building a new PC

[timtheenchanter]

I know this is not a full on PC forum, but there a few people on here who know what they are talking about, and opinions I trust, so here goes...


Its been a looong time since I built a pc from scratch (IIRC it was an AMD 500Mhz processor, and jumpers on the M/B to set speeds/voltages!!), the last couple were bundles/barebones sytems,

Im needing to make a system for my hobby of live theatre, it will be used for audio and video playback, a bit of audio and video editing, but not much (thats what I built my home machine for)

I cant seem to find a barebones I like (or can afford) so Im looking to go the whole hog and build myself.
now, how do I make sure the M/B processor and RAM are all compatible with each other?

Ive seen a couple of M/Bs with pretty decent onboard graphics, (radeon 3000) with dual head out, so looking along these lines, I do need somthing that will come with playing back HD video without issue, but dont need a huge gaming card. I need it to be pretty quiet, so another reason for no seperate GPU.

Also, as its to be used in theatre, it will have a good soundcard fitted to it, so I dont care about 5.1 onboard when Im fitting a 24Ch card.

I need a reliable make (think I have gigabyte in my machine here, no problems in the last 18 months)

looking at 2Gb RAM, with capacity to expand if in the future.

I will also be fitting SSDs in raid 1.
DVD burner
HDD caddy to use for a normal HDD for backup/archiving
It will be running XP pro, stripped back to be boring, but relaible, with only software used on it, cubase, vegas, VLC, cue playback,

hoping to spend up to £150 on MB/processor/RAM

hope its not a big ask here!!!

 

[Ricardus]

Though the onboard video can be pretty good, for decent HD video you'll want a separate video card. Almost all mobos have onboard sound these days at 5.1 (I think mines 7.1 or 8.1, not that I use any more than 2.0!)
I'd also advise more than 2gb ram, 4gb ought to do.
Can't see the point in having an HDD caddy, you'd probably be better off with an external HDD that plugs in via USB or E-Sata. You can buy the empty enclosures and your own HDD reasonably cheaply.

Lastly, unless you're really strapped for cash you might as well go Windows 7 64bit instead of XP, I've found it fast and reliable and havent had any real issues with drivers aside from my parents who had an ancient ADSL modem.
Being a 64-bit platform ought to make it a little faster if you have software that supports it.

£150 for a CPU and Mobo is pushing it, you'll be looking at stuff that's really three or four revisions behind the cutting edge, and you really want to be buying something that's a lot closer to the latest and greatest or you'll have no upgrade path without complete replacement.

 

[Monkeh]

Though the onboard video can be pretty good, for decent HD video you'll want a separate video card

What for? I admit hardware decoding is nice, but any current normal CPU can handle things without the extra expense.

 

[digdilem]

There's a lot of motherboards, even micro ones, out now that specify they are capable of 1080p video with the onboard gpu, as well as 7.1 audio, even hdmi out.

As for matching memory, cpu. Start with the board. Read it's specs - it will say what memory it needs. DDR2 or DDR3 now, how many slots.

It'll also say what CPU socket it has, and you can fit any matching cpu to that. (Although sometimes the fastest ones won't run at their full speed if they came out after the board. Bios updates can help, but google the motherboard + cpu before buying to check for any user experiences)

Generally go with Retail cpu's if you're unsure too - they come with reasonable cpu fans included. OEM's don't, as a rule.

Also seriously consider SSD hard drives if your storage needs are small. 30gb ssd's are under £50 now, faster than normal but more importantly in a tv box, totally silent and cool.

 

[Monsterminty]

If you were to find the motherboard you like you can post its make and modle number here and i can give you a list of compatible processors/ram etc.

 

[timtheenchanter]

cheers, will be getting back on this in the next week or so.

for the sound, really dont care about the onboard quality.

Im putting in one of these
http://www.rme-audio.de/en_products_hdsp_9652.php

as for XP over 7, currently I have several XP licences floating around, so that will cost me nowt.

the more important bit, is the software I use for shows is written by a hobbyist, and as yet not fully tested under '7, so wouldnt want to trust it 100%

SSDs will certainly make the box, it will be transported arond, and I feel SSDs will be more resilient to being moved about.

 

[eggbutt]

If you are using XP or any 32bit operating system then there is no point in getting more that 3gb of ram as it cant use much more than that. if you want a good cheap setup than i would get something like a gigabyte M/b with good onboard graphics and sound and an amd cpu that can be bought very cheaply

 

[Monkeh]

If you are using XP or any 32bit operating system then there is no point in getting more that 3gb of ram as it cant use much more than that.

Correct on XP, but please research the facts before you make sweeping statements like that.