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SecondNova

Junior Member
Alright, same deal as most people. My PC right now is getting old, so I'm building myself a new one. Limit is around CDN$2000, with some leniency on going over. What I want out of it is to be able to game without troubles, to be able to burn/watch DVDs comfortably, and to listen to music without crappy sound (although I'd rather not pay for a sound card).

Currently, this is how it looks (not in order of importance, just random):

Motherboard - ASUS P5W DH Deluxe ATX LGA775 975X DDR2 2PCI-E16 2PCI-E1 3PCI SATA2 GBLAN Sound Motherboard
$269.95

Processor - Intel Core 2 Duo E6600 Dual Core Processor LGA775 Conroe 2.40GHZ 1066FSB 4MB Retail
$409.95

RAM - Corsair XMS2 TWIN2X2048-6400C4 2GB 2X1GB PC6400 DDR2-800 CL 4-4-4-12 240PIN Dual Channel Memory Kit
$345.65

PSU - OCZ GameXStream 600W ATX12V 24PIN SLI Ready Active PFC ATX Power Supply 120MM Fan Black
$139.95

GPU - ATI Radeon X1900XT 625MHZ 512MB 256BIT 1.45GHZ GDDR3 PCI-E Dual DVI-I VIVO HDTV Video Card
$399.99

Hard Drive - Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 250GB SATA 3GB/S 7200RPM 16MB Cache Hard Drive 5YR MFR Warranty
$104.95

DVD/CD Burner - NEC ND-3550A DVD+RW 16X8X16X DVD-RW 16X6X16X DL 8X/6X IDE 2MB Burner Black OEM W/ SW
$49.95

Monitor - LG 204WT 20.1" Widescreen LCD
$300.00 (staff purchase from the store I work at)

I've done a fair bit of research/review-hunting, and these seem like the best options. A couple people I have talked to have tried to get me to switch to an AMD processor, but that is non-negotiable. When I first saw the E6600, I knew I wanted it, and I built my PC around it (which made things... frustrating... to say the least).

The remaining parts are:

- Case <--- Not looking for anything flashy. I'm not going for looks. I want something with excellent air flow/cooling capabilties, has enough room for all my junk, and one that does NOT come with a PSU.
- Heatsink fan? <-- I'm not sure if this is necessary or not, but I assume it is because I'll be running a pretty hot system.

If you have any suggestions/recommendations on another part of the system, it's more than welcome. I thank you all in advance for seeing to yet ANOTHER person's PC setup. 🙂
 
For a $140 PSU, you should get the SeaSonic S12 600W instead. Case = Antec P180. Heatsink = SCYTHE SCNJ-1000P NINJA or SUNBEAM TUNIQ TOWER 120.
 
Where are you in Canada? Those look like prices @ Memory Express (Calgary). Anyway I am doing a build similar to yours (E6600), except budget is ~$2k without a monitor.

I think the P5W is overpriced, I'd go with the Gigabyte DS3 at this point, but I'm waiting for more boards from Asus and to see what Nvidia for Intel looks like before I build.

For Memory I'm going with OCZ 2GB PC2-6400 EL Platinum XTC Edition Rev. 2 Dual Channel DDR2 Kit (2 x 1GB) it is $299CDN here and there was a $40 MIR but it seems to be gone this week. 4-4-4-15 2.2V supported under warranty. I love Corsair, but when that memory was on for $250 with the MIR it seemed like the best value.

Nice video card and hard drive choices. I'm trying to stick it out for G80/R600 but doubt it will happen, probably go with the X1900XT or 1950XT depending on price. Seems like a better value, not sure why 7900GTX is still $530 here.

For case, I'm looking at the Antec P180B, very nice case but its $160 without a PSU. Cheaper option that looks good for $115 is the Thermaltake Tsunami Dream which has 120mm fan mounts.

As for the processor, I'm going OEM and getting an aftermarket cooler like the new Sycthe Infinity, Thermalright XP120 or Tuniq Tower 120 if its available/cheap when I buy. As for the fan, those all support 120mm so most fans should be quiet at lower volts and still move >40cfm. Should be good for OC'ing over 3GHz which is what I want.
 
Originally posted by: Baked
For a $140 PSU, you should get the SeaSonic S12 600W instead. Case = Antec P180. Heatsink = SCYTHE SCNJ-1000P NINJA or SUNBEAM TUNIQ TOWER 120.
Click to expand...
Yeah, I've heard that SeaSonic is really good for PSUs. To be honest, I just wasn't sure, and the OCZ GXS reviews were generally good. But I'll definitely check this SeaSonic out! (Also kind of relieved that you picked 600W too... my friends have been telling me that it's too much, but I didn't think so.)

Also, for the Tuniq Tower, I've seen that name tossed around a few times, but unfortunately it's impossible to get at the moment. As one customer said on NCIX, the Sunbeam rep told him to check the major online retailers in the middle of September! So, I guess I have some time to wait. As for the Scythe, the Newegg reviews have been exceptional, so I think it might be what I'm going to go with seeing as the Tuniq Tower is pretty rare right now.

Thanks again! 🙂

Originally posted by: gramboh
Where are you in Canada? Those look like prices @ Memory Express (Calgary). Anyway I am doing a build similar to yours (E6600), except budget is ~$2k without a monitor.

I think the P5W is overpriced, I'd go with the Gigabyte DS3 at this point, but I'm waiting for more boards from Asus and to see what Nvidia for Intel looks like before I build.

For Memory I'm going with OCZ 2GB PC2-6400 EL Platinum XTC Edition Rev. 2 Dual Channel DDR2 Kit (2 x 1GB) it is $299CDN here and there was a $40 MIR but it seems to be gone this week. 4-4-4-15 2.2V supported under warranty. I love Corsair, but when that memory was on for $250 with the MIR it seemed like the best value.

