Value for Money, Bang for Buck Build

[Vowo]

Trying to achieve a value for money, bang for buck (pound ) solid build with some headroom for the future, mainly used for gaming, general usage and overclocking (minor).

These on my list atm :

PSU: Corsair HX Series 520W http://www.ebuyer.com/UK/product/114945 £62.02 del. ($123.11)

CPU: Intel Core 2 Duo E4300 http://www.ebuyer.com/UK/product/121407/rb/28276624934 £63.73 del. ($126.50)

RAM: Corsair 2GB Kit XMS2-PC5400 http://www.ebuyer.com/customer/produ...duct_uid=98708 £36.97 del. ($73.39)

GFX: Sapphire 256MB X1950pro http://www.ebuyer.com/UK/product/119203/rb/28276163182 £79.85 del. ($158.50)

CASE: Coolermaster Centurion RC-534 http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/Produ...oductID=402904 £31.71 del. ($62.94)

CPU COOLER: AC Freezer 7 PRO http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/Produ...oductID=340995 £12.16 del. ($24.14)

Total (so far) = £286.44 delivered ($578.58)
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SOUND: Creative SB Live, unsure wheter to upgrade soundcard or not.

MOBO: No clue, P5B, DS3 or....... ?

Optical drives: SATA DVD & DVDRW

HDD: SATA not sure what size yet.

N/A items : Monitor, keyboard, mouse, speakers and OS (XP)

Few questions, is there compatibility issues with the X1950pro and the rest of the set up or should I get a DX10 card now?.....however I don't play top end games, but may do in the future.
Use IDE or go SATA? answered
Need alot of help with choosing MOBO.
All prices are correct as I've added the discount and delivery and were in stock.

I'm very open to advise and idea's and have a thick skin, so please don't be gentle

ALL advice is welcome, thankyou.

Vowo

[freakitchen]

That's a good start there. Depending on budget, you might consider the E6320 processor - double the L2 cache of the E4xxx series.

Some more thoughts, I'd go for this RAM - same speed as the XMS, cheaper, and actually in stock.

http://www.ebuyer.com/UK/product/98691

Should give you enough headroom for a very mild overclock, that said, I'd be tempted to go for DDR2-800 (XMS) to do it right. DDR2 is at a rock-bottom price at the moment.

The X1950Pro is a great card for the money - though it isn't a DX10 card, if you're planning on Vista and DX10 games in the near future, consider something from nVidia's 8 series. If you do stick with the x1950pro, I'd go for an HIS or PowerColor model - the stock cooler on the sapphire is known to have problems cooling the RAM chips.

Regarding the motherboard, I'd go for the ASUS P5B. Note that it has only 1 IDE channel, which in practise limits you to IDE opticals OR hard drives - not both. That said, it's a third party controller which isn't that great - if I were doing a C2D build at the moment, I'd be making it entirely SATA.

One more thing, be careful with the Google Checkout. Making multiple orders like that to get the discount on single items is technically in violation of their terms and conditions. Some reading on the web shows people who have been ok with it, others who have had their accounts permanently disabled.

[Vowo]

Sticking with XP for now, no intention of going Vista yet, I may even dual boot with Xp/Ubuntu and play games on XP (I have COA XP).

I'll edit my post a little to point this out too.

Now, with the E4300 CPU is this compatible to OC with this RAM speed, timings etc of the memory I suggested?

I'm sticking with the E4300 as its value for money, imo, infact thats what this build is about

best basic components for the money, however I still ahve no clue as to what MOBO to get, again I'll edit my OP to suit.

Thanks for the pointer on GC also, FKitchen, I'll keep that in mind, thankyou for the advice so far.

Vowo

[doubledragon5]

This weird Vowo first post doesn't even show up.. Freakstein your post shows up then Vowo second one, but not his orginal...

[Vowo]

yes, thats happened twice now =/

[freakitchen]

Should be fixed now - Vowo's first post was caught in our spam filter, when he edited it, it got caught up again.

Vowo, when you've made amendments based on advice you've been given, could you make a new post in the thread with your updated list? This should fix things.

[Vowo]

Originally Posted by Freakitchen Should be fixed now - Vowo's first post was caught in our spam filter, when he edited it, it got caught up again. Vowo, when you've made amendments based on advice you've been given, could you make a new post in the thread with your updated list? This should fix things.

No problem, will do.

Vowo

[Vowo]

+sigh+ apologies, did it again, to keep myself up to date with answered questions.

Vowo

[Vowo]

Ok, removed GC quotes.

I'll go with SATA, but what size, I'm not sure?, again its good value I'm looking for.

What about the PSU Corsair, should I stick with it or go cheaper, ...the 5yr warranty appeals to me tho.

[minsonngo]

Seagate 320GB is the best deal right now: http://www.ebuyer.com/UK/product/115418

[Vowo]

so, is there anything you think is overkill or underpowered.

Is the psu overkill, the CPU E4300 not value and I should consider a different one?

Thoughts please.

Vowo

[minsonngo]

Post up an updated list (with all of the suggestions from us you chose to go with) of what you are going to order and we can tell you.



Freakkitchen already suggested the E6320 processor instead... and the Corsair PSU will give you more room for upgrades in the future such as a more powerful video card. I would recommend it.

