Building a computer, not new to it, but its been a while.

[bweibley]

Hello everyone,
I am looking to get a new desktop, and have decided that building one would probably be the way to go. I built my last desktop, but this was in 2005, so while I know what im doing, I need to dust the knowledge off. LoL. I havent really done much research about computer parts in awhile, but the last day or 2 ive been looking around and thought maybe it was time to join a forum and get input from people who know computers better than I do. Im looking to try not to go to crazy with money, but dont want to build a cheap computer I woulnt be happy with. Heres what im looking to do with the computer:

Obviously id like to use the computer for web browsing.
Id love to get back into computer programming also, so ill be using it for that
Id also like to find hardware that allows me to input from my direcTv DVR to my computer, and burn DVRs to BluRay so that I can save room on my DVR. When looking around I saw something called Hauppauge Colossus that looks like it may work well for this? Anyone have any input on that also?

Im assuming for the DVR -> BluRay that id like to do ill need a card to input HDMI? Ill also need a bluRay burner. What would everyone suggest I go with as far as all of the hardware i need? I wouldnt mind going with a fullsize case instead of a mini case, space isnt an issue, id rather leave open bays for the future if I would need them. Thank you everyone for your input.

 

[Indigo]

Hi, welcome to CF.

Need a few things from you to go forward.

1) Budget
2) any brand preferences (if none, that's fine too!)
3) Model of the DVR you're currently using (I used to work for DirecTV, so I'm familiar with a lot of them)

 

[bweibley]

Hi, welcome to CF.

Need a few things from you to go forward.

1) Budget
2) any brand preferences (if none, that's fine too!)
3) Model of the DVR you're currently using (I used to work for DirecTV, so I'm familiar with a lot of them)

Id be very happy if I was in the $600-$800 range, but if it went higher I could deal with it.

I dont really have any brand preferences, I havent looked at much as far as computer parts go for a long time, I built my computer back in 05, and then was happy with it and never looked around at parts much after that.
My actual DVR box is the HR-24 100. I also have the wireless internet (Direct Cinema kit) to that box. I also have a non DVR HD box, but our DVR is whole Home DVR service so I can get it on any box in the house.

 

[Indigo]

Alright, here's a starter build to get you off in the right direction. I kept your price points in mind, but if you want a more powerful CPU, we can switch it to Intel, but you'll add another $150 or so to the price for about 10-20% more performance for what you're doing.

I normally opt for the Athlon II in this type of build since the performance is about par with the Phenom II, but the Phenom II I picked on Newegg is cheaper than the Athlon II right now.

Case:
Newegg.com - COOLER MASTER Centurion 5 CAC-T05-UW Black Aluminum Bezel , SECC Chassis ATX Mid Tower Computer Case

Power Supply:
Newegg.com - CORSAIR Builder Series CX600 V2 600W ATX12V v2.3 80 PLUS Certified Active PFC Power Supply

Motherboard:
Newegg.com - ASRock 970 EXTREME3 AM3+ AMD 970 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX AMD Motherboard

Processor:
Newegg.com - AMD Phenom II X4 955 Black Edition Deneb 3.2GHz Socket AM3 125W Quad-Core Processor HDZ955FBGMBOX

RAM:
Newegg.com - G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 (PC3 10666) Desktop Memory Model F3-10666CL9D-8GBRL

Video Card:
Newegg.com - HIS H667F1GD Radeon HD 6670 1GB 128-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.1 x16 HDCP Ready Video Card with Eyefinity

Hard Drive:
Newegg.com - Western Digital Caviar Black WD7501AALS 750GB 7200 RPM 32MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Hard Drive -Bare Drive

DVD/RW:
Newegg.com - ASUS 24X DVD Burner - Bulk 24X DVD+R 8X DVD+RW 12X DVD+R DL 24X DVD-R 6X DVD-RW 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-R 32X CD-RW 48X CD-ROM Black SATA Model DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS - CD / DVD Burners

Capture Card:
Newegg.com - AVerMedia AVerTV HD DVR MTVHDDVRR PCI-Express x1 Interface

Operating System:
Newegg.com - Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 64-bit - Operating Systems

Total before shipping/rebates: $854.52

I've got a friend who uses that capture card, and he loves it. No personal experience with it however. The CPU should be adequate (and most folks will never notice anyway) for the tasks you want to do.

