New budget build

[CeeDub]

My parents need a new computer and it's up to me to build it for them. They need it pretty cheap, but they don't want it obsolete next week. Here's what I've come up with so far:

LITE-ON 20X DVD±R DVD Burner With 12X DVD-RAM Write Black SATA Model LH-20A1S OEM BK - OEM
$27.99

COOLER MASTER Centurion 5 CAC-T05-UW Black Aluminum Bezel , SECC Chassis ATX Mid Tower Computer Case
$49.99

Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 ST3250410AS 250GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive
Return Policy: Limited 30-Day Return Poli
$69.99

EVGA 256-P2-N615-TX GeForce 7600GT 256MB 128-bit GDDR3 PCI Express x16 SLI Supported Video Card
$84.99

Antec earthwatts EA380 ATX12V v2.0 380W Power Supply
$34.99

CORSAIR XMS2 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model TWIN2X2048-6400C4
$74.00

ASUS P5K-E/WIFI-AP LGA 775 Intel P35 ATX Intel Motherboard
$149.99

Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 Kentsfield 2.4GHz LGA 775 Quad-Core Processor Model BX80562Q6600
$275.99


That comes to $707 after the mail in rebates. I know Quad Q6600 seems overkill, but it's just a little more expensive than the e6600 which I was planning on going with in the first place. Tell me what you think about that, if I should go with q6600 or e6600.

Also, my parents would like to keep their old PATA hard drives and not buy a new one. Would I have any problems with that on this motherboard. I heard that some motherboards don't support it natively and that has caused some problems.

Lastly the PSU. Is 380 enough for what I have? Is this a good brand? I remember seeing somewhere on these forums a PSU calculator and a list of good brands to go with.

Please let me know what you think and what I should change. Thanks.

[shadowpr]

Do they do a lot of multi-tasking? If not, you could even lower the processor to say a 6550, or lower and save money.

Do they just surf the web, and do emails? If so, you might be able to get a mb with onboard video, and save money that way.

Don't forget an OS.

And there could be problems with the ide hard drive. It could work perfectly, but if you can budget it, might as well get a new sata drive.

Switch the lite-on to a retail one for the nero software.

[CeeDub]

Mostly check the web and e-mails, but they want to be able to edit pictures and possibly video.

Good eye on the oem, I'll get the retail. I also decided that the q6600 would be overkill. I found this on newegg:
Intel Core 2 Duo E6750 Conroe 2.66GHz LGA 775 65W Dual-Core Processor Model BX80557E6750 - Retail

$189.99

This thing outperforms the e6600 in everything tomshardware.com shows and is 40 bucks less. Should I go with this one? I already have the os, and I'll talk them into shelling out more cash for a sata drive.

[amdalex]

They don't need a quad core, so that dual core you found will have the guts. Make sure they get all SATA drives, new motherboard have third party IDE controllers that can cause trouble.

[CeeDub]

Thanks for all the replies. Now I just need to know about the psu. Anyone have any comments

[Alaron]

The video card is very overkill. How about swapping the motherboard for the Asus P5KPL-VM and use the onboard video? You can always add a card later if you need to. That would make the Earthwatts 380w a perfect match.

[TechGaloot]

Originally Posted by CeeDub I already have the os,

And what OS would that be? It may make a difference in supporting all the new hardware.

[CeeDub]

Originally Posted by Alaron The video card is very overkill. How about swapping the motherboard for the Asus P5KPL-VM and use the onboard video? You can always add a card later if you need to. That would make the Earthwatts 380w a perfect match.

And what if we decide to upgrade the video card? Would we have to upgrade the PSU as well?

Originally Posted by TechGaloot And what OS would that be? It may make a difference in supporting all the new hardware.

Window XP. There probably shouldn't be any hardware issues with that.

[CeeDub]

What about this mobo?

ASUS P5B LGA 775 Intel P965 Express ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail

[TechGaloot]

Originally Posted by CeeDub Window XP. There probably shouldn't be any hardware issues with that.

Actually you are going to have to go through some extra steps to install your SATA hard drive. The Win XP install CD does not include drivers for the SATA hard drive. You will have to have a floppy drive installed (and a floppy with the SATA drivers) or slipstream the SATA drivers to an XP install disk before your are ready to install the OS.

Copied from Western Digital Support:
Problem:
An EIDE, SCSI, or Serial ATA (SATA) drive is not recognized during the installation of Windows NT/2000/XP/2003 or XP 64-bit. The installer reports that there is no drive present for the Windows installation, even though the controller recognizes the drive.

Cause:
The drive may not be detected during the installation of Windows because you have not yet loaded the drivers for your EIDE, SCSI, or SATA controller.

Resolution:
During the initial installation of Windows, you will need to press F6 almost immediately when "Setup is inspecting your hardware..." appears on the screen. You will then be asked to provide any mass storage controller drivers you may have. At this point, use the drivers supplied by your controller manufacturer (or motherboard manufacturer). After performing the steps above, the drive will be recognized and the install should continue without problems.

Note: In many cases, specialized ATA or RAID ports, SCSI ports, and SATA ports integrated directly into the motherboard must have their drivers installed as shown above.

[Alaron]

The 380w would be a bit low for a gaming video card. If you were to add one, you'd need a PSU upgrade. But for the uses you've described, onboard video will be plenty of power. Stick with the P5K series, the P5B is older tech at this point.

[CeeDub]

Well, I know the video card is overkill, but my parents don't want a cheap onboard video. Besides, the video card has a mail in rebate. After all said and done, it's only 64.99.

I'm a little worried about SATA and PATA. New motherboards support SATA natively, but don't support PATA natively. Win XP doesn't have any drivers for SATA. I wan't to stay away from vista. Is installing the drivers at boot a big deal? The dvd drive is also SATA, will that pose a problem on installation?