New Computer

joeparaski

well the daughter finally needed a new computer. Here's what we selected:

Gigabyte GA-EP45-UD3r Motherboard
Intel Core 2 Quad (2.33/1333/4m) processor
Kingston DDR2 800 2gb (2 sticks of memory)
2-Seagate 1T 32mb hard drives (mirrored raid)
ATI HD 4870 512mb DDR5 video card
Antec 900 case
LG dvd drive 16x/18x20x dual layer
OCZ 600watt game and stealth xstream power supply
Windows Vista Premium (coupon for free upgrade to Windows 7)

She should be could for a few years with this setup.

And the best part...............she paid it herself!!!!

Although I'll pay for a new monitor once she picks out the appropriate one for her needs.

Oh, if any of you photographers out there have any suggestions for a monitor, please chime in.

Joe

CaligulaPolk

joeparaski wrote: »

well the daughter finally needed a new computer. Here's what we selected:

Gigabyte GA-EP45-UD3r Motherboard
Intel Core 2 Quad (2.33/1333/4m) processor
Kingston DDR2 800 2gb (2 sticks of memory)
2-Seagate 1T 32mb hard drives (mirrored raid)
ATI HD 4870 512mb DDR5 video card
Antec 900 case
LG dvd drive 16x/18x20x dual layer
OCZ 600watt game and stealth xstream power supply
Windows Vista Premium (coupon for free upgrade to Windows 7)

She should be could for a few years with this setup.

And the best part...............she paid it herself!!!!

Although I'll pay for a new monitor once she picks out the appropriate one for her needs.

Oh, if any of you photographers out there have any suggestions for a monitor, please chime in.

Joe

58" Panny plasma and make your daughter smile wide open

exalted512

is that 1TB hdd?
-Cody

Sherardp

Instead of the Antec 900, go for the 902, it add improves cooling and looks awesome. I just finished a build myself. I went with AMD X4 Phenom II, 3.0 gb processor and more. Check out Mwave.com

Ender

In case you can save yourself, drop that power supply. It's one of the worse ones out there. Stick with Corsair, Silverstone, BFG, Antec Earthwatts, and Power and Cooling.

AudioGenics

would you mind sharing any of the pricing information.

how much comparatively was your savings also
if you include time.

also how about warranty service ?

software packages.
i see only the OS and an upgrade mentioned

concealer404

Ender wrote: »

In case you can save yourself, drop that power supply. It's one of the worse ones out there. Stick with Corsair, Silverstone, BFG, Antec Earthwatts, and Power and Cooling.

Has OCZ gone downhill or something? I used to use their PSUs and RAM exclusively when i was building a few years ago. They held up just fine to some pretty harsh demands.

nguyendot

concealer404 wrote: »

Has OCZ gone downhill or something? I used to use their PSUs and RAM exclusively when i was building a few years ago. They held up just fine to some pretty harsh demands.

I agree with the OCZ comment earlier. Their PSU's are not the same as their RAM. Their ram is great, but their PSU's are made by the lowest bidder (not in house). The failure rate is abysmal. If you want one to last, get a PPC (PC Power & Cooling). They're the best imho. I have their 750w in my amd machine, it runs quiet and cool with plenty of power to spare.

Monitors? Photographers use insanely expensive LCDS like EIZO.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824136056

More about color accuracy and calibration than speed!

SivaNevets

unless ur daughter do graphic design or anything color sensitive, a TN panel Samsung LCD will just do fine.
OTHERwise get a Dell 24' (cant remember the model, but carries the best panel, same as Mac monitors).
the alternative choice is Samsung PVA panel (which im using, which almost as good as Mac monitors and offers better response time, ideal for video editing,gaming etc)
both of them r more expensive than the TV panel ones though.

few more thought:
4GB is essiential (maybe i misread, u mean 2x2GB kingston memory, otherwise get 4GB)
raid fails quite essaily (by resetting bios), i would never use raid for storage.
Get a single WD 1TB black, much faster than seagate (you can check the reviews), fastest 7200rpm HD, response even better than the old 10k rpm raptor.
4890 is at the same price range with 4870, but slightly better, y not just get the 4890.
i thought on CPU, since u didnt say which model it is, i assume its Core2 Quad 8300. Try to get 9550, there will be a 'windows XP mode' in windows 7 and it does not support the 8xxx series. 9550 can be overlock to 3.4Ghz (400FSB, 1.25V or less cpu voltage) without asking a question, and its pretty cheap.

nguyendot

SivaNevets wrote: »

unless ur daughter do graphic design or anything color sensitive, a TN panel Samsung LCD will just do fine.
OTHERwise get a Dell 24' (cant remember the model, but carries the best panel, same as Mac monitors).
the alternative choice is Samsung PVA panel (which im using, which almost as good as Mac monitors and offers better response time, ideal for video editing,gaming etc)
both of them r more expensive than the TV panel ones though.

few more thought:
4GB is essiential (maybe i misread, u mean 2x2GB kingston memory, otherwise get 4GB)
raid fails quite essaily (by resetting bios), i would never use raid for storage.
Get a single WD 1TB black, much faster than seagate (you can check the reviews), fastest 7200rpm HD, response even better than the old 10k rpm raptor.
4890 is at the same price range with 4870, but slightly better, y not just get the 4890.
i thought on CPU, since u didnt say which model it is, i assume its Core2 Quad 8300. Try to get 9550, there will be a 'windows XP mode' in windows 7 and it does not support the 8xxx series. 9550 can be overlock to 3.4Ghz (400FSB, 1.25V or less cpu voltage) without asking a question, and its pretty cheap.

