Building new machine. Need tips or opinions!

[K.Y.A]

My current rig has issues. It goes through hard drives like there's no tomorrow. I figured I would build a new one.
Current setup:
Abit Fatality SLI Motherboard (DO NOT BUY! IT SUCKS HORRIBLY!)
Intel E4500 CPU
Geforce 8600GT
4gb 533mhz ram
250gb Sata2 seagate drive (rma'd twice in past year)
80gb Sata2 WD drive (Also dying)
Sagitta Raidmax case.
Was $800

I might make this system a server. It seems the system does not ruin IDE drives, just sata. Also, Sata ports 1 and 4 do not work, which leads me to believe it is the mobo killing the drives. New system:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811144233
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128392
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103696
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820148149 (X4)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136317 (perhaps X2)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150397
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827136153
Why such a small case? I need to save space on my little desk.
Price: $585
So much nicer of a machine, yet much less in money. I might get a nice LCD monitor too, and get rid of this old 17" CRT...
Will run Ubuntu. Single boot. I may put Kalyway Leopard on there, too, just like on this machine.
No Windows. :P
Tips or opinions?

[Penguin Guy]

I built one for the first time not long ago and everything worked fine. I wrote some tips and Q/A about it here (http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=1112237) if you're interested.

[K.Y.A]

This isn't my first time. It's more like my 30th, lol.

But thanks! I'll look at it.

[LowSky]

that Apeva case is going to take up a bunch of space, get a tower or a cube to free up the desk, cube will mean getting a mATX board like this one
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128397

save money and get the AMD Phenom II X3 720 2.8GHz, the speed will be very close to the x4 your looking at. Besides in normal and gaming performance the difference is very very small. sure the x4 will kill in CPU test apps, but real world you wont see much difference
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103649

cheaper and faster RAM and take up two slots not 4
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231193

[cascade9]

4x1GB DDR3 1066 @ $140? You can get 2x2GB DDR3 1600 @ $80

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231193

Even lifetime warrany blah blah corsair dominator is only $125 for 2x2GB

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820145249

Going from 8600GT to 9600GT isn't worth the money IMO. Save the video card money by using your old 8600GT, and instead of getting a 2nd 1TB/5400RPM green power drive, get a !TB/7200RPM drive (they are faster)-

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136284

As for your hdd death problems..theres always the chance that its caused by the SATA ports, but you would have to be unlucky. More likely its just lifespan, and if there is something else going on its most likely to be heat or power related. But if you wanted to set it up as a server, you can always get IDE/SATA PCI cards-

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16815124022

[LowSky]

smaller cube case, and in green
APEVIA X-QPACK-GN/420 Black/Green
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811144111

Me and cascade have good choices in RAM

and if you dont like GSkill then there is Mushkin at the same price
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820146871

[K.Y.A]

Perfect!


4x1GB DDR3 1066 @ $140? You can get 2x2GB DDR3 1600 @ $80

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820231193 (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231193)
Thank you for the better ram selection.. Didn't notice that.


save money and get the AMD Phenom II X3 720 2.8GHz, the speed will be very close to the x4 your looking at. Besides in normal and gaming performance the difference is very very small. sure the x4 will kill in CPU test apps, but real world you wont see much difference
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16819103649 (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103649)Wow. Big save there. Thanks!


that Apeva case is going to take up a bunch of space, get a tower or a cube to free up the desk, cube will mean getting a mATX board like this one
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813128397 (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128397)I like the board.


smaller cube case, and in green
APEVIA X-QPACK-GN/420 Black/Green
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16811144111 (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811144111)I like the case...

EDIT: I'll get a better PSU, too. Seems people don't like the one included with the case...

[K.Y.A]

I see your point with the video card... I'm going to use my current one in the new pc, but I need one for this computer, then.

What about this?

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127368

[geogur]

This isn't my first time. It's more like my 30th, lol.

But thanks! I'll look at it.

didn`t you say your rig goes through hard drives? And you did build it ?

[K.Y.A]

didn`t you say your rig goes through hard drives? And you did build it ?

That's correct. This is the first time it's happened, too... :(

[LowSky]

well the motherboard I choose has built in ATI HD4200, sur eit onboard but it works with HD, enought to get you by for a bit until the newer cards comeout in the next few weeks/months...

[K.Y.A]

Thanks to everyone, I think I'll be saving over $100...

And prices will go down more once I have the money, which will be in about 6 Months.

I plan ahead. lol, just in case this machine doesn't last.
I don't expect it too... I might set it up as a server. I haven't decided yet... My server is over 15 years old so I probably should replace it soon.

[cascade9]

I see your point with the video card... I'm going to use my current one in the new pc, but I need one for this computer, then.

What about this?

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127368

That sort of card is fine for desktop use. hmmm, does compiz etc use hardware T&L? I've never checked..if it does, you'll find compiz etc is slower then with the 9600GT, and HD might stutter more. Thats about it.


Thanks to everyone, I think I'll be saving over $100...

And prices will go down more once I have the money, which will be in about 6 Months.

I plan ahead. lol, just in case this machine doesn't last.
I don't expect it too... I might set it up as a server. I haven't decided yet... My server is over 15 years old so I probably should replace it soon.

