Recommendations for newbie home built PC

Hi, I'm interested in building my own PC - mainly because I can't find
a name-brand that's able to accomodate my needs. Please keep in mind
that this will be my first build...I'm perfectly comfortable
installing cards, etc. - but things like adding on the heat sink fans,
etc. scare the willies out of me...

In any case, I'm trying to build a PC for under $2,000 that has the
following:

1. Is a decent gaming computer. I do not need absolute top of the
line, nor do I want to either buy $500 video cards or risk
overclocking - I just want decent stuff that performs well without
overclocking.

2. A raid array. I do a mixture of database work (which needs a ton of
throughput), and I want to make sure my home video, pictures, etc. are
secure. What I'd really like is a 2 drive RAID 1 array, and a 4 drive
RAID 0 array - which would let me put the "secure" stuff on the RAID1,
and the "play around with but not important if I lose" stuff on the
RAID 0 array.

If no current motherboards support this, I could scale it back to
maybe a 4 drive RAID 0+1 or something.

p.s. I assume I'll use SATA II drives

3. A dual core processor. I assume that an Intel E6600 or the like
would take care of me, but if there is a big price savings to be had
going to AMD I could

Given the above, could anyone offer recommendations for:

a) Processor
b) motherboard
c) video cards
d) case to hold everything in (keeping in mind the large # of drives I
will have)

Also, if there are any type of processor / motherboard combos that
come pre-assembled, with all of the heat sink fans, etc. applied -
being a newbie, it would make things a ton simpler for me.

Thanks in advance!
Scott

"Scott" wrote in message
...
Hi, I'm interested in building my own PC - mainly because I can't find
a name-brand that's able to accomodate my needs. Please keep in mind
that this will be my first build...I'm perfectly comfortable
installing cards, etc. - but things like adding on the heat sink fans,
etc. scare the willies out of me...

2. A raid array. I do a mixture of database work (which needs a ton of
throughput), and I want to make sure my home video, pictures, etc. are
secure. What I'd really like is a 2 drive RAID 1 array, and a 4 drive
RAID 0 array - which would let me put the "secure" stuff on the RAID1,
and the "play around with but not important if I lose" stuff on the
RAID 0 array.


That's 6 drives.


If no current motherboards support this, I could scale it back to
maybe a 4 drive RAID 0+1 or something.

Why not just put everything on a 4 drive Raid 10, or 0+1 and then actually
do a backup of the imporant files to a 5th drive that is not in an array.
That will decrease the number of drives by 1, give you fault-tolerance where
you can lose 1 and possilby 2 drives out of the array without data loss,
about 4x the read speed of a single drive, 2x the write speed of a single
drive, and the 5th (backup) non-raid-drive will give you a true backup in
the event of file corruption from a virus attack, software failure, etc. The
only advantage I see of the raid 0 is that it will have a higher write speed
(until last month when I just set up my first raid 10, I had thought that
this would only provide 2x the normal read speed until I got 4x on testing
and someone explained why this can be so).

heat sink fans are really no big deal. if you can spread peanut butter, you
can install one.

Jeff


--
Posted via a free Usenet account from http://www.teranews.com

Scott wrote:
Hi, I'm interested in building my own PC - mainly because I can't find
a name-brand that's able to accomodate my needs. Please keep in mind
that this will be my first build...I'm perfectly comfortable
installing cards, etc. - but things like adding on the heat sink fans,
etc. scare the willies out of me...

In any case, I'm trying to build a PC for under $2,000 that has the
following:

1. Is a decent gaming computer. I do not need absolute top of the
line, nor do I want to either buy $500 video cards or risk
overclocking - I just want decent stuff that performs well without
overclocking.

2. A raid array. I do a mixture of database work (which needs a ton of
throughput), and I want to make sure my home video, pictures, etc. are
secure. What I'd really like is a 2 drive RAID 1 array, and a 4 drive
RAID 0 array - which would let me put the "secure" stuff on the RAID1,
and the "play around with but not important if I lose" stuff on the
RAID 0 array.

If no current motherboards support this, I could scale it back to
maybe a 4 drive RAID 0+1 or something.

p.s. I assume I'll use SATA II drives

3. A dual core processor. I assume that an Intel E6600 or the like
would take care of me, but if there is a big price savings to be had
going to AMD I could

Given the above, could anyone offer recommendations for:

a) Processor
b) motherboard
c) video cards
d) case to hold everything in (keeping in mind the large # of drives I
will have)

Also, if there are any type of processor / motherboard combos that
come pre-assembled, with all of the heat sink fans, etc. applied -
being a newbie, it would make things a ton simpler for me.

