adding old hdd to new cpu

[Eddie Bronze]

Thought maybe I could get a starting point on what I should look for by posting here first. I don't really know any 'computer people'.

Home office stuff, documents, obviously internet. Two biggest uses are audio editing and photo editing. Do not play video games so gaming system not necessary. I already have tons of storage space on an external hd, so room won't be an issue. I just want something that runs fast and smooth and can handle lots of files being open at once.

Would prefer to go to a local dealer, such as Mem Express, over big box store like Future Shop, the type of store I prefer not to set foot in. Don't want to break the bank on the system as I'll be looking for a new monitor as well.

[SebC]

Photoshop CS3 will use a quad core. I'd suggest something with a Q6600 and 4 gigs of RAM, even if you're going to use plain old 32-bit XP and you'll only be able to use three. Memory express will let you pick your parts and do all the assembly for an extra $40.

[Hack&Lube]

Originally Posted by SebC

Photoshop CS3 will use a quad core. I'd suggest something with a Q6600 and 4 gigs of RAM, even if you're going to use plain old 32-bit XP and you'll only be able to use three. Memory express will let you pick your parts and do all the assembly for an extra $40.

And that's still overkill for audio and photo editing and home office work. How heavy audio and photo editing will you be doing? A dual core 2GB system has handled everything I've thrown at it and much more including heavy photoshop work, lossless audio editing, video editing and DVD authoring, etc. plus the most taxing 3D games. Then again, RAM is cheap as dirt these days.

[SebC]

Originally Posted by Hack&Lube

And that's still overkill for audio and photo editing and home office work.

I thought photo editing could get pretty intense, but I agree... not much to suggest as pretty much anything will do. But you know more about this than I do, I was just trying to help a bit, since I too made one of these threads when I built my computer, and learned quite a bit in the process. But when you can get 4 gigs for $85, there's really no reason not to go with two unless you're a hardcore gamer and want low latency. You could certainly cut back on the processor, but in my opinion Q6600/E8400 are good value chips, and between the two, I'd go with the Q6600 for photoshop.

[Hack&Lube]

Originally Posted by SebC

I thought photo editing could get pretty intense, but I agree... not much to suggest as pretty much anything will do. But you know more about this than I do, I was just trying to help a bit, since I too made one of these threads when I built my computer, and learned quite a bit in the process.

Yeah, I guess it all depends on his budget. Computer stuff is just ridiculously powerful for ridiculously cheap nowadays so it doesn't really matter anymore.

For the first time in 10 years I could see myself holding onto a single computer for up to 5 years instead of upgrading or changing it every 6 months which I used to do.

[Eddie Bronze]

First of all thanks guys, I appreciate all input. I use Cool Edit Pro 2.0 and SawPro for audio editing, obviously Photoshop for photos, but I never do editing of photos and audio at the same time. One or the other, but always while listening to music as my computer is my home audio player.

The audio sessions can get pretty large, as I like to chop/mix one song into the other or loop up an instrumental to extend the length to make "mix tapes" for my car's mp3 player, so up to 700mb to fill a blank disc.

Photos, I guess it depends on how much I'm dumping from my camera onto the hd. Sometimes less than 100 photos, sometimes up to 300. But once they're transferred I try not too open very many at one time. Photo editing probably can get a lot more intense than what I do, which is usually fairly simple stuff.

[Eddie Bronze]

Originally Posted by Hack&Lube

Yeah, I guess it all depends on his budget.

I can honestly say it's been so long since I looked at buying new I don't really know what it's going to take to get what I want. I figured at a bare minimum I'd be spending $500 but maybe I'm out in left field and blind to the fact it will take twice that, I really don't know.

[SebC]

Originally Posted by Eddie Bronze

I can honestly say it's been so long since I looked at buying new I don't really know what it's going to take to get what I want. I figured at a bare minimum I'd be spending $500 but maybe I'm out in left field and blind to the fact it will take twice that, I really don't know.

This article is intended for gamers and overclockers, but it'll give you a pretty good idea of what $500 will get you. Is it adequate? That depends on you. Tom's Hardware is absolutely awesome for research, but it's quite technical.

