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Critique my Build ($1500)

A

AndeeG

Member
Recently I've been looking at components to put into my first computer build. It feels like I'm getting pretty close but there are still things a few things that I can't decide on, most notably the motherboard. All the parts have to add up to $1500 or less after shipping, tax, and rebates. This includes only the actual computer, no monitor, speakers etc. As this is my first time building a new computer, I'll probably avoid overclocking initially but I definitely want to keep that option available for later. So far I've come up with the following (Prices are listed before shipping and after rebates):

Case: Antec SOLO ($90)
CPU: Intel e6600 ($315)
HDD: WD3200KS 320g ($100)
GPU: HIS x1900xt 256mb IceQ3 ($276)
CD/DVD: 1 DVD burner, 1 DVD-ROM player (about $50)

PSU: Either Antec NeoHE or Seasonic S12 (Is 430 watts enough or will I need 500?) ($80 - $120)

RAM: Corsair XMS2 2gb DDR2 675 (PC2 5400) I'm really just guessing here. DDR2 667 should be fast enough for mild overclocking, right? ($220)

MOBO: Once again I'm really not sure. The three top ones I've been reccomended are probably the Gigabyte DS3, Asus P5B Deluxe, and the Asus P5B-E. Apparently the DS3 has no firewire support. Does this just mean that it has no firewire port or that it is incapable of taking advantage of firewire cards? If it's the latter, I'll have to pass on this one. Basically, I want a MOBO with firewire and RAID capability and one that is EASY to overclock MILDLY. I don't want the one that has the highest capability, but rather ease of use and reliability for slight increases. ($160 ish)

How does it look?

(This was copy/pasted from my post on the Tom's Hardware Forumz)
 
If this is to game on then you want less CPU and more graphics card. (assuming you've got a monitor capable of taking advantage of it, i class anything more than a X1900XT (512mb) as a waste if you've got a LCD monitor of 19" or less.

The DS3 doesn't have any firewire ports, but if you buy a card then it will work with firewire. 667 is fine for a mild OC.

430W is plenty for the PSU.
 
Yeah, don't get suckered in to paying $50-$75 more for a motherboard just for a couple Firewire ports. You can throw in a PCI adapter for $10 that'll do that.
 
Originally posted by: Bobthelost
If this is to game on then you want less CPU and more graphics card. (assuming you've got a monitor capable of taking advantage of it, i class anything more than a X1900XT (512mb) as a waste if you've got a LCD monitor of 19" or less.

The DS3 doesn't have any firewire ports, but if you buy a card then it will work with firewire. 667 is fine for a mild OC.

430W is plenty for the PSU.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the quick reply! I realize that the CPU/Graphics card ratio is a little imbalanced but I am planning on buying a new graphics card next year when Directx 10 cards are released Perhaps on the second wave of cards. This way I'll have enough power to last me and my CPU will still be very capable in the future as it is the least upgradable part.
 
I don't think it is hard to upgrade the cpu. Just buy a new one on ebay and sell the old one on ebay, or use anandtech's nice forsale forums. Generally it is never a good idea to buy performance so that it will last a long time, its better to buy for what you need now, and then when you need it upgrade, you will get more for less generally. What is your monitor?
 
Originally posted by: Jjoshua2
I don't think it is hard to upgrade the cpu. Just buy a new one on ebay and sell the old one on ebay, or use anandtech's nice forsale forums. Generally it is never a good idea to buy performance so that it will last a long time, its better to buy for what you need now, and then when you need it upgrade, you will get more for less generally. What is your monitor?
Click to expand...

The actual process isn't hard, but sockets change and cpu upgrades generally seem to be less effective than video card upgrades.

My monitor right now is a Mitsubishi Diamon Plus 91 19'' CRT. However, I'm going to purchase a 20 inch LCD in the near future. (Haven't decided on 4:3 or widescreen yet)
 
You might want to look at the 1950pro; they put a review up a day or two ago about it and it should do better than a 1900xt, but they're supposed to be going for about the same price.
 
Originally posted by: ADDAvenger
You might want to look at the 1950pro; they put a review up a day or two ago about it and it should do better than a 1900xt, but they're supposed to be going for about the same price.
Click to expand...

Why would it do better than the x1900xt? I've never read anything suggesting that. Also, its MSRP is 200 while the x1900xt is usually around 260
 
Originally posted by: ADDAvenger
You might want to look at the 1950pro; they put a review up a day or two ago about it and it should do better than a 1900xt, but they're supposed to be going for about the same price.
Click to expand...

Read the review. The 1900XT is roughly 20% faster than the 1950pro in Anandtech's tests.
 