Thanks in advance!
Scott

The E6600 is a fine choice. The retail version comes with a heatsink/fan.
An OEM one would not.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16819115003

The cooler that comes with the retail processor, should be fine for
stock operation. Core2 Duo processors have reasonable power consumption,
unlike the 130W preceeding generation. If you want to look at exotic
cooling, you can read this article, for comments on how easy it is
to install some coolers. The purpose of you considering one of
these coolers, would be for quieter operation, rather than some
crazy overclock. The CNPS9500 LED is mentioned as being easier to
install than some of the others. But read the entire article anyway.

http://www.xbitlabs.com/articles/coo...ay/5-cool.html

The Zalman CNPS9500 LED, has an install movie on this web page.
(Just below the title, it says "click here".) You orient this
cooler, so the exhaust points towards your rear case cooling
fan. That helps move the heat from front to back, in the case.
Since your processor won't be getting that hot, you can turn
the CPU fan down with the provided FanMate speed control.

http://www.zalman.co.kr/eng/product/...x=165&code=009

A motherboard with ICH8R on it, should support the SATA RAID
arrays you want. Note that the six ports, support an array
with four disks, and a second array with two disks. Apparently,
according to a reviewer in the third link below, this limitation
is not documented. So you cannot expect to build a six disk array
at some future date.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...chInDesc=ich8r

Asus P5B-E $150
http://www.asus.com.tw/products4.asp...l2=11&l 3=307

Reviews
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Custra...82E16813131070

At least part of the selection process, is finding a motherboard
with the slot configuration you are after. SLI or Crossfire (two
video slots) is a different selection, than a board with room
for a single video card. A single video card means the simplest
setup, and perhaps better power consumption characteristics,
as you don't have two video cards idling all the time. And
having a single video card slot, could mean more PCI slots, if
you have some stuff you want to add later. Many boards have
pretty bad slot configs, so this can be a pretty annoying part
of the selection process.

(Asus master index)
http://www.asus.com.tw/products2.aspx?l1=3&l2=-1

(Just the LGA775 stuff - Look for "Core2" support or Quad Core keyword.
Avoid the boards with EZ-Backup, a SATA chip SIL4723 you don't want.)
http://www.asus.com.tw/products2.aspx?l1=3&l2=11

Gigabyte has a pretty extensive selection. Look in the 975X or the
P965 sections. (Site is too slow for me to waste more time on them.)
http://www.gigabyte.com.tw/Products/...e=socket +775

For CPU performance, you can look at charts here. Many of the charts
take advantage of both cores, like I think this one does.

http://www23.tomshardware.com/cpu.ht...=471&chart=158

For video cards, there is this chart and a table of properties.
The latest cards, like the 8800, draw up to 145W in 3D mode.
(And that is more power than your main processor.)
Other cards run at a lot lower power levels, like 50W or less.

http://www23.tomshardware.com/graphics.html
http://www.techpowerup.com/gpudb/

Newegg lists 436 video cards with PCI Express x16 interfaces.
So the products cover quite a range. Prices vary from $33 to $800.
The cards occupy 5 web pages, of 100 cards per page. The last
two pages contain customer returns, which cuts down the amount
of stuff you have to look at. Even at the $200 level, you'll
find "runs hot" in the customer reviews. Below $200 you might
find something with lower operating temps, but lower performance.
While the 7900GT earns a "runs hot" in the Newegg reviews, you
can see the power numbers here look reasonable compared to other
cards. So the trick is, to find a video card that has a good
cooler, compared to its power level. Xbitlabs has done many power
measurements, but they don't use the Tomshardware approach of
putting them in a chart - means more advert revenue I expect.
But, in their favor, they have an excellent search engine, as
long as you set the selector in the engine properly.

http://www.xbitlabs.com/articles/vid...7900gtx_6.html

Once you've selected some hardware, come back with a list of the
components selected, and someone can help you select a power
supply for it. It would be another 1000 word essay, to describe how
to pick a power supply :-)

For a computer case, you want something without a lot of
restrictions on reaching inside. For example, this Coolermaster
CMStacker is pretty open. And plenty of room for two rear fans,
run at whatever speed you want to use. You could probably fit your
motherboard CPU heatsink, while the motherboard is outside the
case, and then drop it into place, with a case like this.

http://images10.newegg.com/NeweggIma...119-092-09.jpg

A couple of these in the back of the computer, would be inaudible.
120mm fans come at up to 110CFM, but at the 110CFM level, you
could not carry on a conversation next to it.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16835185004

Paul

The CNPS9500 LED is mentioned as being easier to
install than some of the others.

I can confirm that big time for my AMD. The original AMD came with its own
HSF and those clips are the dumbest idea I have seen. Also, the heat pad on
the processor is parafin, so, should one want to remove it, not only are you
dealing with the clips but also the dried parafin.

I ran the temp up on my cpu before removing but it was still stuck to some
degree.

The zalman uses screws to hold it down, much easier and I used artic silver
which, I believe, is more like grease and not parafin.

-g

Try mwave.com for either motherboard bundles(the CPU and RAM come shipped
assembled) or their barebones systems(this is the motherboard, CPU, RAM
installed in the case of your choice, this makes things extremely easy on
you instead of having to wire up front panel USB, power LEDs and the like,
all you have to do is install your hard drive(s) and DVD player and off you
go). The cost on the barebones systems are identical to the parts
separately so it's a huge time saver at no extra cost.


