Hey guys I need some help building a computer. I'm tech savvy when it comes to troubleshooting computer hardware and software and I know I could assemble the components. I just dont know what processor goes with which motherboard. I dont want integrated video or sound. Basically I will use the system for video editing, DVD burning and the occasional game. If possible I'd like to use my Antec tower (300 watt ATX) and the HDs from my old system (1 80 GB & 2 160) and my DVD burner but not the video card. Any suggestions?
I'd have to recommend either a MSI or ASUS socket 939 motherboard. I would probably go with an AMD 64 3700+ San Diego processor to go with it. I like it because of the 1mb L2 Cache and is quite cheaper than dual-cores. Unless you want to go nuts with your money and splurge about $200 for the motherboard...I think this one would do nicely: ASUS A8N5X AMD64 3700+ San Diego As far as using your old HD's.....you could but will take a little performance hit. I would upgrade to SATA drives if you could but not a necessity. Good luck making your decision EDIT: Oh, and you didn't mention memory...I would go with this OCZ 2gb DDR400
if affordable, I'd personally get a dual core cpu. that way you can do other things with your computer while burning / rendering. you want to make sure the socket type of the processor matches the socket type of the motherboard.
You will probably need to upgrade your power supply. Look at some brands like Antec, OCZ, etc. I too would recommend an AMD Athlon 64 CPU and Socket 939 motherboard. I have an AMD Dual-Core 3800+. I upgraded from a Pentium 4 3.0 Prescott. I do a lot of video encoding and it seems to do a pretty good job. Most motherboards are going to come with sound onboard, but you can always disable it in the bios. Whats you budget looking like for this project. We may be able to help you with some better recommendations.
Since you want to use the old power supply and hard drives, what do you want to get out of this upgrade? Could you possibly just upgrade the video card and get the same results?
A faster system ... I have a 6 year old 1.3 GHz system ... over time I have upgraded everything, eventually I will turn it into a file server. Thanks for the suggestions, why no recommendations from the Intel users? Is AMD a better chip?
I think most of us prefer AMD. I am still running a P4 2.4 but will get an AMD when I upgrade AMD generally gives you more bang for the buck...especially in gaming. Here is a chart I should have posted before that can give you some good comparisons between the processors. Pentiums may have an edge in some of the editing you will be doing. Tom's Hardware - CPU CHarts
I prefer Pentium CPU's for their added insurance against meltdown. Check out the article Tom's Hardware did awhile back on the Barton and Thoroughbred cores versus the PIII Coppermine and the 2.4C processors...the AMD chips fried within two seconds if the heatsink was displaced; the Intel procs just throttled back and cotinued to run with no damage; both AMD procs died horrible, nasty deaths. I know AMD64 chips are better performers when running some single apps, like gaming, and most of the pure gaming rigs I make include them rather than Intel procs. And they cost less for actual processing power. But most customers get Pentiums, even though they cost a bit more. The reason for that is their enhanced abilities when it comes to multitasking...and the fact that there is just more to an Intel processor. Even though the P4 Prescott has a 31-stage instruction pipeline, it can still break off an unnecessary operation, or one running corrupted data, and start in on the proper thread with hardly a hiccup. This happens with both but often is less obvious with a fast P4 as the Pentiums usually recover from common data errors such as branch prediction in less time than even an FX60 chip can. And it seems that the older Northwoods were even more immune to this with their 20-stage pipeline, but even the Prescotts give up little. And they regain much ground when video editing or DVD encoding is the order of the day. That's why I wind up selling so many CPU's for Intel; if AMD procs could boast similar durability and flexibility in the same price range, I'd choose them instead. There is no fanb0ism involved here. And as for your new rig, buy a new PSU first. 300 watts just isn't enough, even if it IS an Antec model. My 3GHz Prescott rig gets its juice from a 480w TruePower, and I feel that is an excellent match for such a rig. For a rig based on a PCIe MOBO, for goodness sake get a 550w or a 600w power supply, and make sure it is an Antec (or PC Power & Cooling, or some other top brand). Don't skimp, even if it takes longer to put it all together...you will be glad later if you do it right now.
