My first crack at building, this look right?

[snarkys]

My knowledge on the newest and best is kinda out of date so i used the reviews on tomshardware.com to get ideas on what to use in my build.

I am building a new PC for my office . Main use will me MS office applications, dreamweaver, video editing and photoshop. I may play a few games on the PC but it certainly isn't a priority. I do want to run dual displays.

I have a couple questions right off the bat. Doing to everyday things described above , am i better off going with a high speed "D" processor or a dual core 6300 ? What kinda video card best runs two screens , is the on board ram that important ? Am i better off buying a retail processor or a OEM one and my own heat sink and fan ? Vista worth it ?

This is what i have so far but i am certainly not tied to any of it, just what i got off the reviews on toms.


SONY 18X DVD±R DVD Burner Black E-IDE/ATAPI Model AW-Q170A-B2 - OEM $28.99

COOLER MASTER Centurion 5 CAC-T05-UW Black Aluminum Bezel, SECC ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - Retail $49.99

Western Digital Caviar SE WD2500JS 250GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM $69.99

SAMSUNG 941BW Black 19" 4 ms (GTG) DVI Widescreen LCD Monitor - Retail $179.99

BIOSTAR V7603GT21 GeForce 7600GT 256MB GDDR3 PCI Express x16 Video Card - Retail $87.99

SILVERSTONE SST-ST56F ATX12V / EPS12V 560W Power Supply - Retail
$104.99

Patriot Extreme Performance 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit $169.99

MSI P965 Platinum LGA 775 Intel P965 Express ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail $134.99

Intel Core 2 Duo E6300 Conroe 1.86GHz LGA 775 Processor Model BX80557E6300 - Retail $183.00

Microsoft Windows Vista 32-Bit Business for System Builders Single Pack DVD - OEM $139.99

ZALMAN CNPS9500 LED 92mm 2 Ball Cooling Fan with Heatsink - Retail $53.99

[Alaron]

Welcome to PCMech. Not a bad list, but I have a few suggestions.

To answer your questions:
1. Go with a Core 2 Duo, they are the best bang for the buck right now. They outperform Pentium D's despite the clock speed difference.
2. Dual monitors doesn't take anything special, just a card with two outputs. A 7600GT is a great choice.
3. Go with a Retail CPU. The included HSF is plenty, and you get the full 3yr warranty.
4. I'd stick with XP. Vista is too new and has driver issues.

As for your list:
1. Switch to a LiteOn DVDRW, they come with Software for burning.
2. No need for DDR2-800, DDR2-667 is a better match. Check out Corsair ValueSelect ram.
3. MSI boards are alright, but we like Asus for quality. The P5B is a good choice.
4. For Vista and the Zalman, refer to above.

[Cricket]

Originally Posted by snarkys I have a couple questions right off the bat. Doing to everyday things described above , am i better off going with a high speed "D" processor or a dual core 6300 ?

For video and photo editing you'll get better performance with the E6300 than a Pentium D.

Originally Posted by snarkys What kinda video card best runs two screens

If you're going to run 2 DVI monitors you'll want a video card that has 2 DVI outputs. That BioStar would work fine.

Originally Posted by snarkys is the on board ram that important ?

For the video card? For most normal things you don't need a lot, but for gaming and possibly video and photo editing more GRAM will make a difference.

Originally Posted by snarkys Am i better off buying a retail processor or a OEM one and my own heat sink and fan ?

I'd go with the retail processor but if you're going to overclock you computer get the OEM and a aftermarket heatsink.

Originally Posted by snarkys Vista worth it ?

No, not really...in fact I've been hearing how Vista is causing some headaches for early adopters. I'd wait until at least the first service pack is released before I even considered Vista.

Cricket

[snarkys]

Originally Posted by Alaron 2. No need for DDR2-800, DDR2-667 is a better match. Check out Corsair ValueSelect ram. 3. MSI boards are alright, but we like Asus for quality. The P5B is a good choice.

How come the 667 is a better match ? i guess i just assumed because the MB said DDR-800 i should use that . *edit* i see now that it takes three speeds . I take it 800 is just going overboard for the rest of the stuff i have ?

I see there are a ton of PB5's which would you suggest ? *EDIT* i see there is a plain old pb5 for $123 at new egg , im sure you ment this one. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813131030 is the deluxe one worth it ? im not sure what these features are, AI NOS™ / AI Gear / AI Nap- 8 Phase Power Design- Fanless Design - Heat Pipe & Stack Cool 2. Is the vista PB5 version just marketing ?

[Mr.Ferrari]

Correct, 800 is overkill unless your overclocking.

The regular P5B would suit best. The P5B deluxe is orientated towards higher overclocking. If you need raid or firewire go for the P5B-E.