As an aside, my most expensive component was storage (3 hard drives, RAID 5), followed by high-end video card (9800 GTX), and high-end motherboard (ASUS Striker II Formula which was total overkill for me, something I'll change next time is go with a way cheaper motherboard)... none of which you'll need. The essentials (processor, RAM) are actually relatively cheap.

[Eddie Bronze]

One thing I noticed in that article that stood out was:

Graphics cards are expensive, so it’s really hard to build a gaming system with a $500 budget limit.


I currently have a NVIDIA GeForce 6600 GT. Would be wise to get a new one, or re-use my current one (which is about 2 years old) in a new system? Could always replace it in a couple years if need be.


Also, how do you intentionally get a computer to overclock? I know it means making it run at a higher clock rate than it's meant for, but not sure how to do it.

[Hack&Lube]

Originally Posted by Eddie Bronze

One thing I noticed in that article that stood out was:

Graphics cards are expensive, so it’s really hard to build a gaming system with a $500 budget limit.


I currently have a NVIDIA GeForce 6600 GT. Would be wise to get a new one, or re-use my current one (which is about 2 years old) in a new system? Could always replace it in a couple years if need be.


Also, how do you intentionally get a computer to overclock? I know it means making it run at a higher clock rate than it's meant for, but not sure how to do it.

Yeah, that article is skewed for gaming so it wouldn't really help him that much. Basically it's saying you can get a great gaming computer for $500. A non-gaming PC will be cheaper. The graphics card industry has slowed to a crawl compared to 1 or 2 years ago because of various factors (one company has fallen behind leaving a near monopoly, consoles are way more popular than computer gaming, etc.). You can get a near top of the line performing card for under $150 and since you don't game, you could just carry your 6600GT over which saves you money. Do you know if your 6600GT is AGP or PCI-E? New computers will all use PCI-E for the videocard so you couldn't carry it over in that case. Again, if you aren't going to game, you could just put in any old dirt cheap PCI-E videocard and it would be fine, save yourself a lot of money.

Why don't you tell us what your current computer is. $500, heck, even $300 is plenty good enough to get a computer that will do the things you asked for. I bought my grandparents a Dell (from a Dell sale) for $250 that can handle all of that and more (AMD X2 Dual Core, 2GB of ram). Honestly, if you aren't gaming, save the money and spend it on a good monitor since that is what you will be looking at the most. A hint for finding a good monitor, prowl the futureshops, etc. they usually have a big table with a red cloth on it setup near the computer area that has open box stuff or returns, etc. that is perfectly fine and still warrantied and still returnable to the store but at 10-40% off. I have come across many excellent and perfect monitors cheaply that way.

Overclocking is complicated to explain but actually really simple if you know how to do it. It will depend on your computer though. The settings for overclocking are in the BIOS of the motherboard. You can get into a BIOS menu when you first start up your computer and press a certain key (usually DEL or F1, etc.). There are also applications for overclocking inside Windows which might be easier and more friendly but not guaranteed to always work with every piece of hardware. Videocards can also be independantly overclocked as well. Unless you know what you are doing, I wouldn't recommened it, it can be highly technical and you could damage your computer accidentally. A brief explanation of how it works. Your system runs on a certain clock speed. The CPU takes this clock speed and multiplies it with a multiplier and that equals the CPU speed. For instance, if your computer clockspeed was 250MHz, and you multiply it by 10x multiplier, your CPU would be 2500MHz or 2.5GHz. Usually the multiplier is locked on retail CPUs...but if you increase the clock to 275MHz, then it becomes 275x10 = 2.75GHz. However, your CPU might not be able to make it at that speed with the stock voltage that it's using, thusly you may need to increase the voltage going to your CPU. That all results in more potential heat for your system and may require better cooling hardware. I fried one or two CPUs around the turn of the century

Keep in mind, the prices I'm talking about are usually from buying and assembling parts online from companies in B.C. (or whole computers from Dell Deals which has free shipping) as computer prices are strangly a bit higher in Calgary. It's a shame, Memory Express has a near monopoly on computers aside from the Big Box retailers. But if you want to buy from MemEx, etc. (benefit of being local, you can bring it back if you have problems), look to fork out an extra $100 to $150 over the course of an entire computer setup.

