My first new build in a while... (parts reccommendations?)

[scott123]

So here's a little back story: I built my first computer when i was like 15 or something about five years ago. That's about when i stopped paying attention to the current state of hardware, and since now i'm ready to build a replacement, i have little clue as to what i want.

I'm going to be using the computer for Photo editing (photoshop cs2), and light gaming (half life 2 sometimes), along with all of the various normal computer things like word processing etc.

I'm hoping to spend about $500 on this, and plan on recycling the old case (this huge antec full tower; I should probably get a new psu though?) and the DVD-RW/DVD-ROM drives.

I don't need anything ahead of its time, I rather buy the most common/available technology so i get the best value. I'm going to be buying everything form Newegg. In addition, I don't want any hardware that requires Vista, as i run XP on my laptop and would like to keep both computers on the same OS because I'm going to switch between computers a lot.

I guess i first need to decide a processor. I've never used a computer with an AMD, but I'm not opposed to it. The best deal i saw on newegg seemed to be an Intel Core 2 Duo E4500 Allendale 2.2GHz for $130.00. I have no idea what an AMD equivalent would be.

As for motherboard, i'd like to get an Asus because i have used them in my old computer and they seem to be a quality brand. I'd need a standard size atx because of the size of my case; but if i can save more by getting a micro atx and a new case, then i suppose i could do that too.


OK, this is where I'm starting. Any suggestions?

[flanzig1]

The Allendale CPU would be a good starter CPU.
The rest:
mobo: Asus P5K $127
ram: Corsair DDR2 667 VS 2gig kit $39
PSU: FSP 500w $70
Priced from Newegg/ with the CPU it comes to around $370
Can play around on the video card and maybe add a SATA HD, a SATA DVD is around $35.

[Masaki 7-11]

Do you have the OS already, or will you need to buy one? For this reference list, I'm assuming that you have the OS, but even if you don't it won't be difficult to alter the parts list to include the OS. The processor used in this list is a lot faster than the allendale processor and only a small amount more expensive. Asus P5K-SE is almost identical to the P5K, but doesn't have an option for crossfire which isn't useful unless you are making a high budget computer.
Here is the reference list (from newegg):

Western Digital Caviar SE WD2500AAJS 250GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive
$64.99

EVGA 256-P2-N445-LX GeForce 7300GT 256MB 128-bit GDDR2 PCI Express x16 SLI Supported Video Card
$52.99

COOLER MASTER eXtreme Power Plus RS-460-PMSR-A3 ATX12V V2.3 460W Power Supply
$39.99

mushkin Extreme Performance 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 667 (PC2 5300) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model 996521
$49.99

ASUS P5K SE LGA 775 Intel P35 ATX Intel Motherboard
$99.99

Intel Core 2 Duo E6750 Conroe 2.66GHz LGA 775 65W Dual-Core Processor Model BX80557E6750
$189.99

Subtotal: $497.94

[scott123]

I already have a copy of windows XP

Is the difference in speed between the Allendale E4500 and the Conroe E6550 great enough to warrant spending another $60 dollars?

Power Supply - i noticed the Antec earthwatts EA380 ATX12V v2.0 380W is only $50; and if i buy it before the end of the month, there is a $30 dollar rebate. Any opinions? How much wattage should i actually need?


Video Card - i forgot to mention i'm eventually going to have two monitors for the photo editing. Right now i have a LaCie electron blueIII with the older-style plug in. If i get another one of these monitors (or any monitor with the older plug) will i be able to run both with the EVGA 256-P2-N445-LX GeForce 7300GT?

