Another first time builder

[Mungus]

I've been lurking around the forums for a bit and found quite a bit of good advice and was hoping to get a bit more. This is my first build and I intend it to mainly be for gaming (running Oblivion smoothly is my goal atm ;P ) and photoshoping, while trying to keep it around $1200. As it stands right now:

Case: Still indecisive about :/

Video Card: EVGA 320-P2-N815-AR GeForce 8800GTS 320MB 320-bit GDDR3 PCI Express x16 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card - Retail

PSU: OCZ StealthXStream OCZ600SXS ATX12V / EPS12V 600W Power Supply 100 - 240 V CB, CE, CSA, UL, FCC - Retail

CPU: Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 Kentsfield 2.4GHz 2 x 4MB L2 Cache LGA 775 Processor - Retail (Still unsure whether to go with this or shave off a few bucks and go with a Duo)

RAM: CORSAIR XMS2 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory - Retail

HDD: Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 ST3320620AS (Perpendicular Recording Technology) 320GB 7200 RPM 16MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM

DVD-RW: 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 with LightScribe - Retail

Mobo: This is where I'd really appreciate some advice, between these three which would be better for the setup as well as not needing to upgrade for quite some time?
- ASUS P5N32-E SLI Plus LGA 775 NVIDIA nForce 650i SLI ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail
- ASUS P5K-V LGA 775 Intel G33 ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail
- ASUS P5K LGA 775 Intel P35 ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail

OS: I'm a bit wary of going to Vista just yet, any recommendations either way?

Mouse/keyboard/monitor I'll worry about later. Any help you guys have would be appreciated. Thanks!

[Chazell29]

Correct Me If I'm Wrong
Hello,

First off, the Core 2 Quad isn't all that worth it. You could get a nice Core 2 Duo like the E6750 that would give you really good gaming performance, and save some money while at it.

For the motherboard, out of the ones listed, I'd go with one of the P5K's. they are the highest recommended board on these forums, and are the newer technology than the P5N.
Out of the 2 P5K's, I'd go with the P35.

As far as the operating system goes, I'd go with Vista now. It's been out for a while, and alot of the major bugs have been fixed. You'll have to upgrade to Vista sooner or later, might as well do it now. Make sure you buy the OEM version of Windows though.

Other than that, looks good.

[Gen.Ben]

That is a solid build. Although you need to change one thing on it.

That hard drive, the Seagate Barracuda, the 320GB 7200.10 Version has a very common problem with noise, if you do have one of the ones in the bad batch, you might get sharp metallic sounds coming from that drive that sounds like a spoon hitting a cup.

I'd recommend you to spend $5 more dollars and defiantly go for a Western Digital Drive.

Other than that, looks like a promising build. Good luck.

Oh, also, go for the - ASUS P5K LGA 775 Intel P35 ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail, it has the newest chipset on it, P35.

[blue60007]

Quad vs. Dual core is a tricky question. Me personally, I would go with the Quad Core - it'll be more future proof. Right now, few games will take advantage but is likely to change in the future. Even if the game doesn't take advantage it's still going to be darn fast.

[Krazeee]

If you're goal is to run Oblivion Smoothly,I'd buy the GTX. The jump in performance is significant...but then, so is the price. Check out Tom's Hardware VGA Charts and then look at prices for the cards you might want based on the performance you're looking for. But if you're going for smooth, the GTX is the best card out there (ok, so technically, the Ultra is better, but it's a $80 premium for a minimal performance gain)

My choice is the P35 board. The HDD choice is totally up to you, chances are you'd get a good one, but if $5 is worth the insurance, get a WD. I personally like the e6750 for the cost.

[Chazell29]

Originally Posted by Krazeee If you're goal is to run Oblivion Smoothly,I'd buy the GTX. The jump in performance is significant...but then, so is the price. Check out Tom's Hardware VGA Charts and then look at prices for the cards you might want based on the performance you're looking for. But if you're going for smooth, the GTX is the best card out there (ok, so technically, the Ultra is better, but it's a $80 premium for a minimal performance gain) My choice is the P35 board. The HDD choice is totally up to you, chances are you'd get a good one, but if $5 is worth the insurance, get a WD. I personally like the e6750 for the cost.