Are you going to be keeping your old computer? You might be able to migrate some parts if it's not too old. Could you save money from windows by simply installing your old copy on the new one?

[Vulcan]

Originally Posted by Eddie Bronze

One thing I noticed in that article that stood out was:

Graphics cards are expensive, so it’s really hard to build a gaming system with a $500 budget limit.


I currently have a NVIDIA GeForce 6600 GT. Would be wise to get a new one, or re-use my current one (which is about 2 years old) in a new system? Could always replace it in a couple years if need be.


Also, how do you intentionally get a computer to overclock? I know it means making it run at a higher clock rate than it's meant for, but not sure how to do it.

I don't know a lot about overclocking but I successfully over clocked my computer by looking up how to's on google. Once you have decided on a mother board, there are instructions on the internet but check everything twice. Mostly what you will be doing is raising your FSB. In order to do this you should have memory that will reach your new speed. An example is my CPU has a stock FSB of 333 and I over clocked it to 400. My memory is DDR2-800 memory so half of 800 is 400 so my memory and my FSB is running at 1:1, which I hear is the best ratio.
A big consideration is overheating, so you should get an after market CPU cooler and keep tabs of your temperatures with a program such as Everest. It's a good way to buy a cheaper CPU but still have top performance and have some fun.
You can also over clock some graphics cards safely but again heat is your enemy so a case with good circulation and with lots of fan locations should be considered. Don't forget to put your PCIe setting at 100 as, as you raise your FSB your PCIe raises also if left on auto. Also overclocking can put more strain on your power supply so getting a stronger one then what you normally may need is a good idea. I've probably forgotten other aspects of OCing but if you do, plan your computer accordingly. Oh yeah you should be able to get a decent graphics card for around or less than $150, maybe a 9600GT.
http://www.ncix.com/products/index.p...A&promoid=1034

Here's one OC guide but check out a few.
http://forums.hexus.net/hexus-hardwa...s-p5k-add.html

[Vulcan]

One thing to consider when buying from Dell or Acer etc. is that you probably won't be able to OC and upgrading parts like a Video Card can be problematic because the Power Supply may not be strong enough and replacing the PS may not be straightforward, still that may be just what you need and the price can be right.

That computer from Tom's looks pretty decent although I'd replace the case and PS with the Antec Sonata 111 at $99.98. It has 500 watts and the 380 watter is cutting it close with a decent video card.

Other components available from NCIX would bring total cost up to $551 on their sales page.

http://www.ncix.com/promo/promosale.php?webid=May

There is some Corsair 5400C4 memory for $48.00. There is cheaper but with Mail In Rebates but they are a hassle and sometimes a gamble.
Pioneer DVD writer for $28
Western 320 HD for $64
Gigabyte GA-Ep35 MB for $83
E-2180 [good over clocker, i hear] for $73
Pallit 9600GT video card for $120 after $30 MIR
Arctic Cooling Freezer 7 Pro CPU heatsink for $26.30

Just some ideas to get you thinking about what you want.

Oh yeah, some components offer free shipping for the whole order so be on the look out for that if you order from NCIX. Also Memory express may have some components cheaper and they may price match NCIX or other stores.

[Hack&Lube]

Originally Posted by Vulcan

One thing to consider when buying from Dell or Acer etc. is that you probably won't be able to OC and upgrading parts like a Video Card can be problematic because the Power Supply may not be strong enough and replacing the PS may not be straightforward, still that may be just what you need and the price can be right.

That computer from Tom's looks pretty decent although I'd replace the case and PS with the Antec Sonata 111 at $99.98. It has 500 watts and the 380 watter is cutting it close with a decent video card.

Other components available from NCIX would bring total cost up to $551 on their sales page.

http://www.ncix.com/promo/promosale.php?webid=May

There is some Corsair 5400C4 memory for $48.00. There is cheaper but with Mail In Rebates but they are a hassle and sometimes a gamble.
Pioneer DVD writer for $28
Western 320 HD for $64
Gigabyte GA-Ep35 MB for $83
E-2180 [good over clocker, i hear] for $73
Pallit 9600GT video card for $120 after $30 MIR
Arctic Cooling Freezer 7 Pro CPU heatsink for $26.30

Just some ideas to get you thinking about what you want.

