Building my first PC

[Hatliz]

1. What YOUR PC will be used for. That means what types of tasks you'll be performing.
I need a PC able to handle multitasking. I run Firefox with 10-20 tabs which is a killer. I also run iTunes, MSN, torrent and poker clients. Very little gaming if any at all. I'd like it to be quiet, at least when not being used.

2. What YOUR budget is. A price range is acceptable as long as it's not more than a 20% spread 7-8k NOK, 1400-1600 USD.

3. What country YOU will be buying YOUR parts from.
Norway.

4. IF YOU have a brand preference. That means, are you an Intel-Fanboy, AMD-Fanboy, ATI-Fanboy, nVidia-Fanboy, Seagate-Fanboy, WD-Fanboy, etc, etc, etc, you get the picture.
Intel > AMD, nVidia > ATi, Corsair PSU <3

5. If YOU intend on using any of YOUR current parts, and if so, what those parts are.
None.

6. IF YOU have searched and/or read similar threads.
No.

7. IF YOU plan on overclocking or run the system at default speeds.
No. Default is fine.

8. WHEN do you plan to build it?
Next 1-4 weeks.

---

Case: Antec P182, Midi, ATX
PSU: Corsair 450W
MB: Asus P5Q Pro, P45, 775
CPU: Intel Core2Quad Q6600 2,4 ghz
CPU cooler: Zalman cnps9500led ultra quiet
GPU: Asus GF 8800gt 512mb gddr3, PCI-Ex 2.0, EN8800GT/G/HTDP/512M
RAM: Corsair Twin2x 6400c4dhx, 4096mb (2x 2gb)
HDD1 (OS+apps): WD raptor 74gb 10k rpm
HDD2 (stuff): WD caviar se16 500gb sata2 7200 rpm
Optical reader/writer: Samsung DVD recorder sh-s182d
WLAN: D-link AirPlus G 54 Mbps

So what do you think? This is the 2nd list after making some improvements from the first. Will the parts fit to eachother? How about space in the case? Both for the parts and my hands during assembly.

 

[AshPhoenix]

I'd choose the Intel C2D E8400 instead, it's 45nm so it runs cooler and consumes less power, also how much is the 8800gt ?

 

[thegorx]

My suggestion would be to do your homework first
cross check Asus P5Q Pro with Corsair Twin2x 6400c4dhx, 4096mb
goto the asus forum and Corsair forum, Corsair will probably be more helpful
I've had purchse two asus mainboard in the past, the first no issues the second was a nightmare of BSOD incompatibilities everywhere with the parts I selected and support was not good, in fact the Bios updates ended in a Beta release that never totally solved issues.

also cross check the motherboard with the video card for known issues

I see there is already a bios update for the motherboard, which may be a good thing but it also may be a sign of things to come, search the asus forum

 

[Hatliz]

I first chose the E8400, but was recommended Quad instead since i'm not building for gaming. The 8800GT is $246.

Both RAM and MB is DDR II SDRAM. No fit, huh?

 

[DSF]

Running 10-20 firefox tabs and other basic applications like MSN messenger isn't CPU-intensive, it's mostly a question of RAM. I don't think you'll find that the Q6600 helps with that, it will be the RAM that makes the difference. (And sometimes the speed of the hard drive.) That said, the Q6600 won't hurt anything, and a little extra heat might be good in Norway, right?

I'm assuming that DVD Burner is slightly outdated based on Samsung's numbering scheme, but I could be wrong. You might want to look for the 203 or 223 models. The rest of it looks pretty good. If it's available, the 640GB WD Caviar is a little bit larger and higher performance than the 500GB.

 

[AshPhoenix]

Originally posted by: Hatliz
I first chose the E8400, but was recommended Quad instead since i'm not building for gaming. The 8800GT is $246.

Both RAM and MB is DDR II SDRAM. No fit, huh?

ATI Radeon HD 4850 is better and it's much cheaper than that in the US, don't know about Norway.

Sorry,I can't be sure about RAM MB compatibility