Turning 64
After coming back from TechEd 2004 I was really excited by all of the new technologies that I saw. I also realized that my venerable Dell was in need of some help. I wanted to try everything I saw at TechEd but realized that I don't have enough horsepower or disk space for all of the virtual PC images. Also it is getting harder to get onto "my" computer because of my 10 year old playing Halo PC or Runscape (oh and presumably doing homework). I was hoping to wait it out for Longhorn but I just couldn't wait any longer. I started weeks ago getting up to speed on all of the new technologies that have come out since my last PC. My last PC was a DELL XPS 1GHZ. It is a great machine but it's time to move on. I have had many Dells in the past but this time I could not find the right mix of features I was looking for. I decided to build it myself, and maybe teach my son (and myself) a few things.
CPU / Motherboard
I felt now was the time to make the 64bit plunge. I looked at all of the different AMD64 chips out there. It was really hard to understand which chip to buy. The numbering method was very confusing. For example there is the AMD XP 3200, AMD64 3200 newcastle and AMD64 3200 clawhammer it is all very confusing. Many online ads don't make it clear which version you are lo0king at. Then there is the 3000,3200,3400,3500,3700,3800 etc. and the FX. I settled on the AMD64 3200+ with a 1MB cache. Now to choose a motherboard. I went with the one with the most good reviews and recommendations from everyone. I got the ASUS K8V Deluxe.
Memory
The motherboard has 3 slots for a total of 3GB. I went the cheap route and put 2 512 DDR 3200 for a total of 1GB.
Video
I wanted a video card that was DirectX 9.0 ready. I also wanted to go with ATI as I had an MSI / Nvidia GeForce FX 5200 that I got to drive a DVI flatscreen monitor. The cards DVI port stopped working after a short period of time and I was unable to get any support from MSI or NVidia. I also had an old ATI All-In-Wonder Pro card I used on a Dell 300Mghz computer. In fact we still use it to watch tv and surf the web. I was happy to find that ATI is making a new All-In-Wonder card. So the price was right for a DirectX 9.0, TV/FM tuner card. I picked up the ATI All-In-Wonder 9600 XT. The video card also comes with a remote control.
Hard Drive
The motherboard has both Ultra ATA and Serial ATA controllers. I wanted to stay will new technology where possible. So I began looking for a SATA Hard Drive. Most of the SATA drives are much more expensive than the PATA (parallel ATA like Ultra ATA) drives were. One option that I was rolling around was to buy a small 80GB SATA drive for the OS and programs and a large PATA drive for the data. One advantage of a SATA drive is the small serial cable. You don't have to deal with the big parallel ribbon cable. So I kept looking. I finally found a Western Digital 200GB SATA drive on sale for the same price as a PATA drive.
DVD/CD
The next item I need is a DVD/CD buner. I am looking for a SATA drive. I think I found a good one from Plextor PX-712SA. 8-in-1 Combo drive:12X DVD+R, 8X DVD-R, 4X DVD+RW, 4X DVD-RW, 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-R, 24X CD-RW and 48X CD-ROM It should be available any day. I may have to use an old CD drive to get the OS installed on and then upgrade to this one when I can find it.
Keyboard/Mouse
I went with the Microsoft Wireless Optical Desktop Elite, very cool. The mouse has the new tilt wheel so I can scroll left and right. The keyboard also has the wheel. The keyboard also has many hot buttons so that I can quickly launch my apps.
So now all I need to do is put it together. Later I will talk about my OS choice and the issues with 64 bit computing.
Comments
Anonymous
July 20, 2004
Building a PC is by far the best way to go. You will get a bigger, better machine, and maybe save some money. Have you started checking out the overclocking forums yet? That is where the real fun starts. Its fun to say that you have a Processor speed faster then any you can buy on the market.Anonymous
January 01, 2008
PingBack from http://movies.247blogging.info/?p=4254Anonymous
June 15, 2009
PingBack from http://debtsolutionsnow.info/story.php?id=10285