Oh yeah, some components offer free shipping for the whole order so be on the look out for that if you order from NCIX. Also Memory express may have some components cheaper and they may price match NCIX or other stores.

Powersupplies are overrated and misunderstood by most people. I am running an 8800GT on a 250 watt powersupply. You don't need to change powersupplies for overclocking either. The difference in power draw is negligible. Most powersupplies sold these days are adequate. What you should however be looking for is a good reliable brand like Antec (though I have had Antecs blow on me, they provided a good warranty/replacement policy). I have had many friends whose powersupplies went out within a year. Dell's can be overclocked but it requires a little more hands-on work (such as modifying the actual CPU with conductive paint or electrical tape). In any case, for a casual computer user who doesn't play games, I would never recommend overclocking because the gains again would be negligible.

Since he doesn't have any computer friends, I wouldn't suggest he buy from NCIX because it would be harder to diagnose any problems (even though they assemble and test them). It would be a hassle to return an entire computer to B.C. if anything goes wrong. I actually have to RMA some parts to NCIX on Monday.

Those are really good suggestions though as NCIX (and their sister store www.directcanada.com) typically has some of the lowest computer part prices in Canada, especially on their frequent sales - whereas Memory Express has some of the highest I have usually ever seen, plus they never have any sales. I tried pricematching NCIX with Memory Express once and they refused on grounds that they are not in Calgary. I'm not aware if that policy has been changed. The only place in Calgary I've found with good sales is BCom computer (www.bcom.ab.ca) if they have a surprise sale on but there isn't right now (you can click on the website to check). Their return policy is not as good as Memory Express though.

[Vulcan]

Originally Posted by Hack&Lube

Powersupplies are overrated and misunderstood by most people. I am running an 8800GT on a 250 watt powersupply. You don't need to change powersupplies for overclocking either. The difference in power draw is negligible. Most powersupplies sold these days are adequate. What you should however be looking for is a good reliable brand like Antec (though I have had Antecs blow on me, they provided a good warranty/replacement policy). I have had many friends whose powersupplies went out within a year. Dell's can be overclocked but it requires a little more hands-on work (such as modifying the actual CPU with conductive paint or electrical tape). In any case, for a casual computer user who doesn't play games, I would never recommend overclocking because the gains again would be negligible.

Since he doesn't have any computer friends, I wouldn't suggest he buy from NCIX because it would be harder to diagnose any problems (even though they assemble and test them). It would be a hassle to return an entire computer to B.C. if anything goes wrong. I actually have to RMA some parts to NCIX on Monday.

Those are really good suggestions though as NCIX (and their sister store www.directcanada.com) typically has some of the lowest computer part prices in Canada, especially on their frequent sales - whereas Memory Express has some of the highest I have usually ever seen, plus they never have any sales. I tried pricematching NCIX with Memory Express once and they refused on grounds that they are not in Calgary. I'm not aware if that policy has been changed. The only place in Calgary I've found with good sales is BCom computer (www.bcom.ab.ca) if they have a surprise sale on but there isn't right now (you can click on the website to check). Their return policy is not as good as Memory Express though.

Maybe because you're running an 8800GT on a 250 watt PSU.
Just kidding because if you go to a site like this it only came up to 242 watts required with a 9600GT and an over clocked 2180 and a few extras.
http://extreme.outervision.com/PSUEngine

but than again makers of the 9600 GT recommend a 400 watt PSU, so for $30, I'd err on the side of caution.

I had to return my computer to NCIX last week because the network LAN quit. It was hit by lightening [didn't offer that info to the tech] and also ruined my router. Thanks Shaw. Anyways the tech jumped all over me for only having a 500 watt PSU with my two video cards etc. Claimed I needed at least 600 watts but he was probably looking to blame me for my MB.
Anyways during my rare trip to the big city, he installed a new MB but it's a pita making arrangements from out of town.

[Hack&Lube]

Originally Posted by Vulcan

Maybe because you're running an 8800GT on a 250 watt PSU.
Just kidding because if you go to a site like this it only came up to 242 watts required with a 9600GT and an over clocked 2180 and a few extras.
http://extreme.outervision.com/PSUEngine

but than again makers of the 9600 GT recommend a 400 watt PSU, so for $30, I'd err on the side of caution.

