[pjchappy]

Well, due to my gracefulness, I busted my nice laptop about 2 weeks ago, by tripping over one of the cords I use in recording my own music.   After much time and a bit of money spent on trying to repair it, I determined it's not worth putting any more into it.  Would cost at least $350 to get it up and running. . .and that's only if one part is fried.

Anyways, after some debate, I decided to go the desktop route this time.  I also decided to build my first ever computer.  It will serve as an HTPC (the specs are major overkill for this) and mainly, my recording rig (the specs are a bit overkill, but I estimate 4 to 5 years out of it).  This (necessary) purchase has totally screwed me for my planned speaker upgrade.  (I swear I'm cursed, as I have been trying to save up for new speakers for about 1-year now!)

Here are the specs:

Case:    COOLER MASTER COSMOS 1000 RC-1000-KSN1-GP Black/ Silver Steel ATX Full Tower Computer Case

Motherboard:    ASUS Crosshair IV Formula AM3 AMD 890FX SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX AMD Motherboard
   
Graphics Card:    ASUS EAH5830 DIRECTCU/2DIS/1GD5 Radeon HD 5830 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.1 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX
   
Processor:    AMD Phenom II X6 1055T Thuban 2.8GHz Socket AM3 125W Six-Core Desktop Processor HDT55TFBGRBOX
   
Memory:    CORSAIR DOMINATOR 8GB (4 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model CMP4GX3M2C1600C7

Power Supply:      CORSAIR Professional Series AX850 850W ATX12V v2.31 / EPS12V v2.92 80 PLUS GOLD Certified Modular Active PFC Power Supply
       
Hard Drives:    TWO Western Digital Caviar Black WD6401AALS 640GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive (Will set up as RAID 0)

Media Drive:    LG Black Blu-ray Disc Combo SATA Model CH10LS20 OEM LightScribe Support - OEM
   
OS:     Microsoft Windows 7 Professional 64-bit 1-Pack for System Builders - OEM
   
Other:       Linksys WMP600N PCI Wireless Adapter with Dual-Band


Whatcha think?

Looking forward to getting this up and running.  Parts should arrive sometime next week.  For music playback, I will still be using my Peachtree Nova via USB.


Paul

[srb]

Unless you are playing games or rendering video animation, you don't really need a high-end fan cooled video card.  If it is just for HD Video playback, there are a number of less powerful passively cooled models that will perform just as well for that usage.
 
Steve

[pjchappy]

It's a mid-ranged video card ($200). . . and I will play the occasional game on it.


Paul

[firedog]

My only question would be how much do you care/are you sensitive to computer noise?

2 possible noise solutions:

1. aftermarket motherboard fan - these are generally much quieter and superior at cooling to stock motherboard fans

2. cases for HDs. Will isolate them and make it so you don't hear them.

I like endpcnoise.com for finding quiet components.

[pjchappy]

Noise would be an issue for me.  However, the PS has an ultra-quiet fan; the case has sound insulation and fans that are supposed to be quiet; the video card and CPU fans should be ok, too.  With the latter 2 fans being in the middle of a BIG insulated case, I doubt any noise from them will be an issue.  If any fan bugs me, I'll just replace it.

The HDs I ordered are supposed to be pretty quiet.  The case should help out with any noise there, too.  I will likely just continue to use my external HD for music playback.  It's very quiet.  If I want to use these internal drives for music playback and noise does become an issue, I'll just get a quiet drive (maybe even a solid-state drive).



Paul

[ctviggen]

For a generic home theater computer with no gaming, that seems like complete overkill.  However, if you're gaming, then it should come in handy. 

For instance, I'm running a Dell Zino with a dual core processor, and it does very well rendering Blurays.  I does, however, only output 5.1 and not 7.1. 

[pjchappy]

Yes, as I said in my OP, it's total overkill for an HTPC.  However, its main use will be for recording my music, which (again, as I said in my OP) is a bit overkill.

If I get into PC gaming a bit more (unlikely, but this set-up may tempt me. . .), I'm going to get another video card and set it up in Crossfire mode.

My home theater is just my main, 2-channel rig.  I will still just be using my external pre-amp/USB DAC combo with this new PC.  However, the PC can output 7.1.

Anyways, all the parts should arrive this week.  Can't wait to get it up and running.  So many things have come up this past year that have been keeping me away from recording my music. . . the main and most recent thing being user error.


Paul

[HT cOz]

Hopefully I wont get killed here but here goes.  I used to be a big AMD fan and then I got burned on going to Vista with AMD.  I know vista stinks and 7 is much better but I will only buy Intel processors because of that experience. 

I will only buy ASUS motherboards and I always go for stability over performance.  Crossfire seems like a major brain drain and would just get one killer card vs. two.

I would definately get quality RAM and would run the opp system on a solid state hardrive.

Just my 2 cents

[pjchappy]

I used to be a big AMD fan and then I got burned on going to Vista with AMD.  I know vista stinks and 7 is much better but I will only buy Intel processors because of that experience. 

Did my research.  Saw no one complaining of any issues with a Windows 7 and AMD combo.

I will only buy ASUS motherboards and I always go for stability over performance. 

I got one of ASUS' best motherboards.  Has great reviews.  Their 2nd most expensive AMD motherboard, behind an extended ATX model.  The only differences are that the extended ATX model has more expansion slots and some more USB ports.  Mine is more tweakable.  Here's a comparison: ASUS Motherboards.

I would definately get quality RAM and would run the opp system on a solid state hardrive.

Check.  I got 8GB of quality and fast RAM. 

As far as the solid-state drive, I may just end up getting a small one in a couple weeks, just for the OS.  I like this idea.

Crossfire seems like a major brain drain and would just get one killer card vs. two.

For my video card, I did my research here, too.  With the one I have, getting another one and setting it up in Crossfire mode will beat or equal more expensive cards.  Basically, spending money on 2 of these cards will be cheaper than getting one uber-card and will give me more performance.  The PS I specd can handle this (and much more).


Paul