Thats a good powersupply, but you could get by easily with a 450W if your interested in saving some dough.

[snarkys]

if i was going to put in a wifi card and firewire would the wifi edition of this board make sense ?

[Mr.Ferrari]

Yes if you have the extra cash. Darn stable board.

[snarkys]

would i be able to upgrade to vista at a later date using the pb5 line ?

[Staren]

The motherboard really has nothing to do with the OS you're running other then on a very very basic level. You might have some driver issues with the built-in wi-fi if you went with the wi-fi version of the board, but that could be a problem with stand alone cards as well with any new OS. Most of those issues will be long taken care of before the community here starts phasing Vista fully into our suggestions.

[snarkys]

so all this vista certified stuff like this is just marketing crap ?
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813131164

[Staren]

Pretty much. All that means is that particular board has the Vista drivers for the chipset, sound, lan, ect all tested and ready to go right now. All current modern boards will work with Vista sooner or later. It might take some time to roll out, but they all will.

[snarkys]

well it looks like Intel and nvidia are coming out with new stuff next month . think i may have to wait : )

[Floppyman]

If you're going to be doing a lot of photoshop editing, take a look at LCD's that have a S-IPS or AS-IPS panel. I found this link to be particularly useful:

http://forums.anandtech.com/messagev...readid=1745344

HTH

[snarkys]

Originally Posted by Floppyman If you're going to be doing a lot of photoshop editing, take a look at LCD's that have a S-IPS or AS-IPS panel. I found this link to be particularly useful: http://forums.anandtech.com/messagev...readid=1745344 HTH

can you recommend any S-IPS or AS-IPS panel monitors ?

[Floppyman]

Hi,

Have a look at that thread I linked to. There are quite a bit of suggestions in there as to what kind of LCD to get depending on the desired appllication (i.e. gaming vs. photoshop). Two IPS panels that come to mind are the HP LP2065 and NEC 20WGX2. HTH

[snarkys]

LOL you don't get to posts from this year until page 160.

looks like that NEC is the one , too bad it costs so much : (

[Floppyman]

Originally Posted by snarkys LOL you don't get to posts from this year until page 160. looks like that NEC is the one , too bad it costs so much : (

True, but if you look the main post is continually updated -- the last update was 3/9/07. I think you've actually got several options beyond the two I mentioned. I just think the one you've picked out now would not work too well for Photoshop. HTH

[snarkys]

Originally Posted by Mr.Ferrari Thats a good powersupply, but you could get by easily with a 450W if your interested in saving some dough.

can you recomend a 450w ?

i was also looking at the Corsair 520W

[flanzig1]

Quaility 450w PSU for the price: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817189003

[snarkys]

well i was at a local PC store (micro center) and they had a antec true power 650 trio for $79.99 ($25 rebate). it is $129.00 at new egg. any issue running 650w when i dont need that neer that much ?

untill then i had kinda desided on the CORSAIR CMPSU-520HX.

[Alaron]

The Antec TP Trio is a good unit. I would go with the Corsair though if you plan on a video card upgrade down the road. The Corsair HX is a particularly good match for 8800 cards.

[snarkys]

I would only need the corsair if i wanted to run two video cards right ?

[Mr.Ferrari]

You can't run two videocards with your setup, but the corsair hx 520w will run two mid range videocards or one really high end one.

Since you said yourself that gaming is not a number one priority, I doubt you will need to make use of such high end cards.

[glc]

If you can get a TP Trio 650 for that price, go for it. It's a very good unit and will power any single card out there.

[snarkys]

I was also able to get a WD raptor 150gb 10k drive there for $169 , no rebates involved .

I was kinda shocked that both of these items were available in a retail store for so much cheaper than online stores. go microcenter i guess.

[snarkys]

well thanks for everyones advice . this is what i ended up getting .
spent a few bucks more than i had planned but i think i will be happy with the results : )

LITE-ON 20X DVD±R DVD Burner with LightScribe Black SATA Model LH-20A1L-05 - OEM

ZALMAN 9700 LED 110mm 2 Ball CPU Cooler - Retail

LIAN LI PC-60APLUSII W Silver Aluminum ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - Retail

Western Digital Raptor WD1500ADFDRTL 150GB 10,000 RPM Serial ATA150 Hard Drive - Retail

Patriot eXtreme Performance 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model PDC22G6400LLK - Retail

NEC Display Solutions 20WMGX2-BK Black-Silver 20.1" 6ms DVI Widescreen LCD Monitor with HDCP support & 4-port USB 2.0 hub - Retail

Antec True Power Trio TP3-650 ATX12V 650W Power Supply with Three 12V Rails - Retail

Intel Core 2 Duo E6600 Conroe 2.4GHz LGA 775 Processor Model BX80557E6600 - Retail


now i need to learn how to overclock it : )