Building a new pc

[hotdogg]

I am currently working on building my first pc and need some opinions. I've taken hardware classes at the tech school I went to but I thought I would get some opinions from people who actually know what they are doing and know what is compatible with what. I will be using this for light video editing, nothing special, some games, and just for the internet. Here it goes:

Case: Icute Tech Corp Mid Tower Case Model VG100SL-A05T-B with Side Window OEM

Power Supply: Fortron ATX350GU 350W HiQ Brand P4/AMD Ready Power Supply - OEM

Motherboard: ASUS "A7V8X-X" Motherboard for Socket AAMD Athlon/Athlon XP/Duron Processors Retail

CPU: AMD Athlon XP 2500+ "Barton", 333 FSB, 512K Cache Processor - Retail

Memory: CORSAIR MEMORY 512MB PC3200 Value Select

Floppy: Teac FD235HFC291 1.44MB 3.5inch Floppy Disk Drive, OEM

Video Card: POWERCOLOR ATI RADEON 9200SE 128MB DDR DVI/TV-Out 8X AGP RETAIL

Other: KOUTECH IO-FUTURE IO-PFW310 3 PORT FIREWIRE/1394 PCI (2 EXT + 1 INT) (DV SW+ CABLE BUNDLE OEM

I'm not totally set on the video card so some suggestions would be helpful. I also have a maxtor 80gb 7200rpm harddrive, cdrw drive, and dvdrw drive already. Any input is appreciated.

[STIwish]

Sounds like a decent setup, however RAM is your friend, and its cheap to boot. Since ur going to be running Windows, I'd go with 2 or 3 x 512 PC3200. I agree with every other selection though, including ur video card.

[old_s13]

Items like case, floppy drive, and power supply are not the most important items in the mix. If you are building a PC with a lot of devices, yes.. a good case with a stable power supply is necessary.. but with my experience, most GOOD cases are WAY over rated and over priced. I've found that most 50 dollar cases at PC club fit the bill and are good enough. I've worked with higher priced Antec cases and they are nice, but excessive for most folk. Floppy drives come a dime a dozen and rarely get used, a good Teac or Mitsumi should be fine.

When it comes to processors, I've always stuck with Intel (non celeron). Some people prefer AMD, I dont.. its just a matter of preference. I think AMD pushes the envelope more, my customers tend to want stability and are willing to sacrifice speed for it. Current bargain Intel CPU would be the 2.6 w/ 800mhz fsb -- thats a fast chip, good warranty, good price.

Intel motherboards are good, although I've always had great experience with Asus boards. The P4P800 is a good board with plenty of functions and capabilities.

Hard drive is important, when you run out of RAM your PC dips down and uses the hard drive for memory. The new Serial ATA HDD's are competetively priced, you can get a 7200 rpm Maxtor with 120gb for around 100-120 bucks. If you are doing heavier video editing, you should consider going SCSI.

RAM is also very important, stick with a reputable brand (no generic crapola, stay away from Frys Electronics). I've had good experience with Kingston, very few defects, lifetime warranty, nice product. 512mb of PC3200 DDR ram will run you about 90-110 bucks.. the more expensive ones have fancy aluminum heatsinks to help keep the temps down.

Video cards completely come down to preference. I am into building stable business machines, I dont play games.. so I only use Matrox cards. If you want a good gamer card, check with Asus and see what their top performing card is. There are plenty of gaming web sites online where techies evaluate the pros and cons with all these gamer cards, I am sure some folks on here would know whats up as well.

Good luck,
- Mike

[Maeda]

From computer dork to car dork.... get a good power supply PLEASE. When your power supply eats it you'll know why. A good one is cheap as well. No love for the icute power supplys? How about getting a Lian Li Warrior?

^_^ My dream case.

EDIT: Be sure to test the limits of that Barton going in. Some people are getting nice numbers out of the more recent AMD chips. :D

[masta]

For prices I go to www.pricewatch.com

I am sure most of you know about this site. It is great! The only bad thing is shipping.

old_s13 is right on the periperals that do not matter. I remember getting a floppy for $1 at a computer show. For the case I would get one that does not have razor sharp edges and is easy to get parts in and out of.

[Got Sileighty?]

get 1gb ram, and if you can afford it change that vid card to a ATI9600 instead (its less than 200) or better yet, a ATI 9500pro if you can still find them for sale.

Don't the 9200s compete with geforce4mx?? if thats the case, i suggest u pick up a FX5200 then, those are dirt cheap <$100.

[old_s13]

Originally posted by Maeda
From computer dork to car dork.... get a good power supply PLEASE. When your power supply eats it you'll know why. A good one is cheap as well. No love for the icute power supplys? How about getting a Lian Li Warrior?

I think the point we're trying to make is stay away from buying a case with a BUNK power supply. How do you know? The number one way to tell is by the size of the PS, if its small that is the number one indication that its crap. The larger the box for the power supply, typically the better it is.

Most $50 dollar cases come with sufficient power supplies. I NEVER turn off ANY of my PC's (except to do maintanance on them) and I rarely get a failed power supply. My current PC has been on for over a year, if anything I will need to change the fan -- when they get old they make noise and dont turn as smoothly.

Rule of thumb for ALL PC equipment: keep them clean and they will last a VERY long time. I take apart all my electrical components from my PC to my Sony Receiver and give them cleanings to remove the dust buildup.

Good luck,
- Mike

ps: Rather than spending money on a case that costs 100 dollars or more, put that money to use by buying a UPS battery pack.. that will not only save your ass if and when the power goes out, but also protect your PC's from ANY voltage inconsistencies. TRUST ME, I swear by these things. I even have my TV/Receiver hooked up to one! I love bumping music in my neighborhood when the power goes out. :)

[hotdogg]

Thanks for the advice everyone. I went ahead and ordered it with a few minor changes. I'm kind of on a budget right now so more RAM will come later. I also read a few reviews on power supplies so I think this one should do, for now at least. FYI total for those things listed, a keyboard, optical mouse, and a set of speakers came out to be around $480 shipped. Good deal?

[mistaanime]

yea tell me bout the Radoen..cuz thats kinda like the one I wanted to get..how is it and stuff...Mah Geforce 2 Mx200 64 mb juss isn't doing it..

[noodl35]

Your setup is almost like mine. Don't listen to that guy, having a nice power supply from a good brand is very important! I have an Antech power supply are those run like a champ. Since you're doing video light editing, its best to get a powersupply that has the most voltages. I have an ATI 9700 pro video card and thing eats up alot of power. So having a good power supply is good for that too. I'm running the Asus A7V8x, good mobo for the price. PC3200 ram is good, i got a set of Corsair 512 too. I guess you can say a computer is just like a car, it needs the most cooling with alot of power.

[91blk240]

I would look at a different video card, you can find 9600pro's for a decent price below 200 dollars.

I didn't see anything about a new monitor, but if you plan on playing games and getting higher FPS make sure you get a monitor with a decent refresh.