Custom Built Desktop Computer PC - Need Advise and Thoughts

[hafiezismail]

I'm wanting to built my desktop PC but ain't really sure what exactly do I need. I already considered buying a PC off retail shelves but wasn't too sure whether the specs offered can serve my needs not.

 

Thus, hoping that I might get valuable advises, tips and thoughts here. Please bear with me as I am NOOB in computer specs - related things. Thanks.

 

Anyway, these are the purposes of me using the desktop:

1) Creating animations on Flash softwares

2) Editting images on Photoshop

3) Uploading lots of files to my internet server.

4) Using of Microsoft documents (Powerpoint, Word, Excel) (Requires huge storage space)

5) Surfing internet (Facebook, Email)

6) Watching and converting musics and videos format from youtube.

7) Listening to music (Very high usage)

8) Watching movie (Not so high usage)

 

** I need to open and use all of the programmes mentioned above simultaneously, ALL at one time.

 

Hope someone is able to recommend to me the right system which I need. Many thanks!

[Silverelf]

First things first, set a budget.

[Pandoras Kitten 3]

I would recommend getting a relatively lightweight computer system. Do not be conned into thinking that you need some Core i7 powerhouse just to run photoshop, that is just irresponsible marketing.

 

I'd go for a Windows 7 mini tower (price no more than $3-500) that you can get from package deals from SLS, and other PC hardware retailers. Do window shop a bit to get a shop that suits your desired look, feel and pricing, and just snap one up. They'll more or less build it for you with the OS installed. Of course, consider the cost of a suitably huge LCD ($200 Samsung) and other peripherals alongside for the total sum.

 

Good news for you is that storage space is incredibly cheap. I even saw 750gb HDD for under $80? the other day? So don't stinge, just get a package.

 

So long as you're not going to buy the latest games and fight for the top of multiplayer competitions, you don't need that much horsepower. My computing requirements are similar to yourself and I'm using a 5? years old 1.6Ghz dual core with 1gb of ram.

 

I have stripped down WinXP netbooks so that they boot up (cold start) in under a minute, and this ancient desktop is in the same league :3

 

Back in the day this CPU 'dogfighted' with the best of Europe and the US (and sometimes Russia) in multiplayer flight sims, was used for my GM work in Granado Espada (North America) and today, is more than good enough for my "home/office work" Hehehe

[haoKR]

get a i3.board(asus,gigabyte) 3yrs warranty

2gb ram.can increase next tym if u wan(buy another 2gb) lifetym warranty

hdd,500gb(WD,under $90)or 1tb ? 5yrs warranty

grahpic card is a must,1gb. can find those cheap models one 1-3yrs warranty

samsung dvd writer

casing

suggest u get a 500+ or higher Watt power supply.

 

litat mayb less dan 1k

 

most impt is ur point 1 & 2 nia.

 

if u wan buy.tell me

i work part tym at sim lim 1 yr,but quit liao

i can tell u which shop e cheapest.

[Romi_ku]

think u can go hardwarezone under hardware clinic section.. i frequent there when i asked suggestions to diy my rig..

[Cptow]

Bro, go get a imac with magic touch pad.

Once you into Mac, you will never go back to windows again.

[jtzx]

what u need is just a I3 or I5 processor... why get from retail? just DIY your own desktop at sim Lim square....

[DeusExMachina]

Core i5 processor

X58 mono

6GB DDR3 RAM

1TB SATA HDD

ATI Radeon X5850 vid card

650w PSU

24" LED monitor

[redbeacon]

Bro, go get a imac with magic touch pad.

Once you into Mac, you will never go back to windows again.

 

Macs are media and interactive design powerhouses - they're nice but I see the TS also needs something that meets his needs in the HDD space and productivity department. A PC may be worth the effort getting it for his purposes

[PaLmEr]

i guess what TS requires is a customised ready to use solution.

 

It is just like buying electrical wires and DIY for your house or getting an electrician to do it for you. With the latter, you get a peace of mind by paying slightly more.

[cougar]

Who got maintain server at home for own projects or as hobby? The aircon can off intermittemly at night to maintain temperature? If on whole day can get really cold!