Nice video card and hard drive choices. I'm trying to stick it out for G80/R600 but doubt it will happen, probably go with the X1900XT or 1950XT depending on price. Seems like a better value, not sure why 7900GTX is still $530 here.

For case, I'm looking at the Antec P180B, very nice case but its $160 without a PSU. Cheaper option that looks good for $115 is the Thermaltake Tsunami Dream which has 120mm fan mounts.

As for the processor, I'm going OEM and getting an aftermarket cooler like the new Sycthe Infinity, Thermalright XP120 or Tuniq Tower 120 if its available/cheap when I buy. As for the fan, those all support 120mm so most fans should be quiet at lower volts and still move >40cfm. Should be good for OC'ing over 3GHz which is what I want.
Click to expand...
That's because those ARE from Memory Express! I'm in Edmonton.

I had actually picked the DS3 earlier, then I read some Newegg reviews, and apparently it still has some problems that I don't feel like dealing with. Same goes for the OCZ RAM... there is some compatibility issues that need to be worked out, so I just went with a trusted brand: Corsair. Mind you, by the time MR/NCIX even get a non-backordered E6600, there might be a new mobo out/existing prices will go down. I can only hope.

Thanks everyone for your help!
 
Are you going to overclock? Do you need a silent rig?

If you can say no to both, there is no need to get an aftermarket HSF.
 
Originally posted by: dBTelos
You can downgrade your PSU, unless your planning crossfire in the future, then 450W should be wayy more then enough.

http://www.ewiz.com/detail.php?name=PS-ZU450W2

450W Topower.
Click to expand...
Man, people keep telling me 450W is enough, then others say go with 600W. I'm so confused...

Originally posted by: oynaz
Are you going to overclock? Do you need a silent rig?

If you can say no to both, there is no need to get an aftermarket HSF.
Click to expand...
Plan on overclocking, don't need a ninja-silent rig. I'll have headphones on playing music.
 
If you are going to OC then better think about a 600w psu. Always better to have too much instead of too little. 600w will also give you room to grow the system. Newer video cards are going to eat more juice I'm thinking.
 
Argh, see this is what I mean. 😛 I just finished the last of the specs, now I'll review the PSU (again), but at this moment, it's done:

MOBO:
ASUS P5W DH Deluxe ATX LGA775 975X DDR2 2PCI-E16 2PCI-E1 3PCI SATA2 GBLAN Sound Motherboard
$269.95

PROCESSOR:
Intel Core 2 Duo E6600 Dual Core Processor LGA775 Conroe 2.40GHZ 1066FSB 4MB Retail *Limit 1 / Cust*
$409.95

RAM:
Corsair XMS2 TWIN2X2048-6400C4 2GB 2X1GB PC6400 DDR2-800 CL 4-4-4-12 240PIN Dual Channel Memory Kit
$332.88

CASE:
Antec P180 ATX Advanced Mid Tower Aluminum Case 4X5.25 1X3.5 6X3.5INT No PS W/ USB & Audio Ports
$159.95

POWER SUPPLY:
Mushkin HP-550 550W ATX 12V 24PIN SLI Ready ATX Power Supply 120MM Fan
$98.77

HEATSINK FAN:
Scythe Ninja PLUS CPU Cooler
$59.95

VIDEO CARD:
ATI Radeon X1900XT 625MHZ 512MB 256BIT 1.45GHZ GDDR3 PCI-E Dual DVI-I VIVO HDTV Video Card
$399.99

HARD DRIVE:
Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 250GB SATA 3GB/S 7200RPM 16MB Cache Hard Drive 5YR MFR Warranty
$104.95

DVD/CD BURNER:
NEC ND-3550A DVD+RW 16X8X16X DVD-RW 16X6X16X DL 8X/6X IDE 2MB Burner Black OEM W/ SW
$49.95

MONITOR:
LG204WT 20.1" Widescreen LCD
$300.00

TOTAL:
$2273.58

I'm pretty content with it (unless something unforseen springs up). Oh, and prices have already started to go down! The RAM dropped like $12. I probably won't be ordering this until mid-Sept, or at least until the E6600s are more readily-available.

Thanks so much for your help again... these boards are amazing. Now, to go back and look at some more PSU reviews!
 
By mid-September those cpu prices should drop a little bit. Pretty much everything will drop a little bit actually. As the supply line grows the prices drop. As of today I seen that mobo list for $249 and $255 at two lesser known etailers. Of course I heard it going for $299 too so there's still price gouging going on.
 
Hello there fellow Edmontonian 😀

Ignore those recommending 400W PSUs.
It makes sense to get a PSU that can handle SLI/CF in the future, unless you never plan on running dual GPUs.

The OCZ you had orginally is an excellent choice.
The Mushkin is good too, just not something i'd pick for future SLI/CF use.

Now if you don't want CF soon, i'd get the Asus P5B (non-Deluxe) + an E6400 to save some money TBH.

The E6600 retails don't seem to be clocking any better if at all than the E6400s.

And with the newer bios, it seems some people are reaching 500+ on the P5B (vanilla or Deluxe), something you cannot do on an unmodded P5W DH Deluxe.

I was actually planning on that same P5W DH + E6600 combo too till i saw the great results with the P5B.
And so far i've been unimpressed with the E6600 vs. the 2 MB chips, so i am going to try for more bandwidth vs. cache, which will come out pretty close i think, not to mention saving a lotta money.

Good luck either way 🙂



 
Stay away from the Mushkin PSU, per johnny guru's review, it's a subpar product and won't be able to handle the OCing you'll be throwing at it.
 
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