New Build Help

[Zombra]

Hey all, I'm thinking of building a new rig in this price range myself and thought I'd plunder the suggestions from this thread to do it and see what y'all thought.

LINK to my build

Note that I'm going with a huge new WD HD since I don't like Seagate. I considered continuing to use my old PATA drives, but figured that the performance wouldn't be optimal with a fancy new mobo. SATA for the future! Getting a 1TB drive will allow me to transfer all my old files over and still have lots of free space on the new one.

Feels weird that the new mobo is so cheap. But I compared the specs and the reviews and it seems that the GIGABYTE is actually better than the ASUS. I guess it's just that GIGA isn't as famous or something.

I'm also planning to go ahead and max out the memory potential of the new mobo with 8 freakin GB of memory. Overkill? Maybe, but I like to alt-tab out of high-demand video games to IM with friends while also surfing the net and maybe listening to old video files in the background. I think an extra $150 is a good investment to ensure that I have no memory issues, ever.

Planning to just use my old case from a couple years ago - any real danger that the fancy new stuff won't fit or something?

Thanks in advance for any comments. Z

[Cricket]

If you're going to install 8GB of RAM be sure to get a 64 bit operating system. A 32 bit operating system will only use about 3.2GB of RAM.

Cricket

[shadowpr]

Looks good.

[Zombra]

Yeah, I'm planning to upgrade to Vista to make all that memory functional and take advantage of DX10. Thanks folks

[shadowpr]

Make sure it's vista 64.

EDIT: I would forget the aftermarket heatsink unless you plan to overclock. The retail heatsink can handle the processor fine at stock speeds. Plus by using an aftermarket heatsink, you void the warrenty.

[alex530]

I second what shadow said about the stock heatsink. Why do you need such a large HDD? That wouldn't be my first choice of a power supply. Check out this one http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc..._-NA-_-NA-_-NA
or this one
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817139001
What are thinking about for a case?

[Zombra]

Vista 64 - got it.

Herm, I'm not an overclocker, but proc temperature is a big worry for me. I fried a CPU a couple summers back and I'm really not eager to repeat the experience. I am a little worried about voiding the warranty, but the $30 is a good investment as far as I'm concerned, if only to ease my paranoia about heat a little.

[Zombra]

I like having lots of storage space. I keep all my old files; for example, I still have all my old screenshots from when I played EverQuest, nearly 10 years ago. Also, I'm lazy and pruning out old files I won't miss is frankly more work than it's worth when I can simply get a bigger hard drive.

Planning to use my old case. This isn't the exact same model, but it's close enough to give you an idea.

Thanks for the power supply suggestions; I've been having my doubts about the one I first picked. The 750W one seems a little overboard (and expensive). But since I started with the idea of using a 650W, I'm also nervous about settling on the 520W you suggested. What do you think, world? Is 520W going to be plenty to run the rest of this system?

[Masaki 7-11]

Originally Posted by Zombra Vista 64 - got it. Herm, I'm not an overclocker, but proc temperature is a big worry for me. I fried a CPU a couple summers back and I'm really not eager to repeat the experience. I am a little worried about voiding the warranty, but the $30 is a good investment as far as I'm concerned, if only to ease my paranoia about heat a little.

If you're sure you want an aftermarket cooler, I suggest you get an OEM processor since they are generally cheaper and won't have the warranty void if an aftermarket cooler is used.

[alex530]

I think the 520 would work just fine, however, I am not an expert in that area. Another one to consider would be this one from Antec.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817103941

[Cyrus Moborg]

If you buy that processor by tonight, it comes with a complimentary copy of the new game Lost Planet. Also, just so you know, the hard drive that you've picked out has a 16mb cache, while some others available have 32mb.

[shadowpr]

Power supply: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817139005

HD: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16822148274 or just get two 500gb versions of this drive.

[Zombra]

Herm, Seagate, I bought a really lousy drive from them a few years back. I could be talked into it I guess, but the name just makes me cringe. Any other brands that would be just as good?

Power supply updated to the one you suggested, I like Corsair.

Thanks alex530, but for some reason I feel attached to having >600W by now

[shadowpr]

The only brands I would trust is Seagate or Western Digital. Out of those two, Seagate is the only one with 32mb cache.

If you don't like Seagate, then go with the WD that you chose earlier.

[Zombra]

Blah! Done! I just ordered all this stuff. My only reservation is the deal about the warranty, and I trust that if the proc works for 30 days then it's not likely to break after that, and if it shuts down in less than 30 days I can exchange it at newegg anyway - they don't say anything about using a different fan, just "physical damage". It's a gamble, but eh. No build will satisfy all my doubts.

You guys have been a great help. Thanks so much.

[Zombra]

Vid card trouble! Head to this thread to help! Thanks!