Building Desktop PC

[CompFreak07]

$110.00 CASE (NEWEGG)
ANTEC P182 GUN METAL BLACK 0.8MM COLD ROLLED STEEL ATX MID TOWER
$90.00 MOTHERBOARD (NEWEGG)
GIGABYTE GA-P35-DS3L LGA 755 INTEL 935 ATX ALL SOLID CAPACITOR
$280.00 PROCESSOR (XPCGEAR)
INTEL CORE 2 QUAD Q6600 G0 KENTSFIELD QUAD-CORE, 2.4GHZ 1066MHZ FSB, 8MB L2 CACHE, EM64T, VIRTUALIZATION, LGA775 SOCKET 775/T CPU: BX80562Q6600
$125.00 POWER SUPPLY UNIT (NEWEGG)
CORSAIR CMPSU-520HX ATX12V V2.2 AND EPS12V 2.91 520W
$5.00 24PIN EXTENSION CABLE (NEWEGG)
ATHERNA POWER 12" EPS (24PIN) CONNECTOR EXTENSION CABLE. MODEL CABLE-AD09
$190 MEMORY x2 (NEWEGG)
G.SKILL 4GB (2 X 2GB) 240-PIN DDR2 SDRAM 800 (PC2 6400) DUAL CHANNEL MODEL F2-6400CL5D-4GBPQ
$220.00 VIDEO CARD (NEWEGG)
MSI NX8800GT 512MB OC GEFORCE 8800GT 512MB 256-BIT GDDR3 PCI EXPRESS 2.0 X16 HDCP READY SLI SUPPORTED VIDEO CARD
$35.00 OPTICAL DISC DRIVE (NEWEGG)
LITE-ON 20X DVD+R DVD BURNER WITH LIGHTSCRIBE BLACK SERIAL ATA MODEL LH-20A1L-06
$45.00 CPU COOLER (NEWEGG)
TUNIQ TOWER 120 P4 & K8
$105.00 HARD DRIVE(NEWEGG)
SAMSUNG SPINPOINT T SERIES HD501LJ 500GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0GB/S OEM
$330.00 MONITOR (BESTBUY)
HP 22" WIDESCREEN FLAT PANEL TFT-LCD W2207H

$25 SHIPPING
$1560.00 TOTAL

Once again sorry for all the caps! All my prices are rounded and not 100% exact.
Questions:
1)Is the video card a I have chosen now better than my last choice? It is $20 cheaper and supposed to be the same card and is already OC.
2)What fans would you suggest to replace the case stock fans and the Tuniq Tower fan? I am wanting to make it run cooler. LED's would be a plus!
3)I am planning on buying everything from Newegg on or before the 15th so I can save the extra $30 off the P182 case. Is this setup good? Any possible problems?

 

[Roguestar]

- That video card is a good choice and at a good price too.
- Leave the case fans unless you have a huge problem with them. Perhaps buy some rubber screws to damp vibrations.
- LEDs has no apostrophe in plural form.
- Seems good. I'd have bought a Western Digital drive instead but they're the same price so no difference.
- You can probably get a better monitor for that price online instead of in a retail store, or at least a better price for it.

 

[Doclife]

If you're going with the HP W2207H monitor then make sure that it includes a DVI-HDMI adapter since that monitor has only VGA and HDMI inputs. The HP W2207 monitor has DVI and VGA inputs and cost a bit less. I think Circuit City is having the HP W2207 on sale for $309. Best Buy also has a 12% off printable coupon that you could use toward a LCD monitor. Look in sleakdeals.net for details.

 

[JackMDS]

110.00 CASE (NEWEGG)
ANTEC P182 GUN METAL BLACK 0.8MM COLD ROLLED STEEL ATX MID TOWER

$125.00 POWER SUPPLY UNIT (NEWEGG)
CORSAIR CMPSU-520HX ATX12V V2.2 AND EPS12V 2.91 520W

$190 MEMORY x2 (NEWEGG)
G.SKILL 4GB (2 X 2GB) 240-PIN DDR2 SDRAM 800 (PC2 6400) DUAL CHANNEL MODEL F2-6400CL5D-4GBPQ

These components amounts to $425.

They can be replaced by components that would cost half or less of the price, and it would not reduce your computer functioning by even 1%.

The whole Case, PSU, Expensive memory thing was skillfully turned by a concerned parties to a Social Fad that has very little to do with actual technology.

There is nothing wrong with spending more if one likes it and can afford it.

But if you need to cut cut on the social Fad.

 

[CompFreak07]

How good would my setup run Crysis?

 

[heyheybooboo]

Originally posted by: CompFreak07
I am looking to use the computer mainly for the media center capabilities (including HDTV), converting video files, and in general multi tasking.

