[OT] Building my dream computer >:)

[shadowlight]

Video Card (Ooooh Yeah!!!)

For me, probably the best part of building a new system is picking the Video Card. I like high end games, and I want something that will let me play Half Life 2, Halo PC, Star Wars Galaxies, etc. with all the graphical goodies turned on, at high res.

The two graphics chip makers out there right now are ATi and nVidia (you have to have weird capitalization in your company's name if you want to be in the graphics card industry ) nVidia was the undisputed leader for quite some time, but with all the hassles of providing the graphics chip (and motherboard chipset) for the XBox, they fell behind.

The high end cards from each company are the GeForce FX 5900 from nVidia, and the Radeon 9800 from Ati. They're pretty evenly matched (although most graphics card reviews will put Ati slightly ahead), but I wanted something with more than just good 3D performance.

I've been a TiVo user for years, and I love recording my shows (except I never know what's in theaters because I never watch commercials). One thing I wish I could do, though, is save my favorite series and movies to DVD. So, for this machine, I wanted somthing with TiVo-like functionality.

The answer? The ATi All-in-Wonder Radeon 9800 Pro!! Not only is it a top end 3D card, it's got a built in TV tuner and video out, so you can do pretty much everything you do with your TiVo. Then you can take all those lovely MPEG2 files and make DVDs! It's also got an RF remote control, so your computer can be in a different room and you can still use it (if you run video cables to your TV)!

Here's a review that really shows off its features: http://www.bit-tech.net/review/232/1

 

[shadowlight]

Video Card

Behold the ATi AiW Radeon 9800 Pro!!

Again... drooooooooool.....

 

[Liminal Syzygy]

I used Excel to calculate the speed and dollar cost increase going from 2.4 to 2.6, 2.6 to 2.8, and so on.

In Japan we have this little weekly CPU price update thing... The value on the far right is the price per 1Mhz in yen. Pretty nifty to figure out the price/performance ratio.

http://www.watch.impress.co.jp/akiba/hotline/20031018/p_cpu.html

It's been interesting following your purchases, you've been making a lot of the same decisions I would have if I were upgrading, but I've decided to hold out for Prescott early next year for better or worse.

I'm most interested to see which case you buy, if any (if you're using an old one) as this is something that's more of an individual call.

 

[Psionicist]

The P4P800 Deluxe:

drooooooll...

Don't. The voltage regulation is very poor on that motherboard. It performs well, but it will probably die within a year.

 

[Psionicist]

Behold the ATi AiW Radeon 9800 Pro!!

Again... drooooooooool.....

No reason unless you are a movie freak and need video in.

Get the Radeon 9800XT.

 

[shadowlight]

Dvd

For this machine, I wanted a CD/DVD-ROM and a good CD/DVD burner. (How else could I make direct CD to CD copies of Joshua Dyal's obscure 80s import CDs?!)

For the burner, I the big question is DVD-R/RW or DVD+RW. There's a standards "war" between these formats -- well, it's actually more like a water-balloon fight because drive makers are starting to just make their drives compatible with both.

I prefer the +R/RW (because it allows variable bit rates), but for the sake of compatibility I went with a burner that could record both standards. It's bad enough waiting for CDs to burn, so I wanted something fast. I also wanted a good DVD authoring package.

I went with Sony's DRU 510A. It's the fastest thing out there right now and it's got a great software package. Against my own advice I went with the OEM version because it came with the software and was a LOT cheaper.

For the DVD ROM, I just wanted something cheap, fast, and quite. I picked a Samsung model for $40 that fit the bill.

 

[shadowlight]

In Japan we have this little weekly CPU price update thing... The value on the far right is the price per 1Mhz in yen. Pretty nifty to figure out the price/performance ratio.

http://www.watch.impress.co.jp/akiba/hotline/20031018/p_cpu.html

Very nice. Much easier than doing it by hand!!

It's been interesting following your purchases, you've been making a lot of the same decisions I would have if I were upgrading, but I've decided to hold out for Prescott early next year for better or worse.

Yeah, I considered that, but I need something before D-Day (ok, B-day) on October 29th!

I'm most interested to see which case you buy, if any (if you're using an old one) as this is something that's more of an individual call.

Muhahahah! That's coming!

 

[shadowlight]

Don't. The voltage regulation is very poor on that motherboard. It performs well, but it will probably die within a year.

Where did you hear that? I thought I'd read every review of this thing out there...

Anyway, I'm mostly looking for the speed per price and the overclocking features... That'd be too bad if I had to upgrade to something better in a year

 

[shadowlight]

No reason unless you are a movie freak and need video in.

Check! (more of a TV freak than movie freak though) and Check!

Get the Radeon 9800XT.

Definitely better for pure 3D (also supports dual moniters I think) It's the same core as the 9800 Pro, just a slightly higher clock speed and a little more on board RAM.

 

[shadowlight]

Hard Drive

There are 2 main types of hard drives available right now EIDE, and Serial ATA (yes, I''m ignoring SCSI -- I've had too many Scuzzy nightmares in my past).

Serial ATA is the new technology and allows for faster data transfer rates than EIDE. Since my motherboard supports SATA, I went with a 200GB SATA drive from Maxtor.