First solo build - any advice?

asyland

Junior Member
Dec 1, 2006
3
0
0
Hi guys,
Here's where I'm at so far for a Gaming PC:

Intel E6850 - $274

GIGABYTE GA-P35-DQ6 LGA 775 Intel P35 ATX - $229

CORSAIR XMS2 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 1066 (PC2 8500) - $175

Western Digital Raptor X WD1500AHFDRTL 150GB 10,000 RPM Serial ATA150 - $195

Western Digital Caviar SE16 WD5000AAKS 500GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb - $110

EVGA 768-P2-N831-AR GeForce 8800GTX 768MB - $516

Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi XtremeGamer 7.1 - $91

LITE-ON LightScribe Black 20X DVD±R Burner with 12X DVD-RAM write Black IDE - $39

LITE-ON Black IDE DVD-ROM Drive - $20

PC Power & Cooling Silencer 750 Quad - Copper EPS12V 750W - $210

I'm keeping my monitor: ViewSonic G225fb 21" CRT Monitor (1600x1200)

and my keyboard and mouse (Saitek/Razer)

Does anyone have a suggestion for a CPU heatsink? I was thinking about a Tuniq, but I know there are issues with using a power supply with a backplate on this mobo.
(Would it be better to go for the ASUS P5K LGA 775 Intel P35 ATX Intel Motherboard?)

I'd also ask what cases people favor here. I'm looking for a full tower, and beyond that I'd take any recommendations.

Oh, one last thing. A good thermal paste?

I'm very exited, and a bit nervous as this is my first solo, so I would be ever grateful for any help/advice/insight. Please let me know if I'm going in the right direction. Thanks!
 

jpeyton

Moderator in SFF, Notebooks, Pre-Built/Barebones
Moderator
Aug 23, 2003
25,375
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Intel E6850 - $274 I'd go with a Q6600, personally. A quad will have more legs in a year or two than a dual.

GIGABYTE GA-P35-DQ6 LGA 775 Intel P35 ATX - $229 A P5K or DS3R will work fine.

CORSAIR XMS2 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 1066 (PC2 8500) - $175 2GB RAM is $70 for brand name stuff.

Western Digital Raptor X WD1500AHFDRTL 150GB 10,000 RPM Serial ATA150 - $195 Noisy, waste of money; real-world performance shows little/no improvement over 500GB drives.

Western Digital Caviar SE16 WD5000AAKS 500GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb - $110 Good.

EVGA 768-P2-N831-AR GeForce 8800GTX 768MB - $516 Good.

Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi XtremeGamer 7.1 - $91 Good.

LITE-ON LightScribe Black 20X DVD±R Burner with 12X DVD-RAM write Black IDE - $39 Get a SATA burner; Samsung and NEC are highly rated.

LITE-ON Black IDE DVD-ROM Drive - $20 Doesn't make much sense spending $20 on a DVD-ROM when a SATA DVD burner is only $35.

PC Power & Cooling Silencer 750 Quad - Copper EPS12V 750W - $210 Overkill. A Corsair 620HX will give you more power than you'll ever use for half the price.

I'm keeping my monitor: ViewSonic G225fb 21" CRT Monitor (1600x1200)

and my keyboard and mouse (Saitek/Razer)

Does anyone have a suggestion for a CPU heatsink? Thermalright Ultra 120 Extreme.

I'd also ask what cases people favor here. I'm looking for a full tower, and beyond that I'd take any recommendations. Antec P180/P182

Oh, one last thing. A good thermal paste? Arctic Silver 5 or Arctic Cooling MX-2.

 

ForumMaster

Diamond Member
Feb 24, 2005
7,792
1
0
Originally posted by: jpeyton
Intel E6850 - $274 I'd go with a Q6600, personally. A quad will have more legs in a year or two than a dual.

GIGABYTE GA-P35-DQ6 LGA 775 Intel P35 ATX - $229 A P5K or DS3R will work fine.

CORSAIR XMS2 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 1066 (PC2 8500) - $175 2GB RAM is $70 for brand name stuff.

Western Digital Raptor X WD1500AHFDRTL 150GB 10,000 RPM Serial ATA150 - $195 Noisy, waste of money; real-world performance shows little/no improvement over 500GB drives.

