Joyce: You don't think it's too obvious? I think I look like I have a cat on my head. Buffy: But a very well groomed cat. Joyce: Well that's a comfort.

'Bring On The Night'


Buffistechnology 3: "Press Some Buttons, See What Happens."

Got a question about technology? Ask it here. Discussion of hardware, software, TiVos, multi-region DVDs, Windows, Macs, LINUX, hand-helds, iPods, anything tech related. Better than any helpdesk!


Gudanov - Dec 01, 2008 9:16:54 am PST #8193 of 25501
Coding and Sleeping

Can I still use the two 2GB sticks?

Yep, you just won't actually get the use of all that memory.

It'll have the same performance as if I'd put in 3GBs? Maybe better, since it'll have a matching pair?

Marginally better. I picked an inexpensive MB with only two memory slots, because I'd go for the savings over more memory slots.

Also, I'll be attaching 3-4 hard drives and two DVD/CDR drives. Can the PS you recommended handle that?

I would think so unless you have a monster video card in there. A 460 Watt supply used to be a lot.

Actually, Newegg has a Cooler Master 500Watt supply for less.

[link]

I've been quite happy with my Cooler Master power supplies.


Gudanov - Dec 01, 2008 9:19:35 am PST #8194 of 25501
Coding and Sleeping

I seem to remember Noisedesign preferring Seagates. Still the case? Any other differences between the two that I'm missing?

I've got nothing against Seagate drives. I was just sticking with stuff I own that has worked well for me. My WD is in my homemade DVR that runs 24/7 and does video streaming all the time, but I'd bet a Seagate would work just as well.


Jon B. - Dec 01, 2008 9:24:09 am PST #8195 of 25501
A turkey in every toilet -- only in America!

I would think so unless you have a monster video card in there.

Oh, yeah, video. I'm not playing games on it, but I do watch videos and (as I said earlier) do some heavy graphics and sound editing. Will the onboard video be sufficient? In the past, I've always gotten a video card.


Gudanov - Dec 01, 2008 9:26:36 am PST #8196 of 25501
Coding and Sleeping

You can use this tool to calculate how much power supply to get.

[link]

It says 435 Watts with two DVD burners and four 7200 RPM hard drives.


Gudanov - Dec 01, 2008 9:36:03 am PST #8197 of 25501
Coding and Sleeping

Will the onboard video be sufficient? In the past, I've always gotten a video card.

Here's a link to the motherboard information page, it should detail video capability. It has a HDMI interface so I suspect it has good video playback capability.

[link]

Unless you are doing lots of 3D modeling and rendering I think it should handle anything.


NoiseDesign - Dec 01, 2008 9:36:51 am PST #8198 of 25501
Our wings are not tired

I am still partial to Seagate drives yes.


Gudanov - Dec 01, 2008 9:41:09 am PST #8199 of 25501
Coding and Sleeping

Oh an important note if you are putting in existing drives. Almost all new motherboards only support 2 IDE drives. You'd have to get an IDE adapter to attach more IDE drives (it's probably better to get an adapter than search for a board that has more IDE connectors built-in as you won't have many choices). Also, that motherboard I linked to is a low feature Gigabyte motherboard that I would likely go for and only has 4 SATA connectors (4 SATA + 2 IDE for up to 6 drives). You might want to find something with more SATA connectors.

Additional note, the motherboard chipsets that natively support 4 IDE drives tend not to be good ones.


omnis_audis - Dec 01, 2008 9:44:02 am PST #8200 of 25501
omnis, pursue. That's an order from a shy woman who can use M-16. - Shir

I second the Seagate nod. But look at the specs. How much on board RAM does it have? And how much warranty it has. I've come across a few Seagates with only a 1 year warranty, thou most are longer.


Jon B. - Dec 01, 2008 9:49:50 am PST #8201 of 25501
A turkey in every toilet -- only in America!

Oh an important note if you are putting in existing drives...

Yeah, I'd noticed that. What I'll probably do is put my two existing DVD/CD drives in the IDE slots, and go all SATA for the HDs. I'll check the computer when I get home to make sure I'm not forgetting anything. Thanks for all the help!


Connie Neil - Dec 01, 2008 9:52:20 am PST #8202 of 25501
brillig

From the sublime to the mundane, what is the best video card for low-end gaming and Internet video watching and DVD watching? I'm not much into numbers, though I know bigger is better, but which brand is best? I'm using XP and looking towards beefing up some power there (I'm on a Pentium 3 at the moment), and I need to know what neighborhood I should look at for video.