Building a new system

[Sylarr]

Hi,

I'm building a new system at the moment. I'm gonna use this PC mainly to play online poker (which requires several application and PostgreSQL to run simultaneously), browsing the internet and watching movies. I'm not a gamer at all so I don't need an expensive GPU. I'd prefer the PC to be relatively quiet because I sleep in the same room. But I think most PC's nowadays are quiet enough.

I'm planning on using (Gentoo) Linux for the most part. This lead me to a NVidia GPU, because I believe their drivers are a little better than ATI's (although I don't have experience with ATI). Could there be other consideration when picking hardware for Linux?

Also, while using Linux I'll be compiling a lot of stuff myself so it'd be nice if the compilation time could be reduced to a minimum.

This is what I've come up with so far:

Processor:
$214.99: Intel Core 2 Duo E6750 2.66GHz
Not much of a choice here I think, most bang for buck. An alternative might be Quad core, thoughts on this?
http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16819115029

Motherboard:
$136.99: ASUS P5K LGA 775 Intel P35 ATX
I don't really know much about motherboards, this one seemed solid. If anyone can point me to better/cheaper alternatives it would be appreciated.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16813131180

Memory:
$116.00: CORSAIR XMS2 2GB (2 x 1GB) DDR2 (PC2 6400)
I chose this memory because it gives me some room to possibly OC. If I'm correct this memory is faster than the stock FSB of my CPU, right?
http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16820145034

GPU:
$78.99: MSI NX7600GS-T2D256E GeForce 7600GS 256MB
This card has dual DVI which can come in handy in the future. I'm practically only gonna use this for 2D so no need to spend more here. Any cheap alternatives are welcome.
http://www.cdw.com/shop/produc...fault.aspx?EDC=1020355

HDD:
$79.99: Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 320GB 7200 RPM 16MB Cache
I don't need that much space so I chose this one so I can upgrade to RAID0 in the future.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16822148140

PSU:
$64.99: Antec earthwatts ATX12V v2.0 430W Power Supply
Any thoughts on this?
http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16817371006

Case:
$49.99: COOLER MASTER Centurion 5
Case seems very good and nicely priced. I read that the front casefan is a bit noisy so I'm replacing it with the Nexus 80mm Real Silent case fan. I don't know anything about case fans, so again if someone knows a better one...
http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16811119068

CPU-Cooler:
$34.99: ARCTIC COOLING Freezer 7 Pro 92mm CPU Cooler
I've been told this is a good and quiet cooler, any alternatives are again welcome.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16835186134


Thanks for your help!

P.S. I'm buying a DVD-RW too, but I don't think there's much to discuss there.

 

[LightningRider]

Seems like a nice build. If I were you though, I would definitely invest in the Quad Core Q6600. I think it really is pretty affordable and more and more apps will use Quad Cores. You don't sound like you really do much intensive stuff but I still think the Quad is more future-proof and gives you a lot of options for multitasking. But if you really need to save the Dual Core will be fine for what you do. If you get the dual core though, I wouldn't bother with a separate cooler than the Intel stock one unless you are overclocking, might be worth it on the quad though if you want it to run cooler.

Actually what might be good for you is to get the dual core and put the extra money towards a better power supply. Also the Western Digital SE16 series or Samsung Spinpoint series is a better choice than the Seagate 7200.10 series (just look at Anandtech's article posted today). The memory looks good with the MIR and as for the motherboard, the regular ASUS P5K runs rather hot if you overclock especially, you might look into the Gigabyte DS3R if you don't need firewire. The P5K doesn't have RAID support either so if you are looking into using RAID, then you will need an add on card. The Gigabyte DS3R has RAID support built in, but no firewire. It costs like 10$ more than the P5K.

Some things to consider but you should be happy with it.

EDIT: BTW welcome to the forums.

 

[MarcVenice]

compusa has the antec sonata III with a antec earthwatt 500w for 100$, it's pretty darn quiet, looks good imo, and cheap to boot, with the 40$ instant savings. The 430w version isn't bad though, and will power your PC just fine, especially since you only have a 7600gs in there. If you do plan on gaming later on, and decide to get a better videocard, you might prefer the 500w version though.

Btw, I think ATI's drivers for linux are updated every month/2months, whereas nvidia does no such thing. But the 7600gs is plenty old so should be supported by Linux. One thing though, if you get a cheap 2400 or 2600 series from ATI, you do get all that HD stuff mumbo jumbo, which might be nice for watching movies. They also come passively cooled last time I checked.

2gb should fit your needs just fine too, processor is okay, and since you're a light pc user you won't really use all 4 cores to their maximum potential and thus 2 cores at a higher clocked will be perfect for you. Nice pick on the mobo and the cooler, good bang for buck, and will allow overclocking to a fair degree.

 

[Sylarr]

Originally posted by: LightningRider
Seems like a nice build. If I were you though, I would definitely invest in the Quad Core Q6600. I think it really is pretty affordable and more and more apps will use Quad Cores. You don't sound like you really do much intensive stuff but I still think the Quad is more future-proof and gives you a lot of options for multitasking. But if you really need to save the Dual Core will be fine for what you do. If you get the dual core though, I wouldn't bother with a separate cooler than the Intel stock one unless you are overclocking, might be worth it on the quad though if you want it to run cooler.

