E8400 with Window XP Pro. Advise please.

[fthy]

Hi all.
Doing quite a bit of reading here and there and finally decided to get my feet wet .

I'm trying to build a desktop PC and hope to get some advise from anyone who is willing to help.
First attempt to build a PC, don't know much but i'm willing to listen and learn.

Budget-$600-800 (does not include monitor, mouse and keyboard).
Usage- General web browsing, movies and music (no game).
OS- Window XP Pro.

Not much, but this is what i came up with and i'm hoping with the help of you guys/gals i can get a list. Thanks in advance.

Intel Core 2 Duo E8400 Wolfdale 3.0GHz 6MB L2 Cache LGA 775 65W Dual-Core Processor
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16819115037
ASUS P5Q Pro LGA 775 Intel P45 ATX Intel Motherboard
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813131299
G.SKILL 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 1066 (PC2 8500) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820231144
Seagate Barracuda 7200.11 ST3500320AS 500GB 7200 RPM 32MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16822148288
ASUS EN9600GT TOP/HTDI/512M GeForce 9600 GT 512MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814121242
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 20X DVD±R DVD Burner
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16827106264

Most of the item i picked were because they have rather good reviews.
Let me know if they will work or better still, throw me some advise.

Thank you.

[shadowpr]

If you're not playing games, you can drop down to this video card: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814127384

And no need for that ram. Get ddr2-800. Corsair is a good brand, and I believe they have a special on it now too.

You might also want to consider a motherboard with onboard video. Then you won't need a video card.

You still need a case and power supply.

I think a good 450w psu would work. Look at the corsair 450, or this: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817341012

[fthy]

Thanks shadowpr.
Main reason for the video card is for future upgrades, like a bigger monitor that require a dual-link DVI output or maybe turn my build to a HTPC.

Almost forgot about the case. How about this combo?
COOLER MASTER RC-690-KKA1-GP Black SECC/ ABS ATX Mid Tower Computer Case Real Power Pro 550W Power Supply
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16811119142

Would this be good?
Thank you.

[shadowpr]

The case would work, but that's not a quality power supply.

A good combo would be the antec sonata III

[fthy]

Antec sonata III price is great but it doesn't come with enough vent and fan and i'm afraid of overheating as its gonna be in an enclosed cabinet.
How about if i change the PSU for the RC-690?

Appreciated all the helps.

[shadowpr]

I wouldn't really put a case in an enclosed cabinet. How much space is there in the cabinet? Will you have the pc on all the time, or just for a short while?

And the case you chose would work fine with a better power supply. You can buy an extra power supply and use that one instead of the included one.

[doubledragon5]

If you put it in a enclosed desk, make sure the back panel is off, and I would take the front door off as well. A friend of mine did not do that and completely fried a system that cost me $4800 to put together...

[fthy]

Is actually the cabinet of my desk.
Dimensions are, 14"W x 26"H x 24"D.
If that's a bad idea, i might have to leave it on my desk but would probably have to find a nicer case.
I usually have my PC turn on for about 4-6 hr a day.

[shadowpr]

If you leave the door open, and it's only for a few hours, you might be ok.

Make sure you will have clearnce on top of the case, and behind it to allow for air to move so the hot air has somewhere to go.

[fthy]

Spent a few hour reading the thru the Antec Sonata III reviews and with the price of $80 i don't think i can pass this deal .

While reading the reviews, i came across feedbacks as to there is no motherboard tray, can someone plese tell me what is that and would it cause me any problem with my selected mobo?
There was also complains about video card being too big for this case, how true is this? Would this affect my 9600?
One more question, is it ok for me to leave the side of the case open (more ventilation, i hope)?

Thank you.

[shadowpr]

I mean if you leave the door open on the cabinet while you use the computer, then it should be ok as long as it has some room to breathe.

I think either case would work. If you're concerend though, just get a differnt case with two fans, and use a quality power supply.

I have used the antec 300 and like that.

[fthy]

While reading the reviews, i came across feedbacks as to there is no motherboard tray, can someone plese tell me what is that and would it cause me any problem with my selected mobo? There was also complains about video card being too big for this case, how true is this? Would this affect my 9600? One more question, is it ok for me to leave the side of the case open (more ventilation, i hope)?

Any comment or suggestion?
Thanks

[liambl]

You would do much better with a 4650. The 9600 is designed for gaming and produces a bit oh heat. The 4650 will support all the same resolutions and perform just as well in movies as the 9600GT while being smaller less power/heat.

A motherboard tray means that the motherboard mounting can be removed from the case to make it slightly easier to install, no biggie.

You can leave the panel off without trouble. About the enclosed space, any case will have the same cooling effect if the air is trapped around it.

[fthy]

Thanks liambl.

You would do much better with a 4650. The 9600 is designed for gaming and produces a bit oh heat. The 4650 will support all the same resolutions and perform just as well in movies as the 9600GT while being smaller less power/heat.

Is this what you mean
MSI R4650-D512 Radeon HD 4650 512MB 128-bit GDDR2 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFire Supported Video Card
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814127384

I'm a believer in reviews and with a little in price difference i'm gonna stick with the 9600.
Thanks.

[fthy]

Can someone tell me what is the difference beyween this 2 items please?

ASUS EN9600GT TOP/HTDI/512M GeForce 9600 GT 512MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814121242

ASUS EN9600GT/HTDI/512M GeForce 9600 GT 512MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814121229

Thank you.

[shadowpr]

The first one that is $5 more has a faster core clock.

[fthy]

Thanks shadowpr.
No brainer huh?

[fthy]

Changed my mind .
Check out the Antec Three Hundred Black ATX Mid Tower Computer Case ( http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16811129042 ) and i like it. Now i need advise on which PSU i need.