I also want to make sure the computer will run a couple games (World of Warcraft, Halo 2, Gears of War) at high end settings although gaming will not be the main purpose of the computer as long as they play smooth.

My budget is around $1,250 including everything minus the monitor. I am not looking to over clock because I do not have that much knowledge in that area but would like to keep my options open to over clock in the future.

I think you have overshot (with help from the members herein) and need to get back to your original goal ...

You don't really need an EPS power supply (and over 450w is overkill) - that said ...

OCZ StealthXStream OCZ600SXS ATX12V / EPS12V 600W $80 AR

X2 5400+ 2.8GHz AM2 65W $100

GIGABYTE GA-MA69GM-S2H AM2 AMD 690G HDMI Micro ATX $75
or if you want full ATX
GIGABYTE GA-MA69G-S3H AM2 AMD 690G HDMI ATX $90

G.SKILL 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 $45

That is a little less than $400 ...

In lieu of a single 500gb hard drive for your video work you would be much better off with a seperate OS/Apps drive like the Seagate 160GB 8MB Cache SATA for $60

With your other hard drive and DVD burner you are around $600.

I don't really like your case selection but to each their own, eh? With all your other 'stuff' (case, fans, card reader, etc) let's put you down for $750.

For your ""HDTV"" you do not need a video card with the AMD 690g. For your gaming 'needs' $150-$200 is more than reasonable. As an example ...

VisionTek HD 3850 512MB 256-bit GDDR3 $180
(or wait for the 9600gt to come out - price will drop $20 - $30)

It's probably a good time to 'hang tight' for a month of so and wait and see how the gpu situation shakes out - if you are feeling pressed try and find a used PCIe video card in the AT Deals ....

Here is a HDTV Tuner Card & USB HDTV Tuner Chart. You can find a reasonable tuner for around $100 but man I luv mah Fusion5 (You can 'log-in' and save substantially over retail price at Digital Connection). The Fusion7s should be rolling out this month

You are now around $1k (more or less depending upon your video card).


NOW - as a 'media center' that HP monitor is crap. It's 16:10 with a native resolution (1680 x 1050) that will fck up standard HD resolutions (720p or 1080p/i). You will lose '1:1 pixel mapping' with the HP - you need to find a 16:9 LCD TV / HD monitor with either a 1366x768 or 1920x1080 native resolution.

Originally posted by: CompFreak07
How good would my setup run Crysis?

lol - what settings do you want to run ???

 

[CompFreak07]

I recently was involved in a car accident (not my fault) and was written a $1,200 check due to damage to my car so I have a little extra cash to throw around. I am wanting to be able to upgrade in the future such as SLI, which I couldn't so with my current board; ddr3 doesn't really matter to me that much as it might not even beat out ddr2 from what i am hearing. Here is my current build and am planning on buying as soon as I get some input from you guys because I actually have the $ now and don't have to wait until my paycheck like I was planning on doing. I am still wanting to OC the CPU to at least 3.2 but aiming toward 3.4 to 3.6 stable. I also want to make sure in case I do decide to SLI in the future that my power supply will still be strong enough? I know this computer will probably be overkill. I looked around and could not find any monitors that had a native resolution of 1680 x 1050? I would like that for my HD movies I will be watching on this as I plan on getting a Bluray drive sooner or later now that the format war is over. The monitor I have chosen from new egg was really well reviewed and was said to be great for gaming? One more question and I promise I will shut up. The memory I chose was because I heard 4-4-4-12 is the best timings is this true considering I want to OC my CPU? I am getting a total of 8GB.

$150.00 CASE
Antec P182 Gun Metal Black 0.8mm cold rolled steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - Retail
$250.00 MOTHERBOARD
XFX MB-N780-ISH9 LGA 775 NVIDIA nForce 780i SLI Intel Motherboard - Retail
$200.00 PROCESSOR (MicroCenter - in store only)
Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 Kentsfield 2.4GHz LGA 775 Quad-Core Processor Model BX80562Q6600 - Retail
$170.00 POWER SUPPLY UNIT
PC Power & Cooling Silencer 750 Quad (Black) EPS12V 750W Power Supply - Retail
$200.00 MEMORY ($100 per set)
G.SKILL 4GB(2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model F2-6400CL4D-4GBPK - Retail
$410.00 VIDEO CARD
EVGA 768-P2-N831-AR GeForce 8800GTX 768MB 384-bit GDDR3 PCI Express x16 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card - Retail
$35.00 OPTICAL DISC DRIVE
LITE-ON 20X DVD+R DVD BURNER WITH LIGHTSCRIBE BLACK SERIAL ATA MODEL LH-20A1L-06
$40.00 CPU COOLER
TUNIQ TOWER 120 P4 & K8
$105.00 HARD DRIVE
SAMSUNG SpinPoint T Series HD501LJ 500GB 7200 RPM SATA-300 Hard Drive - OEM
$285.00 $320.00 MONITOR
SAMSUNG 226BW Black 22" 2 ms (GTG) DVI Widescreen LCD Monitor 300 cd/m2 700:1(DC 3000:1) - Retail

$1,905.00 TOTAL

 

[DSF]

First off, SLI is not a sensible upgrade path. If you're going to throw two high-end cards in your computer up front that's one thing, but otherwise it's a waste of money. By the time you would put a second GTX in the computer as an upgrade, there will be a less expensive card that single-handedly beats two 8800GTXs.

