Building my first system, please advise on changes and suggestions. Lots of choices!!

DNyholm

Member
Jan 17, 2007
78
0
66
Hello,
I am building my first system and have scoured this site for the past couple of days looking at other systems and suggestions. I have come up with a list that unfortunately has choices in it since i am not totally sure the way I want to go. The main thing that I use my computer for is for playing Everquest 2 (very similar to World of Warcraft if you are not familiar). I would like to be able to purchase something now and try to hold onto it for as long as possible (i've had my current computer for 4 years now). Here is what I have so far:

Mobo
ASUS P5N-E SLI LGA 775 NVIDIA nForce 650i SLI ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail
or
ASUS P5B-E LGA 775 Intel P965 Express ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail

though i will probably go with teh P5N-E SLI for the extra IDE and future use of a Quad core.

Processor

C2D E4300 or E6300
I can't really decide on this since I 'might' overclock, but there is no guarantee for that. They are basically the same price and I feel the 6300 or even the 6400 will give me better performance out of the box. I'd like to wait for the 6320/6420, but I don't think i will be able to wait that long. If i did overclock, it would be very slight as well.

PSU
Enhance ENP-5150GH 500W ATX12V Rev.2.2

GPU
Originally I was going to go for a 7600GT, but I figure I might be able to afford to get this one instead:
eVGA 256-P2-N636-AR GeForce 7950GT 256MB 256-bit

Memory

G.SKILL 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400)

GeIL 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400)

Patriot Extreme Performance 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800


Sorry about putting in all the choices, but I am not really sure which way I should go about this. I figure the boards will almost be personal preference unless one o/c's easier than the other.

I'd like to keep the total under $1000 and I still need to get a new HD, optical drive, and case (figure about $200 for that).

Thanks for the suggestions.
 

stogez

Platinum Member
Oct 11, 2006
2,684
0
0
Gigabyte DS3 is also very good plus a new revision is coming out soon. E4300 will be cheaper once it launches officially (not exactly sure when) Although as far as overclocking goes, either will be fine but with the E4300, you can get away with 667mhz RAM.
 

DNyholm

Member
Jan 17, 2007
78
0
66
Yeah, that is where somoe of my questions lie. Is it worth it to skimp a little on things like memory and get something else better like an 8800 video card?? Would this system be GPU limited or processor limited (assuming GPU)?
 

DNyholm

Member
Jan 17, 2007
78
0
66
Originally posted by: stogez
Gigabyte DS3 is also very good plus a new revision is coming out soon. E4300 will be cheaper once it launches officially (not exactly sure when) Although as far as overclocking goes, either will be fine but with the E4300, you can get away with 667mhz RAM.

Any idea when the new revision is coming out and any changes? I just looked up the board and it doesn't look like it has any firewire standard (though that can be added). Is there a specific reason for that board or just another option??