General Use Build

[BJS]

EDIT: I changed to the memory suggested Cricket. Thanks for the heads up!

Hey all! I have been trying to come up with a build for my mom. Her current computer is ancient and she has expressed an interest in replacing it.

She would mainly use it for surfing the web (watching movies and such, ie: youtube, etc.), uploading and burning pictures and movies from her camera and camcorder, mp3izing her cd's and putting them onto her ipod.

I have put together the following list and would like suggestions on compatibility as well as "upgrades" that could give more performance/longevity for a little more money or "downgrades" on components that are overkill or not useful. I am most concerned with the compatibility of my motherboard/processor/memory.

Mobo:
ASUS P5KPL-VM LGA 775 Intel G31 Micro ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...SUS%2bP5KPL-VM
$74.99

Are the 4x internal USB connections in addition to those on the back? ie: will they hook to the 2x USB connections on the front of the case i picked?

Processor:
Intel Core 2 Duo E4500 Allendale 2.2GHz 2M shared L2 Cache LGA 775 65W Dual-Core Processor - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...00%2bAllendale
$124.99

Memory:
CORSAIR ValueSelect 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 533 (PC2 4200) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820145527
$38.99

Is the Corsair much better? I have had no problems with Kingston in the past, it seemed to have good reviews, and for what I could find was quite a bit cheaper than the Corsair?

Hard Drive:
Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 ST3250410AS 250GB 7200 RPM 16MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...0410AS%2b250GB
$69.99

Optical Drive:
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 - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16827106057
$34.99

Case & PSU:
Antec NSK4480B Black 0.8mm cold-rolled steel construction ATX Mid Tower Computer Case 380W Power Supply - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16811129032
$69.99

Is the PSU that comes with this case any good? Or just because its and Antec case doesn't mean it has and Antec quality PSU?

Monitor:
Hanns·G JW-199DPB Black 19" 5ms DVI Widescreen LCD Monitor 300 cd/m2 700:1 Built in Speakers - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...descreen%2bLCD
$169.99

Seems to have comparable if not better specs than my Samsung SyncMaster930B, which I paid a bit more for. Also, it seemed to be popular and have good reviews? Also, will the onboard video of the mobo I picked work with this nicely?

Firewire Card:
SYBA PCI to Firewire 1394a 3+1 ports controller card Model SD-NEC-4F - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16815124003
$12.99

I picked this because the other mobo i was looking at that had onboard 1394 has a slower FSB and slower memory. My moms camcorder captures via firewire so this would be a necessity.

OS:
Microsoft Windows Vista 32-Bit Home Premium for System Builders Single Pack DVD - OEM
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16832116202
$109.99

She currently uses XP at work but i am guessing it would be a good idea for her to start learning Vista. I am guessing most workplaces will be moving to it in the next few years as MS stops supporting XP. Also, i picked the OEM version as this will be the only computer to ever use it. Seems to me you could get 2 copies of the OEM for the same price as a single Retail version. Am I missing something here?

Total Cost = $706.91 +/- cost fluctuations and shipping.

Thanks for any input or comments!

[Masaki 7-11]

This build is spec'd very well for the uses stated above and provides a decent amount of room for new applications and upgrades.

Answers to your questions:

The 4x USB connectors will hook up to the front USB ports.

For the computer you are building, Kingston is good quality, affordable and a good speed.

The PSU that comes with the case is a good quality antec PSU.

The monitor should work fine, and the integrade graphics are good enough for the uses of the computer and will even work with high definition video.

OEM versions of windows are usually sold only when also buying parts and don't come boxed, other than that they work as well as the boxed versions.

[Cricket]

Originally Posted by BJS Memory: Kingston 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory - Retail http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820134488 $49.99 Is the Corsair much better? I have had no problems with Kingston in the past, it seemed to have good reviews, and for what I could find was quite a bit cheaper than the Corsair?

You've selected the wrong speed RAM for that processor. You don't match the RAM speed to the CPU FSB speed, you match it to the motherboard base FSB speed or go one step faster. Since the E4500 C2D is a quad pumped CPU it's base FSB speed is actually 200MHz, not 800MHz. They get 800MHz by taking the base motherboard FSB and multiplying it by 4 (quad pumped)...200MHz X 4 = 800MHz. So you really only need DDR2 400 PC2 3200 (remember, DDR is Double Data Rate so you divide it by two to find it's base FSB speed) which I don't think they make so you would use DDR2 533 PC2 4200 RAM .

Go with the Corsair ValueSelect Dual Channel 2GB Kit instead of Kingston...Kingston's quality control hasn't been top notch the past few years and there have been many reports of Kingston RAM being DOA or faulty right from the start or the stick go bad shortly after being put into use. Over the past few years I've had to RMA many sticks of Kingston RAM that I used in previous builds. I stopped using Kingston and switched to Corsair about 3 years ago and haven't had one stick go bad yet...but I'm still getting calls from people who have computers with Kingston RAM in them that I built years ago.

Cricket

[BJS]

Hmmm....,

I tried editing my original post to update to the memory Cricket suggested and it disappeared on me.

I have contacted the moderator so hopefully it will get fixed soon. Here is the memory I found.

Memory:
CORSAIR ValueSelect 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 533 (PC2 4200) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820145527
$38.99

Thanks for the heads up Cricket!

[hitchface]

I was about to ask where that post went. Soon as it's back, I'll throw in a suggestion should the need arise.

[freakitchen]

Your original post has returned! It was caught by our anti-spam software in error.

[BJS]

I went looking at computers at Costco today. I noticed many with slower/weaker processors than the E4500 I picked, were using DDR2 5300. I guess by going faster than your processor the memory will just run slower?

I suppose this is why people say to just go with say 667 vs going to 800 unless your are going to OC, if you OC then the 667 may become the bottle neck point.

If what I am thinking is true. Then it may be worth it to me to put in some faster memory for a few more bucks now, then have to replace it all together in the future say I put in a faster processor?

Or does having your processor speed and your memory speed matched make things run smoother?

I hope I haven't been too confusing, kinda typing out loud here.

[freakitchen]

The motherboard you've picked will take up to 1333Mhz FSB processors - at the moment this includes the latest Conroes and the fastest Quad cores. For these chips, DDR2-667 is the exact match, but we always recommend going one faster, so this would be DDR2-800.

If you want this option, then there'd be no problem installing DDR2-800 now; RAM is cheap at the moment anyway.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820145590