Sub $1000 Office Rig

[BoomerSoonerOKU]

I'm putting together a new rig for office use only. It will mainly be used for web activites, office applications, and proprietary software (dos based :eek: ). Client already has monitor, keyboard, & mouse. I'll go ahead and list the build and then a few questions.

Case - COOLER MASTER Centurion 5 CAC-T05-UW Black Aluminum Bezel, SECC ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - Retail (http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16811119068) - $49.99

Mobo - ASUS P5B-E LGA 775 Intel P965 Express ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail (http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16813131070) - $145.99

Processor - Intel Core 2 Duo E6300 Conroe 1.86GHz LGA 775 Processor Model BX80557E6300 - Retail (http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16819115005) - $181.00

PSU - Antec TRUEPOWERII TPII-430 ATX12V 430W Power Supply - Retail (http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16817103928) - $69.99

RAM - CORSAIR ValueSelect 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 667 (PC2 5300) Desktop Memory Model VS2GBKIT667D2 - Retail (http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16820145098) - $113.99

HD - Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 (Perpendicular Recording) ST3250620AS 250GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM (http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16822148144) - $69.99

Video - ASUS EN7300LE/HTD/128M GeForce 7300LE Supporting to 512MB(128MB on BoarD) GDDR2 PCI Express x16 Video Card - Retail (http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16814121009) - $48.99

Optical - LITE-ON 16X DVD±R DVD Burner with 12X DVD-RAM Write and Replaceable White Front Panel Black SATA Model SH-16A7S-06 - Retail (http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16827106046) - $35.99

OS - Microsoft Windows XP Home Sp2b 1pk - OEM (http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16832116169) - $89.99

Total - $805.92

Anyone see any blaring compatibility problems that I'm missing?

I've talked to them about waiting for the price drop on the processor but they are impatient to get this up and running. They aren't going to be using this for really any intensive tasks, but I wanted to give it some longevity and the ability to run Vista relatively well when that time comes. Considering that, anyone have some suggestions on how I might be able to save them a little cash?

I'm a little leery about the video card, seeing as how it's sans a fan. Anyone have any experience with these in the lower end rigs?

[ChoboSeki]

There are no compatibility issues. Although, if you could wait a few weeks, the c2d is getting a price reduction.

If the machine isn't for massive gaming or huge rendering:
The video card is fine.
You don't need 2GB of ram - 1GB would do.
Use the regular Asus P5B (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131030) $122.99

[UncleS]

Not only do the C2Ds get a price reduction but they also get an L2 cache increase. Between that and the dual core, should really make a nice multi-tasker.

[glc]

That's a Turbocache video card - shares system ram. You might as well just get an Asus P5B-VM and use the onboard video - save some bucks. It does have a PCI-Ex16 slot for a future upgrade if desired.

[SuprchargdMazda]

For an office rig, for some good bang for the buck I'd go with a Brisbane 3600+ right now. You can pick one up for $65, throw in a motherboard for $100, decent cooler (Freezer 7, $20) and for under $200 you can OC to 2.8+ghz and have some very good performance. You also get to avoid the annoying whiny Intel stock HSF this way. This also frees up $100 compared to going with the P5B/E6300 so you can get some nice RAM.

And yea, I'd avoid the 7300LE with the TurboCache, here's a better option although a bit more expensive: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150162

[Alaron]

Overclocking is not a good idea when it comes to an office machine. Stability is the key for that type of computer.

[BoomerSoonerOKU]

Thanks for the advice guys. I wanted to stick with the C2D chip setup since I have a little experience building from those, plus it was what the client felt comfortable with.

I ditched the video card and went with the Asus mobo with on board video.

Definitely not something they'll be gaming on, but it will be a big improvement over the PIII with 256M of RAM that they were running win xp pro on. :D

You guys were a big help again, thanks a bunch. I'll be back in a few weeks as my fiance will be in the market for a new rig. Gotta make it good so I can use it as well. ;)

[BoomerSoonerOKU]

So, I've finished this build. My first one was a breeze, not one problem and it fired up perfectly the first try. This one was another story.

After getting everything together I go to fire it up and I get about 1/2 second of LED light and fan spin. Then it just stops. To me it seemed like something might be shorting out and I was dreading that I had damaged the Motherboard or I had a dud PSU. After checking all the stand offs and pulling everything out (while pulling hair and consuming too much scotch) I called it a night.

This morning I went through it piece by piece assembling outside the case jumping it with a screwdriver after each component was added. It worked like a charm after that. The only thing I can think that was keeping it from booting was maybe one of the prongs on the heat sink wasn't seated properly.

Nevertheless, this leads me to my question. About a month or so ago I built a rig for myself and used the same motherboard (Asus P5-B) and a Intel C2D 6600. I had no problems or errors. Yet, using the same Motherboard with a Intel C2D 6300 on this build I get an error (which researching on here I find is a BIOS problem). Is this common? Luckily I do have an old floppy here so flashing the bios won't be bad, but I found it puzzling that the same board would have problems with different processors even though they are based on the same technology.

This isn't a big deal, but I'm trying to learn. I hope this question is suitable for this forum as well. Hopefully it will help some new builders.

One other lesson I've learned from the builds I've done so far. Be careful who you tell that you know how to put them together. In the next few months I'll be building at least 2 or 3 new rigs. Luckily, most of them are paying me to do it. :D