I'm almost there. Please help.
Thanks.

[shadowpr]

I still like that ocz i linked to earlier.

Might want to also look at the corsair 550. Or even if you want more headroom, the ocz 600w one. They have good sales right now.

[fthy]

Hi shadowpr.
This what i read from another thread,

Good choice on the dvd burner, except get the sata version. And retail for the cable and software for only about $3 more.

Just need to find out if i need to get this cable and software that you mentioned.

Thank you.

[shadowpr]

The dvd burner you linked to in your original thread is the retail version. So you will get the sata cable and the software.

I believe the mb comes with two sata cables, so you don't need the one that comes with the dvd burner, but i like to have extra, and I like only pay a few dollars more for software. If you already have software, then you can just get the oem version.

[fthy]

I believe the mb comes with two sata cables, so you don't need the one that comes with the dvd burner, but i like to have extra, and I like only pay a few dollars more for software. If you already have software, then you can just get the oem version.

You meant the OS software? With my list, do i need to get additional software. I'll be using XP Pro as my OS.

Thank you.

[shadowpr]

The software I was talking about is nero. It will allow you to burn cds and dvds.

If you already have your os, then you're good.

[fthy]

Thanks again shadowpr.
Hmm....
I better start doing more research on sata.

[fthy]

I was doing some reading and this is what i read and need to find if there is any truth to it.

http://www.pcityourself.com/choosing/opticalDrive.php

Blue-Ray drives are only available with a SATA connection. DVD drives on the other hand are available with either SATA or IDE (also known as ATA or Parallel ATA) connections. Although SATA is the newer type of connection, even the fastest DVD drives can not get close to IDEs 133MB/s transfer ceiling and so there is no real performance difference between a SATA DVD drive and an IDE one. You may also find that you have problems installing older operating systems (windows XP for example) with SATA drives. For these reasons we would recommend buying an IDE DVD drive.

If it is true, should i change my optical drive?

Would this be ok?
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 IDE 20X DVD±R DVD Burner
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16827106228

Did more reading, more questions

Although more than 8 years old, Windows XP is still the most popular OS by far. More than 80% of home computers around the world use it. Being so old it has had almost all of its major bugs ironed out meaning its a solid platform that everyone is familiar with. However it is starting to show its age and if your building a new system it seems counter productive to put old technology onto it, particularly as Vista has matured significantly since its troubled early days. The other thing to note particularly for first time builders is that XP can be fiddly when installing on it SATA drives. You will need a floppy disk drive if your motherboards SATA controller (ie. the chipset) is made by anyone but Intel. It's not that a beginner would not be able to do it, but vista is significantly more user friendly when it comes to installing.

I really prefer XP, is this gonna be a problem.
Please take into consideration i'm totally new at building a PC.

Thanks alot.

[shadowpr]

I don't think xp will give you any problems. Just use ide emulation on the motherboard.

And I still recommend a sata dvd drive.

If you're really worried, you can get a floppy drive for $10 or less: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16821103203

[fthy]

Thank you for the quick reply shadowpr.
Over the last few weeks, endless hours of reading and with the help of many forum's members like yourself, i'm at a point where i'm very confident i can put all the parts together .
But now i come face with the problem of BIOS and software which required more reading and help.
Bear with me for a little longer please.

My understanding of a floppy disk drive is like an optical drive except it reads floppy disk, right?
Are you saying i need to get a floppy disk drive to install my Window XP Pro but my XP Pro OS is in a CD. Can you please tell me what is the purpose of getting the floppy disk drive?

The other thing to note particularly for first time builders is that XP can be fiddly when installing on it SATA drives. You will need a floppy disk drive if your motherboards SATA controller (ie. the chipset) is made by anyone but Intel. It's not that a beginner would not be able to do it, but vista is significantly more user friendly when it comes to installing.

Isn't my chipset Intel? Does this mean i'm ok?

Advise and suggestions are all apprecaited.
Thanks a bunch.

[shadowpr]

I don't think you would need the floppy, but if you're worried about needing it, then you can get it.

I believe xp will install fine. The purpose of the floppy is to install the drivers needed so that the computer can recognize the drives. After that, it should work with no problem.

But like I said, I doubt you will need it. As long as you use ide emulation mode, you should be fine.

I think that mb will allow you to run your disks in ahci mode, which will probably require the drivers on floppy. That might give you a bit better performance, but I doubt you would notice it.

[fthy]

Hmm....
Be right back. Let me go find out what you meant by "ide emulation mode and ahci mode" .

Thanks.

I'm just gonna pull the trigger. I'm very sure i'll be stuck along the way but also sure i'll get all the help from you and the others. (This is how you learn isn't it )

[fthy]

I'M ALL READY!!! Just need a little push for me to click checkout.

ASUS P5Q Pro LGA 775 Intel P45 ATX Intel Motherboard
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813131299
Intel Core 2 Duo E8400 Wolfdale 3.0GHz 6MB L2 Cache LGA 775 65W Dual-Core Processor
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16819115037
G.SKILL 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 1066 (PC2 8500) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820231144
Seagate Barracuda 7200.11 ST3500320AS 500GB 7200 RPM 32MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16822148288
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 20X DVD±R DVD Burner
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16827106264
ASUS EN9600GT TOP/HTDI/512M GeForce 9600 GT 512MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814121242
Antec Nine Hundred Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16811129021
OCZ GameXStream OCZ600GXSSLI 600W ATX12V SLI Certified CrossFire Ready Active PFC Power Supply
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817341001


Works out to be $721.91 after promo and instand saving including shipping.
Should get another $70 in mail in rebate if they don't rip me off .
Thank you all.