Build Specs, am I on the right track?

WavingBlue75

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Feb 4, 2008
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I am looking to build a semi-upper range box for probably the first in awhile. Normally my boxes are piece meals but I'd like to buy something that has some longevity along with good eye candy for now, here is what I am thinking about:

Athlon 64 X2 6000 AM2 w/90mm fan and artic silver thermal compound
Asus M2A-VM Mobo
Raidmax Ares ATX-801 WBP ATX Mid-Tower Case w/120mm case fan
Okia 600 Watt PS
Sapphire 3870
Mushkin 2 GB HP2-6400 (2x1G)
Western Digital 250GB Sata 2
LiteOn 20X DVD/CD Burner
Audigy 2 holdover from previous box
Windows XP for now, eventually Vista

Primarily going to be gaming rig, I was able to get the barebones setup for about 380 bucks then adding the RAM/HD/Video card and burner brought me in around 815 bucks, highest I really wanna go is 900. Would like to keep it at this price but if there is room for improvement I'd love to hear it. I played Oblivion on this rig ok, COD4 is ok.... I'd love to turn on eye candy and go through Oblivion and COD4 again. Thanks in advance for the advice.
 

chinaman1472

Senior member
Nov 20, 2007
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Should run COD4 and Oblivion okay and it should last a few years. I don't know if you'll be able to go max settings, depending on the resolution, but it is a decent budget build.
 

DSF

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Oct 6, 2007
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I'm assuming you already have a monitor, keyboard and mouse.

This would cost you $732 plus shipping:
Motherboard: Gigabyte P35-DS3L ($90)
Solid, no-frills P35 board. Reliable and overclockable.

Processor: Intel E4500 ($110)
At stock speeds it's almost as good as that 6000+, and overclocking is a piece of cake.

RAM: A-DATA 2x1GB DDR2-800 ($32)
We're under budget, so you could go with a 2x2GB kit if you wanted to.

Video Card: EVGA 8800GT 512MB ($240)
EVGA is one of the top brands as far as warranty and customer service. XFX is another good brand, and if you don't own Company of Heroes, their card is an equally good value.

Case: Antec Solo ($50)
Nice case, especially when it's on sale. Good airflow and noise characteristics. You may want to opt for a quieter fan for the exhaust, like a Yate-Loon D12SL-12 or Scythe S-Flex.

Power Supply: Corsair 550VX ($70)
Never heard of the brand Okia. Corsair power supplies are very well reviewed.

Hard Drive: Samsung Spinpoint 500GB SATA ($110)
This is a very good drive. Cool running and quiet.

DVD Burner: LiteOn SATA DVD Burner ($30)
This and the hard drive are OEM, meaning they don't come with manuals or cables. Your motherboard comes with two SATA cables though.

 

WavingBlue75

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Feb 4, 2008
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Thanks for the tips, I do have keyboard/mouse/speakers. Monitor is an old Viewsonic A19f CRT, probably use this until it dies in a blaze of glory like my last one (was working and smelled smoke, looked up and smoke was spewin from the monitor). When you talk about over clocking how does that work? I have never over clocked so I'm curious. I went with the same builders and the Intel was about 40 bucks more expensive but with the RAM savings suggestion and the DVD burner it more then made up for price. I also kept the 250GB HD, I really don't need much more then that.... I have a hard time using what I got so far (80GBx2) So here is the updated build:

Intel E4500 w90mm fan and artic silver
Gigabyte P35-DS3L Mobo
Raidmax Ares ATX-801 WBP ATX Mid-Tower Case w/120mm case fan
Okia 680 Watt PS (beefed up a bit for over clocking)
EVGA 8800GT 512
Western Digital 250GB SATA2
LiteOn SATA DVD Burner
Audigy 2 holdover from previous box
Windows XP for now, eventually Vista

I am also go for that GSkill, 4GB should keep XP happy and set me up for Vista down the road. Since I'm still using old school VGA the EVGA 8800 comes with an adapter right? Also how about the NVidia drivers? Having never used them before (always had Radeon's) where are the gotcha's?
 

chinaman1472

Senior member
Nov 20, 2007
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~3.2 GB will on be recognized by XP 32bit. Need 64bit OS to see it all.
nVidia drivers work fine, get them off nvidia.com
I'm almost positive they come an adapter, if not you can get one for under $10.

The wattage doesn't really matter for OCing. Even the 550VX would be more than enough.
 

Roguestar

Diamond Member
Aug 29, 2006
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Originally posted by: WavingBlue75
When you talk about over clocking how does that work? I have never over clocked so I'm curious.
We mean manually forcing the speed of the processor to go higher in order to make it perform faster. This is acheived with a few changes to settings in the BIOS which results in an increase in performance past the level of what you paid for, in other words, making your CPU better for free. There is a limit to how much it can be done safely or reliably but suffice to say the CPU you're looking at is very very easy to make run faster, and safely. If you decide to get into overclocking a bit, you should read a few threads in the CPU/Overclocking forum (check the menu on the left) and familiarise yourself with the topic. It's not as scary as it sounds at first.


Oh, and you'll get two DVI-VGA adapters in the graphics card box, usually. Nvidia's drivers are generally fine at this point.
 