Originally posted by: AndeeG
Case: Antec SOLO ($90)
CPU: Intel e6600 ($315)
HDD: WD3200KS 320g ($100)
GPU: HIS x1900xt 256mb IceQ3 ($276)
CD/DVD: 1 DVD burner, 1 DVD-ROM player (about $50)
Click to expand...

The Solo is an overpriced case at $90. The Lian Li PC-7B goes for roughly the same price and is a much nicer case.

As far as power goes if you are only dealing with one x1900XT the 330 watt S12 would run that system no problem but you may want to go with the 380 watt variant for future upgrades.
 
Originally posted by: suckerpunch
Originally posted by: ADDAvenger
You might want to look at the 1950pro; they put a review up a day or two ago about it and it should do better than a 1900xt, but they're supposed to be going for about the same price.
Click to expand...

Read the review. The 1900XT is roughly 20% faster than the 1950pro in Anandtech's tests.
Click to expand...

Yeah scratch that, it's the 1900GT that it's replacing. All these suffixes get me mixed up.
 
Does anyone have suggestions as to what memory i should go with?

Is corsair 667 good or would something else be better?
 
Originally posted by: AndeeG
Recently I've been looking at components to put into my first computer build. It feels like I'm getting pretty close but there are still things a few things that I can't decide on, most notably the motherboard. All the parts have to add up to $1500 or less after shipping, tax, and rebates. This includes only the actual computer, no monitor, speakers etc. As this is my first time building a new computer, I'll probably avoid overclocking initially but I definitely want to keep that option available for later. So far I've come up with the following (Prices are listed before shipping and after rebates):

Case: Antec SOLO ($90)
CPU: Intel e6600 ($315)
HDD: WD3200KS 320g ($100)
GPU: HIS x1900xt 256mb IceQ3 ($276)
CD/DVD: 1 DVD burner, 1 DVD-ROM player (about $50)

PSU: Either Antec NeoHE or Seasonic S12 (Is 430 watts enough or will I need 500?) ($80 - $120)

RAM: Corsair XMS2 2gb DDR2 675 (PC2 5400) I'm really just guessing here. DDR2 667 should be fast enough for mild overclocking, right? ($220)

MOBO: Once again I'm really not sure. The three top ones I've been reccomended are probably the Gigabyte DS3, Asus P5B Deluxe, and the Asus P5B-E. Apparently the DS3 has no firewire support. Does this just mean that it has no firewire port or that it is incapable of taking advantage of firewire cards? If it's the latter, I'll have to pass on this one. Basically, I want a MOBO with firewire and RAID capability and one that is EASY to overclock MILDLY. I don't want the one that has the highest capability, but rather ease of use and reliability for slight increases. ($160 ish)

How does it look?

(This was copy/pasted from my post on the Tom's Hardware Forumz)
Click to expand...

Ditch the WD for a seagate perp. write, I got one on my last build and it loads faster than my friends wd. If you want a good mid-range board get the gigabyte ga965-ds3 overclocks well, and uses ddr2 800 ram. I would also recommend a 512 card, I was kinda will I really use it at first, and let me tell you on games like fear it comes in handy, my friend has a similar build and a 256 meg card and his frame rates drop considerably faster than mine. I am extremely biased with my setup, but it 3dmark 06's at almost 6000 on stock settings.
 
Originally posted by: pushVTEC

Ditch the WD for a seagate perp. write, I got one on my last build and it loads faster than my friends wd. If you want a good mid-range board get the gigabyte ga965-ds3 overclocks well, and uses ddr2 800 ram. I would also recommend a 512 card, I was kinda will I really use it at first, and let me tell you on games like fear it comes in handy, my friend has a similar build and a 256 meg card and his frame rates drop considerably faster than mine. I am extremely biased with my setup, but it 3dmark 06's at almost 6000 on stock settings.
Click to expand...

Is the loading time considerably faster?

Also memory matters a lot less than the card itself, as the x1900xt 256 is probably one of the fastest cards without 512mb.
 
Originally posted by: AndeeG
Originally posted by: pushVTEC

Ditch the WD for a seagate perp. write, I got one on my last build and it loads faster than my friends wd. If you want a good mid-range board get the gigabyte ga965-ds3 overclocks well, and uses ddr2 800 ram. I would also recommend a 512 card, I was kinda will I really use it at first, and let me tell you on games like fear it comes in handy, my friend has a similar build and a 256 meg card and his frame rates drop considerably faster than mine. I am extremely biased with my setup, but it 3dmark 06's at almost 6000 on stock settings.
Click to expand...

Is the loading time considerably faster?

