best multimedia hardware config that won't break the bank

[skyman]

Looking to build a "decent" multimedia setup. Have ATX box, everything else is crap. Have some ideas, but looking for advice on motherboards, multimedia hardware, best CPU type and any other advise you can give me.

Thanks in advance.

[loop2kil]

By multimedia do you mean Home theater PC (one that will hook up to a TV an/or AV equipment?) or just a general pc to play around with some mp3's, play games and stuff?

[Ken]

Hey skyman,
More details!

I know that you have a new psu, mobo, cpu, NIC and RAM... Did you ever get the new GF 4 video card?

Is this for you or for someone else?


I am getting a feeling that your friend is wanting a new puter and this is for him.


Are you talking everything? Cpu, mobo, psu, vid card, sound card, speakers, CD/DVD, hard drives... AMD or Pentium?

Details, dude, details!


Plenty of info available here, but they have to promise to join SG Folding!

[cy]

Originally posted by Ken


Plenty of info available here, but they have to promise to join SG Folding!

lol, but first we need to help them to get the rig up first

But anyways, yep. More details, like what are u going to do with the box, what ppl is it for? Kid to play some blue clues games, teenage to play some Flight Sim or businessman to do their accounting stuff? Also set a upper limit for your budget will also help us pick parts out for ya

[skyman]

By multimedia,i mean i need to be able to connect to tv/vcr/camcorder and do quality editing for family album's.want to be able to burn quality cd's.no gaming,lot of surfing.my friend's old comp is a dud!!!!!!!he has ms and will join folding asap after we get the info we need to put new comp together.only thing he is keeping is the box,need all new stuff for above!

Thank's in advance!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[cy]

So main thing is the video card for video editing and a good burner for burning CDs right? Also for video editing you need quite a bit of ram. Concentrate on these couple items, then spend the rest of the money on the CPU, MB, HDD.

[Ken]

Multiple Sclerosis, I know who it is then! No doubt that he will want to Fold! So let's give this guy some good help!

The only thing that he is wanting to keep is his case, which is ATX, correct?

Does he prefer AMD or Pentium?
Or just best bang for the buck?

Give us a budget...

[cy]

I believe he would want the bang for the bucks since he said without breaking the bank

so.....AMD!

[skyman]

budget @ $800,don't need keyboard,mouse or monitor,just comp,he does'nt OC.want's a good stable system

[skyman]

also,am using roadrunner cable connection.will also want quality voice input for making family albums.my friend,as i said has ms and want's to take all old video's and picture's and make family album's.


thank's for your help!!!

[Ken]

OK guys, here we go!

$800 budget
Computer only, he has an ATX case.

Let's make him a good, stable puter for surfing, video editing and storage (he has lost many family members, so his pics and videos are very important to him...) No gaming, no over clocking...

------------------------------------------------------------------------------
psu- a good one like enermax or Antec true power..
--------------------

My suggestion... ($72.00 total shipped)
ENERMAX EG365P-VE(FCA). 350W Power supply for AMD K7 & Pentium4. Meet AMD K7 and Intel ATX +12V 1.1 and ATX 2.03 version (Pentium 4 fully support). Ultra cooling design: one 9 cm fan intake heat and one 8 cm fan exhaust heat. FCA function (Fan On/ Off Controlled by M/B & Adjustable), "sleeping mode" . 9cm Thermal Control Fan. Retail box. Model#: EG365P-VE(FCA) Special FedEx Saver Shipping $6.00
$68.00

Newegg $68 + $6 shipping= $72.00

Click HERE to see it


-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
cpu- P4
------------------

Clueless on Pentium...

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
mobo- stable, on board sound?....
---------------

I am not sure if a particular mobo is better for video editing as I don't know what plug-ins are best... HELP!!!!


----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
RAM- at least 512MB... reliable
---------------------------
Let's see what mobo first...


-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
CD-RW- needs quality... lite-on?
-------------------------
(I am a SCSI man myself... ) HELP!!!!


---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Floppy- Sony...
---------------------------
My suggestion... ($13.00 total)
SONY 1.44MB 3.5 INCH INTERNAL FDD DRIVE - OEM Model MPF920-Z Model#: MPF920Z Special FedEx Saver Shipping $5.00
$8.00

Newegg $8 + $5 shipping= $13.00

click here to see it


---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Video card- Help!
-----------------------------
Clueless!!!! HELP!!!!!


