build for a friend

[pipes1243]

Last year I created my first build, and it performs amazingly. My friend wanted me to build him one. So I figured I would use all the same parts as I did for mine seeing as how he likes the way it performs. I haven't really been keeping up to date with everything, and I found out that the motherboard I used for mine isn't on New Egg anymore. The one i used the the ASUS P5K-E Wifi. I found all the other parts I used. There are 2 questions that I have, Is the motherboard I picked out decent, and is the Quad Q9400 better then the Core 2 Duo E8500 seeing as how they are the same price. Also, is all this compatible?

All from New Egg:

Antec Sonata III 500 Black 0.8mm cold rolled steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case 500W Power Supply

EVGA 512-P3-N871-AR GeForce 9800 GTX+ 512MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card

CORSAIR 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 1066 (PC2 8500) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory

ASUS P5QL PRO LGA 775 Intel P43 ATX Intel Motherboard

Intel Core2 Quad Q9400 2.66GHz LGA 775 95W

ZALMAN CNPS9700 LED 110mm 2 Ball CPU Cooler


Thanks, and feel free to say what you'd change, btw, cheaper would be better. One last thing, he said the computer would be used for mainly for slight gaming, and everyday use, he wants it to be fast. I'm trying to keep it close to the way my build is because I know how to set it up, I know it's fast, and I know it works/is reliable. Thanks again.

[flanzig1]

The P5q series motherboards is the next step from what you had. Since his use is more towards games and everyday things, for the same price of the 9400, would go with the E8500 Wolfdale. It is faster and has a bigger cache. Installing it is not different than the 9400. And you don't really need the CPU cooler, the CPUs come with a pretty good one and won't void the warranty.

[glc]

I would not use a P43 board - go for a P45. The base P5Q would suffice. Go for a E8500, and I'd recommend an ATI card or a newer Nvidia over that 9800GTX+. I'd also use DDR2-800 ram instead of the 1066.