If you don't plan any upgrades at all... a good PSU with 450 watts should be enough if you are sticking with the X1950pro video card or something quite similar.

[Vowo]

Originally Posted by minsonngo Post up an updated list (with all of the suggestions from us you chose to go with) of what you are going to order and we can tell you. Freakkitchen already suggested the E6320 processor instead... and the Corsair PSU will give you more room for upgrades in the future such as a more powerful video card. If you don't plan any upgrades at all... a good PSU with 450 watts should be enough (if you are sticking with the X1950pro video card or something similar).

ok, I need convincing about the E6320 coz its like £30-40 more than the E4300 and also, the mobo...still don't know.

So, I update the list in the original post or new post. I don't wanna mess it up again

Vowo

[minsonngo]

Just make a new post in this thread.


As for the motherboard... go with the regular P5B... its a nice and reliable board.


EDIT: On the processor now... they both have about the same clock speed. But.. the E6320 has double the L2 Cache compared to the E4300... AND it operates on a 1066MHz FSB compared to the E4300 which operates on a 800MHz FSB. This makes the E6320 better than the E4300. But it is your choice to make.

EDIT: Cricket beat me to it.

[Cricket]

Originally Posted by Vowo ok, I need convincing about the E6320 coz its like £30-40 more than the E4300

The E6340 costs more because it's a true Conroe processor with 4MB of L2 cache and a 1066MHz FSB where the E4300 is a Allendale with only 2MB of L2 cache and a 800MHz FSB. So although they both run at 1.8GHz, the E6340 is the better performer because of the higher FSB speed and double the L2 cache.

Originally Posted by Vowo the mobo...still don't know.

I'd get one of the ASUS P5B variants.

Originally Posted by Vowo So, I update the list in the original post or new post. I don't wanna mess it up again

New post.

Cricket

[Vowo]

Ok, I've decided, I do want to overclock this in the not too distant future, therefore, I'm a slightly cautious on buying a more expensive CPU, ie E6320 at this point in time, but, I'm still open to persuasion ........E6320 is only £25 more

PSU: Corsair HX Series 520W http://www.ebuyer.com/UK/product/114945 £62.02 del. ($123.11)

MOBO: P5B http://www.ebuyer.com/customer/produ...uct_uid=113965 £58.78...or......
http://www.ebuyer.com/customer/produ...121112&_LOC=UK £55.23 del.

CPU: Intel Core 2 Duo E4300 http://www.ebuyer.com/UK/product/121407/rb/28276624934 £63.73 del. ($126.50) .....or.....
CPU: E6320 http://www.ebuyer.com/customer/produ...e=ZXh0ZW5kZWQ= £85.29 del.

RAM: Corsair 2GB Kit XMS2-PC5400 http://www.ebuyer.com/UK/product/98708 £36.97 del. ($73.39)

GFX: Sapphire 256MB X1950pro http://www.ebuyer.com/UK/product/119203/rb/28276163182 £79.85 del. ($158.50)

CASE: Coolermaster Centurion RC-534 http://www.scan.co.uk/products/produ...oductID=608022 £31.71 del. ($62.94)

CPU COOLER: AC Freezer 7 PRO http://www.scan.co.uk/products/produ...oductID=340995 £12.16 del. ($24.14)

[Cricket]

Originally Posted by Vowo Ok, I've decided, I do want to overclock this in the not too distant future,

Deciding to overclock or not shouldn't be taken lightly. You have to understand what you're getting into and the risks involved. Overclocking will automatically void all your warranties. Pushing the overclock too far can result in corrupt system and data files. There is the possibility of damaging your parts. You must use good quality parts to ensure a successful overclock...cheap parts and overclocking don't really mix well.

But if you're willing to take these risks, go for it.

Cricket

[minsonngo]

And... if you decide NOT to overclock... just stick with the heatsink and fan that comes with the retail boxed processor. It is more than enough and will allow you to keep your warranty on the CPU intact.

[Vowo]

Well, this is the reason for the cheaper E4300 for now, however, I don't take OCing lightly and therefore the products I'm buying are good quality parts, I've learnt that from reading PC tech, for the last 3-4 months

Maybe I should reitertate myself , I'm really trying to build a budget build, but with good quality components, it can be done, I just want the basic of these components....hope you understand what I'm getting at.

vowo

P.S. I'm "in it to win it", I'll take the plunge!

[Cricket]

Originally Posted by Vowo Maybe I should reitertate myself , I'm really trying to build a budget build, but with good quality components, it can be done, I just want the basic of these components....hope you understand what I'm getting at.

Your parts selection looks fine.

Cricket

[Vowo]

If I'm only going to overclock the CPU (which is all i'm planning to do), is the RAM pc2 5400 667mhz compatible with the E4300(for example) or should i get 800mhz RAM pc2 6400?

[Cricket]

Originally Posted by Vowo If I'm only going to overclock the CPU (which is all i'm planning to do), is the RAM pc2 5400 667mhz compatible with the E4300(for example) or should i get 800mhz RAM pc2 6400?

You should use PC2 6400 DDR2 800 RAM.

Cricket

[Vowo]

Well, after reading FK's first post (thoroughly ), I realised, most of my questions were answered, however, thanks to all, for your advice

vowo