[Masaki 7-11]

The Conroe E6550 is a lot better in performance than the E4500 since it runs at a higher frequency, has more cache and a faster FSB. Since you're not going to be doing hard core gaming, a better processor will be more useful than a better video card. The video card should be able to handle Half-Life 2 fine at medium settings and will work with up to 2 vga monitors, or one dvi monitor and one vga monitor. The older plug I interpret to be vga since many of the new monitors use dvi. If the monitor has a proprietary connector, then you may need to get a different video card, here is a link to a vga connector: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedi...c/VGA_port.jpg

[scott123]

Sounds good. I think i'll go with the Conroe. But just for fun, what would an equivalent processor be for AMD? and what's the deal with 32/64 bit processors and how would that affect me?

[Masaki 7-11]

I don't think there is an AMD equivalent to the E6550 at the moment, probably the Athlon 64 X2 6400+ would be closest in terms of performance. Pretty much all processors now feature 64/32 bit compatibility. You only need to worry about 64-bit if you use a 64-bit operating system, otherwise it doesn't really have any impact.

[scott123]

So i wanted to re-use my dvd-rom drive and my dvd-rw drives which are older. The asus pk5 board says it has one IDE/PATA input so i'll at least be able to use the dvd burner right? Its only 16x but its fine for the data dvd-rs i burn.

As for the video card, I'm willing to fork over some more money for a nicer one. The reviews for the suggested one all say the fan dies within 6 months. suggestions?


I think im pretty much ready to buy this stuff within a week as a few things im buying on newegg are on sale or have rebates until the end of the month. thanks for letting me pick everyone's brain about this, i always find myself on this site a couple times a year or so because it's seriously the most helpful computer resource ever.

[scott123]

I also think im gonna go with this memory as it's on sale:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...-E0-_-20145034

[scott123]

Ok this is my rough/final draft setup at this point:


Intel Core 2 Duo E6750 Conroe 2.66GHz 190.00
ASUS P5K SE 100.00
Antec earthwatts EA380 ATX12V v2.0 380W Power Supply 50.00 - 30.00 rebate =20.00
CORSAIR XMS2 2GB 240-Pin DDR2 800 70.00 - 40 rebate = 30.00
XFX GeForce 8600GT 256MB 128-bit GDDR3 PCI Express x16 110.00 -30 rebate = 80.00
Western Digital Caviar SE16 500GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s 105.00
Re-using old Antec full/mid tower 0.00
Re-using Lite-on IDE 16x dvd-rw 0.00
Shipping: 9.00

Total: 632.00
Less Rebates: -100.00
Grand Total: 532.00


Not bad, huh? It costs me like 1,000 for my last build years ago so i'm extremely happy with that.

[Alaron]

That looks fine to me. Keep in mind though that any graphics card upgrades in the future will need a larger PSU.

[Jeri]

How does that MB compare to the Gigabyte GA-935-DS3L – also selling for 100?

[scott123]

Originally Posted by Alaron That looks fine to me. Keep in mind though that any graphics card upgrades in the future will need a larger PSU.

The only thing i plan to upgrade is to a second harddrive, and another 2gbs of ram possibly. Is that power supply still a safe bet?

[Alaron]

That should still be fine scott123.

Jeri, the Gigabyte is a popular model, but I would go with Asus over GB anyday. Higher quality boards.

[scott123]

Originally Posted by scott123 The only thing i plan to upgrade is to a second harddrive, and another 2gbs of ram possibly. Is that power supply still a safe bet?

Looks like if i pay an extra five bucks, i can get the same psu at 430 watts...

[Cricket]

Originally Posted by scott123 Looks like if i pay an extra five bucks, i can get the same psu at 430 watts...

If you do plan to upgrade or add additional parts to this computer then the 430 watt Earthwatts would be a better choice.

Cricket

[scott123]

I guess i should i have asked this before, but i'm going to have to buy a wireless networking card, aren't i? the pk5 has a built in lan card, but not wireless?

[shadowpr]

If you want a mb with wireless, look at the P5K-E/wifi

[scott123]

too late, i think my parents have an extra pci wireless laying around...


so i've put everything together, it starts up, i looked in the bios and all the info seems to match my hardware and how it should be configured, now all i gotta do is install XP.