So now my computer finally blew up (Need assistance for new DAW)

(You can skip this story and move to the next paragraph, if you like)

My computer ran with steams for past couple of months... Starting up it took multiple minutes, it booted itself spontaniosly etc... Now when I turned it on, it whined something about some memory, then it did scan disc, and voila, all windows settings are replaced with the defaults. Including: all my "my documents" are gone, including e-mail messages and every file from "my documents" and desktop (well not really, funny that Sonar 3 shortcut is still there as well as the netscape shortcut). Fortunately I have the most important files backed up on CDs and DVDs as well as on other HD.

Anyway, now it's time to get a new computer, and I really would need some help, so if someone could share some knowledge, it would be greatly appreciated!

This is what I have in my mind:

AMD Athlon 64 3500+ (Tray, Venice)
Zalman CNPS7700-Cu CPU fan
MicroStar K8N Neo2 Platinum Edition mother board (NForce 3)
Antec P-180 case (a.k.a. Performance One)
Nexus NX-3500 PSU (350W)
Kingston ValueRam 400Mhz CL3, 2048MB
Samsung SpinPoint P120 SATA150 HD (200Gb)
Samsung SpinPoint P80 SATA150 HD (160Gb)
Club 3D GeForce FX5200 (128mb, low profile)

Those would be the new components, so almost all. What I already have in my old computer which I would use:

Two Western Digital Caviar 80gb IDE Hard disks (8mb cache).
Lite-On DVD-RW burner (can't remember the model).

So what do you think of those components? Quality, reliability, noise etc..?

I thought I would put one of the "old" IDE WesternDigitals as a windows + software disc.
Then the new 160gb Samsung SATA disc for samples and the 200gb disc for audio.
And the another "old" WesternDigital 80gb IDE for files, backups etc.

How does this sound? Does that motherboard have enough IDEs (two IDE hard-drives and the DVD drive)? Also, will the IDE drives work fast enough (mainly the windows & software drive)?

About the memory (http://www.ec.kingston.com/ecom/configurator/PartsInfo.asp?ktcpartno=KVR400X64C3AK2/2G). Is it compatible with the Neo2 motherboard? Any problems?

And what about the power suply, I've heard good reviews of that Nexus, and it seems to fit my budget. Is it good? I really wouldn't have any more that that (around 60 euros / 60 USD) to spend to the PSU.

And I'm a bit confused with the processors also. There seems to be different "version" of the processors. For example there's ADA3500DAA4BW and ADA3500DAA4BN kinds of 3500+. The difference seems to be in 'stepping' (what is that?) which is E6 in the BW model and E4 in the BN. The BW also seems to have 5 celsius smaller max temperature. So, is there some differences between these two processors?

I've also looked at the 3200+ (venice) which is little cheaper. Which one (3200+ or 3500+) do you think is better choise? There seems to be also different versions of 3200+ like the 3500+. http://www.amdcompare.com/us-en/desktop/SideBySide.aspx?opn=ADA3500DAA4BN&opn=ADA3500DAA4BW&opn=ADA3200DAA4BW&opn=ADA3200DAA4BP

And the Club 3D FX5200, is that a good video card? I don't do games so never mind that. But I'd need support for two CRT monitors, can it hadle it?


And maybe the most important thing, I have an Echo Audio Gina 3G audio interface, which I'd like to use in that computer. So, is there any compatibility issues? Also, maybe obvious, but Sonar 3 Producer works with that computer...?


If someone could kindly answer these questions, that would be awesome!

Petri

mgarez - Thanks for your reply! I really wouldn't have literally any money for an extra HD on top of those SATA HDs... But you're saying the WesternDigital won't do the job...?

The Corsair is unfortunately difficult to get here in Finland. The Kingston CL3 seems to be pretty much the only memory which you can get in matched 2Gb pair here easily. So will it do the job or should I search somewhere for some other memory?

I also checked out the X2s, but I probably wouldn't be upgrading the CPU right away, so I though that I won't get the 3000+, but instead some little faster model. Is the MSI K8N Neo2 compatible with the X2 processors, btw?