Add this to the fact that running SLI is costing you an extra $100 on the motherboard and $60 on the PSU from which you're seeing no benefit until you actually add the second card, and it's a no-brainer.

Second, the 8800GTX is terrible value for the money right now. Get a 512MB 8800GTS, which costs $150 less and is very close in performance. At 1680x1050, I'm not sure how much you'd gain from SLI anyway.

 

[MarcVenice]

Yeah do yourself a favor, and save 100$ on the mobo, if not 150$ when you buy a gigabyte ds3l. Buy a 550vx for 60$ AR at buy.com, meaning you save 250$ right there !!! If you DROP the GTX, you could in fact just buy a HD3870 X2 instead, which is a fair bit faster then the 8800GTX. Why are you getting 8gb btw ? This is a gaming rig, you won't EVER use more then 4gb. Save yourself another 100$.

The bigger picture here is, that you could get 90% of the performance you are paying 1900$ for, for a lot less money. I mean, gigabyte ds3l$ for 90$, 2x2gb for 90$, 550vx for 60$, q6600 for 200$, 8800gts for 260$ = 520$ saved. If you spend 520$ in a years time, you will get 150% performance over your rig, 50% extra, instead of 10%. The case is also pretty expensive, to bad the rebates on it ended, but there are more shops then just newegg. If you look around I'm sure you can get a better price.

 

[DSF]

P182 is $99 here by the way:
http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/...05325&prodlist=froogle

 

[CompFreak07]

OK, I am buying my parts tomorrow and decided to go back to my original goal for mainly multimedia, encoding, and gaming every now and then. I will be using windows XP 64-bit instead of vista. Upon what you guys think I have a few more questions but want to get the main stuff out of the way first. I know I can get certain things from newegg cheaper somewhere else but I would like to stick with one maybe two sites. Newegg from what I hear has great customer supprt if anything goes wrong. Here it is:

$150.00 CASE (NEWEGG)
-Antec P182 Gun Metal Black 0.8mm cold rolled steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - Retail
$90.00 MOTHERBOARD (NEWEGG)
-GIGABYTE GA-P35-DS3L LGA 775 Intel P35 ATX All Solid Capacitor Intel Motherboard - Retail$215.00 PROCESSOR (MICROCENTER - IN STORE ONLY) *TAX INCLUDED
-Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 Kentsfield 2.4GHz LGA 775 Quad-Core Processor Model BX80562Q6600 - Retail
$125.00 POWER SUPPLY UNIT (NEWEGG) + $5.00 24 PIN EXTENSION CABLE (NEWEGG)
-CORSAIR CMPSU-520HX ATX12V v2.2 and EPS12V 2.91 520W Power Supply - Retail
-Athena Power 12" EPS (24Pin) connector Extension Cable. Model Cable-AD09 - OEM
$95.00 MEMORY (NEWEGG)
-G.SKILL 4GB(2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model F2-6400CL4D-4GBPK - Retail
$220.00 VIDEO CARD (NEWEGG)
-MSI NX8800GT 512M OC GeForce 8800GT 512MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card - Retail
$35.00 OPTICAL DISC DRIVE (NEWEGG)
-LITE-ON 20X DVD+R DVD BURNER WITH LIGHTSCRIBE BLACK SERIAL ATA MODEL LH-20A1L-06
$40.00 CPU COOLER (NEWEGG)
-TUNIQ TOWER 120 P4 & K8
$105.00 HARD DRIVE (NEWEGG)
-SAMSUNG SpinPoint T Series HD501LJ 500GB 7200 RPM SATA-300 Hard Drive - OEM

$35.00 SHIPPING
$1,115.00 TOTAL

This would leave me with roughly $400 for a monitor. I am looking for one with a resolution high enough for 1080p and with DVI-D HDCP inputs plus HDMI inputs for my 360 that I will be buying around the same time I build this. USB ports and so on would be a plus but isn't necessary.

 

[CompFreak07]

Anyone?

 

[chinaman1472]

Looks good, but I'd still advise to get Vista 64-bit. Way better support.

 

[MarcVenice]

Awesome build, but yeah Vista 64 > XP 64x. For a monitor, check the videocard and graphics forum, and especially the stickied LCD thread. 400$ should be able to buy you a 24" 1920*1080 screen.

