New PC

[sambat]

Looking at a new PC - I'm not a gamer - just general video conversion which includes TV captures (large .TS to Divx).
Your opinions/suggestions are welcome.

1 x Intel Core i5 750 Quad Core Processor Lynnfield LGA1156 2.66GHZ 8MB Cache

1 x ASUS P7P55D-E LGA1156 P55 DDR3 2PCI-E16 3PCI-E1 2PCI CrossFireX USB3.0 SATA 6GB Motherboard

1 x G.SKILL F3-10666CL7D-4GBECO Eco PC3-10666 4GB 2X2GB DDR3-1333 CL7-7-7-21 1.35V Memory Kit

1 x Radeon HD 5770 850MHZ 1GB GDDR5 4.8GHZ PCI-E 2XDVI HDMI Display Port

1 x Western Digital Caviar Black 1TB SATA3 6GB/S 7200RPM 64MB Cache 3.5IN Dual Proc Hard Drive OEM

1 x Antec Three Hundred Mini Tower Gaming Case 300 ATX 3X5.25 6X3.5INT No PS Front USB & Audio

1 x Seasonic SS-400ET 400W EPS12V 20/24PIN ATX Power Supply Active PFC 80PLUS 6PIN PCI-E 120MM Fan OEM

1 x LG GH22NS50 Black 22X SATA DVD Writer OEM

1 x Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium Edition 64BIT DVD OEM

$1113 Canadian NCIX
The price does not include a CPU cooler - not sure if my requirements justify it.
I need a PCI slot for my current hauppauge capture card.

[edDV]

Recommend separate OS and video capture hard drives. An 80-120GB OS drive is usually enough. The video drive is never large enough.

64bit Win7 may have compatibility issues with your software or hardware drivers. 8 GB RAM seems excessive given your goals.

[jagabo]

You can't really get an 80-120 GB drive anymore. Except for SSD. Get a second 1TB drive and use most of the boot drive for archival storage -- preferably on a second partition to make backup of the boot partition easier.

[sambat]

8 GB RAM seems excessive

It's 4gb.

separate OS and video capture hard drives

I have a 1TB external HD that can be connected to the eSATA port on the motherboard or as USB - don't know if there is much practical difference in speed.

The MB also has a IDE port - would my existing HD suit as the video storage?

[redwudz]

IDE HDDs should work fine. Most newer MBs have two IDE (PATA) channels available.

If you really want to use a 64bit OS, about 6GB RAM may be a better choice. Depends on how your MB sets up for dual or tri channel RAM.

I've used 150GB 10K RPM WD Raptors for my last couple of builds for the boot drive. They're quiet and fast and about the right size for a OS drives these days.

The 300 is a fairly small case, so cable management is a bit of a chore. But nothing serious. Use lots of wire ties.

Since it uses a bottom mounted power supply, I would cover the PS fan opening during the assembly with a piece of paper as you don't want to drop something metalic down in there.

This is a PC I put together in a Antec 300 case recently.

[edDV]

8 GB RAM seems excessive

It's 4gb.

separate OS and video capture hard drives

I have a 1TB external HD that can be connected to the eSATA port on the motherboard or as USB - don't know if there is much practical difference in speed.

The MB also has a IDE port - would my existing HD suit as the video storage?

4GB OK, missed that. 32bit Win7 will use 3.25 GB of that. The rest goes to support the video card and drivers.

USB2 drives will be fast enough for MPeg2 play or edit but slow for large file copy. eSATA is as fast as an internal SATA drive (about double USB2, sometimes more).

[DarrellS]

I would go with a different case also. I bought the CoolerMaster 690 II Advanced case because it had everthing that I wanted in a case and it was right around $100. It has great cable cable management and you don't have to remove the MB if you want to add an aftermarket cooler. The front is all mess for good airflow and it has room for nine fans plus the cooler fan. It is also built for liquid cooling if you want to go that route.

I have 6 drives inside, an external drive hooked to the e-SATA connector on top and a SATA drive plugged into a hot plug connector on the top.

My boot drive is 160GB (couldn't find an 80GB at the time), my smallest storage drive is 750GB and the rest are 1TB drives.