Hi All,
It was recommended that I post my YouTube PC-Building Walkthrough here in the System Builds forum, so here it is!
Part 1
Part 2
See more videos on Newegg's YouTube Channel!
I had a great time with this build, and I'm glad it went smoothly!
Recording the process added some complication, but overall the PC works great, and I was able to edit the final footage you see above on the finished PC. I'm now running Windows XP 64-bit, and I edited using Adobe Premiere Elements 7.
PARTS
Case - Cooler Master HAF 922
An excellent case that I can recommend wholeheartedly. A computer case is an great part to invest in because they have a longer life than the other parts of your PC. While you might swap out RAM, your Video Card, or Hard Drives within six months or a year, a good case will last you through multiple builds.
Motherboard - Intel D975X BX2
We've had this motherboard in our EggXpert Storage Facility for a while, so it came to mind when we started discussing YouTube, video editing, and acquiring a new machine that could handle these tasks. After deactivating the storage facility's protective security system, which features lasers, we found the motherboard intact and unopened. It's no Core i7 mobo, but it can run our Core 2 Quad CPU and fit 4 DDR2 memory DIMMs. This cut down on our system's cost and gave us a stepping-off point for choosing the rest of the parts.
Power Supply - OCZ ModXStream 700w
I'm hoping to upgrade the PC at a later time (or maybe a sooner time), so I wanted power supply headroom. This system could probably run on a lesser wattage PSU, but if we ever shell out for a RAID array or a higher-end video card we'll be glad we've got wattage to spare.
CPU - Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600
A workhorse CPU, ideal for multitasking and especially friendly towards multi-threaded video encoding jobs. One of the greatest leaps forward from our previous system, this CPU has cut encoding time by 50-75%.
Video Card - SAPPHIRE Radeon HD 3850
First, I'm sorry, but I got the Newegg Item# wrong in the video! It should be 14-102-794.
This is a budget video card that gets the job done surprisingly well for the cost. I won't be firing up Crysis (or any other games for that matter -- this is a work PC!), but I'm happy to be running 512MB of video memory on a 256 bit interface.
Memory - OCZ Gold 8GB (4 x 2GB) DDR2
It's amazing to be able to get 8GB of quality memory for around $100. Video editing tasks your memory and your hard drives with a lot of reads & writes, so a lot of memory was a must for our PC. To take advantage of all 8GB, we'll need to run a 64-bit operating system such as Windows XP 64-bit or Vista 64-bit.
Optical - Sony Optiarc Black 24X DVD Burner
DVD Burners are amazingly inexpensive, and they're still getting faster. Sony's new 24X burner sports the fastest burn speeds I've come across, and has a small footprint in the case due to its SATA interface.
Generic Floppy Drive
The only reason I added a floppy is because I'm hoping to install DOOM from my original discs.
Existing Hard Drives - 80GB (Western Digital) & 160GB (Maxtor)
When upgrading, sometimes you run into budget ceilings and need to cut costs. I gave up the 1TB Caviar Black I had on my list, because these drives are still spinning even though they're several years old. After filling both drives up while creating this video, though... I will definitely be replacing them soon!
KNOWN MISTAKES & NOTES
So you know that I know that you know that I know...
- The item # for the Sapphire video card is 14-102-794.
- I made a slight mistake in installing the CPU heatsink/fan; I should have secured two brackets on opposite corners first to make sure the heatsink/fan stayed level.
- Motherboard standoffs are made of brass, not copper.
- I swear, I didn't touch the gold contacts when I picked up the CPU!
- A static wristband is recommended, but you can also keep yourself free of static electricity by touching the case or another large metal object frequently as you build.
I hope you enjoyed the video!
Best Regards,
Paul
Be excellent to each other.