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
NIC- 3com 905... (If mobo doesn't have good onboard sound...)
-----------------------------
My suggestion... ($40.00 total shipped...)
(Maybe able to locate a better soewhere else...?)
3COM 905CX-TXM PCI 10/100 Network Card with Wake-Up (No Cable Included!) - OEM Connectors: RJ-45. Bus: 32-bit, 33 MHz PCI. Operating distance (10BASE-T): Category 3, 4, 5, 5e UTP to 100 m (328 ft). Operating distance (100BASE-TX): Category 5, 5e UTP to 100 m (328 ft). IEEE compliance: 802.3, 802.3u, 802.3x, 802.1p/Q. Standards compliance: PCI 2.1/2.2, PC99/2001, DMI 2.0s, ACPI, WfM, WOL, BIS, PXE, BOOTP, TFTP, DHCP. Managed by: Any SNMP management, including 3Com Managed PC Boot Agent. Model#: 3C905CX-TXM -OEM Special FedEx Saver Shipping $4.00
$36.00

Newegg $36 + 4 shipping= $40

click here to see it


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Hard drive- good, reliable, reputable...
------------------------------
I use SCSI, so.... HELP!!!!!


Thanks in advance guys!
*edited by ken*

[cy]

mobo - Asus or Abit..if you want onboard sound, Epox 8K5A+
HDD - WD 80G 7200rpm
Video - Same, help! I donno any good video editing vid card. So it should have VIVO? Composite? S-video?

[loop2kil]

Lite On 40X12X48 CDRW $62.00

Floppy Drives -Sony- $8.00

Hard Drives - Western Digital 'Special Edition' 80 GB IDE $107.00

Memory - PC (DDR) OCZ DDR RAM 512MB PC-2400 266Hz 140.00

Motherboards Asus P4b266-C (intel 845d chipset) $132.00

Power Supplies ENERMAX 350W Power supply $49.00

Intel Pentium4 1.8A GHz 512K 400MHz $165.00

TV LEADTEK WINFAST TV2000XP TV/FM MULTIMEDIA CARD- RETAIL BOXWinFast 32bit PCI 2.2 bus; TV Tuner; FMTuner; Connector : 1x TV reception, 1x FM reception, 1x S-video input, 1x Audio-in, 1x Audio-out, 1x I/R sensor; Minimum Requirement: PCI slot, Pentium II 300MHz and above, 16MB RAM, Graphics Sub-system w/ Direct 8.0 and above, 16bits sound card
$64.00

Video Cards-
ATI OEM RADEON 7000 64MB SDR W/TV ,ATI RADEON 7000
$39.00

Grand Total » $ 782.50 w/shipping

The P4 is about as stable as you can get and for video editing you cant go wrong. I know you said o/c'ing isnt an issue but this really isnt o/c'ing its just one 'flip of the switch' in the bios and this baby will run stable at 2.4 ghz with a 533mhz FSB with the stock hsf that comes with the processor. Since gaming wasnt an issue i went with one of the most popular cards used for its tv-out function. If you decide not to go p4 i would definately get this leadtek capture card, as it will do anything you want capture wise and it comes with a remote

[YeOldeStonecat]

Since one of my friends is serious into video editing, making professional physical therapy videos, she hits a lot of video forums. And in that area, it's all Intel. Many hiccups in AMD systems with most of the software. Also keep in mainstream, rock solid chipsets in your mobo. Trust me there.

And I like AMD, look at my sig!

I built her a custom rig over a year ago that runs like a champ. She's very involved with others who do video on a professional/semi-professional basis, and they love her machine. I get lots of input from her on hardware in this area.

Go with a P4a Northwood, on the 845e chipset. Yes the latest P4's are more expensive, but you can pick up 1.6's or 1.8's for dirt cheap now! Even 2.0's.

Video (and I'm an nVidia lover), I'll suggest ATI, something along the line of the Radeon All In Wonder 8500DR. If you want video editing...don't skimp on your video card. Visit ATI's website, there are other models less expensive...but still for VIVO. Plenty of room to adjust for your budget here along all of ATI's lines.

Also, I highly recommend the newer Western Digital Special Edition hard drives....they have 8 megs cache on them, as to all others drives with only 2 megs. HUGE HUGE gains for video editing.

RAM...it's dirt cheap now, getting at least 512 megs of DDR will not break your bank. A full gig will give you sweet performance.

Burner, I've always loved Plextor.

[Ken]

Thanks guys!

Well, it seems that P4 is the better choice for his needs, so lets lean that way!

[cy]

Originally posted by Ken
Thanks guys!

Well, it seems that P4 is the better choice for his needs, so lets lean that way!

However if he goes P4, he can't get a decent rig without breaking the bank

[YeOldeStonecat]

Originally posted by cy


However if he goes P4, he can't get a decent rig without breaking the bank

1.6's for 150 bucks? 1.8's well under 200 bucks? Like I mentioned above, early Northwoods are budget kings now! Don't even have to break a kids piggy bank for those!

[cy]

Originally posted by YeOldeStonecat


1.6's for 150 bucks? 1.8's well under 200 bucks? Like I mentioned above, early Northwoods are budget kings now! Don't even have to break a kids piggy bank for those!

