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Another dime a dozen post..

K

Kiryl

Junior Member
I just wanted to get some advice on a new build before I went out and invested a bunch of money on it... I had a different setup in mind, but decided to scrap it and start anew. I'll be shopping around for parts, but I including newegg links anyway... Here it is:

Core 2 Duo E6600 CPU
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E16819115003

GIGABYTE GA-965P-DS3 Mobo
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E16813128012

SAPPHIRE 100168L Radeon X1900XT 256MB GPU
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E16814102051

CORSAIR ValueSelect 2GB (2 x 1GB) DDR2 667 (PC2 5300) Memory
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E16820145098

LIAN LI PC-61 USB Black Aluminum ATX Mid Tower Chasis
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E16811112025

Antec TRUEPOWERII TPII-550 ATX12V 550W Power Supply
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E16817103931

Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 320GB 7200 RPM 16MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E16822148140

LITE-ON Black 16X DVD+/-R....2M Cache ATAPI/E-IDE DVD Burner W/ LightScribe - OEM
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E16827106019

Acer AL1916Fbd Black 19" 2ms (GTG) LCD Monitor
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E16824009087

WinXP Pro disk,Generic Mouse/Keyboard

I have a little bit of leeway money-wise and might be able to upgrade a bit from there, but not a whole lot.. (~$250 ??)

Any thoughts/ideas/suggestions?
It has been a while since I've put anything togather, so if there is anything at all that comes to mind when looking at the above list..even something small..please feel free to mention it..I'm really kind of lost, and am just hoping this will work out..

-Well, thanks for all in advance
 
I would go with an enhance 5140gh. Not only is 400w plenty and it will save you some $$$, but enhance are much better than Antec. Also: you may want to check out the lian li pc7b +2 @newegg. It's $100 shipped (as opposed to $115 shipped) and has 2x120mm fans instead of 3x80mm fans. Also: you could drop the cpu down to an e6400 unless you're going to be doing professional apps. Then oc it to a e6600 speed. With all this saved cash, you can afford to up your monitor to a 20" widescreen such as the viewsonic vx2025, or if you have an office depot near you, the samsung 215tw. The samsung is $300 AR and is the 2nd best 20" widescreen you can get in it's class. Hope this helped, welcome to the forums!
 
Bah.. Ignore all the power supply recommendations youare bound to get - the Antec is fine. Yes, there's better, more expensive units, but it's fine.

The only thing that stnads out to me os the Acer monitor, Some of my customers have had many issues with Acer's monitor RMA procedures, spend a few $$$ more and go with Samsung, Viewsonic, et al...
 
Thanks. I may very well go with the other Lian Li chasis, as well as a different LCD. What do you guys think about this for about the same price as the Acer:

ViewSonic VA1912wb Black 19" 8ms Widescreen LCD

I'm in a sort of remote area, so pretty much my only viable choice is to order online.

As far as the E6400 instead of the E6600, I've thought about it...and I hate to pay the extra, but I will be using a few CPU intensive sci/engineering apps. I may yet go with the E6400 anyway...not sure..

and Lastly....do you guys have any thoughts on the Gigabyte Mobo I listed? How about the HDD or Optical? (The lightscribe wasn't important, just the same price as the other)

Once more, thanks a ton. I very much appreciate all the input.
 
You have some pretty solid choices there; here is what I think.

The Lian Li PC-60 is a good case but it has a few issues. Foremost it has restrictive exhaust openings, and is a bit over priced for what it offers. The PC-7B is nearly identical but uses 120mm fans (vs. 80mm) that are less restricted; it's also currently on sale. Other cases that I've had plesent experiances with are the PC-V600B (compact design, top-notch build quality), and the CoolerMaster Praetorian PAC-T01 (built like a tank, 100% AL, integrated dust filter on the intake).

I would also change the optical drive from something other then a Lite-On; I've had good luck with Samsung.

Originally posted by: SuperSix
Bah.. Ignore all the power supply recommendations youare bound to get - the Antec is fine. Yes, there's better, more expensive units, but it's fine.
Click to expand...

Give me a break :roll:, not only are there better units, there are better units for less money. The Enhance recommendation is good one, other good names to look at are Seasonic, Forton-Source (FSP), Zalman, and PCP&C. My pick would probably be the 380 watt S12, but any of the above mentioned names are easily better then the Antec.

 
My advice would be to second the enhance PSU (either the 5140gh or the 5150gh). They are sold at ewiz and are great units that are more efficient and reliable than the pretty much any Antec and the best part is that either will cost less.
Link at eWiz with free shipping (taken from hot deals).