Thanks for your input. I think I'm gonna stick with the dual core for now though. I've been reading a bit and it seems quad core is not really useful at this moment. So I'm just gonna buy this dual core for now and see what happens in a couple of years. I'm gonna buy the cpu cooler because I'm probably gonna overclock at some point, it also reduces the noise.

Originally posted by: LightningRider
Actually what might be good for you is to get the dual core and put the extra money towards a better power supply. Also the Western Digital SE16 series or Samsung Spinpoint series is a better choice than the Seagate 7200.10 series (just look at Anandtech's article posted today). The memory looks good with the MIR and as for the motherboard, the regular ASUS P5K runs rather hot if you overclock especially, you might look into the Gigabyte DS3R if you don't need firewire. The P5K doesn't have RAID support either so if you are looking into using RAID, then you will need an add on card. The Gigabyte DS3R has RAID support built in, but no firewire. It costs like 10$ more than the P5K.

I've now replaced the Seagate for the Western Digital as you recommended. I was under the assumption that the Asus P5K did have RAID, but it only works in combination with the external SATA port. Therefore, I've taken your advice and replaced the Asus with the Gigabyte DS3R.

Originally posted by: LightningRider
EDIT: BTW welcome to the forums.

Thanks! And thanks for your suggestions!

Originally posted by: MarcVenice
compusa has the antec sonata III with a antec earthwatt 500w for 100$, it's pretty darn quiet, looks good imo, and cheap to boot, with the 40$ instant savings. The 430w version isn't bad though, and will power your PC just fine, especially since you only have a 7600gs in there. If you do plan on gaming later on, and decide to get a better videocard, you might prefer the 500w version though.

I was gonna get this case but it's hardly available here (Netherlands), so I looked for alternatives and this is the combination I came up with. This combination is not more expensive than just the Sonata III over here, by the way.

Originally posted by: MarcVenice
Btw, I think ATI's drivers for linux are updated every month/2months, whereas nvidia does no such thing. But the 7600gs is plenty old so should be supported by Linux. One thing though, if you get a cheap 2400 or 2600 series from ATI, you do get all that HD stuff mumbo jumbo, which might be nice for watching movies. They also come passively cooled last time I checked.

I'm gonna look into this.

Originally posted by: MarcVenice
Nice pick on the mobo and the cooler, good bang for buck, and will allow overclocking to a fair degree.

I've changed the mobo to the Gigabyte DS3R as mentioned above, good alternative?

Thanks so much for your input!

 

[MarcVenice]

Hmz, I got an email today from cool-prices.nl, they've got the sonata III with the 500w antec earthwatt for 120 euro's. Dunno if that's cheaper then what you plan on buying but it sounded like a decent deal. To bad we don't have something like newegg or compusa over in Holland ey

Btw, interested in a used 7600gs, I'll give it to ya for 40euro's. I've bought a 8800gts 320mb myself, so the 7600gs will be on marktplaats soon. Used less then 10 months, 512mb, passively cooled. Since I review games I simply needed something faster ^^

And yeah, the gigabyte ds3r is a good choice. For 110-120euro's you can't really go wrong there.

 

[LightningRider]

You're welcome, looks like a good build for your needs. If you don't go quad or a higher end GPU you will probably be fine with a 430W PSU.

Enjoy your system!

 

[Sylarr]

Originally posted by: MarcVenice
Hmz, I got an email today from cool-prices.nl, they've got the sonata III with the 500w antec earthwatt for 120 euro's. Dunno if that's cheaper then what you plan on buying but it sounded like a decent deal. To bad we don't have something like newegg or compusa over in Holland ey

Thanks for the tip! I ordered the Sonata III yesterday at cool-prices.nl and it's already on its way!

This is my final configuration:
Intel Core 2 Duo E6750
GigaByte GA-P35-DS3R
MSI 7600GS, 256 MB, DDR2
Samsung Spinpoint T166, 320 GB
Corsair 2048 MB, PC6400
Arctic Freezer 7 pro

All in a nice Sonata III 500 Watt case.

Thanks for your help!

 

[KingGheedora]

Why do you need PostgreSQL to play online poker? Are you running apps that play poker for you?

 

[tjaisv]

excellent choices

 

[Sylarr]

Originally posted by: KingGheedora
Why do you need PostgreSQL to play online poker? Are you running apps that play poker for you?

No it's for this application called PokerTracker. This program is just a tool to help you analyze your own game (winrate, what hands you won/lost, etc).

 

[MarcVenice]

Should have bought my 7600gs hehe. I've play poker online too btw, just started though, but I think I finaly got the hang of it. Yesterday I started with 5$ and ended up with 28$, so can't complain. If playing poker could pay for my PC parts it be even nicer

 

[Sylarr]

Originally posted by: MarcVenice
Should have bought my 7600gs hehe.

Sorry 'bout that, just figured if I was ordering a system might as well order the GPU there.

Originally posted by: MarcVenice
I've play poker online too btw, just started though, but I think I finaly got the hang of it. Yesterday I started with 5$ and ended up with 28$, so can't complain. If playing poker could pay for my PC parts it be even nicer

Nice. That's basically how I started. If you're smart and dedicated you can make a LOT of money.

 

[LightningRider]

So that's how you're paying for this.

 

[Sylarr]

Yep.