first build

[jp#5]

i am new to this and was planning my first build and was wondering if i could get some suggestions.



Case:Antec SL1650B


PSU: 350W power supply

Mobo: Asus Intel® P965 Motherboard 533MHz (Socket 775)
Model: P5B


CPU: Intel® Core™2 Duo Processor E6400


HDD:

RAM: Corsair Value Select 512MB PC3200 DDR DIMM Memory
Model: VS512MB400

[Cricket]

A 350 watt Antec will be fine if you're not building a gaming rig...but if you are building a gaming rig and will be using a high powered video card you should be looking at a 450 watt or higher power supply.

For the hard drive I'd look at Seagate SATA hard drives.

You have the wrong type of memory listed...that motherboard uses DDR2 RAM...get 1 GB of DDR2 667 Corsair ValueSelect RAM.

What will the main use for this computer be?

Cricket

[jp#5]

this computer wont be much of gaming. main purpose is browsing the internet, chatting, and media downloads

[Alaron]

In that case, the 350w will be fine. If you want to add a bit of headroom for the future, check out the Antec Sonata II. Comes with a great 450w unit.

If you won't be gaming, check out motherboards with built in video. You can always add a card later on.

[jp#5]

which mobo wouldu suggest

[blue60007]

I'd take the E6300. The extra cost isn't really worth it, especially if you're just surfing the web.

You could look at the P5L-VM from ASUS.

[jp#5]

what about this motherboard?

ASUS
Model: P5GZ-MX

[guruboy]

That mobo is ok, but I see some things I don't like. You're paying for a PCI-Express x16 port, and yet it has on-board video, which seems a little wasteful to me.

I would agree with Blue and get an e6300. However, I'm not sure about the mobo he recommended because it's a Micro ATX one, which isn't really necessary. My motherboard recommendation would be the ECS P965T-A, which at the moment has pretty good rebate offer on it.

With the savings from downgrading the CPU from the e6400 to the e6300 (which is better than my processor, which runs great for high-end gaming) you've got some money to spend on picking up a good low-end video card, for which the choices are endless. If you're really not doing any gaming with this computer, then check out this video card, the BIOSTAR V6202EL63 GeForce 6200 LE. It's got PCI-E x16 speeds and apparently (according to one reviewer) will play WoW at about 30 fps. Not that you're doing much gaming anyways, but it's not like it won't be able to minimize windows without skipping. Cheap and good quality card.

[newbuilder14]

With all due respect, ECS manufactures low quality motherboards and are not recommended to new builders. If you are using a Core 2 Duo and are on a budget here are some boards to look at:

Asus P5B (#1 choice)
Asus P5L-MX
Asus P5LD2 (Revision 2 only)
Asus P5L-VM
Asus P5B-VM

[guruboy]

I don't think it's fair to say ECS manufactures low-quality motherboards on a universal basis; to me they've long been a staple of the budget builder community. I would still recommend that ECS board, having used it in five identical builds for a local boys and girls club and having no problems at all for a very low price.

For overclocking and high-voltage setups, I would go with Asus, Abit, eVga, or nothing in the motherboard sense of things. I'm assuming the poster is on a budget that requires that some parts maybe not be the best names in the industry.

[glc]

I recommend the P5B-VM. It has excellent onboard video - and a PCI-Ex16 slot for a future upgrade if desired. That, an E6300, and some Corsair VS DDR2-667 (dual channel kit, please) will make a very nice system.

[guruboy]

If he has the budget, glc's recommendation is the best I couldd make. It all depends on how much he has to spend.

[blue60007]

I can only find a handful of good motherboards with onboard video and that are ATX. All of which are more expensive than a mATX board. One doesn't really need extra slots (except maybe a x16 slot) for an internet surfer. Onboard video is also fine in that case.

[Cricket]

Originally Posted by blue60007 I can only find a handful of good motherboards with onboard video and that are ATX.

Is jp#5 only looking for ATX motherboards? I though the majority of motherboards with on-board video were micro-ATX?

Originally Posted by blue60007 One doesn't really need extra slots (except maybe a x16 slot) for an internet surfer. Onboard video is also fine in that case.

For the last 5 builds I did I used micro-ATX motherboards with on-board video and all the new owners were happy with the performance (and the price).

Cricket

[blue60007]

Originally Posted by Cricket Is jp#5 only looking for ATX motherboards?

Oh, no I was justifying my recommendation of a mATX board choice since Guruboy didn't like the idea of a mATX board (or so I thought). If you want onboard video, it's got to be mATX:

Originally Posted by Cricket I though the majority of motherboards with on-board video were micro-ATX?

If you go with an ATX board, you'll probably need a video card and both combined make it much more expensive than a mATX board with onboard video.

Originally Posted by Cricket For the last 5 builds I did I used micro-ATX motherboards with on-board video and all the new owners were happy with the performance (and the price).

Yeah, if all someone needs is onboard video, it probably won't matter to them if it's mATX.

Originally Posted by glc I recommend the P5B-VM.

How's that compare to the P5L-VM? Does the newer chipset and and video justify the $30 higher price tag? (not that's a huge amount)

[glc]

I think so. The GMA 3000 is a lot better than the GMA 950.

Intel and Gigabyte have some full size ATX boards with G965 onboard video.