Specs for my gaming PC.

[Nathan7056]

This will be my first time building a computer. I made a post back at the first of the year on here with specs but decided to wait a while. This will be a gaming computer, hopefully ill be able to get max settings in all current games for a while. I may eventually OC processor if i need to.


Motherboard ( ASUS P5B LGA 775 Intel P965 Express ATX Intel Motherboard)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813131030

Case ( APEVIA X-Dreamer II ATXB4KLW-BK Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case 420W Power Supply)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16811144026

CPU ( Intel Core 2 Duo E6600 Conroe 2.4GHz 4M shared L2 Cache LGA 775 Processor)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16819115003

RAM ( CORSAIR XMS2 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820145590

PSU ( Rosewill RP550-2 ATX 2.01 550W Power Supply 115/230 V CSA, CB, TUV, FCC, UL)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817182017

HDD ( Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 (Perpendicular Recording) ST3500630AS 500GB 7200 RPM 16MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16822148136

DVD/CD ( LITE-ON Black 20X DVD+R 8X DVD+RW 8X DVD+R DL 20X DVD-R 6X DVD-RW 12X DVD-RAM 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-R 32X CD-RW 48X CD-ROM 2MB Cache SATA DVD Burner)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16827106057

GPU ( Leadtek WinFast PX8800 GTS TDH GeForce 8800GTS 640MB 320-bit GDDR3 PCI Express x16 HDCP Video Card)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814122018

And of course, here is a few questions...

1. I decided on the P5B ASUS Motherboard mostly because of good reviews and high praise on these forums. I had been looking at a P5N. Should i stick with the P5B over the P5N? Is the basic P5B a good OC'ing board or should i buy a deluxe?

2. The P5B has the Intel P965 Express chipset while the P5N has a nForce 650i SLI chipset. Is there really a big different between chipsets? Are some chipsets better than others? Are some chipsets better suited for OC'ing?

3. Is the 420W powersupply that comes with my case adequate for all my components keeping in mind i may eventually OC my proccessor. It seemed like it wasnt, so im buying my own PSU. But if it can supply enough power that would be great.

4. The RAM i am getting has a CAS Latency of 5. For 13$ more dollars i can get the same RAM with a CAS Latency of 4. Should i go ahead and get that? Will it make a big difference?

5. I was kind of quick in choosing that Rosewill PSU. Im not sure its a quality PSU or not. Do you have any suggestions for a quality PSU in the 50 dollar range. Also how many watts of power should i aim for with this build?

6. I told myself at first i wasnt going to buy a GeForce 8. However i found that 8800 GTS 640MB for 324 dollars and couldnt resist. I have no issue with paying up to 300 bucks on a GPU as its a very important component for me. But is Leadtek a good brand? Im fine as long as there isnt mile long lists of problems with there cards.

7. Will the stock heatsink that comes with the Core 2 Duo be enough if i ever plan to OC. Is investing in another heatsink or thermal paste really neccisary?

Thanks for any help you can provide. Im really looking forward to getting this thing built. I have been researching components for well over a week and have finally got a build i love. Hopefully this computer will last me quite a while. Thanks in advance!

[Cricket]

Originally Posted by Nathan7056 And of course, here is a few questions... 1. I decided on the P5B ASUS Motherboard mostly because of good reviews and high praise on these forums. I had been looking at a P5N. Should i stick with the P5B over the P5N?

I would. Matching a Intel CPU with a Intel chipset is a sure way to build a very stable, reliable, computer that will perform well.

Originally Posted by Nathan7056 Is the basic P5B a good OC'ing board or should i buy a deluxe?

The P5B is a decent overclocker.

Originally Posted by Nathan7056 2. The P5B has the Intel P965 Express chipset while the P5N has a nForce 650i SLI chipset. Is there really a big different between chipsets?

Depends on the chipsets you're comparing. For a Intel CPU I always match it up with a motherboard that uses a Intel chipset.

Originally Posted by Nathan7056 Are some chipsets better than others?

Yes. Intel chipsets work best with Intel CPUs. NVidia chipsets come next and VIA wouldn't be recommended...history of funky performance and stability issues.

Originally Posted by Nathan7056 Are some chipsets better suited for OC'ing?

Yes. But you have to decide whether you're going to build a overclocking rig or not because parts selection is critical for a solid overclocker. If you plan to go this route be prepared to spend big bucks because you're going to need to get high quality parts that cost more than average parts.

Originally Posted by Nathan7056 3. Is the 420W powersupply that comes with my case adequate for all my components keeping in mind i may eventually OC my proccessor. It seemed like it wasnt, so im buying my own PSU. But if it can supply enough power that would be great.

Nope, Apevia power supplies are rubbish and should never be used in a computer you care about. The Rosewill power supply isn't much better. I'd go with something from Antec, Corsair, Enermax, Fortron Source, PC Power & Cooling, Seasonic, Silverstone or Sparkle Power.

Originally Posted by Nathan7056 4. The RAM i am getting has a CAS Latency of 5. For 13$ more dollars i can get the same RAM with a CAS Latency of 4. Should i go ahead and get that? Will it make a big difference?

Stick with the CAS 5 RAM, it runs more stable than CAS 4 RAM in Intel based computers.

Originally Posted by Nathan7056 5. I was kind of quick in choosing that Rosewill PSU. Im not sure its a quality PSU or not.

Rosewill power supplies are hit and miss. Don't take a chance with the power supply, get something high quality to ensure solid, reliable performance.

Originally Posted by Nathan7056 Do you have any suggestions for a quality PSU in the 50 dollar range.

For the parts you've chosen you can't find a good quality power supply in that price range. You need a good quality power supply with at least 550 watts. You're going to be spending at least $100 for the power supply. For a high powered computer that you're carefully selecting parts for you should never, ever go cheap on the power supply. Believe it or not but it's the most important component in the computer. Cheap low quality power supplies rarely have overvoltage protection and when they die they have a tendancy to kill other components in the computer. Invest in a good quality power supply...you won't regret it.

Originally Posted by Nathan7056 6. I told myself at first i wasnt going to buy a GeForce 8. However i found that 8800 GTS 640MB for 324 dollars and couldnt resist. I have no issue with paying up to 300 bucks on a GPU as its a very important component for me. But is Leadtek a good brand? Im fine as long as there isnt mile long lists of problems with there cards.

LeadTek video cards used to be pretty good, don't know about now.

Originally Posted by Nathan7056 7. Will the stock heatsink that comes with the Core 2 Duo be enough if i ever plan to OC. Is investing in another heatsink or thermal paste really neccisary?

It's necessary if you're going to do hardcore overclocking. For mild overclocking the stock heatsink and thermal pad is fine.

Cricket