I had to return my computer to NCIX last week because the network LAN quit. It was hit by lightening [didn't offer that info to the tech] and also ruined my router. Thanks Shaw. Anyways the tech jumped all over me for only having a 500 watt PSU with my two video cards etc. Claimed I needed at least 600 watts but he was probably looking to blame me for my MB.
Anyways during my rare trip to the big city, he installed a new MB but it's a pita making arrangements from out of town.

I find that's the thing people jump to the most. They always say "your powersupply is inadequate" when I know better. Even at Futureshop when I bought another 8800GT once on sale, the guy was like: "you better have a 600 watt PSU!" but I was already running an 8800GT with a 250watt PSU in a tiny home theatre PC that could also play intensive games so I knew much better. I am just kind of sick of the hype powersupplies get. But of course, it's always better to err on the side of caution and really the wattage doesn't tell you anything as most computers will never hit that at load. What you should be looking for is for how much amperage it puts out on your 12+ volt rail. Companies and techies just always tell you to get a higher wattage PSU to err on the side of caution because they don't expect people to actually read th specs but that's no guarantee of quality.

So your house actually got hit by lightning and it knocked everything out? There are those powerbars with built in protection for ethernet, I never used mine since I was lazy. Maybe I will now!

[Vulcan]

Originally Posted by Hack&Lube

I find that's the thing people jump to the most. They always say "your powersupply is inadequate" when I know better. Even at Futureshop when I bought another 8800GT once on sale, the guy was like: "you better have a 600 watt PSU!" but I was already running an 8800GT with a 250watt PSU in a tiny home theatre PC that could also play intensive games so I knew much better. I am just kind of sick of the hype powersupplies get. But of course, it's always better to err on the side of caution and really the wattage doesn't tell you anything as most computers will never hit that at load. What you should be looking for is for how much amperage it puts out on your 12+ volt rail. Companies and techies just always tell you to get a higher wattage PSU to err on the side of caution because they don't expect people to actually read th specs but that's no guarantee of quality.

So your house actually got hit by lightning and it knocked everything out? There are those powerbars with built in protection for ethernet, I never used mine since I was lazy. Maybe I will now!

Also it's good to look for an 80% efficients PSU as there is lots of crap out there, so I expect that is one reason recommended wattages are overstated.

I don't think I got a direct lightening hit, but I wasn't home. My phone also went out and Telus had to come out and replace an outside fuse and the guy said it happened to a few homes in my area. My electricity and satellite were fine. I guess Shaw is too lazy to put a fuse outside my place and yes now I'm looking for another powerbar.

[photon]

No one's suggested a Mac so far?

[SebC]

Originally Posted by photon

No one's suggested a Mac so far?

Based on wanting to buy from a place like Memory Express, I assumed he doesn't want one. Not that I'd suggest getting one anyways.

[Eddie Bronze]

Well I appreciate all the help guys, but the problem is solved. I waited a little too long to ask for help I guess. I woke up this morning and either the power supply or motherboard were fried. I couldn't turn my computer on to get any more help so I went to Memory Express and they set me up with a brand new system. Just a bit more than I wanted to spend but I told the guy what I'd be using it for and he said it would handle it no problem.

Not interested in a Mac, photon. Never really used one and not sure I want to learn. Would my audio and video editing programs even work on a Mac? Anyway, I just got this set up so I haven't installed anything yet or tried it out but it sure looks nice. I was able to get about 7 years out of my last PC, although I had to do a bunch of stuff to keep it going along the way, but I was able to fully replace it, monitor and all, for pretty much the exact amount I spent 7ish years ago and this one has 4 years of warranty whereas the last one had no warranty.

Thanks again for the help guys. I wish I had asked sooner so I could have taken more time to choose what I wanted but she ran out of gas at the wrong time.

Oh and I've got a few old parts here if anyone is interested in buying them for cheap. The 6600GT has an AGP slot.

[Eddie Bronze]

Looking for a little guidance in connecting my old hdd to my new computer. Not looking for it to be a permanent thing, just to move some files. Hooked it up to the motherboard with an IDE cable as the slave drive. Cpu gives me a blue screen telling me to disconnect any new hard drives when I go to boot up.