Spec me question again....

vinny7

vinny7

vinny7

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18 Oct 2004
Posts
114
Hi, a family member has asked me to put together a new system for him, I have built a few systems but not for the purpose I've been asked for today.

He wants a really fast machine with loads of storage, possibly network streaming capabilities and does a lot of video editing and photography. He's not interested in gaming and wants at the same time to build a wireless network incorporating some network storage so it can be accessed by his other machines. I was thinking a PSU and case he could keep for a while would be helpful for the future.

Budget? Well, he says money is no object, however, I'm thinking around 1500 to 1800 and thats got to include router and network storage.

Please help, I want to do the best job I can for him.
Thanx.
 
With those uses plenty of RAM and CPU power would be good, for the budget I'd start with 2GB of RAM and an E6600, along with (for your idea of having it last awhile) something like: a Corsair HX 520W and Akasa Eclipse or Mirage.

Not sure where your going (or exactly what he wants) with the network storage thing I'm afraid.

Heres a crappy start for you:
Asus P5B-E Plus (Socket 775) PCI-Express DDR2 Motherboard £97.99
(£115.14)
X2 Sony AW-G170AB2 18x DVD±RW x12 Ram Dual Layer DVD-Writer - (Black) OEM £35.98
(£42.28)
Intel Core 2 DUO E6600 "LGA775 Conroe" 2.40GHz (1066FSB) - Retail £182.99
(£215.01)
X2 GeIL 2GB (2x1GB) PC6400C4 800MHz Ultra Low Latency DDR2 Dual Channel Kit (GX22GB6400UDC)£275.98
(£324.28)
X2 Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 320GB ST3320620AS SATA-II 16MB Cache - OEM £111.98
(£131.58)
Netgear DG834N 300Mbps Rangemax NEXT Wireless ADSL2+ Modem/Router/Switch/Firewall £82.99
(£97.51)
Microsoft Windows XP Professional x64 Edition - OEM - 1Pk (ZAT-00054) £79.99
(£93.99)
Akasa Mirage 62 Aluminium Case - No PSU £83.99
(£98.69)
Creative X-Fi Xtreme Gamer Soundcard - Retail £49.99
(£58.74)
Leadtek GeForce 7600 GS SILENT 256MB DDR2 TV-Out/DVI (PCI-Express) - Retail £59.99
(£70.49)
Sub Total : £1,061.87
Shipping cost assumes delivery to UK Mainland with:
City Link Parcel Next Day (Delivered Mon-Fri)
(This can be changed during checkout) Shipping : £12.95
Vat : £188.09
Total : £1,262.91

It has a pretty decent mobo, 4GB of RAM, nice expandable (and very big) case, pretty decent sound card if he ever wants to watch movies or something, 640 GB of hard drive space, 2x DVDRWs, a pretty powerful wireless router and a silent graphics card that can cope with a little gaming should the need arise.
 
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Thank you very much for your input, it's given me something to work on.
Cheers and Merry Christmas.
 
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Word of warning on the Wireless front. do not get 802.11n (300Mbps) wireless products. not yet anyway. The standard is only a draft for the moment and there has been some issues.

For now stick with 802.11g (54Mbps - 108Mbps) or if he needs to transmit a lot of data around a network probably better off opting for a wired Gbps network and just adding an access point into the setup for laptops etc.

I would'nt worry really about network storage, sharing the drive on the computers will be enough. but if you must go for NAS (Network Attached Storage) I'd look up Lacie, they have a reasonable reputation.

If your going to have large amounts of data stored as well look into RAID for the storage drives, and possible buy 3 of the same drives and have it in RAID 5 (Striping with Parity) that way you have a level of redundency about the system that will reduce the risk of data loss.

EDIT: Forgot to mention, the 3 disks would be purely for data storage, it would be a good idea to have a seperate hard disk for windows and apps. Doesnt have to be huge, 80Gig is usually more than adequate, and they are actually fairly cheap these days, around £40 (makes it easier to sort out if you have to re-install windows)
 
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Also, is there any advantage to having a faster disc for windows? Say a Raptor and then having 2 slower high storage discs?
 
Advantages are that its easier to repair, and keeps your data safe from virus's I've found. also means you can have an ultra fast disk for loading apps/games/whatever without have to for out too much to have enough storage on same disk.
 
With everything...
  • Netgear DG834N 300Mbps Rangemax NEXT Wireless ADSL2+ Modem/Router/Switch/Firewall £82.99
  • Synology Disk Station DS-101j NAS Enclosure £99.99
  • Samsung SpinPoint T HD400LD 400GB ATA-100 8MB Cache - OEM £69.99 - for DS-101j (above)
  • GeIL 2GB (2x1GB) PC6400C4 800MHz Ultra Low Latency DDR2 Dual Channel Kit (GX22GB6400UDC) £144.99
  • Leadtek GeForce 7600 GS SILENT 256MB DDR2 TV-Out/DVI (PCI-Express) - Retail £59.99
  • NEC AD7170A 18x18 DVD±RW Dual Layer ReWriter (Black) - OEM £17.20
  • Lian-Li PC-7 PLUS Aluminum Midi-Tower Case - Black £48.99
  • Corsair HX 520W ATX2.2 Modular SLI Compliant PSU (CMPSU-520HXUK) £59.99
  • Logitech Cordless Desktop MX 3000 Laser - Retail £54.99
  • Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 250GB ST3250620AS SATA-II 16MB Cache - OEM x2 £99.98
  • Creative Inspire 7.1 T7900 Speakers - Retail Creative Inspire 7.1 T7900 Speakers - Retail £69.95
  • NEC MultiSync® LCD20WGX2 20.1" Widescreen LCD Monitor - Black/Silver £289.99
  • Intel Core 2 DUO E6600 "LGA775 Conroe" 2.40GHz (1066FSB) - Retail £182.99
  • Asus P5W DH Deluxe WiFi (Socket 775) PCI-Express DDR2 Motherboard £129.99
  • Sub Total : £1,412.02
  • Shipping : £54.95
  • Vat : £256.72
  • Total : £1,723.69
:cool:
 
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