I'm upgrading from a Pentium 4, 1.4 Ghz, 640 Mb system and I bought something similar to your setup:

- Asus A8N-E mobo (socket 939, PCI-E)
- Athlon 64 3200+ (Venice) - It was $100 cheaper than the 3500+
- Coolermaster Hyper 48 fan & heat sink
- 1 Gb (2x512Mb) PC3200 CAS 2.5 Corsair RAM
- XFX GeForce 6200 TurboCache video card supporting 256 Mb

My current system has two Maxtor 7200 rpm HD's - one 10 Gb and one 80 Gb. I'm giving this system to my wife with the 10 Gb HD (more than enough for her) and use the 80 Gb for the new system. As soon as I raise some more funds I'll buy a couple of 160-200 Gb SATA disks, one for samples and one for audio, and maybe an extra Gb of RAM.

The only NForce3 mobo I could find was the DFI LANParty UT nF3 but it doesn't support dual core CPU's to which I'm planning to upgrade in a couple years. I just hope the Asus A8N-E + GeForce 6200 TC combo doesn't cause problems with my old GadgetLabs WavePro audio card.

Your top equipment list looks great, with the following modifications:

Processor: If you are going to run plugins and FX, psring a little more and get the SanDiego core. IThe bigger 1MB cache makes a big difference under heavier load.

HSF: The Thermalright XP-90 rates better than the Zalman.

PSU: Get the SeaSonic S12 series. I purchased the Nexus (which rates quite well) but now wish I had purchased the SeaSonic (which rates better on noise).

HDD: SpinPoints are the drive of choice. (You have chosen wisely, my son.) But if you put you system on an IDE drive, you can then have more SATA slots open for audio drives and SATA RAID, if you wish to do so in the future.

For more info, read through this thread.

ORIGINAL: Petronome
losguy - San Diego is only in models 3700+ -> right? I guess it's also a bit too much for my wallet... Well, have to look into that.

Yes, consider it seriously. A faster chip with a bigger cache makes it doubly worth the wait.

I guess that Thermalright is too rare here too... Really hard to find.

OK, but since you can get the Zalman, think about getting the AlCu model. It is lighter, cheaper, and works practically as well as the Cu.

HDDs: So Samsung over Seagate? The Seagate was another brand in my mind, they seem to have 5 years guarantee which would be nice, but is Samsung better than Seagate?

The Samsung does not have teh time in the field to prove out its track record like the Seagate does. But it is much quieter than the Seagate on seeks. Both are quiet while just spinning.

ORIGINAL: Petronome
So AlCu is as good as the Cu? I had an impression that the Cu is way to go, but guess I'll get the AlCu model if it does the job as well as the Cu.

It's a judgement call. It works almost as well. For my reasoning, it works well enough, especially by the time you consider the price and the weight of the unit. But the Cu will perform slightly better.

ORIGINAL: Petronome
Ok, but I'll probably lean towards the new Zalman CNPS-9500, because it seems to be compatible with the motherboard, unlike the 7700-series.

Good choice. That looks like the latest and greatest. It probably fits the MOBO better because of its "vertical" design. Who knows? Now that they're using heatpipes intelligently, maybe they're inching ahead of Thermalright.

[Edit] Yup, looks like I was right. Look at the botom table on this page.

hi. just some last minute input since i just went through the same thing. first, i think youre going to have a tough time finding OEM/tray CPUs. AMD has made a point of taking these out of the channel.

second, the price difference to go up to the 3700 is about $50. you could go with the k8n neo2-F to cover the difference. this board is about $40-50 less and the only difference is that it has one GigEthernet port instead of two and is missing firewire.

Hi guys!

Well, I just changed my desicion about the CPU. I am going with the 3700+ now. You're right that it really has more bang for a buck. Unfortunately, there seems to be some problems with the availability with it... But I guess it's worth the wait even if I had to wait for some time for it.

I was looking for a "Tray" 3500+, which seemed to be in stock. However, apparently there's no Tray 3700+ available (if any), but the "Boxed" 3700+ is still only like 50-70 euros (dollars) more expensive than a Tray 3500+. And I also get a 3 year guarantee with the "Boxed" instead of the 1 year with the "Tray".