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A few questions before i begin my first build!

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Hello there,

I've been planning on a few things now for quite a while and have decided to kill quite a few birds with one stone!
-My laptop needs more ram
-I want to build a system
-I need more storage sapce (my 250GB Nas drive is full, music/video etc, as is the 80GB in my laptop)
-I want a media server/system to work with my, on order, Hauppauge Media MVP, which im hoping to use with gbpvr.
-I want to start dabling with linux
-I would like to encode my dvds, camera footage a little bit quicker.

So rather than upgrading my laptop, i thought i'd just build a new system from scratch.
(its really a pc in a laptop shell i think, pentium 4, full sized ram sticks, very nosey fan i.e. runs hot constantly, even after a good vacuuming)

CPU so ive been doing some reading and am really tempted with dual core.
looking at the pentium D 805 and the 64 X2 3800+. or possibly the pentium 4 940 dual core. The price difference is really pushing me towards the pentium, especially as from what ive read the pentiums are typically better than the AMDs with media encoding. although the system will be in my bedroom and turned on 24/7 im not to bothered about it being super silent, as i said im used to the constant wuring of my laptop, and find it quite soothing as i sleep!!).
i wont be playing games, as i havent played a computer game for quite a while now! and if i get the urge, im sure the nintendo wii will quench my gaming thirst when that comes out.

so my main focus is the cpu and hard drive space and apart from these im looking to spend as little as possible really.
im looking at raid and sata, and im not sure which way to go with the raid.

disk space! will i be ok with 2 300gb drives one mirroring the other? or maybe 2 x 200gb in raid 0 with a 400gb drive mirroring the 2? or will i be ok without the Mirroring, iv never needed it before(touch wood)?
its just that because ive got such alot of data, its gonner cost alot for the extra storage, which i'll only see if one of the disks fail.

as im also looking to have a dual boot with linux just for curiosity really, would it be a good idea to have say a 60gb drive split in half for each OS plus the bigger drives purley for storage? and would it be worth spending a bit extra on SATA for this or/and the main drives?

Ive also read that linux cant really get along with NTFS, so should i format the 'media' hard drives as Fat so i can see them from linux if i do so wish, or would that effect performance from windows?

sorry about all the rambling but iv got so many questions and am getting impatient on starting the project!

thanks in advance for any guidance

kevo

Add a reply

What ever CPU you choose, wait until July 24. At that time the 3800+ X2, Intel 945(a 950 without VT), and Core 2 E6300 will be near the same price. I say get the E6300 and a G965 chipset mATX motherboard.

Reply to conroe

the 965 chipset's ICH8 southbridge have many RAID options.

Reply to conroe

Quote :

CPU so ive been doing some reading and am really tempted with dual core.
looking at the pentium D 805 and the 64 X2 3800+. or possibly the pentium 4 940 dual core. The price difference is really pushing me towards the pentium, especially as from what ive read the pentiums are typically better than the AMDs with media encoding.

You really should wait a few weeks and see if you can snag a Conroe.

Quote :

so my main focus is the cpu and hard drive space and apart from these im looking to spend as little as possible really.
im looking at raid and sata, and im not sure which way to go with the raid.

The new CPU magazine has a decent review on RAID options. Not sure if it's up on their site yet or not.

Quote :

disk space! will i be ok with 2 300gb drives one mirroring the other? or maybe 2 x 200gb in raid 0 with a 400gb drive mirroring the 2? or will i be ok without the Mirroring, iv never needed it before(touch wood)? its just that because ive got such alot of data, its gonner cost alot for the extra storage, which i'll only see if one of the disks fail.

If you are considering as many as 3 or 4 HDs, then check out RAID5 or 10. Don't buy 200GB drives. 250s are still the price to size sweet spot but I have also seen some excellent sales on 300 and 400GB drives. I suggest WD drives with TLER if you set up a RAID.

Reply to clue69less

thanks for the info, im in no rush, and havent got the money at the moment either, so i'll definatly be waiting for the price drops and hopefully get myself a conroe.

no doubt i will be back for more info when the time comes!

cheers

kevo

Reply to kevoEFC

Kevo,

Quote :

-I want to build a system

Build a system

Quote :

-I need more storage space (my 250GB Nas drive is full, music/video etc, as is the 80GB in my laptop)

Get more storage (or get rid of the porn and bad MP3s on the NAS drive.)

Quote :

-I want a media server/system to work with my, on order, Hauppauge Media MVP, which im hoping to use with gbpvr.

Get a media server/system

Quote :

-I want to start dabling with linux

Dabble with Linux

Quote :

-I would like to encode my dvds, camera footage a little bit quicker.

Get a system with a solid CPU – even if it isn’t a Conroe, wait until after July for the market adjusts for the best price. For AMD, I would suggest the X2 4400+ – with it’s high clock speed and large cache. The Intel PRESLAR series is also pretty good.

It’s good to get all of your goals on the table so you can properly plan what you want to do.

There is no reason that you cannot build a new system with a Linux OS that will allow you to store and edit media to your hearts content.

If you want a media system for your home theater, then I would consider building a separate system for that purpose.

As for your NAS, you might want to consider spending some serious cash for a serious solution. The Infrant Tech. ReadyNAS NV seems quite solid, and there are a variety of builds. The 4x400GB setup will run you about $1800. This might be a bit much for some budgets (mine included) so see if the following sounds good (I am assuming you might have an existing system):

Use the old CPU, MB, Memory and get a large case (many drive bays and good air flow), a solid RAID controller card, and whatever number of matching disks as you feel you can use (or just do JBOD). Install Linux (for your dabbling needs), and have this box act as your Linux environment and NAS.

Then build a solid high powered new system (AMD AM2 or Intel Conroe) with a solid CPU and good memory, and whatever other quality components you want. This you install with either Windows XP, (dare I suggest Windows 64), or Linux. This you use for editing your music and videos, playing PacMan or Pong, ect.

I would not use this powerhouse for a windows media center. If that is what you desire – build a separate smaller system.

Cheers.

Reply to avarice

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