZ, BOXED (works good with winxp pro x86 right? should I buy a quad instead? After an old Pentium60 I'm stick to AMD hehe)

56,90 euros --- COOLER MASTER RC534KKNA, CASE CENTURION 534, TOWER BLACK, NO PSU (this is temporary, I prefer the 590 though, for the many accessible places)

117,90 euros --- POWER UNIT Corsair HX Modular PSU 620W, PCI Express, S-ATA, modular (too much watts? I'll need to attach at least 5 sata cables in future)

37,90 euros --- 2X MEMORY CORSAIR 2GB DDR2 PC2-5300 C5 VALUE SELECT, 667 MHZ, CAS 5, 240PIN DIMM, SINGLE 2GB (are the MHZ correct for the mobo? better more memory?)

240,60 euros --- POINT OF VIEW 8800GTS 512MB, PCI EXPRESS 2.0 16X, DVI-I 2X, HDMI, TV-OUT, HDTV (why is the nvidia called pointofview? is the expensive card good for its price?)

139,00 euros --- INTERNAL HARD DISK 3,5'' MAXTOR DIAMONDMAX 22 1TB S-ATA2 300, 7200RPM, 32MB CACHE, 3GB/S (maxtor or samsung? are big hdisk reliable?)

26,90 euros --- DVD +/- BURNER PIONEER DVR-215D BEIGE SATA (I'll wait some more for the blue ray)

Total: 910,69 euros

What do you think? I'd buy this on CHL, is the price good too?

Edited September 14, 2008 by phaolo

[Zxian]

First off - that motherboard is not ok. It's an old chipset for starters, and doesn't really have all that much in terms of good features. I'll repeat the build that I suggested to another member in this thread.

Intel E8400

ASUS P5Q Deluxe

2x2GB OCZ Platinum DDR2-800

Western Digital 640GB 7200RPM hard drive (WD6400AAKS)

Pioneer DVR-216D

ATI 4850 512MB

Corsair HX520

Antec P182

See if you can get those parts from the vendors in your area.

Just a word of warning - stay away from Maxtors. I've read information here and there that the quality has improved since they were bought out by Seagate, but they're still no match for Seagate brand or Western Digital.

The price for that 8800GTS is far too high... I know that parts in Europe are generally more expensive, but that's still a really bad price. Where exactly in Europe are you located?

[Thunderbolt 2864]

Like Zxian said, change the motherboard. The Nforce 500 series is old, the latest one is Nforce 7. But since Nforce motherboards aren't that great, I suggest going for an AMD chipset, 790GX or FX.

The rest of the specs look fine.

[cluberti]

To add flavor to the mix, and again not knowing exactly what prices are in your area, consider the following options as well:

- Intel 2.83GHz quad-core (Q9550)

- 4GB G.SKILL (4x1GB, part # F3-8500CL6D-2GBHK) DDR3 1066 (6-6-6-15)

- Enermax MODU82+ PSU 625W (modular power supply - if you like messing with the innards over the life of the PC, consider a modular PSU)

All other options as listed are very good indeed, these are just the changes I'd make.

[phaolo]

Ugh..I saw those components among the last entries in those shops! O_o

I'm in Italy, I suppose hardware components arrive as late as the movies here..

Till now I've used AMD+nvidia without problems, are you sure it's good to change completely to an intel+ati?

Is it better to go quad core then? (with Windows Xp Pro)

-I'll check ASUS P5Q Deluxe or the 790GX.

-I'll use a Seagate or Western Digital hdisk then

-I'll change the memory to the 800

Edited September 15, 2008 by phaolo

[cluberti]

Till now I've used AMD+nvidia without problems, are you sure it's good to change completely to an intel+ati?

Is it better to go quad core then? (with Windows Xp Pro)

You can make your own decisions about ATI vs nVidia and hope you don't get a lemon nVidia card, but on a more technical level the ATI 4xxx parts are more performant than the GeForce 9xxx series, and almost as much as the GeForce 260/280 cards (but running much leaner on power and priced much cheaper).

