What do you think of this system I might build

[ikon1234]

Full-Size Tower $100

Antec 480W Power Supply $90

2.8Ghz P4 CPU $180

Motherboard:
either ASUS P4C800 Deluxe (Intel 875P) $180 for either
or MSI 875P Neo-FISR2

512MB DDR400 RAM $200

WD 36.7 10k RPM SATA HD
(for my boot drive, or should i just stick with 7200 RPM?) $120

Soundblaster Live Platinum w/Live Drive $170

Plextor 52x48x52 CD-RW $50

Videocard - should I get 64MB or 128MB? on this computer I have 32MB and it seems

fine for me... 64MB is around $60

TOtal = $1150 (doesn't include fans and cables though)

I also have a WD 100GB 7200 IDE HD that I'll be using in that computer.

Any thoughts, suggestions, opinions? I figure this will cost around 1200? I'm not sure how many fans I should have.... I only used one site to find these prices, I'm sure I could knock down the price slightly...

[GtrDude]

For $1150 plus fans and cables, wouldn't it make more sense to get a manufactured computer, not build it yourself and get warranty, support and service?
Sorry for my ignorance if I'm missing some important points.
Seems like it would be easier to go out (or go on the internet) and come home with a new computer instead of spending days building it.

Thanks.

Gtrdude.

[xeetstreet]

I just ordered a Dell with:
3Ghz P4 (1Mb of cache)
100% Intel chipset
512Mb RAM
120Gb Serial HD
17" LCD
128Mb Video card with dual outs
CD-RW (fastest available speed)
Plus the usual NIC, modem, 6 months of dial-up, Free Palm Zire, UPS backup power supply, etc...

...all for $1300.

Then after the 15% off, $150 mail-in rebate, free shipping, and the eBay sales (17" monitors sell for ~$340 and the Palms sell for ~$70)...

I get a grand total of $600!

PS. I'm selling the monitor because I already have two identical 17" LCDs.

[da BaSsTaRd!]

best desktops

stick with the stuff here. your prices seem kind of high. the under $600 machine is a real performer and a great value.

[bladesg]

Sounds good, I would use the 10,000rpm raptor as your audio drive and 7200 for Windows. I now use one these Raptors as my audio drive and I can tell you these drives are seriously fast, so fast that I want another one for Windows!

[cruisemates]

I think you can get 1 Gb of DDR 400 ram for not much more, $200 seems a little high for 512 MB. I believe I paid under $300 for 1 GB of dual channel DDR 400.

I like your choices other wise, it is very similar to the machine I built for under $1000. The case I purchased (AMS-eCube-EG65) has the MotherBoard installed already. For processing, it is essentially like the second best Carrillion system architecture (cost $2199). It has the intel 865G chipset (Carrillon uses 845 for low end and 875 for high end systems). Performance-wise it is closer to the 875 with a 800 MHz front side bus running dual channel Ram. It also has 3 firewire ports + optical s/pdif in&out on the soundcard, and onboard graphics. My next step will be to disable the onboard graphics and get a powerful, dual monitor videocard.

My system has a P4 2.8 gHz with 1GB dual channel Ram. Cost was $940 w/o monitor and external firewire drive (I had both already). A processor upgrade to P4 3.2 for an additional $200 gives you the equivalent of the top Carillon ($2999) system.

Here is a 5-part tutorial for building the case I bought:
http://www.devhardware.com/c/a/Compl...EG65-Review/1/

[Shan]

I think your spending alot of money that just wont increase your performance at all. I would build the the Allenstein system at the top called 'Best system...' I have built 4 of these so far and they are they best performers for PT.

Shan

[jdp16]

I just built a similar system...

here are the specs

P4 3.2Ghz Northwood(the prescott chips run way too hot) $272
ASUS P4P800-E Deluxe Mobo $123
1GB DUAL CHANNEL PC3200 RAM $226
80GB Maxtor ATA133 8MB Cache (system drive) $64
160 Seagate SATA 8MB Cache (audio drive) $117
ATI Radeon 9200 128MB 8X AGP $66
Aspire Turbo Case X-Dreamer II $64
Enermax 365-VE(FMA) PSU $54
Zalman CNPS7000-AlCu Heatsink and Fan $31.00
5 Coolermaster Case Fans $20

Anyways...I'd definitely recommend the 865PE chipset over the 875...they perform better for some reason and the ASUS boards have their own PAT technology called HyperPath on their 865PE chipset mobos.

Why are you getting a sound card? The mobo you want have built-in sound cards and if you're doing ProTools, why do you need it?

Just my 2cents

[tele_player]

Isn't 5 coolermaster case fans a bit noisy?

[jdp16]

surprisingly, no, i have rubber spacers between the case and the fans, and yeah, that helps with noise. i'd say the noisiest part of the computer is the power supply.