Both of my HP desktops died of lousy mobos this year, leaving me with a bunch of 2-yr-old but decent parts. The way the mobos died make it impossible for me to know how many, if any, of these parts are still good. I know for certain that one of the HDDs died as well. Here are the parts I am trying to salvage:
-1 x Chenbro xpsider atx case
-4 x 1gb DDR2 PC2-5300 SDRAM
-2 x 512mb DDR2 PC2-5300 SDRAM
-2 x SuperMulti DVD burner with Lightscribe SATA TS-H653 (hopefully one is still good - I might eventually connect both if they're both good)
-1 x Core 2 Quad Q6600 2.4 GHz 65nm 775 socket 1066 FSB
-1 x Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 320Gb SATA HDD
-2 x media card readers (hopefully one is still good, again I plan to only connect one)
-3 x internal front case USB 2.0/1 ports (again I plan to only connect one)
For now I'm assuming that they work, but plan to upgrade pretty much everything as I can afford it, so the challenge for me right now is how to buy new parts that will work with what I have but also will be good for (ideally) another five years.
Here's what I need to buy:
-wireless adapter card
-Win7 Professional 64bit
-power supply (I have a 400w that came with the case but I don't trust it)
-motherboard
-video card
-SSD
-cooling equipment
What I'm trying to create isn't a supreme gaming machine. I'm trying to create a computer capable of taking advantage of the Quad. I'm a freelance print and web designer/developer. This will mostly be used for work with some gaming. I need to make high resolution images (not uncommon to reach 1gb files), the occasional 3D work, and some animation. The games I play aren't horribly demanding: UT3, WoW, GTA3, Guitar Hero 3, NHL09, and the like. The comp will be dual booting with Win7 and Ubuntu.
I think I can find my way around buying the wireless, Win7, power, and SSD without troubles (although recommendations are always welcome). The video card and motherboard are bothering me.
The video card is bothering me because it's been years since I last built a computer. Back then my dream card was the nVidia 7800 GTX. Frankly that would still meet all of my gaming needs, but it's old enough now that It's difficult to find and newer cards are selling for cheaper than used 7800s. Can anyone point out the modern equivalent of the 7800GTX? Can the EVGA GeForce 9500 GT, for example, accomplish everything that the 7800GTX could?
My only request is that the video card is SLI compliant and under $150. I'll save the DX11's for later. It's really not the most important component at this point.
The mobo is the most important component at this point.
Since I don't know if my scraps are functional or not I'd like a mobo that could run both my scraps and burgeoning technology and last me a good, long time. Is this possible? Please someone tell me that they know of a mobo that fulfills the following:
- raid capable (unless you can't RAID a SSD with a HDD)
- SATA III
- include some USB3 functionality
- integrated Ethernet port
- if my Quad doesn't work I'll get a mid-quality replacement, perhaps Intel's Core 2 Quad Processor Q8300 2.5GHz
- at least 6 mem slots for my 5gb. Here's a tough part: if less than 4gb of my DDR2 works I'd prefer to switch to DDR3. I know there is such a thing as mobo that can support both, but I can't find any with the above specs included
- I don't need any 5.1+ digital sound wizardry. I either use a basic 2.0 setup, headphones, or output to my A/V receiver. Audio out and microphone is all I need.
Finally, my previous build did not require much more than basic HSF. If any of you feel that my new setup will require more cooling, please advise.
In the end I'm hoping I'll have a build with the operating systems, important programs, and working files loaded onto a 128gb SATA III SSD, unimportant programs and lo-res working files loaded onto the internal 320gb SATA mechanical HDD, and saved work files and entertainment on external HDDs.
I'll have a better understanding of my power needs and wifi options after I have the mobo and GPU figured out.
Am I expecting too much out of the mobo? Any suggestions for mobos if I remove the DDR2 requirement?
Thank you so much in advance! It's been too long since I've kept up to date on building and three days of research has my head is swimming from all the new numbers!
-1 x Chenbro xpsider atx case
-4 x 1gb DDR2 PC2-5300 SDRAM
-2 x 512mb DDR2 PC2-5300 SDRAM
-2 x SuperMulti DVD burner with Lightscribe SATA TS-H653 (hopefully one is still good - I might eventually connect both if they're both good)
-1 x Core 2 Quad Q6600 2.4 GHz 65nm 775 socket 1066 FSB
-1 x Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 320Gb SATA HDD
-2 x media card readers (hopefully one is still good, again I plan to only connect one)
-3 x internal front case USB 2.0/1 ports (again I plan to only connect one)
For now I'm assuming that they work, but plan to upgrade pretty much everything as I can afford it, so the challenge for me right now is how to buy new parts that will work with what I have but also will be good for (ideally) another five years.
Here's what I need to buy:
-wireless adapter card
-Win7 Professional 64bit
-power supply (I have a 400w that came with the case but I don't trust it)
-motherboard
-video card
-SSD
-cooling equipment
What I'm trying to create isn't a supreme gaming machine. I'm trying to create a computer capable of taking advantage of the Quad. I'm a freelance print and web designer/developer. This will mostly be used for work with some gaming. I need to make high resolution images (not uncommon to reach 1gb files), the occasional 3D work, and some animation. The games I play aren't horribly demanding: UT3, WoW, GTA3, Guitar Hero 3, NHL09, and the like. The comp will be dual booting with Win7 and Ubuntu.
I think I can find my way around buying the wireless, Win7, power, and SSD without troubles (although recommendations are always welcome). The video card and motherboard are bothering me.
The video card is bothering me because it's been years since I last built a computer. Back then my dream card was the nVidia 7800 GTX. Frankly that would still meet all of my gaming needs, but it's old enough now that It's difficult to find and newer cards are selling for cheaper than used 7800s. Can anyone point out the modern equivalent of the 7800GTX? Can the EVGA GeForce 9500 GT, for example, accomplish everything that the 7800GTX could?
My only request is that the video card is SLI compliant and under $150. I'll save the DX11's for later. It's really not the most important component at this point.
The mobo is the most important component at this point.
Since I don't know if my scraps are functional or not I'd like a mobo that could run both my scraps and burgeoning technology and last me a good, long time. Is this possible? Please someone tell me that they know of a mobo that fulfills the following:
- raid capable (unless you can't RAID a SSD with a HDD)
- SATA III
- include some USB3 functionality
- integrated Ethernet port
- if my Quad doesn't work I'll get a mid-quality replacement, perhaps Intel's Core 2 Quad Processor Q8300 2.5GHz
- at least 6 mem slots for my 5gb. Here's a tough part: if less than 4gb of my DDR2 works I'd prefer to switch to DDR3. I know there is such a thing as mobo that can support both, but I can't find any with the above specs included
- I don't need any 5.1+ digital sound wizardry. I either use a basic 2.0 setup, headphones, or output to my A/V receiver. Audio out and microphone is all I need.
Finally, my previous build did not require much more than basic HSF. If any of you feel that my new setup will require more cooling, please advise.
In the end I'm hoping I'll have a build with the operating systems, important programs, and working files loaded onto a 128gb SATA III SSD, unimportant programs and lo-res working files loaded onto the internal 320gb SATA mechanical HDD, and saved work files and entertainment on external HDDs.
I'll have a better understanding of my power needs and wifi options after I have the mobo and GPU figured out.
Am I expecting too much out of the mobo? Any suggestions for mobos if I remove the DDR2 requirement?
Thank you so much in advance! It's been too long since I've kept up to date on building and three days of research has my head is swimming from all the new numbers!
