1st time builder, need advice <$2000 from scratch

[22hertz]

I need to build a PC for less than $2000 from scratch.
I dont game but will use the PC for engineering programs like CAD, RSLogix and P-Spice.
I will also use it for watching DVDs, burning music cd,s etc....

I anticipate using two monitors in the future (but dont know much about video)

What im asking for is advice for parts which will give me a solid PC for up to 5 years of reliable usage.
I would like to emphasise the word reliable since that is my main goal with this PC, overcloking being nice if possible.

Here is what I have come up with:

Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 (2X) hard drive
Intel E6600 CPU
Cooler Master Praetorian PAC-T01-EK ATX Mid Tower case
ZALMAN 9700 LED CPU heatsink
Logitech MX518 mouse
Intel BOXD975XBX2KR (BADAXE2) motherboard
SeaSonic M12 SS-600HM ATX12V / EPS12V 600W Power Supply
eVGA 8800GTS video card

and thats all I have come up with so far.
I still cant decide on RAM. I was going to go with Crucial but read reviews that it didnt play well with the badaxe MB
I need a nice monitor still as well.

Like I said Im new at this so if anything is missing or I should look at something else please let me know as I value your educated opinion.

 

[MeddyDuo]

Originally posted by: 22hertz
if anything is missing or I should look at something else please let me know as I value your educated opinion.

CD/DVD drive
keyboard
speakers
possibly sound card

 

[secretanchitman]

why go for the badaxe mobo (quite reliable though)? you can get a nice asus/gigabyte mobo that overclocks nicely...

 

[22hertz]

I want the stability of the badaxe. I didnt mention this earlier but this will most likely be used as a buisness PC...thats why I stress the stability issue

I will reuse my existing speakers and keyboard.

 

[22hertz]

bump

 

[Snakexor]

if it is for business use, spend more $$ on quad core and less on the gpu. an ati (or amd lol) x1950 or even x1650xt should be plenty

 

[Boyo]

I think for the money, you are on the right track. It looks like a good build to me.

 

[sjandrewbsme]

If you're not going to overclock and want reliability, why are you getting a third party CPU heatsink/fan? I assume you're getting a retail processor (NewEgg doesn't sell OEM C2D that I know of). From what I've read, the retail C2D HS/F works pretty well.

I think you would be better off getting a 7600GT card and saving $200 - that V/C is overkill for what you wrote as your intended uses

 

[StopSign]

Get the 7900GS if the price difference going from 7600GT is relatively small.

And for memory, get any decent 2 GB pair of DDR2-667 or DDR2-800 just to leave some room in case you do decide to overclock slightly in the future. You don't need really good memory because the E6600 will achieve a good clock speed with a relatively low FSB.

 

[crimson117]

If you're doing 3D work and not gaming, perhaps you should consider a workstation 3D card?

 

[crimson117]

If you really want stability / reliability, you should get a pre-built one. You'd have to sacrifice overclocking, but you'd gain a warranty - and it's really nice when your problem becomes somebody else's problem

Here's a Dell Precision 390, Core 2 Duo E6300, 2GB 667 DDR2, dual 1907FP 19" LCD monitors, a workstation-class video card, DVD burner, and a 3 year on-site warranty. (Add the second 1907FP separately; saves about $50)

Came to $1,637.65 before tax (around $1,760 with NY sales tax). Free shipping. That includes the dual-monitor setup you had hoped to get in the future, and even leaves $240 in your $2000 budget for a better sound card and/or a second hard drive

Processor: Intel? Core®2 Duo E6300 1.86GHz/1066MHz/2MB L2/Dual-core/VT
Operating System: Genuine Windows® XP Professional, SP2 with Media
Graphics Card: 128MB PCIe x16 nVidia Quadro FX550, Dual VGA or Dual DVI or DVI + VGA
Chassis Configuration and 1394: Mini-Tower Chassis Configuration
Memory: 2GB, 667MHz, DDR2 SDRAM Memory, ECC (2 DIMMS)
CD-ROM, DVD, and Read-Write Devices: 48X/32X CD-RW/DVD Combo Drive with Cyberlink Power DVD?
Hard Drive Configuration: C1 All SATA drives, Non-RAID, 1 drive total configuration
Boot Hard Drive: 160GB SATA 3.0Gb/s with NCQ and 8MB DataBurst Cache?
Monitors: Dell 19 inch UltraSharp? 1907FP Flat Panel, adjustable stand, VGA/DVI
File System: NTFS File System
Keyboard: USB Entry Quietkey, No Hot Keys
Mouse: Dell USB 2-Button Mechanical Mouse with Scroll
No Floppy Drive, No Speakers
Service and Support: 3 Year On-site Business Economy Plan

 

[crimson117]

And just a caveat on the 5 years thing... 5 years is a long time in the computer world. It may still work, but it will certainly seem sluggish compared to what else you'll be able to get in 2012...

Looking back about 5 years on Anandtech they were recommending an Athlon 1.33 GHz Athlon thunderbird with 512MB PC2100 DDR SDRAM as the "high end professional 3D" configuration, and it cost over $2000 without a monitor.

If $2000 is supposed to last 5 years, you might consider budgeting $1250 for this computer, then reserve the $750 for a considerable upgrade (mobo/processor/video card) in 2-3 years.

 

[regnez]

Originally posted by: crimson117
If $2000 is supposed to last 5 years, you might consider budgeting $1250 for this computer, then reserve the $750 for a considerable upgrade (mobo/processor/video card) in 2-3 years.

:thumbsup:

There is nothing you can buy now that will not be obsolete in five years; that is just the way technology works.

With computers, components start out at 20 years old, and age 15 years for every actual year you have them.

 

[22hertz]

Lots of great info.

Ok, I think with RAM prices being the way they are I will stick with DDR2-800.
I want to try overcloking a little...thats why I want to purchase the zalman. If I get to 3.2 Im happy

3 things I have no clue what to buy

1-monitor
2-video card
3-RAM

Keeping in mind reliability could I get suggestions on what make and model of each is good quality.

Would like a 19" monitor (not for gaming, prefer more geared for studio work budget $350 or little more if well worth the cost)

Ram-would like 2GB ddr2-800 (compatible with BADAXE budget $300)

Video card-no idea at all (son may play halo2 and some other lesser extensive games if I allow it, needs to run CAD but not like a champ...good bang for buck card... budget $250)

 

[StopSign]

Originally posted by: crimson117
Looking back about 5 years on Anandtech they were recommending an Athlon 1.33 GHz Athlon thunderbird with 512MB PC2100 DDR SDRAM as the "high end professional 3D" configuration, and it cost over $2000 without a monitor.

I read some other pages on that article. The "Dream System" was a pretty good read. $350 for a 16x CD burner...

I wasn't into computers back then but still, I didn't think hardware in those days was THAT bad.