Building a new PC, suggestions appreciated

[Andvari]

Looking to build a new computer for around $1500, as my old one is pushing 5 years old. My tasks typically involve Photoshop/Lightroom, some games, and multimedia. I followed a guide on sharkyextreme.com for most of these parts, as I built my current computer from a guide there nearly 5 years ago and it served me well.

All parts from newegg (some prices after mail in rebates):

Updated list:

Antec P182 - $100
COOLER MASTER Real Power Pro RS-650-ACAA-A1 ATX12V / EPS12V 650W - $80
GIGABYTE GA-P35C-DS3R LGA 775 Intel P35 - $160
Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 2.4GHz - $275
ARCTIC COOLING Freezer 7 Pro 92mm CPU Cooler - $22
Patriot Extreme Performance 4GB(2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 - $80
XFX PVT88GYDF4 GeForce 8800GTS (G92) 512MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 - $320
Two WD Caviar SE16 WD5000AAKS 500GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb - $200
SAMSUNG 20X DVD±R DVD Burner Black SATA Model SH-S203B - $30
Vista x64 Home Premium - $112

Total: $1379

1. Is that PSU any good? It was considerably cheaper than the 750w version (as that site with the sale is out of stock), and I wanted at least 600w because hardware canucks recommended that much if using a new GTS and a Quad core. Plus I'll be overclocking the processor, and running two hard drives. Figured I should go for more than 600w.
2. The video card is PCI-E "2.0". What is that? The mobo specs only list PCI-E 1x, 4x, and 16x.
3. That cooler is pretty big from what I read. I don't quite understand how its mounted/oriented, so I'm not sure if it will fit in the P182 case. Any ideas on that?




EDIT: Forgot to mention that I'm no brand-name fanboy of any sort. I realize companies flip flop in having the upper hand, and I just go with whatever product is on top at the moment. From what I've read, the Duo 3GHz is better than any AMD counterpart, and the 8800GTX is better than any ATI counterparts. If I'm mistaken about these, feel free to suggest AMD/ATI parts as well.

 

[disruptorsignals]

Save $200 and get a 8800 gt 512mb or spend $50 more and get 2.

Though I don't know a ton, but for the money they are pretty close. For what I've seen in hardware reviews.

 

[Andvari]

$50 more for two GT's eh? That would be significantly better than a single GTX I assume. Would the Cooler Master RS-650 be enough Power for that?

 

[MarcVenice]

Hmz, I'm going to give you suggestions, then answer your questions, if possible. Mobo sucks, go with a p35, it will allow for Penryn upgrades, where 680i support for Penryn is shaky, and p35 is simply better, and OC's better. Processor, and/or question 2, go qaudcore if you ask me. Your photoshop/lightroom applications will benefit from it, and it can very easily be overclocked to 3.0ghz, in fact, most of the time it will do 3.0ghz if all you do is raise the FSB to 333, no need to adjust anything else as far as I know. A aftermarket HSF would be suggested though, like a arctic freezer 7 pro, or a tuniq tower 120. Ram, YES, get 4gb, it's dirt cheap, you can get 2x2gb for 100$ or less, and photoshop/lightroom will love it. Go with Vista 64x, I haven't had any trouble with it, and I doubt you will. Home premium will be fine, I've got Ultimate, but I don't use any of that stuff. I'd get 2 samsung 500gb t166 HD's, coz they run quieter and cooler. I'd LOSE the 8800gtx, the 8800GTS 512mb performs eqaully almost up to 1900*1280, unless you are a AA/AF freak. Depending on your monitor, go with the 8800GTS 512mb, or even a 8800GT, and save yourself some money.

Guess I answered most of your questions. Can't say anything about #1, although I'd rather get a new case, with 120mm fans, I love a quiet rig, and I would suggest a P182. Soundcards are IMO a waste of money, nowadays onboard sound is pretty darn good. Or reuse your audigy2. Oh, and as for the motherboard, go with a gigabyte ds3r, or asus p5k, or a abit ip35, I think I read the abit ip35 pro was on sale at newegg for 150$, and offers a lot of extra's. A good p35 mobo will cost roughly 100-130$. As for overclocking, if you don't overclock, consider it, it's easy, and a 3.0ghz q6600 is really a monster, and will blow you away in photoshop/lightroom. Oh, and you forgot to mention a PSU ? Cheap would be Corsair 450vx, something modular would be Corsair 520hx. If you want HUGE, then go grab the 750w coolermaster real power, for 50$ AR, check the hot deals forum for it, or the PSU forum.

