Advice on Build

[beornhelm]

+++UPDATED BUILD ON MY FOLLOWING POST+++

* Intel Core 2 Duo E6850 3.0GHz LGA 775 65W Processor
* ASUS P5E LGA 775 Intel X38 ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail
* Patriot 4GB(2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Memory
* Seagate Barracuda 7200.11 500GB 3.5" SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive
* COOLER MASTER Mystique RC-632S-KKN1-GP Black Aluminum/ SECC ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - Retail
* Thermaltake Purepower W0100RU 500W Power Supply
* Sony NEC Optiarc 20X DVD±R DVD Burner with LightScribe Black PATA Model AD-7191A
* EVGA GeForce 8800GTS (G92) 512-P3-N841-A3 Video Card


Links to producsts, in same order as listed above.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?item=N82E16819115028

http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16813131219

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?item=N82E16820220227

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?item=N82E16822148288

http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16811119129

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817703005

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?item=N82E16827118001

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?item=N82E16814130312


I asked my friend to throw something together for me and this is what he came up with. Just wanted some second opinions/thoughts on this hardware combo. I would like to stay in the Ballpark of $1,500.00. This setup runs $1,200.00.

I currenty have a Dell, 3.0 P4 with 1 Gig of RAM, and ATI 9800 Pro 256 MB. The machine is pushing 4 years and it's age is really starting to show. I would simply like to be able to play new generation games on good settings and have a few backround programs running w/o slowing down the machine.

I am a first time builder, so any tips, advice or really just about any response would be good.


Thanks in advance for any responses

+++UPDATED BUILD ON MY FOLLOWING POST+++

[blue60007]

Looks pretty decent. Couple comments though... I know the motherboard can support 2GB sticks, but if it was me, I'd check ASUS's website for the QVL (Qualified vendor list) for that motherboard. It'll give you a list of modules they have tested to work. I'm not sure how pick it'll be with 2 gig sticks.

Also, you've got a different PSU linked to than what you posted first. The PC P&C cooling looks to be out of stock.. Here's one a lot here have had good luck with... http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139001

Also, consider replacing the optical with SATA drive. LITE-ON has a nice SATA unit for about the same price. It's really nice not working with those bulky IDE ribbon cables...

And don't forget your choice of OS.

[Katreat]

List looks pretty good but here are a few comments to consider

- The e6850 is over priced for the performance gain, I would personally recommend stepping down to the e6750. You pay an extra $100 for very little performance gain with the e6850.

- I have not worked with the X38 MoBos so I will leave that to others to discuss.

- Remember that XP or vista32 will only recognize 3.2 gigs of ram so you will need vista64 to utilize all that ram. Vista 64 has been getting pretty good reviews so as long as you don’t plan to run older software that is not supported you should be fine.

- Good HD

- Case is a personal thing

- 500w wont give you much head room on that build for possible future upgrades. It is pretty much right at the minimum. I would look at something with 550 w +. Check out this list for recommended manufatures.

http://forum.pcmech.com/showthread.php?t=131195

- Most on this forum prefer Lite-on opticals. I have had good luck with Sony also but the free Nero that comes with Lite-on retails is nice.

- I am not sure the performance gain for the new 8800 GTS is really worth the price over the new 8800 GT but it is a great card so its up to you. I would recommend you compare the two before you spend the cash though.

http://www.tomshardware.com/2008/01/03/the_best_gaming_graphics/

Enjoy your new build.

Kat

[Cricket]

Other good power supply brands to consider besides PC Power & Cooling and Corsair are Fortron Source, Seasonic and Sparkle Power.

:) Cricket

[shadowpr]

Looks good. I agree with everyone else.

Also, just a thought, I think the new processors are coming out the end of this month, you might want to wait to see how they are priced.

[beornhelm]

Thanks for the advice guys.

After reading the comments here and talking with some friends, I have made a few adjustments.

This is what i have now

GPU - EVGA Gforce 8800gt Superclocked 512
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130319

This card is a little cheaper and has great reviews, from what I have seen very similiar to the 8800gts I posted in the first build. Several people I know have it and love it. I also figured that with EVGA I can update this card to one of the 9900 series cards when they come out if I have the money.

CPU - Intel Core 2 Duo E6750 2.66 Mhz
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115029

I read the advice about the cpu and did some looking around. I have to agree, that from what I see the specs are not high enough to really justify speding nearly an extra $100.

I mainly just play games, and from what I understand ( I'm trying) my gpu will pick up most the work while doing this. Because of this I dont feel like I need a bleeding edge processor, just something that is mid-high end. This chip seems to fit that.

MOBO - ASUS P5E
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131219

After looking at other mobos, I noticed this one is more expensive then others. I really dont know much about it, but i assume this is bc of the x38 chipset, and has pci 2.0, and 1333MHz FSB

Really, about this purchase I just want a mobo that will last. This one seems like it has some upgrade options.

Ram - Crucial Ballistix 2GB (2 x 1GB)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820146565

A friend told me that I was spending too much on RAM, and that I probably wouldn't need 4 gigs of it. I agree with this, and figure that it's an easy upgrade slot and cheap. So I'll start with 2 and work my way up if needed.

HD - Seagate Barracuda 7200.+11 500g
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?item=N82E16822148288

Was thinking to get a smaller one. I have had an 80g hard drive for the last 4 years, so it just seems so huge to me. But the price really isnt that much more then the ones a little smaller. I decided to just stick with the 500g. I am kinda tired of deleting movies and games when I am done with them anyway.

CD/DVD Drive - Lite-On Black
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827106057

Took the advice posted here on this as well. To be honest, I did not notice the drive posted in the original build was not SATA. Also, I never use a CD/DVD player excpet when installing something or the occasioanl CD a friend brings over. So I dont need anything fancy at all, and this seems reasonable priced and will get the job done for me.

PSU - PC Power & Cooling Silencer 610
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817703005

I like the revies this model got, I realize it is out of stock at the moment at newegg. Perhaps I will ask them if they know when they will be in stock or pursue another vendor for this item.
If the wait time is too long or unknown I will seek other alternative.

So what do you think, Again I'd like to be able to play games like WoW, UT3, maybe try some CoD4, while having a few background programs running. Perhaps a few FRAPS videos too.

Thanks again everyone!

[Cricket]

Everything looks good but you might want to change the RAM...newer Intel motherboards don't seem to like CAS 4 2.2v RAM and prefer CAS 5 1.8v RAM. If you use the CAS 4 RAM you may encounter lots of system instabilities.

:) Cricket