Agreed on Ram, video card. 3890 runs much cooler. It's faster and same price.

The monitor you're thinking of is the 2408WFP Dell. Great monitor.

Raid 1 is pretty decent. Bios resets should not effect RAID as it sits on its own bios in nonvolatile memory...

bruss

I have the Gigabyte GA-EP45-UD3P and it is one nice a$$ motherboard.. good luck!

nguyendot

*4890 correction on my post... typo

goingganzo

now why did you go with the Intel Core 2 Quad when the corei7 is so much better and runs tripple channel ram

Sherardp

bruss wrote: »

I have the Gigabyte GA-EP45-UD3P and it is one nice a$$ motherboard.. good luck!

I'm a gigabyte mobo user too, I went with the MA790X-UD4P. Now since we're on the subject of PC. Can someone give me a lowdown on overclocking my rig. Where do I start?

joeparaski

Great info guys....much appreciated. I will discuss ALL of your suggestions with my tech guy. If you have any more ideas, send them along.

Exalted...yes, there are two 1TB hdd's.

JVC...the system comes to $1300 Canadian plus taxes. No extra software included nor desired. Just the operating system.

I have built a few computers in the past, but this one I'm having done at the store. All except for the operating system, which we'll install ourselves.

He told me the guarantee, but I forgot. Some stuff has lifetime, some one year. I'll check again.


Sivanevets...yes, it is two sticks of 2GB Kingston ram.

Joe

SivaNevets

core i7 definetly worth the money. but it does cost another $200 for upgrading.
$1300 before tax isn't cheap (compare www.canadacomputers.ca in toronto) but i assume the operating system is pricey.
get the two WD 1TB Black, fastest 7200rpm on the planet, cost the same as seagate.

bruss

Sherardp wrote: »

I'm a gigabyte mobo user too, I went with the MA790X-UD4P. Now since we're on the subject of PC. Can someone give me a lowdown on overclocking my rig. Where do I start?

go to overclock.net man.. tons of info there.. i found a youtube video for my mobo and its proved to be a great starting place..

joeparaski

SivaNevets wrote: »

core i7 definetly worth the money. but it does cost another $200 for upgrading.
$1300 before tax isn't cheap (compare www.canadacomputers.ca in toronto) but i assume the operating system is pricey.
get the two WD 1TB Black, fastest 7200rpm on the planet, cost the same as seagate.

Won't I need a different mobo for the i7?....that will drive up the cost even more. Keep in mind, the main objective of this computer is for Photo-Shop stuff and gaming as a second.

Joe

AudioGenics

definitely out of my league....

bruss

joeparaski wrote: »

Won't I need a different mobo for the i7?....that will drive up the cost even more. Keep in mind, the main objective of this computer is for Photo-Shop stuff and gaming as a second.

Joe

I just built a LGA775 machine and it is screaming fast with 8GB of ram. Everything is relative here.

JohnLocke88

nguyendot wrote: »

I agree with the OCZ comment earlier. Their PSU's are not the same as their RAM. Their ram is great, but their PSU's are made by the lowest bidder (not in house). The failure rate is abysmal. If you want one to last, get a PPC (PC Power & Cooling). They're the best imho. I have their 750w in my amd machine, it runs quiet and cool with plenty of power to spare.

+1 on the PPC. I have a 510 watt PSU that I've been running probably at least 6 hours a day, 7 days a week, for the last 4 years. Rock solid.

goingganzo

that is not a bad comp but you are just buying end of lifecycle for the core 2. i like to buy mid cycle in a socket type then i can get a cheap upgrade at end of life cycle.
the i7 is faster thhan the quadcore extreme. so you might pay a little more but will get alot more and be able to upgrade more in the futhure.

SivaNevets

I personally use a lot 3D and 2D applications, for photoshop, specially very high res work (ie, 12000 x 10000), or multi-task (ie, open 20 images at same time) you will benefit greatly for having more than 4GB memory. I even go for 4x2GB. Core i7 does not faster than Core 2 Quad in photoshop CS4 right now, even slightly slower, but this may change since newer software always try to take the most out of the new tech. The intel 6-cores CPU will be in market before next summer, will work on the I7 mobo although there IS a new platform a new socket for the 6 cores (downwards compatiable) .
- but the Core 2 Quad will just do fine, i upgraded my Core 2 Duo E6300 to Q9550 two months ago and i noticed a huge improvement (i overclocked to 3.65Ghz). For me the math is CPU vs CPU+mobo+mem. again I7 is better, but it all depends on the budget, by switching a new mobo and i7 CPU is gonna cost additonal $200, but it worth the money.

oh make sure the OS is 64bit just a reminder

Sami

joeparaski wrote: »

OCZ 600watt game and stealth xstream power supply

Like others have said, change that PSU. Don't ask questions about it, just change it to something else.

joeparaski

Ok, here's the scoop on the warranty:

Motherboard...3 years
HDD...5 years
Memory...lifetime
PSU....2 years
Video Card....2 years
CPU....3 years
Labor is 2 years in-house.


The OS is 64 bit btw.


Joe

AudioGenics

thank you for the info !