But compare to the AMDs, still have a price difference. But if P4s are better for the vid editing, I guess it's worth to invest little more in it.

[Brent]

The main word that is striking me here is "Multimedia" and for that you will want 2 things, A) A P4, one reason SSE2 and B) an ATI AIW video card, pretty self explanitory there

These are my recomendations with explanation for a budget of $800 not including case:

Motherboard: - Abit BD7II-RAID $118 at Newegg

CPU: - P4 1.8A $165 at newegg

RAM: - Crucial Micron 512MB 64x64 PC2100 DDR RAM, 184-Pin, CL=2.5-Unbuffered 2.5V, 6-Layers $141 at newegg

Video Card: - ATI ALL-IN-WONDER RADEON 8500DV 64MB DDR AGP-BULK $163 at newegg

Hard Drives: - WD WESTERN DIGITAL "SPECIAL EDITION" 80GB 7200RPM EIDE HARD DRIVE MODEL # WD800JB - OEM, DRIVE ONLY $107 each, get 2 and RAID 0 them.

Lite On 16X DVD ROM Drive
Lite On 40X CDRW

all of that would put you over $800 a bit, but it would well be worth it

to keep it closer to $800 you could subtract one of those hard drives and just stick with 1 hard drive for now, the only reason i mentioned two hdd's in RAID 0 is for pure space and speed which is very important with multimedia stuff as well...

that system would be an awesome multimedia system for you

so basically it comes down to this, for a really awesome multimedia system you would want RAMBUS and a P4, but since it is more expensive still right now i had to go with a DDR mobo for you, one based on the Intel 845E chipset which is very stable, so i chose a mobo from Abit with the i845E and ICH4 southbridge (which means it has on board audio and ethernet and usb 2.0) and then i put a 1.8A (northwood) P4 which is great for multimedia i.e. SSE2 support yadda yadda, and 512MB of PC2100 DDR which is fine since you aren't overclocking, and you can always put more in later, then I suggested two WD special edition 80GB hdd's in RAID 0, though you could just stick with one to save money if you wanted, and then the AIW 8500 vid card which has ALL you will need for your video capabilities increadible card there and great price now too, and then of course a fast CDRW and DVD rom drive and you will be happy....

let me know if you need any more detail or have any questions etc...

oh and don't listen to these other people dissin the P4 and stuff, they just don't know what they are talking about, same goes for the AXP's.... each CPU works best for different situations, in your situation you want a P4

[YeOldeStonecat]

Originally posted by Brent
Hard Drives: - WD WESTERN DIGITAL "SPECIAL EDITION" 80GB 7200RPM EIDE HARD DRIVE MODEL # WD800JB - OEM, DRIVE ONLY $107 each, get 2 and RAID 0 them.

One note...for video editing, serious video editing anyways, you will want 2x hard drives...but totally separate. I'm a fan of RAID, but not on one of these machines. You're video editing software will want an entire hard drive by itself for a "swapfile" of it's own. You will want to keep this drive empty, and defragged between big jobs.

So one hard drive for your C drive, and another hard drive for your D drive.

[Deus ex Machina]

Originally posted by skyman
By multimedia,i mean i need to be able to connect to TV/VCR/camcorder and do quality editing for family album's.want to be able to burn quality Cd's.no gaming,lot of surfing.my friend's old comp is a dud!!!!!!!he has ms and will join folding asap after we get the info we need to put new comp together.only thing he is keeping is the box,need all new stuff for above!

Thanks in advance!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

CPU.... AMD 1800+ to 2100+
Excellent bang for the buck. The speed differences may not be all that critical. If you are fond of Intel, the 1.8a processor is inexpensive and overclocks nicely, often to 2.4MHz

Board... I will leave that one to the mobo experts. I am liking the ones with built in USB 2.), FireWire and NIC.

Video card.... The all-in-wonder 8500DV is a dandy card. Check the ati site for all the features. I use it as a tivo and quick digitizing of video, with TMPENC... can be converted to mpg2 for VCD or SVCD creation... poor-man's DVDs, playable on many DVD machine. Note: I have this card, and I am running some pretty neat stuff with it.

Sound card.... Audigy is quite good. I spent the extra coin for the platinum, the front facing break out box is not a necessity, but a nice convenience.

CD-r....... Any Lite-on, they are inexpensive and work very well. I would also look at the TDK 48X at Costco, with 10 blank for 99.00... not a bad deal.

I am quite fond of the special edition Western Digital hard-drives. the 8MB buffer (fast) and quiet operation make them keepers. YOSC is correct. It is better to have two drives on two separate channels for digitizing.

Feel free to PM if you have any specific questions.

shant,
david

[Ken]

A good base to work with!

Thanks guys!