The other recommendation would be to get the 7900gto instead of the x1900xt 2356mb. It will perform at least as well as the card listed since it is a 7900gtx with slower clocked memory (it easily clocks to gtx speeds), runs cooler and it is about the same price without a rebate.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16814130065

I'd also recommend getting a time machine and going back in time a month or two to when you didn't have to pay $200 for value memory. I got my OCZ platinum pc6400 for $135AR. As it stands right now there isn't really much you can do about ram besides bending over and taking it.
 
Thanks a ton. I think I am going to go with the PC-7B chasis, as well as a different Optical Drive. I'm thinking samgsung like you suggested: Samsung 18x DVD+/-R DVD Burner

Regarding the PSU, How many Watts might I need if I end up filling a few PCI slots and increasing to 3 HDDs and 2 Opticals..Which is what I'm thinking...? 400 work..or might I need the 550?

Once again, I appreciate all the help 🙂
 
I've been looking into that 7900gto, and it's looking like a viable option...for about $10 cheaper...
Anyone else have any thoughts regarding GPU?
 
All right, I'm going to order everything in an hour or two. Thanks for all of the help. If anyone has any other comments on anything I've picked, I'll be checking the forums every once in a while. Thanks again for all.
 
Originally posted by: Kiryl
Regarding the PSU, How many Watts might I need if I end up filling a few PCI slots and increasing to 3 HDDs and 2 Opticals..Which is what I'm thinking...? 400 work..or might I need the 550?
Click to expand...
The only thing you have to really pay attention to is the CPU and GPU. Hard drives can be a factor but really only if you think you are running close to the max capacity of the PSU (not a good idea) or are running a very large number of drives 4+.

My general rule is to buy the highest quality PSU you can afford with a power output that you can realistically use; when it comes to power quality is far more important then quantity. With the hardware you've selected you are probably looking at 150 watts DC peak; making a 500+ watt PSU a completely unnecessary. A good 350+ watt PSU will power your easily with plenty of headroom. For further reading regarding power draw read this excellent SPCR article; you'll probably be surprised.

I'm a big fan of Seasonic; they extremely well built, use high-grade components, are very efficient, near silent, offer tons of clean power, and feature APFC (I use them nearly exclusively). The Enhance units are however unbeatable for the price and are also very good.

Personally I would stick with the 1900XT but would pick up a Zalman VF-900 to go along with it as stock GPU HS/Fs are loud as f&ck.
 
I am going to go with a 430w SeaSonic PSU...I'm going to stick with the x1900xt...The viewsonic 19" widescreen...Samsung DVD burner...and finally, the others are nice cases..but I think I'm still going to go with the cheaper lian li PC-7B

I think all that is left is to decide E6400 or E6600....

Thanks for all, you guys have been great.....any last minute thoughts? 🙂
 
Originally posted by: Kiryl
I am going to go with a 430w SeaSonic PSU...I'm going to stick with the x1900xt...The viewsonic 19" widescreen...Samsung DVD burner...and finally, the others are nice cases..but I think I'm still going to go with the cheaper lian li PC-7B

I think all that is left is to decide E6400 or E6600....

Thanks for all, you guys have been great.....any last minute thoughts? 🙂
Click to expand...

Stick with the 6600. The 4MB cache is worth it and if o/c is your thing, 3.0G is a given and will put you > X6800 levels. The 6600 is like the Celeron 300A of cpu's. (for those that remember the o/c days of 1998. 😉 )

 
Originally posted by: SuperSix
Bah.. Ignore all the power supply recommendations youare bound to get - the Antec is fine. Yes, there's better, more expensive units, but it's fine.

The only thing that stnads out to me os the Acer monitor, Some of my customers have had many issues with Acer's monitor RMA procedures, spend a few $$$ more and go with Samsung, Viewsonic, et al...
Click to expand...

excuse me but, my recommendation saves him money and is of better quality. Why not change it?
 
Thanks all

um..I've done quite a bit of research, and I like the Gigabyte Mainboard I chose...I of course don't plan on any SLI/Crossfire configs...but was wondering what you all thought? Anything specific stick out about the board that I'm not thinking of?
 
Originally posted by: Kiryl
Thanks all

um..I've done quite a bit of research, and I like the Gigabyte Mainboard I chose...I of course don't plan on any SLI/Crossfire configs...but was wondering what you all thought? Anything specific stick out about the board that I'm not thinking of?
Click to expand...

I've got the board and it's in general a good OC'er and like most Conroe boards has been pretty stable after a few BIOS revisions. Make sure that you upgrade to the newest BIOS (F6) once you get it.
 
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