 

[CompFreak07]

I have always read that vista is a memory hog, slow, and crashes randomly. I also read it is not as good for gaming.

 

[MarcVenice]

You won't notice it being a memory hog, because you've got 4gb. Hell, with 2gb I've never ran into memory trouble, even when gaming, 2gb has been plenty. Vista isn't slow either, in fact, it's faster as XP, because it user superfetch, preloading applications into your memory, so if you start one, it doesn't even have to acces the HD. And crashes randomly ? Heh, never crashed on me, not a single time. As for gaming, no real difference anymore between XP and Vista.

 

[CompFreak07]

Is my motherboard chosen good for 7.1 or 5.1 surround sound or will I have to purchase a sound card?

 

[Roguestar]

Originally posted by: CompFreak07
I have always read that vista is a memory hog, slow, and crashes randomly. I also read it is not as good for gaming.

That's pretty much just made up, at this point. Vista will do more if you fling more memory at it, just don't expect it to run on a 512MB Pentium 3 like XP will. I use Vista x64 for gaming and like Marc, I have never had it crash. Hell, I don't even know what Vista's bluescreen looks like yet.

Originally posted by: CompFreak07
Is my motherboard chosen good for 7.1 or 5.1 surround sound or will I have to purchase a sound card?

It's good for 7.1.

 

[CompFreak07]

CompFreak07's Desktop PC - All prices include shipping/taxes. I still need a monitor with 1080p native resolution (if possible). It must include DVD-D with HDCP and a HDMI port. Also was wondering if I should get a sound card instead of using on board audio. Does my motherboard support raid?

Dell Small Bussiness

$225.00 Speakers - Logitech Z-5500 505 Watts 5.1 Speaker - Retail

MicroCenter B&M

$140.00 Case - Antec P182 Gun Metal Black 0.8mm cold rolled steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - Retail

$215.00 Computer Processor Unit - Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 Kentsfield 2.4GHz 2 x 4MB L2 Cache LGA 775 Quad-Core Processor G0 Stepping - Retail

Staples B&M

$75.00 Hard Drive - Western Digital Caviar SE16 WD4000AAKS 400GB 7200 RPM 16MB Cache SATA-300 Hard Drive - Retail

$75.00 Hard Drive - Western Digital Caviar SE16 WD4000AAKS 400GB 7200 RPM 16MB Cache SATA-300 Hard Drive - Retail

NewEgg.com

$125.00 Power Supply Unit - CORSAIR CMPSU-520HX ATX12V v2.2 and EPS12V 2.91 520W Power Supply - Retail

$5.00 Power Supply Extension Cable - Athena Power 12" EPS (24Pin) connector Extension Cable. Model Cable-AD09 - OEM

$80.00 Motherboard - GIGABYTE GA-P35-DS3L LGA 775 Intel P35 ATX All Solid Capacitor Intel Motherboard - Retail

$45.00 Processor Cooler - Tuniq Tower 120 P4 & K8 CPU Cooler - Retail

$95.00 Memory - G.SKILL 4GB(2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model F2-6400CL4D-4GBPK - Retail

$95.00 Memory - G.SKILL 4GB(2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model F2-6400CL4D-4GBPK - Retail

$245.00 Video Card - MSI NX8800GT 512M OC GeForce 8800GT 512MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card - Retail

$45.00 Optical Disc Drive - ASUS 20X DVD±R DVD Burner with LightScribe Black SATA Model DRW-2014L1T - Retail

$40.00 Keyboard - Saitek PZ30AU Black USB Wired Standard Eclipse Keyboard - Retail

$40.00 Mouse - Logitech MX518 2-Tone 8 Buttons 1 x Wheel USB + PS/2 Wired Optical Gaming-Grade Mouse - Retail

$20.00 Mouse Pad - XTRAC Ripper Optical Mouse pad - OEM


$1565 Current Total

 

[Roguestar]

Motherboard does not support RAID. If you aren't seriously needing RAID then it's not for you. Your motherboard's onboard sound is enough for those speakers.

So you're going for 8GB of RAM? Have you bought an operating system?

 

[chinaman1472]

RAID is really unnecessary 90% of the time for mainstream users.
Is 8GB of RAM really necessary? It's probably smarter to buy 4GB and if you feel like it's still running sluggish, then invest in the next 4GB.
As for a monitor, I suggest going out to some local stores and actually seeing the quality of the monitor before you commit. I've personally found Samsung to make some quality monitors.

 

[frankbo]

I've got a question about that motherboard, the Gigabyte P35-PS3L. If a person were to upgrade to a Q9450 on that board, would there be much room to overclock? I read that the Q9450 is supposed to be locked to a low multiplier, so would a Q9450 on that board be restricted to running at stock speed?

 

[Roguestar]

No, the DS3L should still be good up to something like 450MHz.