Need Advise on DIY PC

[kegler]

Dual-core Xeon :thumbsup:
ECC DDR2 registed ram
U320 15k rpm 146gb x 3 for Raid 5

 

[hayami.wai]

Dual-core Xeon :thumbsup:
ECC DDR2 registed ram
U320 15k rpm 146gb x 3 for Raid 5

bro, ppl getting moderate budget pc leh infact, when comparing XEON and normal x86 processor for doing such image/video editing, Xeon might even lose out the the Conroe processors. n to mention that ECC Registered Ram is actually slower than the Non-ECC ram.

 

[Firefox]

Hi,

I am planning to get a new DIY PC on moderate budget. I wanted a SFF barebone systems but most of them do not have raid for HDD. For those that have, they cost a bomb!

1. For my old PC, the guy who sold it to me in SLS advise me to put 2 of my IDE HDD through Raid connection (instead of the IDE) but not running raid as mirror backup. I am not sure whether this is call "Raid 0", can someone confirm it? The transfer rate on this connection is faster than HDD on IDE connection.

2. Now, for my new PC, I will be getting SATA2 HDD and connect through SATA2 on motherboard. Since SATA2 has a transfer rate of 3Gb/s, do I still need to go through the Raid connection? Would it increase the transfer rate further? Please advise.

I will be using the PC for Video/Photo Editing and home video encoding. Hope my question make sense as I am not a very Technical person in IT. Any advise is greatly appreciated

The new PC currently is following config.

Pentium D 930
Gigabyte 8I945P-Pro MB
2 Gb RAM
2x250Gb SATA2 HDD
PowerColor X1600 Pro Graphic Card.
Cooler Master Centurian 534 and extreme power 380W

Thanks,
Kevin

WAIT WAIT WAIT.. It's ~ 10 more days to price-cuts and the launch of the Intel Conroe. Even if you want to buy a Pressler 930D, at least wait till the price cut.
If you want to run your HDD in raid, do not use the Intel chipset raid. It's quite prone to corruption. Use the onboard Silicon Image or Marvell if available.

 

[Andy Ang]

I still think RAM is more important. I am running on 2G now, think still have space for improvement.

 

[JL1500k]

Dual-core Xeon :thumbsup:
ECC DDR2 registed ram
U320 15k rpm 146gb x 3 for Raid 5

Are you recommand him to use server??
Is going to cost him $2K and above liao just for memory alone.

 

[tao]

WAIT WAIT WAIT.. It's ~ 10 more days to price-cuts and the launch of the Intel Conroe. Even if you want to buy a Pressler 930D, at least wait till the price cut.
If you want to run your HDD in raid, do not use the Intel chipset raid. It's quite prone to corruption. Use the onboard Silicon Image or Marvell if available.

Yes, you might wanna wait for launch for the new Core 2 Duo processor from Intel. Cost about the same as the PentiumD series but much faster and runs cooler and more energy efficient.

 

[Artosoft]

WAIT WAIT WAIT.. It's ~ 10 more days to price-cuts and the launch of the Intel Conroe. Even if you want to buy a Pressler 930D, at least wait till the price cut.
If you want to run your HDD in raid, do not use the Intel chipset raid. It's quite prone to corruption. Use the onboard Silicon Image or Marvell if available.

10 more days to price-cuts.... Maybe next month if you are lucky can get price cut on SLS.

Regards,
Arto.

 

[Kevin]

I don't advice you to get SFF type of system especially if you are getting Intel chip.
Heat is the biggest problem. Intel processor general a lot of heat and it average running temperature is between 60-70 degree. If you are running 2x 7200rpm hard disks, it will generate more heat within that small SFF case. You will probably need to dedicate fan or air-con to cool the system. Heat will shorten the lifespan of your system and might give you unpredictable problem.

I use to run an Intel PC (medium tower) and I can feel the casing get warm after an hour of usage in non-aircon environment.

Thanks for the advise. How about MicroATX casing, is it too small like SFF also with heat problems?