 

[DSF]

Marc's recommendations are generally spot-on.

I don't know how well photoshop, etc. use quad-core, so I can't comment on that. I will, however, say that for gaming an E6850 is actually going to overkill just as much as a Q6600 is. If I were choosing one or the other I'd get the Q6600 since it can easily OC to 3GHz as Marc said. But for my own computer that I recently built, I went with an E4500, which is 2.2GHz stock, and OCed it right up 2.9GHz without any trouble at all. There's no reason to pay $275+ for an E6850 when a cooler-running, better-performing processor, the E8400, will be out January 20th. On top of that, the E8400 is supposed to be cheaper than the 6850 is now.

 

[Andvari]

Ah, thanks for the heads up and the great recommendations.

My monitor is a 2001FP Dell 20" LCD. Also getting a bit dated, but that's fine with me until it dies. 1600x1200 native resolution, which is what I like to play games in if performance allows it. For example when I played WoW, that was generally easy on the computer and I played 1600x1200 with almost everything turned up. I guess I'll drop the GTX, but should I get two GT's or a GTS?

I've never OC'ed before, mainly for potential stability issues and/or wear on components. Although I think many of my current components were designed for OC'ing heh. But if OC'ing the Q6600 is as simple as you guys say, I might as well go with that processor and give it a shot.

I'm typically not one for upgrading components, as my current 4-5 year old PC is identical to the day I built it, so I'll probably never bother with a Penryn upgrade. Still, if a p35 mobo is simply better and for less price, I might as well go for one of those.

Sounds like I'll go with 4GB of RAM. I always hear about how "cheap" RAM can be, but I've only bought Corsair before and they typically aren't the cheapest. What other brands would be reliable?

That P182 does look sleek. I'll retally the prices on some of these alternate parts and see how much it would be with a P182 as well.

 

[MarcVenice]

What games do you intend on playing ? Right now, a 8800gt 512mb offers GREAT performance in about all games out there, save Crysis, which is a dramatic POS anyways. You can't SLI on a p35 mobo anyways, and SLI scales horribly, so just forget about it. You are better of getting a single 8800gt 512mb now, and save the other money, and spend that in a year or two, buying a complete new videocard, coz that's how fast videocard technology moves. And, a single 8800gt or 8800GTS will be plenty for your resolution. 2x2gb suggestion: http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16820220227 or this ram: http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16820134193 no mail in rebate, and it will still allow you to overclock to 3.0ghz, but not much higher, if you ever wanted to. In the end, I personaly would rather have the ddr2 800mhz, but no rebates is nice I suppose. And don't forget this cooler: http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16835154001 I suppose that's it, and don't forget the powersupply !!!

 

[Andvari]

Games I'd be playing? The only two games I currently play are WoW and Team Fortress 2. Both of which would run easily maxed out with the parts we're talking about here. As for future games? Hard to say. The only two for certain are StarCraft 2 and Half Life 2 Ep 3. Other than that, whatever game strikes my fancy I guess.

$45 for a cooler eh? Ouch. That's only necessary if I OC right?

 

[MarcVenice]

Hmmm yeah, but it's also very quiet. You could save 20$ and buy a arctic freezer 7 pro instead, which will also be very quiet and will allow you to OC to 3.0ghz easily. I just figured, 20$ for one the best coolers doesn't really matter in a 1200$ build. And you'd be CRAZY to buy a GTX, or sli-ed 8800GT's to play those games... One will be PLENTY.

 

[Andvari]

Updated list:

Antec P182 - $100
COOLER MASTER Real Power Pro RS-650-ACAA-A1 ATX12V / EPS12V 650W - $80
GIGABYTE GA-P35C-DS3R LGA 775 Intel P35 - $160
Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 2.4GHz - $275
ARCTIC COOLING Freezer 7 Pro 92mm CPU Cooler - $22
Patriot Extreme Performance 4GB(2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 - $80
XFX PVT88GYDF4 GeForce 8800GTS (G92) 512MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 - $320
Two WD Caviar SE16 WD5000AAKS 500GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb - $200
SAMSUNG 20X DVD±R DVD Burner Black SATA Model SH-S203B - $30
Vista x64 Home Premium - $112

Total: $1379

I decided to stick with the WD's over the Samsung HDD's because they total $20 cheaper, and according to Anandtech's own article, the WD's slightly outperform the Samsung's in most tests. Obviously not the heat and acoustic tests, where the Samsung excelled. But I'm sure the heat of the WD's is acceptable. I may change my mind before I actually order, who knows. I also decided to either go with onboard sound or my Audigy 2, but I should mention I have the Klipshc 5.1 Promedia Ultras and they are hefty PC speakers. I hope onboard will be sufficient. If not, I hope Vista 64 has no problems with my old Audigy 2.