As to dual vs quad core, you don't *need* a quad core processor, but if the price / performance difference between a dual and a quad-core box is so small, it almost doesn't make sense *not* to go with a quad-core (future-proofing your system). And if you're a gamer, it is almost a no-brainer right now, Intel parts are much, much faster than ATI chips.

[Thunderbolt 2864]

If you go for Intel, get a P45 board, I have one and it works great. And definately get the AMD 790GX/FX/X series if your going for AMD.

As for the video card, if you want a card that isn't too expensive, either try the 4850 or 9800 GTX+. Or get a 4870 or a 260 GTX if your willing to spend more.

[phaolo]

Sorry for the doubts, but it's a complete change and I'm a bit scared.

Anyway I received the same suggestions in other places too, so I guess I'll pass to intel+ati lol.

I'm a gamer and I'd like to keep the new pc for the next 5 years, so I guess I'll take a quad if the price isn't too high.

The worst problem will be finding a good shop that will give me the possibility to custom assembly the pc (with wisdom). I can install the SO myself plus easy hardware parts, but I've never mounted a Power unit or a mobo, nor I know the compatibility specs.

I'll have a look at the shop now and will post the updated list.

Thanks for advices

[cluberti]

Sorry for the doubts, but it's a complete change and I'm a bit scared.

Anyway I received the same suggestions in other places too, so I guess I'll pass to intel+ati lol.

I'm a gamer and I'd like to keep the new pc for the next 5 years, so I guess I'll take a quad if the price isn't too high.

The worst problem will be finding a good shop that will give me the possibility to custom assembly the pc (with wisdom). I can install the SO myself plus easy hardware parts, but I've never mounted a Power unit or a mobo, nor I know the compatibility specs.

I'll have a look at the shop now and will post the updated list.

Thanks for advices

Doing such isn't that hard, and in fact it's pretty rudimentary. Make sure you're grounded and working on a static-free surface, line up the board with the back panels and the screw holes in the case (same with the PSU), screw them in using the included screws, then plug things in. Not much more to it then that, and as long as you're careful to make sure the board is mounted correctly over the holes, and than no metal is touching metal (if you do it right, it will not happen), you're fine.

[phaolo]

Err..I mixed up Zxian and Cluberti suggestions, but I fear I ended up with no compatible things.

Are the chosen quad processor+mobo+memory ok? No DDR3?

Again there's no main graphic card brand.. are these reliable, or should I buy it elsewhere:

Gigabyte, Point Of View, Sapphire, Galaxy, Gecube, His, Xpert, Vision, Zotac, Ecs (I'll search which is Ati)

COMPUTER: (I already have monitor, OS, speakers, main hdisk)

21,60 euros --- 2 years warranty, assembling, spedition

56,90 euros --- COOLER MASTER RC534KKNA, CASE CENTURION 534, TOWER BLACK, NO PSU (is the 590 better as I think?)

82,90 euros --- MEMORY CORSAIR 2X2GB DDR2 PC2-6400 EXTREME SPEED 2, 800MHZ, CAS 5, HEATSINK

181,20 euros --- ASUS P5Q DELUXE, ATX, SOCKET 775, INTEL P45, FSB 1600, DDR2, CROSSFIREX, SATA II, RAID

169,90 euros --- PROCESSOR INTEL CORE 2 QUAD Q6600 2.4MHZ, LGA 775, FSB 1066, 4 X 2MB CACHE BOXED

135,70 euros --- SEAGATE 1TB SATA II ST31000340AS, 1 TERABYTE, 7200 GIRI, 32MB CACHE

91,90 euros --- POWER UNIT Corsair HX Modular PSU 520W, PCI Express, S-ATA, modular

26,90 euros --- DVD +/- BURNER PIONEER DVR-215D BEIGE SATA (I'll wait some more for the blue ray)

total: 823,49 euros (+ card!)

