5 years later I'm back to build again! Need your advice

[peter8d9]

Like the title says, I've had my old computer for almost 5 years now and I've been getting a consistent blue screen along with it being slow and outdated.

The old thread can be found here:
Could you give me your opinion on this setup?

I'd like to keep it on the cheaper end. I'm not as big into gaming anymore. I still do every once in a while but would like to have a reliable, decently quick computer to work on.

Case: I'm going to use my old Aspire X-Dreamer II(Black) ATX Mid-Tower Case until I can pick up a new one for <$50 (as long as this will still work)

CD RW: Lite On Black 52x32x52 2MB OEM (from old build)

DVD ROM: Lite ON Black 16x OEM (old build)

Floppy: Samsung Black OEM (old build)

Memory: DDR2 800 2x1gb or 2x2gb depending on the best deal I can find.

Motherboard + CPU combo: Intel Core 2 Duo E8400 CPU + ECS G31T-M Motherboard - $159.99 (I know it's an ECS mobo but for this price it looks like a great deal. I'm also switching from AMD to Intel because of all the reviews/comments about performance differences)

Sound Card: Creative Labs Sound Blaster Audigy 2 - PCI OEM (old build)

Video Card: No freakin clue (help on a card ~$100 in the mid ranged performance)

HDD: I've got a 320GB Maxtor PATA drive (if I want to put more than 1 in my case i.e. 2 320GB drives do they have to be SATA?)

PSU: Antec Earthwatts 430W Power Supply (picked it up for ~$17 after rebate)



So this should all cost me just over ~$300 after everything. So any ideas/comments/suggestions/gripes/complaints/etc let me have them. Thanks!

[peter8d9]

RAM:OCZ 4GB DDR2 800 for $45 AR
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820227269

[shadowpr]

What is your budget?

Cause if would definately recommend against an ecs board.

This is the budget board of choice I believe: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813131288

Add a e8400 to that, and you should be good.

Also, it only has one ide port, so that means you can only use a maximum of 2 ide drives.

Dvd sata drives are pretty cheap nowadays, so you might want to pick one up.

This video card should last you a while: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814127363

[peter8d9]

I found I can pick both RAM and a vid card up for $130 AR

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814130328

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820227269

I'm still leaning towards the ECS board (yes, I know a lot of you don't like it) but it should do what I need to for now and if I want I can replace it down the line soon.

[peter8d9]

I just have to say, this is crazy that you can pick up all of these things for so much less than 5 years ago. Yes, I know prices of technology goes down over time, but seriously, RAM 4gb for $35? Video card for <$100? This is pretty sweet!

[peter8d9]

What about this board with the e8400? I realized I didn't have any Frys near me to pick up the e8400+ecs.
http://www.buy.com/listing/sellerlis...?sku=206232312

Any opinions on the RAM, Video Card?

I also realized that it would be nice to have onboard wireless capability. I found this one openboxed but it's a bit on the more expensive side:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...2E16813131196R

Also wondering if it's worth it to drop down to an e7200 or something and OC to make up for the performance difference.

[bd1886]

Fry's is a good place to find deals on sale (and see a huge line of products on the shelf) but the kudos stop there for finding a deal. Depending on what you do with your box, the e8400 is in a better league by a margin. The things I've read is the OCd E7200 won't get you there because of buss and cache differences. (Personally...I have a Celeron 430 filling in until I can spring for the E8400....OC'd to the max! Fun...)

[peter8d9]

thanks for the replies, still looking to get info on the last mobo I posted.

[shadowpr]

The p5k-e is a good motherboard. Just wouldn't get the open box. I wouldn't trust it enough.

[chuck4456]

The first thing that you need to do is forget about the ANTEC Power Supply. You want to use your new PC, not have it sit there and collect dust.
One of these would be better:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817703005
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817139005
Video card wise, these are kicking plenty butt now:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814102769
Seagate Hard Drives are best.
Forget about OCZ memory. Nuttin' but trouble.
This would be a much better choice:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820144120
Board-wise, this would be a better option:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813131299
I didn't see a CPU cooler on the list.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16835186134
those are as good as any, unless you are shooting for the moon with your overclock.
An E7200 is an excellent overclocker and performer, so you have an option there.
Lite-ON is good stuff.