Also memory matters a lot less than the card itself, as the x1900xt 256 is probably one of the fastest cards without 512mb.
Click to expand...

I load a fear map about 5 seconds faster than him, and it takes me about 20 seconds i'm guessing to load a fear map. Research the seagate 7200.10 and look how it compares to the wd, that should make the decision for you. I'll try to find the link I saw that compared them, in some tests the 7200.10 actually was comparable to the raptor.

I agree a fast gpu is key, but games like fear, quake 4 etc where there are some detailed textures memory is helpful when running at a high res/max settings. Like I said my friend has a 256 meg version of the xt and I have a 512 and in certain parts of maps on fear his fps can drop a little and mine remains high. I came so close to getting a 256 meg card, and I decided to just spend the couple extra bucks and get a 512 meg card, and I'm glad I did. As games get more detail I think the 512 will be a worthwhile investment.
 
Arghh!!!

I was almost ready to buy (though I'm still undecided on RAM) until Newegg discontinued the HIS x1900xt 256mb IceQ3. Then I looked online and found one other retailer but they discontinued it the next day! What should i do?
 
Right now I'm looking at a x1950 pro to tide me over till next year. That gives me the following components:

PSU: 500w Seasonic S12 (I might downgrade)
GPU: Sapphire x1950 pro
CPU: C2D e6600
HDD: Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 320gb
Optical: Sony IDE DvD drive
MOBO: Asus P5B-E

All this from Newegg adds up to $982.56

+ Antec SOLO from zipzoomfly
+ OCZ DDR2-800 from Fry's

Grand total after rebates, tax, shipping, all that is about $1277.56. This should give me plenty of extra money to buy a new graphics card next year. What do you think?
 
Were you thinking about adding another x1950 at all?
Or just upgrading to a single DX10 card later on?
How do you value quietness from a PSU?
 
AndeeG - I think you made some great choices. I just purchased parts for a new system last Sunday and my choices were almost identical to yours with a few exceptions. I haven't been able to fire it up yet because my graphics card was damaged out of the box.

- The X1950pro is a great mid-range graphics card. I would choose that one over a 7900GS or 7900GT.
- I disagree with Operandi on the Antec Solo. That is a well-designed case with a lot of good features. I recieved mine a couple of days ago and I think it's beautiful. The piano black finish makes it look really nice.
- I have the same hard drive that you are buying. It's quiet and is the best bang for the buck right now when you factor in Seagate's reputation and warranty.
- The motherboard should be great too. I was in the same position as you and wanted a solid midrange board with firewire and bought that one as well.
- The Seasonic power supply is excellent too and I came close to buying that one and went with the Corsair HX520 instead for the modularity and because it is capable of supplying more amps on the 12V rail.

Personally, I think that the e6600 is a waste and since I'm going to do a lot of gaming I find that the e6300 is more than adequate at stock. I don't believe that the minor performance increase justifies the higher price. Then again, if you have the money then go for it.
 
Originally posted by: dBTelos
Were you thinking about adding another x1950 at all?
Or just upgrading to a single DX10 card later on?
How do you value quietness from a PSU?
Click to expand...

I wasn't planning on ever getting SLi/CF.
I definitely want my PSU to be quiet but not necessarily silent. I may end up going for the NeoHE to save a couple bucks.

Originally posted by: Icepick
AndeeG - I think you made some great choices. I just purchased parts for a new system last Sunday and my choices were almost identical to yours with a few exceptions. I haven't been able to fire it up yet because my graphics card was damaged out of the box.

- The X1950pro is a great mid-range graphics card. I would choose that one over a 7900GS or 7900GT.
- I disagree with Operandi on the Antec Solo. That is a well-designed case with a lot of good features. I recieved mine a couple of days ago and I think it's beautiful. The piano black finish makes it look really nice.
- I have the same hard drive that you are buying. It's quiet and is the best bang for the buck right now when you factor in Seagate's reputation and warranty.
- The motherboard should be great too. I was in the same position as you and wanted a solid midrange board with firewire and bought that one as well.
- The Seasonic power supply is excellent too and I came close to buying that one and went with the Corsair HX520 instead for the modularity and because it is capable of supplying more amps on the 12V rail.

Personally, I think that the e6600 is a waste and since I'm going to do a lot of gaming I find that the e6300 is more than adequate at stock. I don't believe that the minor performance increase justifies the higher price. Then again, if you have the money then go for it.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the input! I'm hoping that this computer will last me through highschool and possibly into college. That's why I'm getting the e6600, as I don't want to be bottlenecked by the processor.
 
get the most expensive asus mobo and the corsair RAM is fine

recommend a 512 meg Geforce 7900 or the 1900 XT

good luck
 
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