A few new questions:

1. Is that PSU any good? It was considerably cheaper than the 750w version (as that site with the sale is out of stock), and I wanted at least 600w because hardware canucks recommended that much if using a new GTS and a Quad core. Plus I'll be overclocking the processor, and running two hard drives. Figured I should go for more than 600w.
2. The video card is PCI-E "2.0". What is that? The mobo specs only list PCI-E 1x, 4x, and 16x.
3. That cooler is pretty big from what I read. I don't quite understand how its mounted/oriented, so I'm not sure if it will fit in the P182 case. Any ideas on that?

 

[LostPassword]

if you don't want to deal with MIR, frys.com got those same ram pretty cheap.
hotdeals forum link

 

[Andvari]

Ooh, nice. Are MIRs a hassle? I don't think I've ever actually used them, but figured I would this time since those newegg parts have a total of $135 worth of MIR.


I just discovered the P35-DS3P in another thread, recommended over the DS3R: http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16813128067 They're the same price. The DS3P seems better. ?

 

[DerwenArtos12]

.

 

[DerwenArtos12]

Updated list:

Antec P182 - $100
COOLER MASTER Real Power Pro RS-750-ACAA-A1 750W Power $50
Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 2.4GHz - $275
ARCTIC COOLING Freezer 7 Pro 92mm CPU Cooler - $22
Bolt-thru kit for S775 coolers $7
DFI BLOOD IRON P35-T2RL LGA 775 Intel P35 $108
Patriot Extreme Performance 4GB(2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 - $80
Leadtek PX8800GTS GeForce 8800GTS G92 512MB $300
Two WD Caviar SE16 WD5000AAKS 500GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb - $200
SAMSUNG 20X DVD±R DVD Burner Black SATA Model SH-S203B - $30
Vista x64 Home Premium - $112

Total: $1284

I'm kind of a DFI fanboy/guru so you can ignore that if you feel like it or you're not comfortable with the number of options, range of overclocking it gives you. The quality is irrefutable though.

 

[Andvari]

That $50 PSU is still sold out there. =( And what is that Bolt-thru kit for? I need that to install the Freezer 7?

Thanks for the other adjustments. I think I'll go with the Leadtek over the XFX, if for no other reason than I would rather play Neverwinter Nights 2 instead of Company of Heroes lol.

That DFI does appear to be solid, and considerably cheaper as well. Does it have any notable pros/cons over the Gigabyte? Speaking of which, DS3R or DS3P if I go with Gigabyte?

 

[MegaVovaN]

Leadtek's RMA takes like a month! Though they will RMA as many times as needed.

<< RMA'd 3 6800GT Leadtek cards.

 

[JoLLyRoGer]

Originally posted by: Andvari
$50 more for two GT's eh? That would be significantly better than a single GTX I assume. Would the Cooler Master RS-650 be enough Power for that?

Just a note: If you are considering dual Nvidia cards, you'll have to dump the mobo (and forget P35 altogether for that matter) - if you want SLI support that is.

 

[Andvari]

Slow customer service with Leadtek eh? I've never had a need to RMA any computer parts in the past, but as soon as I mention that I'm sure I'll have to heh. *knocks on wood*

Oh well, I've got the basic idea of the parts I'll be ordering. I won't be going SLI, just a single GTS. So the p35 chipset should do. Just need to decide on a brand of mobo. That DFI, the Gigabyte DS3R, or the DS3P.

Anybody know the major differences between those? The DS3R is a combo mobo which supports DDR2/3, but other than that I don't see many differences between the three boards. A few more/less USB ports, SATA ports, etc. All have more than I would use in that department. All three boards seem designed for OC'ing. The Gigabyte boards have a higher model number for the Realtek onboard audio chip. Is the Gigabyte onboard sound better? I've heard good things about it.

