Not another 1st time builder thread!!!

[RyanL330]

Ok, another n00b thread for the experts in the room to check out. I do have to say that after lurking here for about a month I have learned plenty and don't think there is going to be too much in the way of revisions. I just got out of the Navy and will be starting grad school in the fall, and I am looking to build a desktop that will run all of the Microsoft Office family simultaneously (in my line of work it is not uncommon to need around 10 spreadsheets, 2-3 word documents, Outlook, Access, and Project all running at the same time along with a browser and some propertary software) with little lag on two monitors. So far the contestants are:

Case: COOLER MASTER Centurion 5 CAC-T05-UW I'm looking for something with the fans installed, easy to work in, and boring.

Power supply: Antec SmartPower 2.0 SP-500 ATX12V 500W

Muthaboard: ASUS P5B-E It seems to be a requirement to get a P5B around here. I won't argue.

CPU: Intel Core 2 Duo E6600

RAM: CORSAIR XMS2 2GB (2 x 1GB) Two of these.

Hard Drive: Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 320GB 7200 RPM 16MB Cache SATA

CD/DVD RW: SONY Black with lots of specs and x-speeds for god knows what. Retail for the burning software.

CD/DVD ROM: LG Black Model GDR-8164BK I tend to destroy burners; figured I'd save the burner for burning and use the <$20 drive for day-to-day reading.

Video card: EVGA GeForce 7900GS 256MB 256-bit This was the worst thing to pick out: I am completely clueless as to what I want/need other than I know I need 2 video outs and do not want to double the price of the computer ($1200 for a video card?!?!).

That should sum it up; thank you all in advance!

Ry

[Alaron]

That is a solid list. If you're not gaming, the 7900 is a little overkill. Look at the Geforce 7600GS or GT. They are great values for around $100 and can still play a game or two.

If you plan on using Windows XP, stick with 2GB. Windows XP can only address 3.2GB, so all four would be wasted. Even with multiple apps going, 2GB should be plenty.

[Wolverdick]

Originally Posted by RyanL330 It seems to be a requirement to get a P5B around here. I won't argue.

Thats very funny.

What OS are you planning to use? XP wont recognize the full 4Gb of RAM. I think it caps out at 2Gb.
Not sure if Vista does, but not many would reccommend Vista yet.

If you want 4Gb of RAM youll have to go XP x64, but as someone who has that on their system I can tell you that it comes with a fair share of headaches. However all of the apps youve mentioned run fine on x64.

DOH i type too slow, ALaron beat me to it...

[RyanL330]

Yeah, I would love to jump on the oh-so-sexy Vista bandwagon, but my school will remain on XP for the time being, so so shall I. 3.2 MB max you say? Thanks for saving me some $ ! Unfortunately I do not game as much as I would like; can't balance the MBA/girlfriend/band and find time for WoW and CS2 .
Ry

[LeftyAce]

2 GB will be fine for those purposes (but might not help so much with the GF :-)

3.2 is probably overkill. Anyway, if you get 2 x 1GB ram modules, you'll have room for future upgrades.

[glc]

If you aren't going to game with it, look at the ATI X1xxx cards as an alternative to Nvidia. You do not need a strong card for what you are saying you are going to use it for. Also look at Lite-On burners as an alternative to Sony. Get a SATA DVD-ROM drive, then IDE for the burner is fine.

Here's a nice video card with dual DVI and a passive cooler (less noise):

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814131046

[RyanL330]

Thanks for the help everyone! OK, here's my thoughts:

I didn't find this case at first, but now that I've found it I'm going to jump on it. I'm a former submariner; soundproofing, shock mounting, overbuilding, and extra ventilation makes me feel all tingly in my special place. I'm already on board for getting an Antec power supply, so the concerns about cable length in the reviews should be moot.

For 50 bucks I can deal with going overboard with the current video card. My question is: am I getting the best one for the price? It seems most of the comparable ones hare pre-overclocked and I want nothing to do with overclocking (stability and reliability are my primary goals).

