New system for Windows 7 install

[tonyc146]

I have been building my own systems now for about 20 years ( I guess that makes me older then most of you reading this!). My current system is about 6 years old and is running Windows XP Pro without any issues; stable as a rock. I have decided it's time to move on to Windows 7 and build a new system at the same time. I consider myself an expert on solving XP software issues, but I have not been keeping up with hardware for the last few years. (might as well be a lifetime!)

It would be great to get some advice for the following components:

Case-PSU
Motherboard + CPU (Intel preferred, but open to AMD)
Graphics card

The system will not be used for gaming (poker is not a game for most of you!) but needs hardware to support audio and video streaming and editing.
The Gigabyte line of MBs looks interesting, along with a Radeon 4850 graphics card. All comments welcome. TIA

TonyC

 

[Newf]

Your anticipated usage indicates a need for more CPU horsepower and relatively less GPU oomph. Win7 will be out in 3 months. By then there may be newer quad core alternatives to the Intel i7 920, but as of today that's where I would go. An AMD 4770 (40nm) card may also be a better bet than the 4850, even if the 4850 is a good choice.
Asus and Gigabyte boards offer high quality across their entire line. More money gets you more features, but the cheaper ones still have the good components; just fewer of them. If you buy a board from a local store, Intel brand boards are well supported in terms of warranty and tend to be stable if unexciting offerings.
Case choices vary widely. I look for big, roomy and well ventilated ones, but you know they mostly all will work just fine.
Power supply: Look for SALE prices when you buy for Corsair, PC P&Cooling, BFG and Seasonic (rarely) at about 450-550 rated watts. Sometimes you will find a deal on a nice Antec case that comes with an Earthwatts PSU. Most other case/psu combos are junk.
BTW. Poker is very much a game. It just doesn't take much 3D horsepower to play.
Bookmark newegg.com, set up a login/account and sign up for their email newsletters. Lots of good deals can be had here.

 

[50bmg]

DDR3 is the future, so look into it. If i were building today, i would get a DDR3 board.

Intel is morphing continually. I quit trying to keep up with i7, i5 ......... I would still go with Intel, but it is difficult to lock down a cpu socket with future upgradability in mind. If building now, I would go with i7 + an X58 mobo and keep my fingers crossed that the socket isnt phased out any time soon.

Gigabyte or Asus. I currently like Gigabyte. Gigabytes bios are just plain easy to use.

PSU, i would always get a bit more than i need. I would get no less than 650w these days. I currently have 800w.

+1 for big roomy case.

4850 will do fine. As cheap as they are, you won't too invested. next year you can upgrade to whatever and not feel like you lost money.

 

[evongugg]

Add your video card to this:

Intel Core i7 920 Nehalem 2.66GHz LGA 1366 130W Quad-Core Processor Model BX80601920 - Retail Item #: N82E16819115202

OCZ Platinum 6GB (3 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Triple Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model OCZ3P1600LV6GK - Retail Item#:N82E16820227381

Noctua NH-U12P SE1366 120mm SSO CPU Cooler - Retail
Item #: N82E16835608007


ASUS P6T Deluxe V2 LGA 1366 Intel X58 ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail
Item #: N82E16813131365


COOLER MASTER HAF 932 RC-932-KKN1-GP Black Steel ATX Full Tower Computer Case - Retail
Item#:N82E16811119160

Samsung DVD-RW SH-S223Q
Item#:N82E16827151173

CORSAIR PSU CMPSU-520HX 520W Item#:N82E16817139001

Western Digital Caviar Black WD1001FALS 1TB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM Item #: N82E16822136284

Item# comes from Newegg.com

 

[evongugg]

This is a good cooler too:

XIGMATEK Dark Knight-S1283V 120mm Long Life Bearing CPU Cooler - Retail

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835233029&Tpk=dark%20knight%20cpu%20cooler

 

[sepayne21]

DDR3 is the future, so look into it. If i were building today, i would get a DDR3 board.

PSU, i would always get a bit more than i need. I would get no less than 650w these days. I currently have 800w.

+1 for big roomy case.

4850 will do fine. As cheap as they are, you won't too invested. next year you can upgrade to whatever and not feel like you lost money.

DDR3 doesn't really offer any benefit over ddr2

it really depends on his budget. Since he's not gaming, and he's moving up from a 6 year old build, (not trying to turn this into an AMD/INTEL built) but if I were him, I'd stick with DDR2 memory. There's no need to get more expensive memory and a more expensive mobo.

When buying core i7, you're paying for crossfire/sli support whether you need it or not (and he clearly does not need it)

I'd recommend him getting an amd quad core socket am3 (or get a dual or tri core and try to unlock the extra cores), an amd 790G SB750, 2x2gb DDR2 800 (it's cheap, and he really doesn't need much memory bandwidth) and like someone else said, an ati 4770.

Also, get a decent power supply (anything over 550W is overkill for a midrange 1 card solution).

or he could go all out and spend an extra $350 or so and get a core i7 rig.

if he were a gamer, the extra CPU power might be worth it, but other than that, the price premium for the "best" just isn't there IMO.

 

[tonyc146]

Thanks all for your replies. The frugal part of my brain says sepayne21 is spot on with the AMD solution. My current system is built around AMD and a Giga-Byte board that supported my Asus V8200T2 graphics card, that was top on the line when I bought it and too new to discard when I upgraded the system.

The bleeding edge part of my brain says go with the i7 and DDR3 support. After looking at the GB mobo prices, I am still in sticker shock. Any suggestions for lower priced boards that support the i7? Sepayne21 is right, no need for SLI/Crossfire support. TIA