Small Combatability Question

[EchoDrive]

Err dont worry about this post...left it up here incase anyone was wondering i guess? Anyway Refer to post 5 to see my current plan for my computer

(haha just noticed i said Combatability...it should be comPatability)

Enh, sorry if this is in the wrong section but yeah...

Just wondering if the parts in using will be compatable with each other
I checked them before and they seemed that they would work fine but i just want a reply from those that have experience in this sort of thing...

Err wish list on NewEgg:
http://secure.newegg.com/NewVersion/...Number=5119891

yeah i already have an ATX compatable Case (Cooler Master Elite 330 if you need to know), and a PSU (Cooler Master 500W), and a PCI-e 512 GeForce 7600, and am planning to get a cheap 30$ sound card (some audigy thing or whatnot), and Modem

Im planning on upgrading my reused keyboard, mouse, speakers, and Optical Drive later; I have a Monitor, and i dont think i'll really need a floppy...unless its absolutely mandatory in a computer O.o, Oh Right...for the OS im probably gonna go Linux...or try to get XP Pro

so yeah, im just wondering if these parts will work without too much trouble...since...well im not too great with building computers (i like to tinker around though haha)

thanks,
Anthony M

P.S haha i just noticed...this isnt really a small question is it? =P
P.S.S Also wondering what type of OS i can use...32 bit or 64 bit?
P.S.S.S Decided to go with LinuxMCE using Ubuntu...if this is bad...please let me know O.o

[freakitchen]

Welcome to the forums.

What is your maximum budget for these parts? I ask because your list seems somewhat unbalanced; the Pentium Ds have now been superseded by the Core 2 Duo line, which you should seriously consider. The cheapest model is currently the E4300 at $117

You also don't need a board with on-board video if you already have a video card. For similar money, you can get a board with a superior chipset:

Asus P5B
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813131030

Or sticking with intel, the DP965LTCK
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813121035

I'd also go for Corsair memory - high quality and cheaper than the Kingston. You only need DDR2-800 memory if you plan to overclock

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820145098

Same thing applies to the aftermarket heatsink - retail boxed processors come with a cooler

Note also that my suggested boards come with on-board surround sound.

[EchoDrive]

hah, right i forgot to explain the chip...

I was actually planning to start off small with a cheap cpu that worked well...then switch over to a core 2 duo later when i get more money to upgrade. and yeah...i prefer intel...especially since they're having a price drop some time in july...i'll probably get a simple one now and buy a better one when they're cheaper

Also i had hear bad rumors about the corsair over heating and melting but im not too sure on it.

About the budget...im trying to go for under 800 that still functions well enough to play normal games that dont require very powerful parts

So yeah, i'll check out the intel board to reccomended

Thanks for the help

Oh about the heat sink...if the pentium D 805 i want comes with a good enough heat sink...then i suppose i dont really need to go all out for a powerful extra heatsink...and i think that Audigy...was an optional thing

haha second edit...you know what i figured?
Screw the Pentium D 805...i'll go for the Core 2 Duo E4300...the cost i'll save with the cheaper RAM and tossing out the Heat sink, i think that'll be good enough to upgrade processors

[LeftyAce]

With your plan for the C2D, that looks good. I've used lots of corsair ram with no problems. Use the heatsink that comes with the processor (it's good enough and if you don't use it you void your 3 year warranty).

[EchoDrive]

Haha yeah...with the reccomendations Freakitchen gave me...i could junk the heat sink and get a cheaper RAM so that i can immedeately go for the C2D...dont think i'll get the better (more expensive) of the 2 boards since i probably dont need to upgrade to extreme or quad core any time soon

Yeah i changed my sets around to the ones you suggested...
my part's list as of now is:

*Edited to include Prices*

Case:
Cooler Master Elite 330 ---- 50$

PSU:
Cooler Master 500W ----20$ (got it on sale =P)

Mobo:
Intel BOXDP965LTCK LGA 775 Intel P965 Express ATX Intel Motherboard ----- 103$

CPU:
Intel Core 2 Duo E4300 ------ 117$

HDD:
Seagate Barracuda 320 GB 3.0 gb/s -------- 80$

RAM:
CORSAIR ValueSelect 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 667 (PC2 5300) ----- 80$

Primary Optical:
Memorex Multi-Format DVD Recorder Double/Dual Layer --------- Enh Forgot the price...i think like 40$ or something?