Continued browsing of the forum led me to investigate adding a second hard drive. What do you guys recommend: an second, smaller internal drive for program files and the bigger one for storage, or an external "backup" drive?

Now my big question: RAM. I plan on dropping in two sticks of 1G and two sticks of 512, and in two years when I go Vista swapping the 512 for 2X2G (hopefully in two years 2 sticks of 2G will be reasonably priced). I am wondering if the Critical "value RAM" is all I need, rather than the cool looking and expensive Corsair stuff? You guys seem to know better than I do.

Thanks again everybody!

Ry

[glc]

If you are not overclocking, the Corsair DDR2-667 value ram is fine. Get an external backup drive - if you get an Apricorn SATA housing and a SATA drive for it, you can connect it via eSATA and it will be as fast as an internal drive. It comes with a eSATA bracket if the motherboard doesn't have a eSATA port.

[DSCHIEF]

Originally Posted by RyanL330 Thanks for the help everyone! OK, here's my thoughts: I didn't find this case at first, but now that I've found it I'm going to jump on it. I'm a former submariner; soundproofing, shock mounting, overbuilding, and extra ventilation makes me feel all tingly in my special place. I'm already on board for getting an Antec power supply, so the concerns about cable length in the reviews should be moot. For 50 bucks I can deal with going overboard with the current video card. My question is: am I getting the best one for the price? It seems most of the comparable ones hare pre-overclocked and I want nothing to do with overclocking (stability and reliability are my primary goals). Continued browsing of the forum led me to investigate adding a second hard drive. What do you guys recommend: an second, smaller internal drive for program files and the bigger one for storage, or an external "backup" drive? Now my big question: RAM. I plan on dropping in two sticks of 1G and two sticks of 512, and in two years when I go Vista swapping the 512 for 2X2G (hopefully in two years 2 sticks of 2G will be reasonably priced). I am wondering if the Critical "value RAM" is all I need, rather than the cool looking and expensive Corsair stuff? You guys seem to know better than I do. Thanks again everybody! Ry

Bubble head heh, Fast attacks or boomers? My cousin was a reactor man on a Boomer, then he got a desk job with the NRC, supervising power plant Inspections. At family gatherings we would kid him that he glowed in the dark.

Enough of that, if your Ex-Navy you've heard the expression " ASK THE CHIEF"

well I built a box 2 months ago with the P180B, looks are great, but it's a pain to work with.
I ended up Hacksawing most of the bottom Power supply compartment away. in order to route cables. I sugguest you look at the Cooler Master Centurion 534+ it has a built in fan
on the side panel for the Video card. and its cheap too.

[glc]

You don't have to modify a P180 if you get a standard sized power supply with long enough cables. Are you sure you didn't mount the PSU upside down, Chief? If it has an internal fan, it should face UP.

I used to enjoy hunting you guys, Ryan - I'm a retired AW, 5000+ P-3 hours.

[jer888]

Originally Posted by DSCHIEF well I built a box 2 months ago with the P180B, looks are great, but it's a pain to work with. I ended up Hacksawing most of the bottom Power supply compartment away. in order to route cables. I sugguest you look at the Cooler Master Centurion 534+ it has a built in fan on the side panel for the Video card. and its cheap too.

However, although the P180B is a pain to work with, there have been many cases of P182's being shipped in P180 boxes from newegg. It tends to be more of a gamble, I think the california wharehouse is where most of them are coming from. The P182 has a bunch of changes to correct all the problems with cable management in the first one. Heres a link:

P182

[glc]

Oooh - a 500w Earthwatts in the Sonata III? Sweet!

[Mr.Ferrari]

I agree, that is the ultimate CASE/PSU combo. Finally got rid of that Smartpower :P.

Hope it doesn't drive the cost up to high though..

[jer888]

Originally Posted by Mr.Ferrari I agree, that is the ultimate CASE/PSU combo. Finally got rid of that Smartpower :P. Hope it doesn't drive the cost up to high though..

ive heard they will be similarly priced to the sonata II

[newbuilder14]

Looks like that will be a great case/PSU combo. This may just be my opinion, but there was nothing wrong with the SmartPower's contrary to what people have said. I have used many of them in builds and have had not one issue with them.