 

[jdredd]

yea, if you want max performance, get a bigger casing. SFF really CMI..

and dont skimp on power, 380 not enough. from what i understand, the dual cores are quite power hungry, as are all the current nvidia cards... so factor in some upgradability in future and get a little more capacity than what you presently might need.

 

[Kevin]

it's not about the bill... if ur peripherals need the power and it doesn't get it, my as well not have them at all. can u imagine ur hard drives not getting enuff power when you are trying to save your files, for instance?

mostly, if you ur PC needs more power than wat the psu can supply, the psu will just blow up.... well not literally, the fuse will blow, or worse... then whole pc cannot work at all till u get a new psu, in which case u'd end up buying a more powerful one when u could have in the first place.

the number on the psu is a rating, it doesn't mean that u will use more power, it depends on ur pc. anyway i still think that the most power hungry peripheral is the monitor. just turn off the monitor when u dun use the computer dun even need to shut down.... that's wat i do. and nowadays, the monitor is plugged straight to the wall, not to the PC (for power). somebody correct me if i'm wrong.

Thanks, learn something new. Ok, will get bigger one then, going for the 500W. Ya, always off my monitor.

 

[Kevin]

for power supply wise, i would suggest getting a 420W PSU. do take note that PSU are not 100% power efficent. normally they are 80~90% efficient. meaning, a 420W will generate mayb a actual watt of 380W instead. There are some websites that can help you calculate your power needs based on the conponents installed. do a search on google.

Thanks for the rest of advise.

As for the PS, I think CM extreme series is only 75% efficient. so based on your formula, 500w will give me about 375W only. So probably go for the 500W then. :sweat:

 

[Kevin]

WAIT WAIT WAIT.. It's ~ 10 more days to price-cuts and the launch of the Intel Conroe. Even if you want to buy a Pressler 930D, at least wait till the price cut.
If you want to run your HDD in raid, do not use the Intel chipset raid. It's quite prone to corruption. Use the onboard Silicon Image or Marvell if available.

OK, Ok! will wait for the price cut 1st.
Thanks

 

[Kevin]

Yes, you might wanna wait for launch for the new Core 2 Duo processor from Intel. Cost about the same as the PentiumD series but much faster and runs cooler and more energy efficient.

You mean coat about the same as 930 when it 1st launch or the price now? :bigeyes:

Wah! If cost about the same now then really worth waiting! But dunno MB going to be ex or not?

 

[Kevin]

I still think RAM is more important. I am running on 2G now, think still have space for improvement.

Wah! 2Gb still not enough ah! No lah, I will stick to 2Gb instead of 4Gb lah. Save the money for lens lah!

 

[Kevin]

10 more days to price-cuts.... Maybe next month if you are lucky can get price cut on SLS.

Regards,
Arto.

OK, let's start the count down!!! :thumbsup:

 

[Kevin]

yea, if you want max performance, get a bigger casing. SFF really CMI..

and dont skimp on power, 380 not enough. from what i understand, the dual cores are quite power hungry, as are all the current nvidia cards... so factor in some upgradability in future and get a little more capacity than what you presently might need.

OK lah, will stick to mid-tower. Yah, will go for 500W PS now after all the advises.

 

[Kevin]

10 more days!!!

 

[Ola]

OK lah, will stick to mid-tower. Yah, will go for 500W PS now after all the advises.

Good to get better power supply unit (Antec or Cool Master series).
Save you problem a lot of headache later.

 

[Kevin]

Good to get better power supply unit (Antec or Cool Master series).
Save you problem a lot of headache later.

Yah, plan to get the Cooler Master extreme 500W PS but not sure SLS got or not.

Look like CM Extreme only upto 430W, according to Fuwell Price List.

 

[Firefox]

You mean coat about the same as 930 when it 1st launch or the price now? :bigeyes:

Wah! If cost about the same now then really worth waiting! But dunno MB going to be ex or not?

The Conroe (Core 2 Duo) is a replacement for the current Pressler (9xxD) line. The price for it will be the new pricing when it's out. There will obviously a price cut for the Pressler line since no one will want to buy the Pressler at the same price as a Conroe.
Well.. No one except the more ignorant people who get suckered into buying cheapo package deals at SLS.