Projected build

[hudson80]

This to replace a four year old Micron P 4 3gig. Twill be my first roll your own. Already have powered speakers, monitor, mouse, keyboard etc.
All parts from NewEgg. Total if ordered today would be around $1100 bucks. Not a gamer. Not an over clocker, don’t really need it. I do replace every three or four years Interested in comments pro or con as to components. I have down loaded and reviewed the various manuals. Now just have to convince She Who Must Be Obeyed

GIGABYTE GZ-XA1CA-STB Black Front bezel : Aluminum Body : SECC ATX Mid Tower Computer Case -

Intel BOXDP35DPM LGA 775 Intel P35 ATX Intel Motherboard

Intel Core 2 Duo E6750 Conroe 2.66GHz 4M shared L2 Cache LGA 775 Processor

ARCTIC COOLING Freezer 7 Pro 92mm CPU Cooler

Kingston ValueRAM 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Two sets , four gig

CORSAIR CMPSU-520HX ATX12V v2.2 and EPS12V 2.91 520W Power Supply 100 - 240 V UL, CUL, CE, CB, FCC Class B, TUV, CCC, C-tick -

PNY VCG85512GXPB GeForce 8500GT 512MB 128-bit GDDR2 PCI Express x16 SLI Supported Video Card - Retail

Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 ST3320620AS (Perpendicular Recording Technology) 320GB 7200 RPM 16MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM

LITE-ON Black 20X DVD+R 8X DVD+RW 8X DVD+R DL 20X DVD-R 6X DVD-RW 12X DVD-RAM 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-R 32X CD-RW 48X CD-ROM 2MB Cache SATA DVD Burner with LightScribe - Retail


Atech Flash Xm-4U 11-in-1 USB 2.0 Black & Silver Internal card reader

Microsoft Windows Vista 32-Bit Home Premium for System Builders Single Pack DVD - OEM

[shadowpr]

first thing i would do is get rid of the cpu cooler. if you get a retail cpu, then it will come with a heatsink.

if you're not a gamer, you can probably downgrade that video card and save some money, or just get a MB with on-board video.

[Cricket]

Don't use Kingston RAM, they've been having quality control problems and their RAM isn't as good as it used to be. Look at Corsair or Crucial RAM.

And since you're not a gamer you might want to look at video cards with a ATi graphic processor...better 2D image quality.

I personally wouldn't use a Atech card reader...too cheaply made for me. I like Koutech, SIIG or Mitsumi.

The rest of the parts look fine.

:) Cricket

[hudson80]

Did change the ram to Crucial. Don't like ATI cards. still kicking card reader around. have looked at several. My 80th BD coming up first part of Nov. I hinting for NewEgg gift cards from the kids. Will order after that Mean time I'm having fun.

[blue60007]

I've used both ATI and nVidia cards and can't tell any difference 2d quality wise. Maybe if I was a pro digital photographer I might see a difference...

[Cricket]

I've used both ATI and nVidia cards and can't tell any difference 2d quality wise. Maybe if I was a pro digital photographer I might see a difference...It might depend on the type of monitor you're using. I know I could see a big difference in 2D quality between a NVidia video card in a friend's computer and my Matrox G550 on my old Sony 220GS CRT monitor...the G550 had much better 2D graphics. But I can't see much of a difference between my wife's computer which uses on-board Intel graphics and my Matrox G550 on the Samsung LCD monitors we have now.

:) Cricket

[glc]

All looks fine except the heatsink and card reader, as already mentioned. The retail processor comes with a heatsink that must be used to preserve the 3 year warranty, and it's more than adequate at stock speeds. The card readers I recommend are the Mitsumis that have a floppy drive built in.

The 8500GT is a good general purpose video card that does not break the bank. I think the Nvidia 2D quality these days is where it's supposed to be, they have made big improvements since the days of original GeForce. I've also become quite tired of ATI's bloated driver package.

Be prepared for Windows to only recognize around 3 gigs of your ram. You need 64 bit Windows to fully utilize 4 or more gigs.

[hudson80]

The Intell board that I like DP35DP don't mention a Floppy. Do the Mitsumis Have a USB powered floppy?.
Point taken on the heat sink, will delete, didn't consider warrenty.
At this moment in time most every body seems to be NIS on the Intel MB.
So, I've been scratching my backside and reading Asus and Gigabyte manuals hoping I don't have to decide.
Won't do anything till Nov 10th. Meantime I'm finding out more then I ever wanted to know.

[glc]

I'd get an Asus P5K, it's just as good. It has a floppy connector. The DP35DP does not. The Mitsumi uses both a floppy cable and an internal USB cable, which feeds the card reader slots.

[hudson80]

Well after several weeks studying manuals and reading posts on this and other forums I finally did the deed. My NewEgg order went out this morning. Few changes from my original post . Gigabyte MB, old man had to have a built in floppy, plus there are some possible up grades with this board. I did read both the Gigabyte and Asus manuals in depth before I finalized on the gigabyte.
Upped the PSU to 620W, the Mitsumi floppy drive/card reader,
And last but not least decided to stay with the devil I know for an OS, namely XP PRO.
I’ve been fighting and sometimes cussing Vista Home Premium since mid July.
It is just too different from what I’m used to.
I will build for the first SMOKE test as suggested in the Forum on a piece of cardboard and minimal parts. Should be easier to get the cpu and heat sink installed any way. By studying the MB manual I have found the pins to fire the beast up . Will have the head mess cook standing by with a fire bottle and a phone.

As an aside I have found the suggestions from the more experienced builders a great help, also the manufactures manuals. And where available their forums. Corsair has a good forum on their PSU’s.

Looking ahead to when I get the new beast up and running think I’ll try my hand at putting XP on the new laptop. I’ve done that sort of thing before. I have a pretty good handle on where to get the drivers.

GIGABYTE GZ-XA1CA-STB Black Front bezel : Aluminum Body : SECC ATX Mid Tower Computer Case -

GIGABYTE GA-P35-DS4 Rev. 2.0 LGA 775 Intel P35 ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail

Intel Core 2 Duo E6750 Conroe 2.66GHz 4M shared L2 Cache LGA 775 Processor

Cruical 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Two sets , four gig

CORSAIR CMPSU-620HX ATX12V v2.2 and EPS12V 2.91 620W Power Supply 100 - 240 V -

PNY VCG85512GXPB GeForce 8500GT 512MB 128-bit GDDR2 PCI Express x16 SLI Supported Video Card - Retail

Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 ST3320620AS (Perpendicular Recording Technology) 320GB 7200 RPM 16MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM

LITE-ON Black 20X DVD+R 8X DVD+RW 8X DVD+R DL 20X DVD-R 6X DVD-RW 12X DVD-RAM 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-R 32X CD-RW 48X CD-ROM 2MB Cache SATA
DVD Burner with LightScribe - Retail

MITSUMI Black 1.44MB 3.5" Internal USB 2.0 digital card reader with Floppy Drive Model FA404M BLK - OEM

Microsoft Windows Vista 32-Bit Home Premium for System Builders Single Pack DVD - OEM

[flanzig1]

If your looking to shave a few bucks off the build, could drop the PSU down to something in the 450w range which would still power that system. The video card you picked only needs a minimum of a 300w PSU.

[hudson80]

I like to tinker and maybe upgrade down the road. Wanted a big enough PSU . The machine I'm using now I had to upgrade the PSU after pushing the graphics a little to much plus had two 1394 drives and a bunch of USB stuff