Looking for suggestions on a good motherboard/cpu bundle

[ABE]

I want to put together a decent gaming/video-editing computer. More
specifically I want to take 40 years of VHS family movies and put them
on DVDs, and I don't believe my current computer (Abit KT7a AMD
Athlon, 1.2 Ghz) which I built three years ago can handle that.. plus,
I am looking for an excuse build a new computer. I will be giving the
old one to my wife (grin).

I have been out of the loop so long, I really don't know what's hot
and what's not. Any suggestions of what would be a good MB/CPU combo,
as well as what to stay away from, would be appreciated. Also, any
suggestions of a good vender wouldn't hurt. I purchased my last combo
from J & R Computer. I was pleased with them, but they might be on
the high side.

Thanks

 

[Jim Wilson]

I am not into any serious gaming but as you most likely already
know..... gaming and video editing are both CPU intenstive tasks.

I am currently transferring VHS tapes to DVD on a hombuilt AMD 1500
( 1.33ghz ) with 256mb of ram with no problems whatsoever. I don't do
any "serious" gaming so I won't address that issue.

To "cut to the chase" there are tons of combinations that you could
put together that would serve you well. For starters.... we have no
idea what your budget is.

I have had NO problems with www.newegg.com for parts. Their pricing
is competitive and they are remarkably fast on their deliveries as I
believe they only use FedEx. (BTW...Pricewatch has a listing for
motherboard/cpu bundles)

You can always go to www.pricewatch.com and check the current prices
on various peripherals.

Good Luck on your build!


===================================================================

 

[jpsga]

No doubt about it. The board you are looking for is the GA-7N400 Pro2 rev2.
Any AMD Barton Core at or over the 2500..
Maxtor serial ATA drive(s) like 6Y120P0 max+9 drive.
Use WD Raptor if you want to spoil your self with RAID 0.
JPS

 

[ABE]

Thanks for responding, Jim. I wonder if my computer has enough muscle
to do that? If so, at least I need to buy a DVD burner, and a new HD
(current one is on it's last leg), and a new video card with video
in/out, and probably up grade to XP, I have W98se. I have 512 MB of
Ram, so that should be enough.

Do you mind if I ask, do you have any special hardware to do the
VHS/DVD transfer and what do you have in the way of video card and
video software? Are you using XP?

Thanks.

 

[Matt]

No doubt about it.

ha ha very funny

 

[ABE]

No doubt about it. The board you are looking for is the GA-7N400 Pro2 rev2.
Any AMD Barton Core at or over the 2500..
Maxtor serial ATA drive(s) like 6Y120P0 max+9 drive.
Use WD Raptor if you want to spoil your self with RAID 0.
JPS

"He can compress the most words into the smallest idea of
any man I know." -Abraham Lincoln

"They never open their mouths without subtracting from the
sum of human knowledge." -Thomas Brackett Reed

 

[Jim Wilson]

Abe: " do you have any special hardware to do the

VHS/DVD transfer and what do you have in the way of video card and
video software? Are you using XP? "

I'm using an ATI TV Wonder VE (Value Edition). It has a built in TV
Tuner. I could record stuff straight off cable/satellite or whatever.
It's a PCI card and it's a low cost solution. You may have heard of
ATI's All In Wonder which is quite a bit more expensive.

I did a search on www.pricewatch.com and cnetpc.com sells the card I
have for $38.99. I paid about $45.00 for it a year ago. I don't
claim that it's the "best" solution.... I'm only saying that it works
for me. You could undoubtedly pay a lot more and get a much higher
end solution if that's what you are looking for.
(a company called Dazzle makes a nice external solution, BTW)

I am indeed using WindowsXP (Pro) but I'm sure you could get by with
Windows98(se). The ATI TV WonderVE card did not even come with
WindowsXP drivers when I bought it. I had to go online to get XP
drivers.

The video software I'm using came with the ATI TV Wonder VE card. You
can spend as much as you like (or dislike) on video editing software.
I was simply looking for a "low-cost solution" for transferring VHS to
DVD and what I'm using is satisfactory for my purposes. I wasn't
looking for a "professional" solution by any means.

Check this out: http://www.shentech.com/vixtevtvtuvi.html
Very interesting looking solution and it's only $49.00 plus shipping.

My video card (purchased about 1 1/2 ago and showing it's age) is an :

MSI GeForce3 Ti200 Pro-T 64 mb DDR , 4x AGP, (with TV out)

It's probably not even sold anymore. (too old and too slow?!?)

Don't know if I've been of any help. Good Luck!


====================================================================

 

[ABE]

Thanks again, your information has been helpful.

Abe

 

[Glenn M]

I want to put together a decent gaming/video-editing computer. More
specifically I want to take 40 years of VHS family movies and put them
on DVDs, and I don't believe my current computer (Abit KT7a AMD
Athlon, 1.2 Ghz) which I built three years ago can handle that.. plus,
I am looking for an excuse build a new computer. I will be giving the
old one to my wife (grin).

I have been out of the loop so long, I really don't know what's hot
and what's not. Any suggestions of what would be a good MB/CPU combo,
as well as what to stay away from, would be appreciated. Also, any
suggestions of a good vender wouldn't hurt. I purchased my last combo
from J & R Computer. I was pleased with them, but they might be on
the high side.

Thanks

Check out Vegas 5 + DVD 2 for video editing software if you want a
very powerful yet easy to learn NLE package.. it is not cheap as it is
on the professional level... but it is excellent... Adobe PP is also
excellent but the learning curve is steep...
If Vegas is out of you price range then check out Screen Blast Movie
Studio...it is a baby Vegas and also by Sony...it is also quite
powerful and easy to learn - and if you ever et serious and get Vegas
you will ease into Vegas quicker coming from Movie Studio.
Get a fast CPU and at least 1 gig of memory ( 2 is even better ) You
will need a separate large hard drive- external fire wire is usually
good... and a Contour Shuttle device makes things easier...
Glenn M


A GREAT DAY FOR FREEDOM...Pink Floyd