Hello. My name is Missy, and I'm 33 years old. I live in Cincinnati, Ohio
and work at Fifth Third bank as a customer service representative.
I'm a blind computer enthusiast, and am writing to this list in order to
get some advice. I'm preparing to buy a new computer
, 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 it is still more or less functional, but I'm wanting to get
something 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 online text-based games. I've been trying to do my homework
with regards to parts to include in my
dream system. I've decided that even though it will probably be 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.
With all that being said, I was hoping that I could get advice from members
of this list with regards to my final parts checklist.
I'm planning to purchase all my parts from newegg.com, and then get the
system assembled by an "expert" in my local area.
Basicly, what I'm hoping to attain from this forum is guidance in making
sure that I haven't picked out incompatible parts, or that I haven't
overlooked something. My primary questions at this point are:
1. Is there better quality, more stable ram availible than the brand/model
I've chosen? I really would like to use Kingston ram if at all possible
because I use one of their cf flash cards in a portable book reading
machine I have, and it's never given me a second's trouble. I've been
encouraged to get the hyper-x kingston ram instead of the value ran and
vantec heatspreaders, I've tried using memory configurators online, but
haven't had any luck making sense out of their results. As much research as
I've done over the past month or so, I still don't understand all that
stuff about timing, and have no plans to overclock,
as my screen reading software doesn't access the bios, so I would have to
rely on someone with better vision to do all the playing around, and nobody
I
know would even have the slightest clue how to do any of that stuff. So,
what I'm looking for is maximum stability and responsiveness. I've read in
several places that the Intel motherboard specifically requires ram that
runs at 1.8V, which is why I picked out the value ram kit, but the ram that
other people are recommending me to switch to runs at 2.0 V. So, in my
situation, should I upgrade to a different model of ram, or would I be
better off just getting the Kingston Value Ram and heat spreaders that I've
already chosen?
2. Do I have too many fans, or not enough? My plan is to get a 4-pack of
Thermaltake 80MM Blue led fans, as well as 2 of the Thermaltake 120
thunderblade fans, also with blue leds. Along these same lines, I picked
out CPU and chipset cooling components because I read that the stock
cooling that comes with most cpus and motherboards isn't worth having. I
don't want to run the risk of anything overheating if I can at all avoid
it, but on the other hand, if I buy so many fans/cooling devices that they
aren't going to work
efficiently, I'd appreciate tips on what to get rid of.
3. Is my choice of case going to be a good one? Although I am totally
blind, I do have light and color perception, and since blue is my all-time
favorite color, I would really like to have a nice blue case sitting on the
desk beside me. While the concept of the side window is
interesting, I could easily do without it if I can get a better quality
case that is not only as blue as possible but also will keep my system
running cool and quiet. Ideally, I'm hoping to find a case that is
indigo/cobalt in color; I have a set of indigo Bose Mediamate speakers
which are the only component I'm planning to keep from my old system, and
if my new case could match them, it would be incredibly awesome!
Unfortunately, the nature of my vision is such that I can't make any useful
determinations regarding case color by looking at pictures. I've been told
by several people that the case I've chosen in the list at the end of this
message is the one that will best meet my needs, but then, I've also been
told by other people to avoid Apevia cases, so more input regarding this
would be grately appreciated.
These are the only questions that I can think of at the moment, but I'd
really appreciate any
and all feedback people might be able to provide.
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
can. My goals for this system, in order of importance, are maximum
reliability, maximum responsiveness and as much future proofing as
possible. I'm prepared to spend up to $3500, possibly a little bit more if
necessary if there are any changes that people recommend that would
significantly improve the system's performance/stability. I'm not planning
to upgrade to Windows Vista right away, primarily because my screen reading
software doesn't fully support vista yet. However, I'd like this new
computer to be completely ready for vista whenever I am.
So, with all that explanation out of the way, here is my list of parts;
I've also made my newegg.com wishlist public so that people can look it
over and provide feedback that way if that's more convenient. Thank you all
in advance for any assistance you can provide, and I hope that everyone is
having a really great day!
Missy
_________________________________
APEVIA X-PLEASURE-BL Blue Aluminum ATX Full Tower Computer Case
Model #: X-PLEASURE-BL
Thermaltake A1926 120mm Blue LED Case Fan - Retail
Model #: Thunderblade A1926
Thermaltake A2387 80mm Blue LED Case Fan - Retail
Model #: A2387
Intel BOXD975XBX2KR LGA 775 Intel 975X ATX Intel Motherboard
Model #: BOXD975XBX2KR
EVGA 320-P2-N815-AR GeForce 8800GTS 320MB GDDR3 PCI Express x16 HDCP Video
Card
Model #: 320-P2-N815-AR
Hauppauge WinTV-PVR-150 MCE PCI Interface 1042 Tuner Card - Retail
Model #: 1042
ETASIS ET850 ATX12V / EPS12V 850W Power Supply - Retail
Model #: ET850
Intel Core 2 Extreme X6800 Conroe 2.93GHz LGA 775 Processor
Model #: BX80557X6800
Silverstone FP34-B USB 2.0 Card Reader - Retail
Model #: FP34-B
Kingston ValueRAM 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual
Channel Kit Desktop Memory
Model #: KVR800D2N5K2/2G
SONY Black 1.44MB 3.5" Internal Floppy Drive
Model #: MPF920 Black
Seagate Barracuda ES ST3500630NS 500GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive
Model #: ST3500630NS
SAMSUNG 740N-BK Black 17" 8ms LCD Monitor - Retail
Model #: 740n-Black
SONY Combo Drive Black IDE Model CRX320EE/B2S W/O SW - OEM
Model #: CRX320EE/B2S W/O SW
SAMSUNG 18X DVD±R DVD Burner With 12X DVD-RAM Write, LightScribe Technology
Black SATA model
Model #: SH-S183L
Creative 70SB046A00000 7.1 Channels PCI Interface Sound Blaster X-Fi
XtremeGamer Fatal1ty Professional Series
Model #: 70SB046A00000
Microsoft Windows XP Media Center Edition 2005 SP2b
Model #: M93-00439
Microsoft Office Professional 2003 SP2 1pk
Model #: 269-13253
Arctic Silver Ceramique Thermal Compound - OEM
Model #: Ceramique
VANTEC ICEBERG DDR-A1A Aluminum Heatsinks only - Retail
Model #: ICEBERG DDR-A1A
Thermaltake CL-C0034 Copper Fan&Heatsinks - Retail
Model #: CL-C0034
ZALMAN CNPS9500 AT 2 Ball CPU Cooling Fan/Heatsink - Retail
Model #: CNPS9500 AT
ZALMAN ZM-NB47J Aluminum Heatsinks only - Retail
Model #: ZM-NB47J
VANTEC HDC-701A-BL Aluminum Aluminum Hard Driver Cooler - Retail
Model #: HDC-701A-BL
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