[Masaki 7-11]

Originally Posted by chuck4456 The first thing that you need to do is forget about the ANTEC Power Supply. You want to use your new PC, not have it sit there and collect dust. One of these would be better: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817703005 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817139005 Video card wise, these are kicking plenty butt now: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814102769 Seagate Hard Drives are best. Forget about OCZ memory. Nuttin' but trouble. This would be a much better choice: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820144120 Board-wise, this would be a better option: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813131299 I didn't see a CPU cooler on the list. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16835186134 those are as good as any, unless you are shooting for the moon with your overclock. An E7200 is an excellent overclocker and performer, so you have an option there. Lite-ON is good stuff.

Antec power supplies are pretty good, I've had two of them so far (Earthwatts and Neo HE) and both have worked flawlessly. The ones you recommended are better than the 430 Earthwatts, but the 430 is enough for this build.

I've used OCZ memory on a few computers and haven't had any problems with them (I personally prefer mushkin ram since I've had them work without compatibility issues in all the computers I've put them in).

The 9600GT is a good card; I've used them in 4 builds so far and the results have been very good; I had a bit of trouble with the first one I got, but it worked great after a few driver revisions (new 9600GTs have an updated bios which makes it more stable even if using older drivers).

[peter8d9]

Originally Posted by chuck4456 The first thing that you need to do is forget about the ANTEC Power Supply. You want to use your new PC, not have it sit there and collect dust. One of these would be better: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817703005 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817139005 Video card wise, these are kicking plenty butt now: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814102769 Seagate Hard Drives are best. Forget about OCZ memory. Nuttin' but trouble. This would be a much better choice: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820144120 Board-wise, this would be a better option: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813131299 I didn't see a CPU cooler on the list. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16835186134 those are as good as any, unless you are shooting for the moon with your overclock. An E7200 is an excellent overclocker and performer, so you have an option there. Lite-ON is good stuff.

Wow... uhh thanks for the advice but you've just added ~$500 to my build. The 430W might be on the low end of power now a days but for my build, it should work just fine. I used the wattage calc with no issues. I chose this one because I picked it up for a grand total of $17 (including shipping) new. The 4 gigs of memory I picked up for about $40 and the video card for ~$90. I'm pretty sure I'm going to go with the e8400 for performance without the need to OC. I may decide to OC once I have everything running just to get a little more performance but it's not a major concern of mine.

The only thing I'm still having questions about is the MOBO options. I'd like something that's cost effective, no on board graphics or sound since I have a vid card/sound card and maybe an onboard wireless capability.

Thanks.

[peter8d9]

Originally Posted by Masaki 7-11 Antec power supplies are pretty good, I've had two of them so far (Earthwatts and Neo HE) and both have worked flawlessly. The ones you recommended are better than the 430 Earthwatts, but the 430 is enough for this build. I've used OCZ memory on a few computers and haven't had any problems with them (I personally prefer mushkin ram since I've had them work without compatibility issues in all the computers I've put them in). The 9600GT is a good card; I've used them in 4 builds so far and the results have been very good; I had a bit of trouble with the first one I got, but it worked great after a few driver revisions (new 9600GTs have an updated bios which makes it more stable even if using older drivers).

Thanks for the confirmation on the compoents I've picked out. Do you have any recommendations on boards?

Oh and I also got this case for $48 from newegg last night:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16811129042

[Masaki 7-11]

Originally Posted by peter8d9 Thanks for the confirmation on the compoents I've picked out. Do you have any recommendations on boards? Oh and I also got this case for $48 from newegg last night: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16811129042

Case looks good;

For motherboard, it depends on how much you can spend, I've used the P5K-SE before and it provided good performance/features: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813131278

If you want/can spend more for a motherboard, the P5Q is a good choice: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813131295