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Non Gaming Discussions => Off-Topic => Topic started by: videoholic on February 08, 2006, 06:17:03 PM

Title: Need to get a new computer
Post by: videoholic on February 08, 2006, 06:17:03 PM

OK.  Need a bit of help.  I need to get a new computer and will probably need to build this one.

I really don\'t know how to match CPU, Motherboard, Ram and the case.  Are cases universal?

I\'d like to keep it under 2 grand if I can.

Really the only thing I will transfer over from my current is a second HD.


Obviously I will need to build a system I can edit on.  Need a video card that has dual monitor support.


I really wanted to wait until the new windows comes out, but I don\'t know how much longer I can wait.  

WHen is it supposed to be release?  Should I really just grin and bear it or what?  I mean I do have a laptop that I get by with, but it sucks not having a desktop that works well.  The thing is 6 years old.  Oye.

TIA

Title: Need to get a new computer
Post by: THX on February 08, 2006, 06:59:59 PM

3800+ or 4200+ X2 Athlon.  Dual core is great for vid processing/encoding.  The Athlons run cooler and eat less power.

DFI or Asus motherboard based on the latest nForce 4 chipset (Ultra?).  Onboard firewire would be nice.

Kingston or Crucial brand PC3200 DDR400 ram (assuming you\'re not going to overclock).

6600GT is a popular video card since it accelerates mpeg-2 and wmv-hd video.

As long as the case says "Full ATX" you\'re good.  If you want to load it with HDs consider getting a full-tower.  Otherwise mid-tower should be fine.

Title: Need to get a new computer
Post by: videoholic on February 08, 2006, 07:10:47 PM

If I get hard drives I\'d do a dual 320 or fiber channel to an array.  I\'m not going to have video HDs in my main box.

How many watts do I need on the power supply and does it matter what kind I get?  There are so many...

Title: Need to get a new computer
Post by: JBean on February 08, 2006, 08:27:02 PM

OCZ powerstreams are good... don\'t get anything less than 420W, and get something that gets good amps on the 12v Rail

PowerPC & Cooling make the best ones, but they are way too expensive.  

Good luck with the new build.  I just built a dual core Opteron and it destroys my old 3000+  You could also check into the Intel 9xx series dual cores, they are pretty good too... but the smart money is on the AMD X2\'s.

What programs do you use the most?  Might be able to find some benchmarks to see the difference.

As far as matching up parts... i\'ll use AMD as an example

ATX Case - ATX is universal, just make sure it isn\'t micro ATX

X2 Processors are Socket 939, so make sure you get a motherboard that is socket 939 as well.

Motherboards now have 24 pin power connectors, but a lot of power supplies come with 20 pin output connectors.  It\'s not a huge deal, a 20 pin will work with a 24 pin, but get a PSU with a 24 pin motherboard connector.

Also make sure your motherboard is PCI-e, and pretty much any Nvidia & Ati card has Dual DVI outputs.  ATI acutally has the better image quality, so for video editing they would probably be the best choice.

As far as memory goes, get at least PC3200, 184 pin DDR SDRAM, dual channel (pretty much all of it is dual channel).  Thats the standard for AMD X2\'s and Athlon 64\'s in general.  

2 x 1GB sticks is quickly becoming standard, you might want to get even more than that if you are doing heavy video editing.

Title: Need to get a new computer
Post by: Samwise on February 09, 2006, 02:47:45 AM

The Antec Sonata II cases are nice \'n\' quiet and it comes with a pretty quiet PSU.

Title: Need to get a new computer
Post by: videoholic on February 09, 2006, 04:53:37 AM

I was dropping items into a basket at Newegg last night and it seems like I can just get a lot more for the money doing it this way.  At least I really know what\'s inside the computer.

Title: Need to get a new computer
Post by: videoholic on February 10, 2006, 06:24:17 PM

So will I be able to play games on this computer?  Or is this just an edit computer?  Gaming isn\'t a huge part, but I\'d certainly like to be able to run a game if I wanted to.  Although I\'d rather have a PS3 for gaming really.

Title: Need to get a new computer
Post by: JBean on February 10, 2006, 06:25:48 PM

it all boils down to what video card you get

a 6800gs is a good one

Title: Need to get a new computer
Post by: §ôµÏG®ïñD on February 10, 2006, 06:41:30 PM

I suggest you get a purple one.

Title: Need to get a new computer
Post by: videoholic on February 10, 2006, 06:42:30 PM

Purple video card?  Well that\'s a given.

Title: Need to get a new computer
Post by: Titan on February 10, 2006, 07:56:59 PM

What does the purple do?

Title: Need to get a new computer
Post by: Luke on February 10, 2006, 09:21:50 PM

Whatever you want it to, baby.

Title: Need to get a new computer
Post by: videoholic on February 12, 2006, 07:20:23 AM

So is THX the gospel here?  ANything coming in th enext month I should be waiting for?

Title: Need to get a new computer
Post by: THX on February 13, 2006, 07:30:40 AM

sorry been moving into a new place, been away for a while

my pc l33tn3ss isn\'t up to par with the likes of some of these chaps here but my advice is just go for it.

I bought my p4 2.8c seemingly 2 years ago and it\'s still chugging along perfectly fine.  PCI-e is around for a long azz time so the components like vid card, ram, blah blah are always upgradeable.

Title: Need to get a new computer
Post by: JBean on February 13, 2006, 08:53:43 AM

there is always something new coming out next month... i\'d say dive in and get some dual core and 2 gigs of ram and get going

AMD has a new socket and a new line of processors coming out (AM2) this June that will support DDR2 memory.

INTEL is releasing Conroe this summer as well that is supposed to take back the performance crown from AMD.

And Quad Cores are coming out this winter... how long are you willing to wait

:ballpunch