Secondary Optical:
I dont need one do I?

Sound Card:
Like Freakitchen said...board comes with sound built in

Video Card:
PNY NVIDIA GeForce 7600 GS 512mb PCI-e ----- 99$

FDD:
I dont really need this right? i dont plan on using Floppies

Keyboard:
ReUsing Old junky one...should be fine...i'll upgrade to a Saitek Eclipse later... ---- lol none?

Mouse:
ReUse my old one...probably get an optical later

Modem:
...uh...probably gonna hook up using ethernet...but not really sure how that works and all since i have Cable Internet

Lan:
Isnt this ethernet? huh... i dunno

Monitor:
Some 19" Envision Flat Panel ---- forgot...like 200?

Speakers:
Reuse old ones...probably try to get a new one of these too

OS: XP Home SP2

Ah right! can i easily switch from Linux to Windows? just kind of wondering since i'm not to great with operating systems...

So Yeah...thats my comp...i guess...unless you can find a way to make it better with out going too high in price

i suppose my comp comes out to around 600$? 800 if including monitor price...and probably 90~140$ more for windows OS

Yeah probably gonna go with XP Home

[EchoDrive]

Oh right...im also concerned about something

Many people say that the E4300 is good for overclocking...but of course im inexperienced in that and i'd probably mess up...but besides that...other than the stock fan my case came with...should i get a few fans to add in the front area to aid in air flow?

*Edit: Well going to sleep...its like 5:36 AM...stayed up all night again...bah...anyway...i'll probably wake up in 6~8 hours...so see ya then?

Thanks for the help by the way =P

[Cricket]

Originally Posted by EchoDrive PSU: Cooler Master 500W ----20$ (got it on sale =P)

Cooler Master PSUs aren't too good. There are other brands that are much, much better quality.

Originally Posted by EchoDrive Secondary Optical: I dont need one do I?

Only if you do a lot of disc to disc copying. If you don't then one optical drive is enough.

Originally Posted by EchoDrive FDD: I dont really need this right? i dont plan on using Floppies

No, you don't need a floppy drive.

Originally Posted by EchoDrive Modem: ...uh...probably gonna hook up using ethernet...but not really sure how that works and all since i have Cable Internet

You don't need a normal modem if you have cable internet. The cable company already gave you the cable modem. That will connect to your computer either through the ethernet port or USB.

Originally Posted by EchoDrive Lan: Isnt this ethernet? huh... i dunno

LAN actually stands for "Local Area Network" but yeah, it's the ethernet.

Originally Posted by EchoDrive Monitor: Some 19" Envision Flat Panel ---- forgot...like 200?

Haven't had experience with Envision LCD monitors...their CRT monitors were "okay".

Originally Posted by EchoDrive OS: Probably gonna have to stick with LinuxMCE and Ubuntu...unless i get enough for XP Home or Pro...Vista seems way too Bleh for me at the moment...

If you're familiar and comfortable with Linux then by all means stick with it.

Originally Posted by EchoDrive Ah right! can i easily switch from Linux to Windows? just kind of wondering since i'm not to great with operating systems...

You could do a dual boot system with Linux and Windows and then at boot up you decide which operating system you want to use.

Cricket

[LeftyAce]

You're right about the modem; you'll use ethernet ('LAN') to connect to the cable box.

If you're not overclocking ,the standard fans should be fine unless you're in a really hot environment. If your temps are quite high, you might consider adding an intake fan on the front, but that can be done later, as needed. And even if you ARE overclocking, you'll probably be ok with the standard case fans :-)

*EDIT* oops, Cricket beat me to the button

[EchoDrive]

haha...just woke back up...anyway

well when i said stick with linux i meant like...i was planning to use it but im not so sure...since i've actually never used linux before...

and i got the cooler master psu cause it was cheap...and i kinda like the cooler master brand =P

If you could reccomend a good psu for under 50$ then yah O.o

Oh and well i was asking about ethernet...since the computer im using right now has a modem for the cable...but im wondering if i can connect this computer to the computer im going to build...so it can split the internet or something...kinda like linksys kind of stuff...but using a cable

[EchoDrive]

well i suppose if no one has anything else to contribute, im going for the set i mentioned in post 5...so yah

thanks for the help =P

(might get a better psu later)

[Hi Ho]

I would recommend getting a better power supply now rather than later. It's not a good idea to run any system on a low quality power supply.