[Pandoras Kitten 3]

Who got maintain server at home for own projects or as hobby? The aircon can off intermittemly at night to maintain temperature? If on whole day can get really cold!

 

I used a Eee PC 701 (tiny netbook) with a ton of external storage and maxed out RAM as a server. Heck, even Pentium MMXs can double up as household file servers. Dump them under your bed and forget about them

 

Of course, if you're hosting high traffic, these MacGyver solutions aren't good enough!

[haoKR]

I used a Eee PC 701 (tiny netbook) with a ton of external storage and maxed out RAM as a server. Heck, even Pentium MMXs can double up as household file servers. Dump them under your bed and forget about them

 

Of course, if you're hosting high traffic, these MacGyver solutions aren't good enough!

 

wow

eee pc aso can hold server ah

 

e latest model can 'extend' its hdd size

not lyk e 1st 1..8gb hdd nia.summore its mem stick..exp to upgrade

[DeusExMachina]

i guess what TS requires is a customised ready to use solution.

 

It is just like buying electrical wires and DIY for your house or getting an electrician to do it for you. With the latter, you get a peace of mind by paying slightly more.

 

Then go get a Dell/HP/Lenovo desktop/laptop.

 

No use getting someone to customize for you if you don't know what you want and get smoked in the process.

[Icomeforyou]

Actually for his case, I would also second a mac.

 

All of his requirements, not one is gaming, and he's harnessing the requirements of the Mac, video editing, animation, play back, audio, all at once somemore.

 

And to solve his problems, you can't exactly diy a mac => making it even easier for him to handle.

 

Windows wise, true they can be used to perform all your tasks and more, but considering your requirement, and lack of knowledge (no offence), it would be best to get an Acer, Dell, Fujitsu, since ultimately they come with a combined warranty and there's a help line if you ever need.

[Pandoras Kitten 3]

wow

eee pc aso can hold server ah

 

e latest model can 'extend' its hdd size

not lyk e 1st 1..8gb hdd nia.summore its mem stick..exp to upgrade

 

I learned some tricks by keeping my mind open and looking up foreign (ie, "ang moh") websites. There are a lot of fun things done with Eee PCs including its use as a DJ platform.

 

The first models had little SSD (solid state drive) for storage so some of us relied on either USB external storage or plain frugal housekeeping (since these UMPCs were never intended as static computers).

 

Later on netbooks became bigger, they had 160gb hard drives, the typically pointless flame wars started between SSD and HDD fanatics and everyone forgot how portable and cute the original 7 inch models were. After using a whopping 7 inch screen for some time, a normal laptop seemed huge.

 

I might get a 7" Kohjinsha convertible tablet/netbook for DIY & customisation fun because obsolete underpowered technology is like a wide open invitation to reverse-engineering.

[PaLmEr]

Who got maintain server at home for own projects or as hobby? The aircon can off intermittemly at night to maintain temperature? If on whole day can get really cold!

 

My test windows 2008 server and production file server run without any air conditioning 24/7.

[DeusExMachina]

File server? U don't even need a PC nowadays. Just get a LAN capable HDD bay and use it as a rudimentary NAS.

 

If u want it accessible from work, then u can play w yr router settings n set up VPN.

[PaLmEr]

File server? U don't even need a PC nowadays. Just get a LAN capable HDD bay and use it as a NAS.

 

not with 20TB of files.

[DeusExMachina]

not with 20TB of files.

 

Depends on yr needs of course. There are multibay NAS that can hold upwards of 6 or 8 HDDs these days. But they cost plenty though.

 

Along w 3 HDD in my PC, I also have a 4 bay eSata enclosure. Shd suffice for my torrents n sh1t.

[PaLmEr]

Depends on yr needs of course. There are multibay NAS that can hold upwards of 6 or 8 HDDs these days. But they cost plenty though.

 

Along w 3 HDD in my PC, I also have a 4 bay eSata enclosure. Shd suffice for my torrents n sh1t.

 

Precisely, with 11 hard drives in my server, it will not make financial sense for me to spend $7000 on 2 x 8 bays.

[redbeacon]

Heck' date=' even Pentium MMXs can double up as household file servers. Dump them under your bed and forget about them [/quote']

 

Once you open many files or stream music, or if many users connect to that punitive lil machine, it'll bog down before your users can say "oei, why suddenly so slow alredy ah?"

