A New Member in the Family

I have been playing Dr. Frankenstein again, but this time for a very good reason.

Ever since I bought my latest desktop computer, I tried to keep it up to date by upgrading some of its components here and there. However, it comes a time when the original plan is completely screwed and you need to start over. Besides, ever since I landed this long-term contract with with an eLearning contents provider, I can't afford to stop my production (as a matter of fact, I'm looking into expanding my operation, but that's a subject for another post). In a nutshell, I needed a new computer, a machine with enough power to keep up with heavy multimedia jobs and long work days. So, in order to make the most out of my hard earned money and to get exactly what I needed, I decided to build it myself.

I had experience assembling computers in the past, it was part of my first actual job as a support specialist in my department's computer lab, during my second year of college. However, the last computer I ever built was a Pentium 2 and so much has changed since then: not only the technology is different, but there are so many choices and brands for computer components out there that you really have to be careful, and make sure you are buying compatible stuff.

First decisions

To simplify my research a little bit, I decided to buy both the motherboard and the processor from Intel. However, Intel alone has almost 30 different motherboard models compatible with Pentium 4 processors. So, how to discard choices? Well, in my case it wasn't so difficult since I wanted a "barebones" board, given that I was considering getting sound, video and networking cards separately. Then the choice actually depended on the processor and the number of USB ports available. I decided to go with the Intel D865PERL motherboard which allows for up to 8 USB ports and supports my Pentium 4 3e processor. Memory for this combo is no regular DIMM, so you gotta be careful with what you get there. Usually, merchants have preselected choices available when you select your board, if not, you better ask first.

Silence please

When you have to work with audio almost all day, you learn to appreciate silence. So, when looking for a case, I was especially concerned about their noise reduction features. Good merchants give you pages of detailed information and technical specs, but it is always a good idea to read customer reviews. After considering several options, this beautiful black case from Antec was apparently the best choice. Gladly, it was even better than I expected. It is really well designed and it makes the assembly process very comfortable. I also got an extra frontal fan to keep the hard disks cool.

No Sweat

With the core and housing out of the way, the rest is easy and depends more on the mission of the computer. Since I have to work with increasingly heavy multimedia pieces, I needed a decent video card, a respectable sound card (with quality analog and digital inputs), massive storage and a fast DVD/CD writer. For the record, this is the final configuration (notice that I already had spare parts, and reused them in thus machine):

Processor: Pentium 4 3.0E GHz (New)
Motherboard: Intel D865PERL (New)
RAM: 2x512Mb PC 3200 DIMM (New)
HDD1: Maxtor 300Gb (New)
HDD2: Maxtor 40Gb (Reused)
HDD3: Western Digital 20Gb (Reused)
Video1: ATI Radeon 9600XT (New)
Video2: ATI Radeon 7500 (Reused)
Sound: SoundBlaster Audigy ZS Platinum Pro (New)
DVD: Sony DRU700A 8X DVD+/-RW 8.5Gb (New)
CD: HP CD Writer Plus (Reused)
NIC: Linksys Instant Wireless Network Card (New)
Case: Antec SLK3700BQE Midtower

Where to buy components

To decide for a merchant, I built a chart comparing prices, including taxes and shipping charges. At the end, I bought everything from mwave.com, except for the sound card which I got directly from Creative, due to a $70 rebate they were offering

Here are some pictures I took while building the little monster:

(to come)

*Disclaimer: I am in no way being compensated by any of the manufacturers and merchants mentioned in this post. I am only sharing my particular experience, in the hopes somebody may find it useful.