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C2D Build Only need a few more components

M

mjreddy

Member
Hey everyone, so far I have

Ultra Aluminus Mid Tower Case ($29.99 AR, Radioshack)
Ultra V Series 400W ATX Power Supply (FAR, Outpost.com)
Asus P5B Deluxe/WiFi AP ($190 @ Buy.com w/ Google Checkout)
Intel E6400 C2D Retail Boxed Processor w/ Fan ($200)
Corsair TWIN2X2048-6400C4 (2X1GB) DDR2 800MHz ($249, outpost)

I do plan to overclock the processor to the 3Ghz range
So, before I can even get this thing running, I still need a Vid Card, HDD, & DVD Burner.

Vid Card: I don't do much in the way of gaming. I will however doing some light photoshopping. Most of my video power will be necessary for running dual desktop w/ 19+ inch widescreen LCD's and mainly for encoding video (DVD ripping/encoding and personal videos) I will likely add a HD tuner when the ones that allow cable card use come out.

HDD: I want to set up a RAID array in the future with over a TB of storage for a DVD/media library, but I think I would be better off waiting until Black Friday to pick up all those drives... So for now I was looking at getting a cost effective drive, doesnt need to be big. I would consider getting a Raptor or such drive for my boot drive if it really would increase speds for anything.

DVD Burner: I just want the best, most reliabe dvd burner for the money. Preferably with a black face plate.

If you think I should change any of the above components please let me know and why? Also, this is my first build since I was a kid, so tips on other stuff is appreciated too (i.e. fans, thermal paste, anything else I will need/want that I havent thought of.)
Thank you all in advance for your help!
 
For a video card, I'd go for the 7600gt. It can be found for ~$110 AR nowadays and has dual dvi (which you need) and decent gaming power. There is also a silent pipe version for $155. Two 500gb seagate 7200.10 would be sick. I think they go for like $170 each. For dvd burners, check out the nec 3550a or the samsung litescribe dvd burner (there's only one... IDK the serial). Plextor is probably the best, the 750a or something, but is very expensive. If you have $100 to drop on an optical, go fer it.
Yate Loons are just about the best value in fans, get 'em at jab tech where you can get 2x120mm for $10 shipped.
Thermal paste is provided with all the components... don't worry about getting anything else IMO.
Personally, I wouldn't get the ultra v series psu, but I havn't heard anything bad enough for me to say DONT get it... so hope that works out for you.
Everything else looks good... you'll have a good office system going there.

EDIT: 4got to add that if you plan on hitting 3ghz, you'll need a good cooler such as the $35 Scythe mine.
 
I thought the stock cooling fan on these C2D's was good enough to hit 3-3.1Ghz... or at least ive read enough reviews that say as much... what about the barracuda? you think it would make a difference to load the OS off of that? I've heard the 7200.10's from Seagate are almost as fast anyways, is that true? Thanks!
 
The stock cooling is decent, but 3rd party stuff is better.

The seagate desktop ranges are all baracudas, if you're worried about speed then get the largest drives you can afford, larger = faster. As for worrying about the OS speed, how often do you reboot? If you want to speed up transcoding/encoding/ripping etc. times then you're best off with three drives, OS + swap, Read drive, Write drive. Or just a big sod off RAID 5 array.
 
should i replace the thermal paste supplied with the processor with that Artic Silver stuff? Any other suggestions for vid card? or does everyone pretty much agree with acegazda in suggesting the 7600GT
 
That's a good price for that mobo at Buy.com.

I can't find it on the site, can you provide a link?
 
Originally posted by: mjreddy
should i replace the thermal paste supplied with the processor with that Artic Silver stuff?
Click to expand...

Yes yes yes. The C2D cpu's stock heatsink have a cute little thermal pad. Wipe it off with a cotton cloth and some high concentration (90%) isopropyl (costs like $0.79 at a drug store for a big bottle).

Any other suggestions for vid card? or does everyone pretty much agree with acegazda in suggesting the 7600GT
Click to expand...

Sure, it's a fine, affordable, modern card. If you want a little more gaming, bump up to a 7900 GS or GT or GTO for $50-$100 more.
 
I put my comp together over the weekend, thru a random 6200 in for the vid card for now til i decide on that... but the CPU is def running hotter than I would like, the punch down fasteners for the 775 cpu cooler is DUMB, i feel like im going to break my board, but i think i did get it in properly, it's the stock cooler in there right now with the stock thermal compound at idle CPU is running 39-42 (the two cores differ by as much as 3 degrees according to CoreTemp Beta) and Mobo is high 27-30C. I havent checked under load yet... No Overclock yet, everything is stock, i havent put the chasis side panels on yet, and assume that could only make things hotter...

so based on reviews and such on the internet i've narrowed my CPU cooling options to the followin choices:

Zalman CNPS9500 LED CPU COOLER 44.99

Nexus PHT-7750 Copper Socket 775 Quiet CPU Fan
http://www.pccasegear.com/prod3572.htm

Tuniq Tower 120 46.99
http://www.tuniq.com.tw/Cooler%20Info/Tower-120.htm

Arctic Cooling ACFZP7 Freezer 7 Pro CPU Cooler $22.97

i want the best one in terms of cooling the cpu as well as doing it quietly.

also, is the thermal grease that comes with these things good? or should i still invest in the AS5?

Lastly, there's a lot of back and forth on this board about the Yate Loon fans, it is pretty much decided that they are good for the money, but not necessarily great for cooling. You guys have any other suggestions for chasis fans for my Ultra Aluminus Tower?

As always ya'lls help is greatly appreciate.
 
"DVD Burner: I just want the best, most reliabe dvd burner for the money. Preferably with a black face plate. "

If you want the best, go for Plextor. If decent is good enough for you, NEC is a good choice.
 
Plextor is not good enough to cost 3-4x NEC, so I'd say stick with NEC.

And just splurge and get the AS5. It should only be a few bucks.
 
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