The auto-control says that the mobo has incorrect number of heatsink power connectors. Is that due to the memories? What then?

p.s: so no messing with pin, voltage and who-knows-what for mobo+PU?

Edited September 15, 2008 by phaolo

[puntoMX]

Again there's no main graphic card brand.. are these reliable, or should I buy it elsewhere:

Gigabyte, Point Of View, Sapphire, Galaxy, Gecube, His, Xpert, Vision, Zotac, Ecs (I'll search which is Ati)

Sapphire has only ATI cards , if possible go with that one.

COMPUTER: (I already have monitor, OS, speakers, main hdisk)

That kept me wondering, what main disk are you referring too? An old HDD? That would take the speed down on your machine! Just use a new one there, they are cheap and can significantly show improvements over an older one, even if it´s "just" a few years old. Stay with SATA only HDDs and if you like you can use the PATA port on the motherboard (as it´s the only one) for a DVD-RW drive.

[Zxian]

The build looks fine. I don't know what that auto-control software you're talking about is doing, but your system should go together smoothly. Processor, motherboard, and memory should all be compatible without any troubles.

The CM590 would be a better case, but there's nothing wrong per-se with the 534. I'm using two of them now with systems similar to what you're looking at.

I'd also recommend Sapphire or Diamond video cards for the ATI 4850. I don't think it should be too hard to find a good one that will keep the total budget under 1000 euros.

[phaolo]

Ah, you're right puntoMX! I'll buy a new smaller sata hdisk just for the OS+programs then.

Noone understands that control software error, so I'll just ignore it as one italian user told me.

Better add some additional fan? My room can become quite hot and dusty (20 years of endless works in my square!!)

I'll ask a thing again just to be sure.. there won't be problems with the hardware if I'll use Windows Xp Pro X86, right? Like hdisk limit, quad unsupported, no drivers, too much memory, etc..

I don't like Vista very much, it's annoying and bloated (at least un-tweaked). I'm also quite afraid about those TC-DRM scary news I read long ago..

Anyway, that's it! PC configuration is ready!

Added the Sapphire HD4850 and the hdisk.

Total is 1040 euros (assembly+test is 30)

Thank you very much!! Without your help I would have stupidly bought some obsolete junk!

Next stop, the shop!

Edited September 16, 2008 by phaolo

[Zxian]

You should be alright with the 120mm exhaust fan that comes with the case, and possibly another 120mm fan in the front (if you decide that it's needed). It's easy enough to install afterwards, so you could always buy it later if needed.

What hard drive did you add?

Honestly, I'd suggest that you give Vista another chance. Once you get used to some of the changes, you'll find that you might like some of them. Yes, at first it's a bit of a transition because options are in different locations, things look different, etc etc. However, Vista will be able to make better use of your system resources than XP ever could. All the hardware listed will work well under 64-bit Vista with fully supported drivers. This talk about Vista being "bloated" is the same stuff we heard 8 years ago about XP. Personally, I find it all FUD, and would ask the computer store if they could install Vista x64 on the system, but omit the product key. Last time I checked, this will allow you to use the full-featured OS for 30 days to give it a try. If you like it, just purchase a copy and insert the product key (no need for a format or reinstall), and if you really don't like it, then you can format it clean and install XP.

[phaolo]

Err no, I've already tried Vista for 1 year on my brother's computer.

Also, I think that all the FUD was quite right.. untweaked non-SP XP is awful, but after all this time Vista SP1 doesn't match a XP Pro SP3 on comfort and compatibility. I hope Windows 7 will be better.

Anyway what I fear most is the "Trusted Computing". According to what I read, that is also present in the hardware but it needs a TC compliant OS to work, and Xp it's not. If this is simply bulls***.. better! (but I don't have proof)

Back to the project:

-I've added a 500Gb hdisk

-so can XP effectively work on this hardware? I just read that WinXP x86 has a 2TB limit..is it per partition, drive, or in total?

Edited September 16, 2008 by phaolo