[RyanL330]

Wow, too much info; thanks all ! For those wondering, I'm a was an O-ganger on a fast-boat (I'm hetero) out of Bangor for four years; you can put 2 + 2 together there... Anyway, I'm going to trust that the wire routing improvements on the case are effective and go for it (sorry Chief). I do need to fill in some gaps in my knowledge about RAM, though.

My motherboard's specifications say DDR2 800 is the "Memory Standard". Is there a "Memory Sub-Standard" or "Memory Exceeds-Standard"? Or do I just need the right amount of pins and the notch in the right place to make it work?

You guys rock.

Ry

[Alaron]

DDR2 is the same physical size, regardless of the speed. So it will fit in the motherboard. The best match for that CPU is DDR2-667. DDR2-800 will work, but it will run at 667 unless you overclock it.

[RyanL330]

Originally Posted by Alaron DDR2 is the same physical size, regardless of the speed. So it will fit in the motherboard. The best match for that CPU is DDR2-667. DDR2-800 will work, but it will run at 667 unless you overclock it.

Roger that. Credit card will be getting some use tonight; last chance to stop me !

Ry

[hitchface]

STOP! DON'T DO IT!

Kidding. Looks good bro, you should enjoy that build.

[RyanL330]

OK, inbound to Seattle! Prices went down at NewEgg since yesterday, and I got a couple "weekend specials" in addition to $135 in mail-in rebates ! Stand by for some "My new machine won't work!?!?!?!" threads later in the week!

Can't thank you guys enough.

Ry

[RyanL330]

So, all the pieces/parts arrived about 3:30, got all of it installed, plugged everything into the power supply, and....

It ran just like it was supposed to. Over 3 hours up and stable.

Windows XP went in without a hitch. Will install SP2 tomorrow when I have a clear head. I need to spend some time re-routing power cables, but I expected that.

Will be installing drivers and such all day tomorrow; any tips or tricks are appreciated. I am particularly scared of updating/tweeking BIOS.

Again, thank you to everyone who helped me out!

Ry

[freakitchen]

Congrats on the successful build Ryan. I moved this post into your existing thread, please keep anything about the build in here.

Regarding the install, I personally install the core chipset drivers first, then the drivers for the video card. If you're getting any of these from the web, make sure you have Windows firewall switched on first, and preferably have an anti-virus installed (AVG Free, for example).

If you're installing Service Pack 2 separately, suggest you ONLY have the above installed when you do this - SP2 should go onto as clean an install as possible. Once done, perform the rest of your windows updates, then start installing programs. When you do this, you might want to perform a periodic restart after every couple of installs you do.

[RyanL330]

OK, everything is working well, barring the following minor items which youy probly have an answer for:

- I am not getting sound from any application except iTunes. Is there a driver somewhere that I am missing?

- My CD/DVD drives did not come with an audio cable, though the motherboard and the drives have a jack for one. It this vestigial, or do I need to go find me some cables?

- The case also did not come with an integral speaker; is this something I should look into installing?

and finally

- there is a second LED on the front of the case that I can't figure out what it is used for!

Thanks again!

Ry

[LeftyAce]

Did you install the sound driver from the motherboard CD? Drivers should be an all or nothing sort of deal....if iTunes works, everything else should too....

The audio cables are vestigial; audio is read through the main CD Drive cable nowadays.

Does your motherboard have a speaker built onto it? If not, you're going to want a case speaker if you have to perform serious diagnostics where the computer won't boot fully. Either get it now, or plan on picking one up if you need it. The only downside to waiting is that if you have a problem, it'll delay diagnosis a little bit.

Second LED as in addition to the power led? Should be the harddrive access indicator light. Check your motherboard manual on how to connect that to the appropriate posts on the motherboard so it will blink when there's harddrive activity.