Even with the Gigabytes, there are P35 and P35C versions... what's the differences? So confusing. =(

 

[MarcVenice]

I'd go with the gigabyte, no idea which one though, the cheapest that has all the futures you need? Why gigabyte over DFI ? Because LOTS of other ppl own gigabyte boards, and they have a proven trackrecord, and there's a lot of info to be found on them if you ever needed help troubleshooting something. PSU, I wouldn't go with that particular coolermaster, for a little more money you could buy a 520hx, from corsair, modular cables which is really nice to have. And 520w will be PLENTY for your needs, 600w would be big overkill. The bolt tru kit is to secure the arctic freezer pro to the motherboard, some ppl like it, but it's not required, the pushpins work just fine if you ask me, and I know coz I own a arctic freezer pro myself.

 

[DSF]

You're confusing yourself as far as Gigabyte boards a little bit.

There are two different DS3R models. The P35C-DS3R takes either DDR2 or DDR3. The P35-DS3R only takes DDR2.

The DS3L lacks onboard RAID and firewire, and has 4 SATA ports.

The DS3R has onboard RAID and firewire, and has 8 SATA ports. I hear it also has a different (slightly better) onboard sound codec than the DS3L. For what it's worth, the DS3L's onboard sound is good enough for me, but I'm not an audiophile.

The DS3P has two PCI-e x16 slots, although one of them only operates at x4 speed. It also has the onboard RAID and Firewire.

 

[Andvari]

Thanks for clearing that up with the Gigabyte boards!

I've read a few things on newegg talking about checking the Gigabyte website for "supported memory brands" for the mobo. Patriot is nowhere to be found. On the flip side, I see a few people on newegg listing they use the very same 2x2GB Patriot I'm considering. Thoughts?

Also, would there be any point in getting 1066 memory? If I can easily OC to 3GHz with 800, it would be pointless to get 1066 right?

 

[DSF]

Edited my previous post to fix a typo. At one point I had "DS3L" when I meant "DS3R."

I'm running 2x2GB of technically unsupported RAM, and it's doing just fine. I believe the supported memory list is just a list of modules Gigabyte has tested with the board. It's not the final say on what will and won't work. There's no reason to get 1066 memory, but I would strongly suggest getting memory that's rated to run at 1.8V.

 

[Andvari]

Heh, I figured you meant the DS3R. Can't you change the voltage in the BIOS though if necessary? Newegg responses say to press CTRL-F1 in the BIOS to access the memory settings on the DS3R. *shrug*

What RAM would you recommend instead? After all my minor adjustments here and there, I'm still hovering around $1400 after rebates so I can afford to spend an extra few bucks on better RAM if worth it. =)

 

[Andvari]

Here's the final list I'll be ordering tomorrow! All the help has been very much appreciated guys/gals.

Antec P182 Case - $100
Corsair 620HX PSU - $150
Gigabyte P35-DS3R - $127
Core 2 Quad Q6600 - $275
Two WD 500GB - $200
EVGA 8800GTS 512MB (G92) - $330 (+ Crysis)
G.Skill 4GB DDR2 800 - $100
Samsung 20X DVD Burner - $30
Vista 64 - $112
Freeze 7 Pro - $22

Total: $1446 (after $80 of mail in rebates)


Went with the Gigabyte over the DFI mainly due to slightly better onboard audio, and the fact that many neweggers used the RAM I went with on the same Gigabyte mobo. Went with the G.Skill over the Patriot for the same reason; many more neweggers bought it and many of them are using it with this mobo. Since neither the G.Skill or the Patriot were "supported" according to Gigabyte, I wanted to go with what a lot of other people were using just to be safe. Plus it is 1.8v. Went with the EVGA over the Leadtek for no real reason other than I've heard some bad RMA stories about Leadtek, and the EVGA comes with Crysis (which I don't particularly care about but meh). And I went ahead and went for some overkill in the PSU department.

Thanks again!

 

[Andvari]

My parts will arrive Tuesday. My case arrived early though, and wow is it solid! I can already tell it's going to be much MUCH quieter than my old case.

Question though. There are two places for additional fans in the front, in front of where the 3.5" drives can go. Should I get fans for those? If I put the 2 drives in the top portion, they'll be up there with everything else, leave the PSU in a portion by itself with a fan all by itself. Would it be alright to put the drives in the bottom portion, then that fan could pull air over the hard drives and blow it towards the PSU.

Or do I need 1-2 front fans? If I do need them, what are good ones to get?