If your even thinking about setting it up as a server...why bother with a video card? That micro-atx mobo has onboard video, that would be fine. If you do, get a decent power supply and think about getting a case that you know has decent airflow over the drives.

[K.Y.A]

I'm still contemplating on what case to get. I intended to put my new lcd monitor on top of the case, but I can't with the cube. My desk is just large enough for my monitor, and my printer next to that. I had to put my second monitor on another desk, and the tower on the floor. . .

Perhaps I could put the cube somewhere else.

[K.Y.A]

I do game a lot. I run KDE4 with all graphics on full.

I'll put my old Geforce 8600gt in the new pc, and an older Geforce MMX 440 in this pc which will eventually be a server/ gaming pc for my sister. SHe does light gaming.

[majamba]

i would suggest to use a gigabyte motherboard
intel processors
for graphics nvidia

[LowSky]

nothing wrong with AMD processors, I'm so trying not to act like a fanboy but AMD is cheaper per GHZ. INtel aren't bad but why pay more for similar perfomance.

And in 6 months.... things will be much cheaper and faster... so save up the money you want to spend and when you have it then start looking... things get cheaper every month you wait.

[K.Y.A]

nothing wrong with AMD processors, I'm so trying not to act like a fanboy but AMD is cheaper per GHZ. INtel aren't bad but why pay more for similar perfomance.

And in 6 months.... things will be much cheaper and faster... so save up the money you want to spend and when you have it then start looking... things get cheaper every month you wait.

Um... We just went through like six post about finding an AMD cpu...
Where have you been? lol.
I know, I probably will end up paying like $500 for this hardware because of how fast prices go down... It's amazing, I paid over $800 for this rig, and it feels so outdated. It would work great for a family pc once I put an IDE drive in it. It runs Leopard wonderfully...

[.Maleficus.]

AMD is cheaper per GHZ
More GHz != Better processor. Here's a nice Tom's Hardware article showing how an AMD Phenom II X4 965 overclocked to 3.8GHz barely beats out an i7 920 at the stock 2.66GHz.

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/phenom-x4-965,2389-5.html

@K.Y.A - Before buying anything, I'd seriously put together a similar (in price) Intel machine. At least to spec it out. I'm not an Intel fanboy (I was actually a huge AMD fanboy with socket 939, but then came the C2D's...) but I really think you should at least take a look.


Edit: And it doesn't even win on all tests. OP, you might also consider waiting a few weeks for the release of the new socket 1156 Core i5's and Core i7's. They'll be less expensive and should still dominate anything AMD has.

[K.Y.A]

Edit: And it doesn't even win on all tests. OP, you might also consider waiting a few weeks for the release of the new socket 1156 Core i5's and Core i7's. They'll be less expensive and should still dominate anything AMD has.

Um, the cheapest i7 on newegg is $279. I'd rather buy the AMD...

I don't do anything THAT heavy, it's just that I want to upgrade. Not that I completely need too. . .

[Devilfish303]

The apevia cube cases are kinda flimsy. I dont know about their other cases...

[j7%<RmUg]

This is exactly the setup iv been looking for, apart from the case.

My current setup is lame, only 1gb ddr RAM, a decent pentium D 3.06Ghz CPU.

I suppose the only good things about it are the RAID support, 4 SATA ports and support for 64-bit.

[gordintoronto]

My current rig has issues. It goes through hard drives like there's no tomorrow...
New system:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811144233
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128392
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103696
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820148149 (X4)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136317 (perhaps X2)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150397
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827136153
Why such a small case? I need to save space on my little desk.
Price: $585
No Windows. :P
Tips or opinions?

Two weeks ago I built a system using the same motherboard, and I am delighted with it. I went with an X2 processor and a 9400 GT video card, but 2GBx2 1333 g.skill memory. My case is big, a Cooler Master Centurion 534, but it sits nicely behind my LCD display. I moved the side fan to the front so it blows across my 640 GB "black" hard drive (32MB cache). Antec EA500 power supply. The hard drive temperature is 34 C right now.

Miro, while downloading at the same time as playing a video, is the only application which gets the processors up to 50% usage.

Good luck!
Gord

[schauerlich]

I'll take the old box off your hands. :)

[Lavaeagle]

I'd try to go with ASUS motherboard, what do you need a graphics card for a server for?

Good place to download RAM from btw

[gn2]

You haven't stated why your current PC goes through hard drives?

Maybe you should figure that out before you buy/build another PC?

[cascade9]

I do game a lot. I run KDE4 with all graphics on full.

I'll put my old Geforce 8600gt in the new pc, and an older Geforce MMX 440 in this pc which will eventually be a server/ gaming pc for my sister. SHe does light gaming.

Actually, its liekly you wont. 8600GT- PCI-E. GF4 MX 440- AGP/PCI. If you've got a PCI 440, it should work, but every 440 I've seen is AGP. There was a PCX 4300 (basicly a slightly upclocked MX440-SE) that was PCI-E.

[mystmaiden]

I haven't actually built a machine yet, but I can say with certainty, beware the small case - I have a terrible time with my sony because everything is crammed into it so tightly, hard to change the ram or add anything at all.

myst

[xuCGC002]

Abit Fatality SLI Motherboard (DO NOT BUY! IT SUCKS HORRIBLY!)


The fata1ity products aren't exactly great. I doubt John Wendel even uses them.