"Scott" wrote in message
...
Hi, I'm interested in building my own PC - mainly because I can't find
a name-brand that's able to accomodate my needs. Please keep in mind
that this will be my first build...I'm perfectly comfortable
installing cards, etc. - but things like adding on the heat sink fans,
etc. scare the willies out of me...

In any case, I'm trying to build a PC for under $2,000 that has the
following:

1. Is a decent gaming computer. I do not need absolute top of the
line, nor do I want to either buy $500 video cards or risk
overclocking - I just want decent stuff that performs well without
overclocking.

2. A raid array. I do a mixture of database work (which needs a ton of
throughput), and I want to make sure my home video, pictures, etc. are
secure. What I'd really like is a 2 drive RAID 1 array, and a 4 drive
RAID 0 array - which would let me put the "secure" stuff on the RAID1,
and the "play around with but not important if I lose" stuff on the
RAID 0 array.

If no current motherboards support this, I could scale it back to
maybe a 4 drive RAID 0+1 or something.

p.s. I assume I'll use SATA II drives

3. A dual core processor. I assume that an Intel E6600 or the like
would take care of me, but if there is a big price savings to be had
going to AMD I could

Given the above, could anyone offer recommendations for:

a) Processor
b) motherboard
c) video cards
d) case to hold everything in (keeping in mind the large # of drives I
will have)

Also, if there are any type of processor / motherboard combos that
come pre-assembled, with all of the heat sink fans, etc. applied -
being a newbie, it would make things a ton simpler for me.

Thanks in advance!
Scott

"Jeff" wrote in message
.. .

"Scott" wrote in message
...
Hi, I'm interested in building my own PC - mainly because I can't find
a name-brand that's able to accomodate my needs. Please keep in mind
that this will be my first build...I'm perfectly comfortable
installing cards, etc. - but things like adding on the heat sink fans,
etc. scare the willies out of me...

2. A raid array. I do a mixture of database work (which needs a ton of
throughput), and I want to make sure my home video, pictures, etc. are
secure. What I'd really like is a 2 drive RAID 1 array, and a 4 drive
RAID 0 array - which would let me put the "secure" stuff on the RAID1,
and the "play around with but not important if I lose" stuff on the
RAID 0 array.


Why not goto your local "Mom @ Pop" computor store. Go over everything you
want and have them assemble it for around $60?

I just built my first (and probably last, read on) home computer the
weekend before Christmas. Everything went fine and I'm using it now.
To be sure, there were a couple of concerned moments and
head-scratching puzzlers, but I think you'll do fine. The hardest
part was doing the research to figure out what components I wanted,
and it sounds like you're doing that.

I won't build another because in the end you run either windoze or
linux. My homebuilt hardware is 64 bit (AMD Athlon Dual Core 4200+)
with RAID support on the mobo (I'm using 3 Western Digital Enterprise
disks in a RAID 5 config) so I put x64 Windoze on it. It still nearly
comes to a halt when it hits the disk, for instance, copying a large
file or something. Basically I have great hardware and the same sucky
OS: windoze. I'm going to wait until March to see if Apple's leopard
OS is released and they lower prices a bit, then get one of their
laptops.
--
Learning is not compulsory. Neither is survival.
W. Edwards Deming

Part of doing it is the fun in putting a system together but if the OP just
wants a machine then maybe a barebone is the best way to go.

-g

Wow, another great idea. Thanks - again, didn't know "barebones"
systems even existed.

The main reason I want to build this is NOT for the "fun" of building
one...too busy for that. I'm just having a really hard time finding a
"mainstream" manufacturer that will set up the raid arrays I want.
Even if I give up on the 2 arrays (4 drives raid 0 for one, 2 drives
raid 1 for the other...), I can't find any manufacturer that can do
that. Seems like the best I can get for a mainstream system is a two
drive, single array configuration.

Thanks for the idea! I'll check this mwave.com out

Danke,
Scott

On Thu, 28 Dec 2006 16:00:31 -0600, "m" wrote:

Try mwave.com for either motherboard bundles(the CPU and RAM come shipped
assembled) or their barebones systems(this is the motherboard, CPU, RAM
installed in the case of your choice, this makes things extremely easy on
you instead of having to wire up front panel USB, power LEDs and the like,
all you have to do is install your hard drive(s) and DVD player and off you
go). The cost on the barebones systems are identical to the parts
separately so it's a huge time saver at no extra cost.

I didn't even realize this was something I could have done. I'll check
around and see if I can find a store that would do it for me.

Thanks for the idea!
Scott

On Thu, 28 Dec 2006 22:45:13 GMT, "bob" wrote:


"Jeff" wrote in message
. ..


Why not goto your local "Mom @ Pop" computor store. Go over everything you
want and have them assemble it for around $60?