Eric,
I recently build a new system and have been very happy with the components I
selected and the final outcome. Be forwarned, this is an AMD, not Intel,
based system. If you are stuck on the Pentium 4, read no further. I started
with a Gigabyte nForce2 Ultra 400 GA-7NNXP Motherboard. It has built in
audio (Sound Storm 6.1 channel, IIRC), 10/100 AND Gigabit LAN, USB 2.0 (6
total), FireWire (Front and back), SATA RAID, IDE RAID and a regular IDE
interface (So theoretically, you can attach 2 SATA drives and 8 IDE drives).
It supports the most current AMD 32 bit chips. I purchased the AMD Athlon XP
3000+ "Barton", 400 FSB, 512K Cache Processor (which is a step below the top
of the line AMD Athlon). I equipped the board with 2 sticks of matched DDR
400 RAM (the board supports dual channel DDR). BTW, I use WinXP Pro.
I went with a boot system consisting of 2 Western Digital Raptor SATA 10,000
rpm drives (about 37 GB each) set up as a RAID 0. I use this array for the
operating system, programs and working files. I connected two Maxtor 120 GB
IDE drives in a second RAID 0 setup. This gives a "single" disk of about 240
GB for storage and editing videos. I housed the system in an Antec SX1040BII
Black SOHO File Server Tower with 420 watt PS. I love this case. No fancy
lights, just lots of room and easy to use. Pretty much a tool-free case. It
comes with USB and FireWire ports on the front, 4 5" bays and 6 3.5" (four
inside).
I picked up an inexpensive ATI 9200 based Gigabyte card with VIVO, VGA and
Digital outputs.
I have been impressed with SATA RAID. The boot times are significantly
faster than my old system. A complete vius scan that used to take literally
hours is now completed in about 45 minutes. The risk with the RAID 0 is that
you double your chances of a hard drive crash because if one of the two RAID
disks fails, you loose the files. So back up early and often. But I find the
speed and response increases fantastic.
My last addition was a Sony DRU510A DVD-/+RW Recorder. It has worked
flawlessly so far. No coasters.
When I was researching for this system, I found lots of conflicting and
often derogatory comments on motherboards. I read many people complain about
the Gigabyte board's problems. I did not experience any of them. I think you
may hear more from complainers on different message boards than from
satisfied customers. I have had this system running daily since the
beginning of October without a hiccup.
Good luck with your project. Hope the info helps.
Jim Maki
[log in to unmask]
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Eric Greenberg
>
> Hi PCBUILDers,
>
> I am building a new machine for myself for the Holidays and I am looking
> for some input from those here "in the know".
>
> I am looking to use top-of-the-line components, except for the video
> card. I am not a gamer and don't need to spend $200-$300 on a fancy video
> card.
>
> Here is my plan:
>
> - P4 2.8-3.2 Ghz, 800 Mhz FSB w/HT
> - Minimum of 512MB RAM
> - Still on the fence about SATA or RAID, but will have a 200GB HD
> for video
> editing.
> - Good case and PSU
> - USB/FIREWIRE ports
> - 1000MB NIC, or at least a top-of-the-line 100MB card.
>
> Can anyone recommend a good motherboard? Should I get ECC RAM? Opinions
> on RAID and SATA appreciated. Any and ALL comments welcome. I would
> appreciate all replies to the list for others to see as well. I should
> note that I have done a lot of research already, but most of it
> has left me
> more confused than anything. Especially over SATA and RAID. I used to
> build and install/setup machines for a living, so I am not new to
> this, but
> since my career path has changed in the last two years, I have lost touch
> with some of the newest "stuff:.
>
> Eric Greenberg
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