First build parts review

[gmg]

Time for a new system. Since this will be my first build, I would appreciate feedback on the compatibility of the parts selected. Will the GPU cover any of the other expansion slots once installed? The PC will be used for gaming and multimedia applications. My budget is around $1500 using Vista. Thanks in advance for all feedback.

MB-ASUS P5K-E/WIFI-AP LGA 775 Intel P35 ATX Intel Motherboard
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131196

CPU- Intel Core 2 Duo E8400 Wolfdale 3.0GHz 6MB L2 Cache LGA 775 65W Dual-Core Processor
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115037
or
Intel Core 2 Quad Q9300 Yorkfield 2.5GHz 6MB L2 Cache LGA 775 95W Quad-Core Processor
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115043

MEMORY- CORSAIR 4GB(2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820145184

GPU- EVGA 512-P3-N801-AR GeForce 8800GT 512MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130318

HD- Seagate Barracuda 7200.11 ST3500320AS 500GB 7200 RPM 32MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822148288

OD-LITE-ON Black 20X DVD+R DVD Burner with LightScribe
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827106072

CASE- Antec Nine Hundred Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811129021

PSU- CORSAIR CMPSU-550VX ATX12V V2.2 550W Power Supply
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139004

[shadowpr]

Build looks good.

That video card should only take up one slot as well.

I suggest you go with the e8400 if it's primarily a gmaing build.

[Doom]

Looks like you've been doing your homework or reading posts here for a while. All your components look good and should give you a great system. For an example of a GPU that would take up two slots (which is very easy to see), check out this. (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130038) The only thing with these cards is that they're very long, so wiring around them can be a challenge. I've got an EVGA 9600GT in a Antec 900 case though, and I've got plenty of room as long as I don't add three or four more hard drives.

[Katreat]

You have listed too very good CPUs. If you are mainly gaming and try to keep price down I would also go with the E8400. Not much that really utilizes quad right now so save $100 and upgrade some day when games start showing up that use 4 cores.

If that $100 is burning a hole in your pocket then there is nothing wrong with building for the future now, it might save you an upgrade down the road.

The rest of the build looks excellent. You might check out the prices on the 620 or 650 corsair PSUs and see if any are on sell. 550 will handle your box just fine but if you do upgrade vid card in a year or so it might make it tight.

kat

[Masaki 7-11]

You have listed too very good CPUs. If you are mainly gaming and try to keep price down I would also go with the E8400. Not much that really utilizes quad right now so save $100 and upgrade some day when games start showing up that use 4 cores.

If that $100 is burning a hole in your pocket then there is nothing wrong with building for the future now, it might save you an upgrade down the road.

The rest of the build looks excellent. You might check out the prices on the 620 or 650 corsair PSUs and see if any are on sell. 550 will handle your box just fine but if you do upgrade vid card in a year or so it might make it tight.

kat

In terms of processors available for the socket 775, the 45nm quad cores will be the newest processors since the next available processors for Intel will be Nehalem which uses a different socket.

[Katreat]

In terms of processors available for the socket 775, the 45nm quad cores will be the newest processors since the next available processors for Intel will be Nehalem which uses a different socket.I agree, with the new socket being announced I expect to see very little change from the current offerings. But prices will likely drop when the Nehalem is released so going with a duel core now saves you money and leave the 45nm quads as a nice upgrade in the future once prices drop. That will allow some time to see how fast the software market is moving to really utilize the power of the quad core.

Kat

[shady]

I have a question around the choice of memory.
In the Specifications of the chosen P5k-E motherboard it says Memory Standard : DDR2 1066
yet the OP has chosen DDR2 800.

Can someone explain what Memory Standard actually means?

Also, is DDR2 800 best for both the CPUs mentioned above?

[Katreat]

I think it is just telling you that it can use up to DDR2 1066. The reason most are recomending 800 is because unless you are over-clocking, there is little need for faster ram.

Ram speed will step down to the processor speed. A direct match for 1333 procesors, like the two you have chosen is 667. Because it is DDR you double the memory speed (667 x 2 = 1334). Now, they always recomend you use ram that is a step above the processor speed because there are flutuations and you dont want your ram running slower than your processor so 800 is one step up from a direct match.

If you are going to over-clock even 800 has some room since doubled it equals 1600. But if you are really into over-clocking then the faster ram will allow you to push it further.

Kat