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Living Room / Re: Please help me build my new computer, DC!
« Last post by superboyac on December 18, 2008, 06:15 PM »steeladept, thank you so much! I really appreciate the comments above and will carefully consider them.
Recent Posts
mouser: if you get an over-dimensioned PSU, it's not going to run at very high efficiency, and will thus waste power. It's better to get a PSU that's "a bit beyond" what you need (so you run at something like 80% capacity when under full load), and of course go for a PSU that can deliver stable voltages at that watt consumption.Well, my first PSU on my current computer simultaneously ruined my graphics card and monitor because it was undersized. So I got one that is probably way overkill. I have a lot of things connected to my computer. 5 hard drives, 8 usb slots at least, the regular motherboard/chip/ram etc, midi, 2 monitors. I know when I used the calculator above, I totally overestimated everything. So I don't know. Maybe I'll go lower than 750W, but I'd want to be on the safe side (like mouser said). I'll do the calc again when I've picked all my parts.
I went for a 750W PSU for my system, which I kinda regret - it's way overkill.-f0dder (December 18, 2008, 12:58 PM)
I have found this PSU calculator to be very handy for that. Make sure you check it out, especially with the amount of different components you're already considering.Thanks! I did a quick calc, not knowing what all the items were. I came up with 703 W.-city_zen (December 18, 2008, 08:37 AM)
On a more serious note, Extremetech just did a review of the Gigabyte GA-EP45-UD3P mobo.That sounds like a great board. Thanks for the suggestion! I'm putting it in my list (first post in the thread). This is very helpful. For me, choosing the motherboard is one of the more difficult components because I know so little about them.
It costs $150, and it offers exceptional value. (Newegg has it for $137. Check out the 170 reviews posted too!)-40hz (December 17, 2008, 10:41 PM)
I have bought a couple of 24" BenQ monitors. Cheap and cheerful and no bad spots. The current models support Analogue, DVI and HDMI interfaces. I have been very impressed.Thanks Carol!-Carol Haynes (December 17, 2008, 04:34 PM)
If you're going to go with removable drive trays (like I always do); and you're getting a case that has a shield/door over the external drive bays - then be sure to to get drive trays that won't interfere with it. Look for basic trays with handles that fold flush.Hmm, I don't know if I'm going to keep my backup enclosures internally or externally. On one hand, it's nice to have the portability. On the other hand, I never really take them anywhere (besides keeping one drive in a different location). So having them internal would keep things neat. Still, I'm leaning towards two external esata enclosures for now.-40hz (December 17, 2008, 02:12 PM)
regarding case -- you really have to make a decision about whether you want to build a quiet pc. if so you're going to have to scour the newegg reviews for each component to look for comments about fan noise for each piece, and expect to pay a little more for each component with a fan.Well, I am a little concerned about noise, but my main concern is keeping the components cooled effectively. I will give up noise to prevent damage, or even be on the slightly conservative side. I don't plan on overclocking or doing anything really serious, so I'm not anticipating many noise issues. My current desktop would probably be on the loud side, and I probably don't have a good sense of what's loud and what's quiet. By work pc (a Dell) is pretty silent comparatively.-mouser (December 16, 2008, 07:43 PM)
I just bought this case from Newegg.That looks like an awesome case. I'm going to go with it unless I come across something better. Thanks!
CoolerMaster CM 690-Cloq (December 16, 2008, 06:01 PM)
wouldn't it be useful if a group of 3-5 people built machines at same time with same parts? ie get together in groups of 3-5 and come up with the components together and all buy at same time.. then at least you could share experiences, settings, troubleshooting, etc.That would be fun! Who else needs a new machine? This looks like it's going to be my most expensive machine I've bought yet. But I'm also making more money than before. Also, I'm really getting top-notch products from the beginning with good research (you guys!).-mouser (December 16, 2008, 06:46 PM)
some meta advice:Yes, in the past, I have always read newegg reviews for my hard drives. But I will do it for the other items as well.
don't buy a single piece of hardware without looking on newegg for its rating by other reviewers and reading some of their comments.
in particular, look for comments about noise.-mouser (December 16, 2008, 06:15 PM)
EXTERNAL ENCLOSURE - IMHO the absolute best are made by Granite Digital. Moderately pricey, but very well made. http://www.granitedigital.com/I like those Granite Digital enclosures, very nice. One question, those removable trays: do you have to screw the hard drives in the tray, or do you just simply place it in?-40hz (December 15, 2008, 11:58 PM)
It would be helpful if you also tell us what you will use the computer for, whether it would be just surfing the Internet and working with it, or if you're also going to game with it, or do some other more exotic things, like graphics or video editing.I use my computer mainly for office related work (email, calendars, documents, internet). The most intensive thing I do with it is probably my music, which is why I'm getting a pro sound card. Some of my music software requires a lot of RAM, and some require decent hard drives for large samples. But if my current computer can handle it, I'm sure anything now will be more than enough. I also do very minor photo and video editing occasionally. Nothing crazy. Clipping, cropping, splitting/joining videos, that's about it. I don't play any games, so video card is not a huge issue for me. I do watch videos and would like HD compatibility. But one extreme thing I do is install A LOT of software. Lots of little tools (like over 100) such as FARR and stuff. They're small but they add up. I also listen to music constantly on my computer and that seems to use a lot of processing power. I do a lot of audio editing.-Lashiec (December 16, 2008, 07:07 AM)
Also, have in mind that Seagate will no longer offer a 5-year warranty in HDDs starting January 2009, so buy fast!That sucks!! I loved that 5-year warranty. OK, then I guess WD is the drive to get. Lashiec recommends WD, I also have had no problems in the past with them.-Lashiec (December 16, 2008, 07:07 AM)
OK, so what are the specs for 4gb high quality ram? Brand+model please. Thanks.-superboyac (December 15, 2008, 05:56 PM)
get yourself an external usb2 enclosure for that -- put a rack in it so you can swap in backup drives and change them out at will. this has many advantages:Well, what I'm using now is an internal rack, where I can just slide the bare drive in and out. But if I were to use an external enclosure, don't you think eSata would be better? I've never had good experiences with USB for transferring large amounts of data. It's always so much slower than expected.
1) you can use it to backup multiple pcs.
2) you can swap in and out spare backup drives.
3) you can disconnect the backup drives when not in use -- safer.-mouser (December 15, 2008, 06:32 PM)