time for an upgrade
It's time to start building a new computer system, thanks to some previously mentioned friends who gifted me a new motherboard, processor, RAM and video card. The new parts include a Core 2 Duo E4500 (rated at 2.2Ghz, but reviews say it's easily overclockable to 3.0) and 2 gigs of RAM. The mobo and video card are a definite upgrade as they're SATA and PCI-E, whereas I was languishing with PATA and AGP.
This sudden windfall of new tech parts explains why I'm now looking for hard drives. I want to RAID 1 this new system. I did some quick research on RAID controllers and really like the PNY card. It has 2 internal SATA ports and 2 eSATA ports. Plus, I tend to think PNY makes good chips.
I'll be looking at silentpcreview.com for other parts. I want another CPU fan so I can overclock. I like my current case a lot, but I might window-shop for another case.
Walking through Fry's today, I realize I might want to look for a new speaker system. My JBL Pro's have been very good to me, but they're twice the size of current computer speakers. Each JBL speaker is 11.5" tall, 5" wide and 6.5" deep. Pretty big by today's standards. There are some pricey speakers out there now, all with flashy pronouncements on the boxes. I don't need anything with super-high wattage, I just want something that is decent in volume, but, most importantly, faithful to the sound. Sometimes you get the best sound by plugging your headphones directly into the computer. I want desktop speakers to sound like that but not have to hug my ears.
Speaking of sound. I wonder if I need a new sound card. My current card is a Creative Sound Blaster Live! Value. I went to the Creative website the other day to find that the Live! series is no longer supported by Creative. So the only thing I would be able to get are the last drivers they ever worked on. Well, the onboard sound in the motherboard seems decent. Normally a mobo has only ports for input, output and mic. The new board is a MSI 945 Neo5 and the sound parts has 6 ports, which include the usual three plus ports for rear speakers, center/subwoofer and surround. It makes me wonder if maybe the onboard is better than my Live! card.
I've only been doing searches for parts on newegg.com and tigerdirect.com. Please chime in if you have any other site to recommend.
This sudden windfall of new tech parts explains why I'm now looking for hard drives. I want to RAID 1 this new system. I did some quick research on RAID controllers and really like the PNY card. It has 2 internal SATA ports and 2 eSATA ports. Plus, I tend to think PNY makes good chips.
I'll be looking at silentpcreview.com for other parts. I want another CPU fan so I can overclock. I like my current case a lot, but I might window-shop for another case.
Walking through Fry's today, I realize I might want to look for a new speaker system. My JBL Pro's have been very good to me, but they're twice the size of current computer speakers. Each JBL speaker is 11.5" tall, 5" wide and 6.5" deep. Pretty big by today's standards. There are some pricey speakers out there now, all with flashy pronouncements on the boxes. I don't need anything with super-high wattage, I just want something that is decent in volume, but, most importantly, faithful to the sound. Sometimes you get the best sound by plugging your headphones directly into the computer. I want desktop speakers to sound like that but not have to hug my ears.
Speaking of sound. I wonder if I need a new sound card. My current card is a Creative Sound Blaster Live! Value. I went to the Creative website the other day to find that the Live! series is no longer supported by Creative. So the only thing I would be able to get are the last drivers they ever worked on. Well, the onboard sound in the motherboard seems decent. Normally a mobo has only ports for input, output and mic. The new board is a MSI 945 Neo5 and the sound parts has 6 ports, which include the usual three plus ports for rear speakers, center/subwoofer and surround. It makes me wonder if maybe the onboard is better than my Live! card.
I've only been doing searches for parts on newegg.com and tigerdirect.com. Please chime in if you have any other site to recommend.