The GTS is still a really good card, and would run that game smoothly. Its not a huge resource hog as it is. Might as well save some money.

[The Village Idiot]

The GTX is ridiculously expensive, and unless your planning to to go for the biggest e-penis of the year award I wouldn't recommend it. Personally people who say get a GTX hardly understand the concept of budgets and sanity vs power.

I have an EVGA 320mb and it's quite a nifty little card, with an E6750 i'm getting about 250fps on the Counter Strike Source stress test with all high including all that 16x stuff.

Oh yeah, and that Toms Hardware seems a bit out, fraps reports to me at 100fps on Battlefield 2142 with everything set to max, and 1280 x 1024 resolution. So yeah. I'm sure a GTS will be fine for now, besides, GeForce 9 is set for release with a card thats supposedly going to be 2x faster than the GTX. Save the money now, get the upgrade when you need it.

[Mungus]

Thanks for all the feedback guys/gals!

This is the mobo i decided to go with (unless there's any hidden issues i don't know about : ASUS P5K-E/WIFI-AP LGA 775 Intel P35 ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail

I think I'll stick with the Seagate HDD and hope for the best, as personal experience has made me wary of WD drives. Though thanks for letting me know of the issue, Gen.Ben. I would also love to get the GTX, but its a bit out of my budget

One more (hopefully last) question concerning Vista: Will the 64-bit version run alright on this build, or will i need to get more RAM?

[shadowpr]

if you're only getting 2gb of ram, then just get the 32bit vista.

but in general, vista 64 works pretty good. i'm using it now. i didn't have much trouble with drivers, just took a little time to find some software that i wanted that was compatible, but everything works that i need.

[Triangle Man]

the one im currently building cost $1203 after shipping. i haven't finished putting it together yet, but if i manage to do so before i go out of town, ill let you know how it is (unless you already ordered the parts). it doesn't include a monitor, keyboard, or mouse, but what you listed above doesn't either, so w/e.

the specs are in my sig

[dataDude]

Keep in mind that there have been continuing operability issues with OSes that are 64-bit. Not too long ago I read in a magazine that there are several programs that will work great in Windows XP 32-bit that will only give errors upon installation in the 64-bit version (including some Microsoft products!). Take caution then when getting into Vista, which doesn't yet support everything yet.... and still has bugs.

[The Village Idiot]

As a laptop Vista user i've never had any problems with software, a quick 'give administration rights here' and 'compatibility mode windows xp' there and you shouldn't have any problems. Pretty much everything worked.

[Mungus]

I've been reading up on Vista, and decided the 32-bit is definetly less of a hassle. It seems the main issue will be with the video card, though ATI cards seem to be having their own problems with Vista, and the specific problems seem to vary dramatically from person to person. Any gamers out there have some personal experience with an Nvidia or ATI card and Vista?

Triangle Man: I'll be looking forward to hear how your rig works once you've got it up and going!

[Krazeee]

Originally Posted by The Village Idiot The GTX is ridiculously expensive, and unless your planning to to go for the biggest e-penis of the year award I wouldn't recommend it. Personally people who say get a GTX hardly understand the concept of budgets and sanity vs power.

Ahem

Originally Posted by Krazeee The jump in performance is significant...but then, so is the price. Check out Tom's Hardware VGA Charts and then look at prices for the cards you might want based on the performance you're looking for.

His concern was running it smoothly. If it's a big enough concern, he might want the extra power. Based on Tom's guide, at 1280x1024, he'd be at about 30fps outside on the GTS 320mb, and no better on the 640mb. But on the GTX it jumps to about 45fps.

Go with what you want Mungus. The GTS 320mb is a great buy for the money. But if you have the extra cash, and want to ensure absolutely smooth gameplay, the GTX might be an option. Up to you.

Edit, just read the budget comment by Mungus. Enjoy the GTS, great bang for the buck.