Re: Building my own PC -- hardware advice needed
anonymous_at_discussions.microsoft.com
Date: 06/13/04
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Date: Sat, 12 Jun 2004 21:09:04 -0700
I've been using and building systems with ASUS
motherboards for 14 years - I like 'em . . .
>-----Original Message-----
>SSDD,
>
>Thanks for the comments.
>
>I'm leaning towards an ASUS vs. Intel MoBo because my
current ASUS PIII MoBo
>has worked so well. In addition, I read a comment on
either ExtremeTech.com
>or Tomshardware.com suggesting that ASUS boards are
better than Intel's. I
>have to confess that basing my decision on one negative
comment is pretty
>lame! I'll look at the board you mention on the Intel
site. In either
>case, I will stick with the 875 chipset.
>
>Regarding the hard drives -- to be honest, I don't know
what RAID is! I've
>seen that mentioned repeatedly, but I'm not sure what it
means. Can my
>WD1200JB drives be connected to the MoBo via RAID, or
would I need new
>drives? I know that there is either EIDE or SATA, but
I'm not clear whether
>RAID only works with SATA drives? Perhaps you can
explain this.
>
>I do understand that my current drives may not be the
fastest, but for the
>moment at least, I want to use them on my new system
since I already have
>them. I certainly agree with you that my EIDE drives
won't load and save
>large Photoshop files as fast as the SATA drives, but the
main improvement
>I'm looking for is how the PC processes Photoshop files
once they are open.
>
>By the way, can you comment on my questions about how
much I should spend on
>RAM?
>
>Again, thanks for your time and comments.
>
>John
>
>
>"SSDD" <anonymous@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in
message
>news:1bde101c450f5$644cc960$a001280a@phx.gbl...
>> Building your own PC is fun and you'll be better off in
>> the long run. Good luck!
>>
>> As far as hardware goes, you've got a pretty decent
>> selection going. ASUS is a good Motherboard.
>>
>> However...(my favorite word) Intel makes their own
>> motherboard, supporting their own chipsets, supporting
>> their own processors. You don't get any more rock-solid
>> stability than that. Also cheaper. TigerDirect is
selling
>> the Intel DB875PBZLK for 139 I believe. That MoBo is
>> actually on my wishlist. It also has applications built
>> into BIOS to improve throughput of data. All for cheaper
>> than your ASUS selections. The 875 Chipset is an
>> improvement over the 865 and well worth the money. I
>> can't list everything to you right now, but go to
>> Intel.com and you can find all sorts of info on it.
>>
>> You've picked a good processor, have your own video
card.
>> The only other suggestion I'd make are your hard drives.
>> You have 2, do you use them for RAID?
>>
>> The Motherboard I described above also has it's own RAID
>> controller and S-ATA interface.
>>
>> S-ATA with it's 1.5 GB/s interface set up on RAID 0
would
>> give you an incredible boost in performance when loading
>> pictures. Western Digital makes some great S-ATA drives.
>> I have 2 WD Raptors (74 gig S-ATA) on the way as I write
>> this. A note: if you make this your choice, buy directly
>> from Western Digital. Buying from newegg or tigerdirect
>> will be considerably more expensive.
>>
>> Other than that, you've got yourself a good system plan.
>> Good luck to you putting this together. It's exciting
>> building your own system. Especially when you fire it up
>> the first time.
>> >-----Original Message-----
>> >Hi,
>> >
>> >I'm not sure this is the right place to be asking about
>> hardware selection,
>> >but if it isn't, perhaps someone will point me in the
>> right direction. If
>> >it is the right place to ask, I'll appreciate any
>> comments anyone is willing
>> >to share.
>> >
>> >I am going to build my own PC -- first time I've done
>> this. My main use of
>> >the PC that requires power and speed is Photoshop CS.
I
>> will not do any
>> >gaming or anything else that requires 3D graphics.
>> >
>> >Having had two PCs with ASUS motherboards that worked
>> very well, I will
>> >stick with ASUS.
>> >
>> >Here's what I'm planning:
>> >
>> >Intel P4 3.0 Ghz CPU
>> >Matrox G450 graphic card (perfect for Photoshop)
>> >2 -- Western Digital WD1200JB EIDE drives (I have these
>> already)
>> >1 -- Plextor CD/DVD burner (I have this already)
>> >Floppy drive
>> >Faxmodem
>> >LAN and Audio built into MB
>> >USB and Firewire ports
>> >Antec case w/350w power supply
>> >
>> >My questions concern choice of motherboard and RAM.
>> >
>> >The motherboards I'm considering are:
>> >
>> >ASUS P4C800-E Deluxe -- 875C chipset -- $169 (at
>> newegg.com)
>> >ASUS P4C800 Deluxe -- 875C chipset -- $163
>> >ASUS P4P800-E Deluxe -- 865PE chipset -- $116
>> >
>> >The specs of these three MBs seem almost identical, so
>> I'm wondering if
>> >anyone has experience with these boards who could give
>> me a reason to select
>> >one versus another. I'm not clear on what I'd get with
>> the $169 board that
>> >the $116 board wouldn't give me. In other words, is
the
>> extra money worth
>> >spending? (I don't need WiFi which the P4P800-E Deluxe
>> has included.) I am
>> >not clear about the differences between the 875C and
>> 865PE chipsets, and
>> >what those differences, if any, will mean to me as the
>> end user. Also, I
>> >can't tell the difference between the P4C800-E Deluxe
>> and the P4C800 Deluxe.
>> >
>> >RAM:
>> >I will buy PC3200 RAM, 1GB or 2GB of RAM -- all of the
>> MBs above will hold 4
>> >DIMMS. Checking Kingston RAM prices on newegg.com,
>> there are several
>> >choices of 1GB (2x512) packages, ranging from ValueRAM
>> at $194 to HyperX at
>> >$282. I know I need to buy matched pairs of DIMMS.
I'm
>> not clear on the
>> >difference between the ValueRAM and the HyperX, other
>> than the price. Both
>> >have very similar specs. I want good, fast, stable
RAM,
>> but I don't want to
>> >spend any more than I need to. Any help or
>> recommendations?? (I used
>> >Kingston as my example, but Crucial and Corsair have
the
>> same range. These
>> >three brands have been recommended to me.)
>> >
>> >Thanks for any help, recommendations and comments.
>> >
>> >John
>> >
>> >
>> >.
>> >
>
>
>.
>
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