If you see anything you'd like to add/change, let us know.

 

[bweibley]

Alright, here's a starter build to get you off in the right direction. I kept your price points in mind, but if you want a more powerful CPU, we can switch it to Intel, but you'll add another $150 or so to the price for about 10-20% more performance for what you're doing.

I normally opt for the Athlon II in this type of build since the performance is about par with the Phenom II, but the Phenom II I picked on Newegg is cheaper than the Athlon II right now.

Case:
Newegg.com - COOLER MASTER Centurion 5 CAC-T05-UW Black Aluminum Bezel , SECC Chassis ATX Mid Tower Computer Case

Power Supply:
Newegg.com - CORSAIR Builder Series CX600 V2 600W ATX12V v2.3 80 PLUS Certified Active PFC Power Supply

Motherboard:
Newegg.com - ASRock 970 EXTREME3 AM3+ AMD 970 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX AMD Motherboard

Processor:
Newegg.com - AMD Phenom II X4 955 Black Edition Deneb 3.2GHz Socket AM3 125W Quad-Core Processor HDZ955FBGMBOX

RAM:
Newegg.com - G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 (PC3 10666) Desktop Memory Model F3-10666CL9D-8GBRL

Video Card:
Newegg.com - HIS H667F1GD Radeon HD 6670 1GB 128-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.1 x16 HDCP Ready Video Card with Eyefinity

Hard Drive:
Newegg.com - Western Digital Caviar Black WD7501AALS 750GB 7200 RPM 32MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Hard Drive -Bare Drive

DVD/RW:
Newegg.com - ASUS 24X DVD Burner - Bulk 24X DVD+R 8X DVD+RW 12X DVD+R DL 24X DVD-R 6X DVD-RW 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-R 32X CD-RW 48X CD-ROM Black SATA Model DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS - CD / DVD Burners

Capture Card:
Newegg.com - AVerMedia AVerTV HD DVR MTVHDDVRR PCI-Express x1 Interface

Operating System:
Newegg.com - Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 64-bit - Operating Systems

Total before shipping/rebates: $854.52

I've got a friend who uses that capture card, and he loves it. No personal experience with it however. The CPU should be adequate (and most folks will never notice anyway) for the tasks you want to do.

If you see anything you'd like to add/change, let us know.

I noticed that you didnt include a bluRay burner in that? The stuff that im pulling off my DVR id like to burn to BluRay. Do I need any special programs or knowledge to pull off of my DVR, or will it be pretty much common sense?

Am I able to replace that case with any mid tower case?

Also the network card on the motherboard adequate?

 

[Indigo]

Sorry, most folks get miffy with me when I include the BDR drives, force of habit.

They've come down in price lately, but still more than a DVDRW drive. Here's a great unit by Sony, we use them at work too:
Newegg.com - SONY Black 12X BD-R 2X BD-RE 8X DVD+R 5X DVD-RAM 8X BD-ROM 8MB Cache SATA Blu-ray Burner BWU-500S

The case can be any midtower you want, so feel free to look around, just be aware of case depth and width for larger video cards (if you ever go that route, the one I specified should be fine in just about anything)

Integrated NIC on the motherboard has gotten a lot better in recent years. I have some boards that I bought within the past 4 years that haven't had the same issues with the integrated NIC that several older ones seem to have (ESPECIALLY the nVidia and Intel based boards!)

 

[bweibley]

Also dont I need a cooling fan for the CPU?

 

[niiko101]

Intel & AMD supply stock coolers with there CPU's

 

[bweibley]

I also noticed that the memory you suggested, is 2 4 gig sticks. They are also fairly cheap, there are 4 memory slots on the motherboard, would it be a good investment to go ahead and purchase 4-4 gig sticks instead of just 2, or would the memory upgrade not really be noticeable?

Haha Im looking at all these other cases, and I gotta admit, Ive always liked the fancy looking stuff! Makes me feel even cooler building my own computer when it looks bad@$$ Lol Are there any differences between the mid tower/full tower besides size obviously? Will the motherboard you suggested still work in a full tower? Size wise they dont seem that much different? Just seem to have more bells and whistles?

Ive also been thinking about adding a card reader, any suggestions?

 

[bweibley]

*duplicate*