 

Depends on yr needs of course. There are multibay NAS that can hold upwards of 6 or 8 HDDs these days. But they cost plenty though.

 

Along w 3 HDD in my PC, I also have a 4 bay eSata enclosure. Shd suffice for my torrents n sh1t.

 

Precisely, with 11 hard drives in my server, it will not make financial sense for me to spend $7000 on 2 x 8 bays.

 

Very interesting topic there guys.

 

Adding to that, one should factor in HDD access speeds as well.

 

If your external NAS [?] equipment (if money is not a factor) operates at Gigabit speeds, then it's viable for heavy tasks such as doing video editing or simultaneously streaming music or HD 1080 movies over to those that connect to it.

 

Elsewise, better to keep the HDD drives inside your computer. Yes, your computer itself does have fast Hard Drive access times too, making it quicker to pull your files and whatnot, whenever you need them.

 

Servers are computers as well. Except that the processor (typically an Intel Xeon or AMD Opteron), and the way data flows inside the server is optimized for heavy crunching data tasks that it eventually sends back to the user's computer. It's even made to have many passive apps open for a very long time. Typical scenarios include a file-server app, an FTP app, DHCP app, and perhaps an internet radio server...all these apps are open and ready to serve multiple users that are connected to the server via a LAN network.

 

A PC is made for single-user stuff. Its processor is optimized to give an enhanced user experience. It has a powerful graphics card, and fast-speed RAM. In other words, it's that speed that gives the user the power to enjoy entertainment, surf internet websites, and give it the juice to run intensive games.

 

The best analogy I can think of is that a server is versus a PC, like a heavy load-carrying truck versus a sportscar. Both are powerful but their purpose is different.

Edited November 1, 2010 by redbeacon

[Pandoras Kitten 3]

Yeah true, such improvisation is usually done for say, a family file server, as a means to reuse an old computer. No hosting youtube on them! I guess the Eee 701 guy did it for fun to see if he could create a super-low power consumption file server. Even clocked it down so the fan need not be used.

 

This gives me ideas for future o'seas touring. Start small, blow it up later for a real purpose. If anyone in future created a mobile wifi hotspot using a 12V converter and some DIY booster antennae that's probably going to me lol. There are plans and anecdotes for such stuff floating around the net. (off topic!!!)

 

Interestingly there is an app for a Nokia smartphone to act as a webpage 'server', albeit through a third party host. This being a pure 'general knowledge' statement of course. Such versatile electronics. I like.

[redbeacon]

I guess the Eee 701 guy did it for fun to see if he could create a super-low power consumption file server. Even clocked it down so the fan need not be used.

 

Even then, I'd ask for "power consumption specs please!" With a smile on my face in hindsight though.

 

It is nice to improvise once in a while and when it is only necessary, but once a person senses the economics drawback: the abovementioned having slightly higher power consumption and also, an ancient computer being a intermediary to serve files to the whole family around the house (i.e. speed bottleneck) -- it may become a PC best destined (and being well deserved) for the needy. But give it the benefit of the doubt and it becomes (and I should better describe it as) a backup or storage equipment rather than a pseudo file server that is accessed occasionally.

 

Reinventing the wheel - economical? Feasible? The decision is up to the consumer.

[Pandoras Kitten 3]

@redbeacon, you are right of course - "fit for purpose" as a phrase was created for a reason. There never will be an Atom / Celeron processor server rack for a reason!

 

But some (myself included) just love tinkering with stuff, especially cheap stuff!

 

Back in the day no one had any idea how to use a netbook so I bought the Eee 701 Linux off my boss for $100. Customised it so it could run XP (linux-XP conversion took some doing) without killing one's eyes, play some retro games, see if I can use the thing to write novels on the go (some Americans actually do), some other silly stuff, got sick of it then air-parcelled it off to Europe to a needy family I knew.

 

Way off topic but indeed, I like to donate stuff to good folks who can use my equipment better than I can.

 

I will eventually go back to using a UMPC but I guess it will be quite hard to donate a 5 year old Core Duo desktop?