Missy - You might want to revisit your research on opticals - there have
been negative reports on the brand you've chosen.  Good Luck, Steve Lachman

On 5/2/07, Missy Hoppe <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
>
> Hello. My name is Missy, and I just recently joined this email list. I'd
> like to
>
> appologize in advance for the length of this message, but I'm just trying
> to provide as much detail as possible in hopes that people can provide me
> with as much feedback as possible before I make my final computer purchase
> some time over the next week or so.
>
> I'm a blind computer enthusiast preparing to buy a new system, one that I
>
> hope will last me for at least as
>
> long as my current system has. The last computer I got was in 2002, and
>
> although it is still more or less functional, I'm wanting to get a system
> that is not only more
>
> up-to-date, but also more responsive. I do a lot of work with audio files
> ,
>
> mostly mp3 and midi. I also do a lot of
>
> web browsing, word processing, and I play a lot of text-based games both
> on
>
> and off line. I've been trying to do my homework with regards to parts to
>
> include in my dream system. I've decided that even if it might be a little
>
> more expensive, I'd rather "hand pick" every aspect of my new system to
>
> insure that I know exactly what I'm getting and also to insure maximum
>
> compatibility with my screen reading software.
>
> I have several reasons for not wanting to buy a ready-made system from
> Dell
>
> or another similar company. First of all, i have a dell computer at work,
>
> and it's even more flaky than the computer I'm preparing to retire.
>
> Secondly, when I put together a hypathetical system on Dell's site that
> was
>
> comparable to the one I'm planning, it was over $5000; my current price
> from Newegg for everything I'd like to include in my new system is around
> $3400. Finally, with Dell or another similar company, I'd be buying
> software and other stuff that I really
>
> didn't want or need, also a 20+ monitor which is completely pointless in
> my
>
> situation.
>
> Now that I've hopefully answered that question, my goals for this system,
>
> in order of importance, are maximum stability,
>
> maximum responsiveness and as much future proofing as possible. I'm
>
> prepared to spend up to $3000 to get everything as nice as possible, but
>
> naturally, if I could spend less, that would be really great. For numerous
>
> reasons, I'm not planning to upgrade to Windows Vista quite yet; I'm
>
> planning to run my new computer using Windows XP media center edition for
> a
>
> year or so. Never-the-less, I'd like this new computer to be completely
>
> ready for vista if/when I decide to upgrade.
>
> .With all that being said, I was hoping that I could get advice from
> members of this forum with regards to my final parts checklist. I'm
> planning to
>
> purchase all my parts from newegg within a week or so, and then get
>
> the system assembled by a local computer "expert".
>
> Before I spend any money, though, I'm trying to make certain that I
> haven't
>
> picked out any blatently incompatible parts, or that I haven't overlooked
>
> anything really major. As much research as I've done over the past couple
> of months,
>
> there are still a few  things that I don't fully understand. All I know is
>
> that I have no plans to overclock my system, especially since my screen
> reading software can't
>
> access the bios, so I would have to rely on someone with vision to do all
>
> the playing around, and nobody I know would even have the slightest clue
>
> how to do any of that stuff. Also, I only have minimal understanding with
>
> regards to what the purpose of rade is, but I do know that at least for
> now, I have no
>
> intention or desire to make use of it. I essencially want somebody to be
>
> able to put my system together, I install my screen reading software, and
> then
>
> everything will work together as harmoniously as possible. At this point,
> I'm reasonably confident in every aspect of my system, but would just like
> feedback from people with more experience than myself to confirm that
> everything I've chosen should be able to work together.
>
> To answer a few questions up front, I want 2 optical drives to make
> copying
> cds or dvds a little easier; I chose the combo drive since it can go up to
> 52X for CDs. Regarding fans and other case cooling, it is my
> understanding,
> based on most of what I've read, that the stock fans, heat sinks, etc that
> one gets with varius components aren't all that great. So, I'm planning to
> use 5 thunderblade fans in the blue dreamer case and not make use of any
> of
> the stock fans. Similarly, I am replacing the power supply included with
> the case with what sounds like the best su to meet my needs. I got the
> Zalman cpu cooler because, again, the stock one didn't sound all that
> great. Finally, I'm not sure about the north and south bridge stuff. I've
> already got the Thermaltake chipset cooler purchased, so would like to use
> that, and I was thinking that the Zalman passive chipset cooler might be
> good for the south bridge.