WavingBlue75

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Feb 4, 2008
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I saw another place where I could much of the same... but a P31 Mobo, whats the difference between P35 and P31?
 

Roguestar

Diamond Member
Aug 29, 2006
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The chipset used on the motherboard. The P31 is slightly lower-end compared to the P35, so it will have differences such as less SATA ports, less options in the BIOS for mucking about with memory timings or voltages, possibly, or less USB headers. Pretty much what you'll see in the specifications of the motherboard on any retail website, or you can check both their specs on the intel website for detailed comparisons.
 

WavingBlue75

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Feb 4, 2008
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OK, I've updated things a bit.. spent a bit more cash but not much:

Intel E6750 w90mm fan and artic silver
Gigabyte P35-DS3L Mobo
Raidmax Ares ATX-801 WBP ATX Mid-Tower Case w/120mm case fan
Zumax 650W Power SUpply
ABit RAM from above, 2GB
Western Digital 250GB SATA2
LiteOn SATA DVD Burner
Audigy 2 holdover from previous box
EVGA 8800 GT 512MB

Was gonna go with a 3870 but saw the EVGA has a mail in rebate for 30 bucks along with 10 bucks off the top.. making it even with a 3870.
 

tynopik

Diamond Member
Aug 10, 2004
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> Okia 600 Watt PS
> Zumax 650W Power SUpply

you really got to stop going with these no-name power supplies, they're only going to burn you

that zumax isn't going to provide more than 456 watts on the 12V line in the best case

the Corsair 550VX gives you 492 watts on the 12V line and indubitably has higher quality internals to boot
 

tynopik

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Aug 10, 2004
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well if you've already built the system might as well stick with it unless you can get a refund on your powersupply

a powersupply is one of the easier components to switch out, no configuration, no drivers, just make sure all the right cables are attached to all the right places
 

WavingBlue75

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Feb 4, 2008
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I haven't pulled the trigger on the orders yet, they do have an option for a 450W PS free with the barebones, I can go with that since this box I'm on is going to a friend... and then order that Corsair.
 

chinaman1472

Senior member
Nov 20, 2007
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I'd rather opt for a E4500 and overclock it or find an E8400. Even Q6600 have been on sale for as low as $200. The E6750 doesn't seem like a good deal price/performance with so many options out there, imo.

Ditto on the power supply. Get a quality brand or you'll risk blowing it and frying your components.
 

WavingBlue75

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Feb 4, 2008
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Well I'm not really much of an OCer.. never done it before and not sure I feel like it to be honest with you. Much more of a plug and play type of guy. I went with the 6750 because its a bit more expensive then the 6550 and is better processor.
 

Roguestar

Diamond Member
Aug 29, 2006
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Originally posted by: WavingBlue75
How easy is it to swap out a powersupply? That is one thing I have never done.

Really easy. Unscrew it from the case, unplug everything, take it out. Put the new one in, screw it into the case, plug everything back in. All the plugs can only go in one way around, too, so there isn't anything you can easily get confused by.
 

WavingBlue75

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Feb 4, 2008
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That's not bad then, thanks for the help guys.. think I'm gonna with the E6750 especially after reading the review done awhile back I found going htrough the CPU/chipset sections. Looks like I can overclock if like otherwise I got a pretty good processor out of the box.
 

WavingBlue75

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Feb 4, 2008
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OK, quick question for those in the know... how is the sound coming off the mobo? If I don't have to install the Audigy 2 I won't.
 

jterrell

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Nov 18, 2004
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Originally posted by: WavingBlue75
OK, quick question for those in the know... how is the sound coming off the mobo? If I don't have to install the Audigy 2 I won't.

If you are just using computer speakers it won't matter imho.
All that said, since you have the audigy 2 already you could always try it both ways and compare.

The card installs quickly.



 

DSF

Diamond Member
Oct 6, 2007
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Originally posted by: WavingBlue75
OK, quick question for those in the know... how is the sound coming off the mobo? If I don't have to install the Audigy 2 I won't.

It's good enough that I don't plan to buy a separate sound card. As jterrell said, try it without the sound card, and then pop the sound card in if you want to.
 

WavingBlue75

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Feb 4, 2008
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Now that I got some of the parts and waiting on the actual box I looked over both mobo and PS manuals. When hooking up the PS there is the 24 pin connector and a ATX 4-pin connecter. I take it both need to be hooked up and that they made the connectors idiot proof?
 

DSF

Diamond Member
Oct 6, 2007
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Originally posted by: WavingBlue75
Now that I got some of the parts and waiting on the actual box I looked over both mobo and PS manuals. When hooking up the PS there is the 24 pin connector and a ATX 4-pin connecter. I take it both need to be hooked up and that they made the connectors idiot proof?

Yes, they both need to be hooked up, and yes, they're keyed so that they only go on one way.
 

WavingBlue75

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Feb 4, 2008
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Thanks for everyone's help.. the build is complete and performance increase is amazing. I'm no longer joining COD4 rounds 10 seconds into the match, snipering is MUCH easier with the improved graphics, Doom3 looks great, Oblivion is amazing. Temps look good so far, think the highest CPU has been upper 50's while GPU has topped out at 61.. everything stock. Just gotta through a 2nd HD in it then try to clean up the cabling a bit, appreciate the community here... it was fun to get this thing together.