THIS FSP unit would work great.

If you plan on playing games then forget Linux. You won't be able to run any standard Windows games on Linux. If you want to play with Linux I would recommend a dual boot setup.

[EchoDrive]

ah okay...probably gonna go with that PSU then...

i'll probably try to get XP home...so yeah

[doubledragon5]

Cooler Master must be going down on guality, because there still listed as For top quality builds.!!!

[EchoDrive]

so should i go with cooler master or the FSP?

not really sure...since i think cooler master would be okay right?

some reviews have said that the cooler master isnt very good at running higher end video cards...i wonder if it'll be okay with a GeForce 7600

[Cricket]

Originally Posted by EchoDrive so should i go with cooler master or the FSP? not really sure...since i think cooler master would be okay right? some reviews have said that the cooler master isnt very good at running higher end video cards...i wonder if it'll be okay with a GeForce 7600

I'd go with the FSP. Why take a chance?

Cricket

[EchoDrive]

so 400W 'should' power my system okay right?

(haha gotta go bug my parents to buy me the parts now)

haha, oh wow cricket...i just realized you're from hawaii...i live in pearl city myself =P

[LeftyAce]

400W is plenty for the parts you have listed.

Good luck with the parents :-)

[EchoDrive]

yeah they originally said they would pay for the 400$ for my old wish list...but with the added XP home and PSU...i need to ask em about that haha

[Mr.Ferrari]

You can get a 450w powersupply for the same price. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817103024

The problem with Coolermaster powersupplies is the varying level of quality between models, some are great, while others I would mark as garbage. And the few that are great are actually rebadged with overrated power ratings.

[Hi Ho]

The Sparkle unit is ok but the FSP is a tier above it and it comes with a two year warranty.

[Jimmy0]

Sparkle and FSP are the same thing I believe, but FSP took over Sparkle or something like that.

[freakitchen]

Moderator Note:

Echodrive posted this latest component list in a new thread, which has now been deleted. I quote it here.

Originally Posted by Echodrive Case: Cooler Master Elite 330 ---- 50$ PSU: FSP Group (Fortron Source) FSP400-60THN-R ATX 400W, PCI Express Power Supply ---- 50$ Mobo: Intel BOXDP965LTCK LGA 775 Intel P965 Express ATX Intel Motherboard ----- 103$ CPU: Intel Core 2 Duo E4300 ------ 117$ HDD: Seagate Barracuda 320 GB 3.0 gb/s -------- 80$ RAM: CORSAIR ValueSelect 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 667 (PC2 5300) ----- 80$ Primary Optical: I think i should get a lite-on...the one i was going to use turns out to be an IDE...not so good with my mobo Secondary Optical: None Sound Card: Built in to Mobo Video Card: PNY NVIDIA GeForce 7600 GS 512mb PCI-e ----- 99$ FDD: None Keyboard: Reuse old one Mouse: Reuse old one Internet: Probably gonna set up an Ethernet thing Monitor: Some 19" Envision Flat Panel ---- forgot...like 200? Speakers: Reuse old ones OS: XP Home SP2 Yeah...would this be okay?

[Jimmy0]

Get a SATA retail Lite-On for you optical, such as this one.

[Mr.Ferrari]

Originally Posted by Hi Ho The Sparkle unit is ok but the FSP is a tier above it and it comes with a two year warranty.

As the above poster said, they are the same thing. Sparkle actually was more into the server segment, but now most of the models are shared between the two names. That's the same FSP 450W Saga thats on newegg for $58 but is only $50 under the sparkle name, due to supply and demand..

Some server grade PSUs under the Sparkle name are actually of higher tier then FSP's regular models.

[EchoDrive]

yeah i had gotten a lite-on sata DVD drive now...currently shipping by fedex O.o