>
> Finally, I want to let you know that I've purchased a floppy drive,
> internal card reader, soundcard and tv tuner card separately; I just found
> them at better prices, and in the case of the tv tuner card and soundcard,
> Newegg just didn't have the parts I was wanting to use.
>
> I would really appreciate any and all feedback you might be able to
> provide
> with regards to my final parts list. This
>
> new system is going to be a huge investment for me, so I want to make sure
>
> I'm only spending what is strictly necessary to build the best PC I
>
> possibly can. Thank you in advance for any assistance you can provide, and
>
> I hope that you're having a really great day!
>
> Sincerely,
>
> Melissa J. Hoppe
>
> APEVIA X-Dreamer II ATXB4KLW-BL Blue Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case
>
> Model Number: ATXB4KLW-BL
>
> Thermaltake A1926 120mm Blue LED Case Fan
>
> Model Number: Thunderblade A1926
>
> 4 Thermaltake A1910 80mm Blue LED Case Fan
>
> Model Number: A1910
>
> ABIT AB9 QuadGT LGA 775 Intel P965 Express ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail
>
> Model Number: AB9 QuadGT
>
> EVGA 256-P2-N740-LR GeForce 8500GT 256MB GDDR2 PCI Express x16 Video Card
> -
> Retail
>
> Model Number: 256-P2-N740-LR
>
> ZALMAN ZM600-HP ATX12V 600W Power Supply - Retail
>
> Model Number: ZM - 600HP
>
> Intel Core 2 Extreme X6800 Conroe 2.93GHz LGA 775 Processor
> Model Number: BX80557X6800
>
> 2X Kingston HyperX 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400)
> Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model KHX6400D2LLK2/2GN - Retail
>
> Model Number: KHX6400D2LLK2/2GN
>
> SAMSUNG SpinPoint T Series HD501LJ 500GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive
> -
> OEM
>
> Model Number: HD501LJ
>
> SAMSUNG 740N-BK Black 17" 8ms LCD Monitor
>
> Model Number: 740n-Black
>
> LITE-ON Combo Drive Black SATA Model SHC-52S7K-05 - OEM
>
> Model Number: SHC-52S7K-05
>
> LITE-ON 20X DVD±R DVD Burner with LightScribe Black SATA Model
> LH-20A1L-05 - OEM
>
> Model Number: LH-20A1L-05
>
> Microsoft Windows XP Media Center Edition 2005 SP2b
>
> Model Number: M93-00439
>
> Microsoft Office Professional 2003 SP2
>
> Model Number: 269-13253
>
> Arctic Silver CMQ-22G The high-density, ceramic-based thermal compound -
> Retail
>
> Model #: CMQ-22G
>
> Thermaltake CL-C0034 Copper Fan&Heatsinks
>
> Model Number: CL-C0034
>
> ZALMAN CNPS9500 AT 2 Ball CPU Cooling Fan/Heatsink
>
> Model Number: CNPS9500 AT
>
> ZALMAN ZM-NB47J Aluminum Heatsinks only
>
> Model Number: ZM-NB47J
>
> VANTEC HDC-701A-BL Aluminum Aluminum Hard Driver Cooler
>
> Model Number: HDC-701A-BL
>
> SONY Black 1.44MB 3.5" Internal Floppy Drive
>
> Model Number: MPF920 Black
>
> Scythe internal 3.5 Kama Reader 18in1 Card Reader Black
>
> Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi XtremeMusic 24bit
>
> Vista View Saber 2020 Dual Analog PCIe MCE TV-FM Tuner Card
>
>                  Visit our website regularly for FAQs,
>               articles, how-to's, tech tips and much more
>                          http://freepctech.com
>

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