Western Digital Caviar SE16 WD5000AAKS 500GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb - $110 Good.

EVGA 768-P2-N831-AR GeForce 8800GTX 768MB - $516 Good.

Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi XtremeGamer 7.1 - $91 Good.

LITE-ON LightScribe Black 20X DVD±R Burner with 12X DVD-RAM write Black IDE - $39 Get a SATA burner; Samsung and NEC are highly rated.

LITE-ON Black IDE DVD-ROM Drive - $20 Doesn't make much sense spending $20 on a DVD-ROM when a SATA DVD burner is only $35.

PC Power & Cooling Silencer 750 Quad - Copper EPS12V 750W - $210 Overkill. A Corsair 620HX will give you more power than you'll ever use for half the price.

I'm keeping my monitor: ViewSonic G225fb 21" CRT Monitor (1600x1200)

and my keyboard and mouse (Saitek/Razer)

Does anyone have a suggestion for a CPU heatsink? Thermalright Ultra 120 Extreme.

I'd also ask what cases people favor here. I'm looking for a full tower, and beyond that I'd take any recommendations. Antec P180/P182

Oh, one last thing. A good thermal paste? Arctic Silver 5 or Arctic Cooling MX-2.

that pretty much sums it up. since you save so much money, why not also get a good set of speakers? maybe another screen? you're building a monster of a system. it will fly. don't forget the audio.
 

asyland

Junior Member
Dec 1, 2006
3
0
0
Thanks for the advice!

Revised, how's it look?

Intel Q600 - $300 (give or take)

ASUS P5K LGA 775 Intel P35 ATX Intel Motherboard - $139

CORSAIR XMS2 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 1066 (PC2 8500) - $159
(This was about the cheapest PC 8500 RAM I could find at NewEgg, is there some place that offers it for less?)

Western Digital Caviar SE16 WD5000AAKS 500GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb (System) - $110

Western Digital Caviar SE16 WD5000AAKS 500GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb (Data) - $110

EVGA 768-P2-N831-AR GeForce 8800GTX 768MB - $516

Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi XtremeGamer 7.1 - $91

SAMSUNG 18X DVD±R DVD Burner With 12X DVD-RAM Write, LightScribe Technology Black SATA - $36

LITE-ON Black SATA DVD-ROM Drive - $18

CORSAIR CMPSU-620HX ATX12V v2.2 and EPS12V 2.91 620W - $170

Added:
Antec P182 Gun Metal Black 0.8mm cold rolled steel ATX Mid Tower - $170

Thermalright Ultra-120 Extreme CPU Cooler - $65

Arctic Silver 5 Thermal Compound - $6

I'm keeping:
my monitor - ViewSonic G225fb 21" CRT Monitor (1600x1200)

my keyboard and mouse - Saitek/Razer

my speakers - ALTEC LANSING FX5051 89 Watts 5.1

Thanks again for the advice. Any other thoughts?

 

masteraleph

Senior member
Oct 20, 2002
363
0
71
1) You should be able to find a Q6600 for slightly cheaper than that.

2) On the memory, I'm seeing a number of things around that price and less, particularly after MiR. Try here, here, here, and here. Don't assume that newegg is the cheapest reliable vendor.

3) Nice HDD choices. Note that the Samsung Spinpoint T166 (the model number is 501lj) is supposed to be slightly quieter. The Seagate 7200.10 models are slightly slower but carry a 5 year warranty. Really, choose whatever you want there.

4) If you're going with Vista, skip the X-Fi for now and see how you like onboard sound.

5) The Corsair is available significantly cheaper than that. If you've never used google checkout then buy.com is probably the cheapest. Otherwise, zipzoomfly will do just fine.
 

asyland

Junior Member
Dec 1, 2006
3
0
0
Thanks masteraleph,

I'm probably going to a brick and mortar store for the q6600, as I've heard that ordering online may not get you GO stepping (which I want).

As long as I was willing to go $159 on the XMS2s, I decided to get the Dominators for $153 at Zip Zoom Fly.

Not using Vista, staying with XP SP2.

Rethinking my optical drives. I've heard the new Samsung SH-S203B is supposed to be great. Does not have Lightscribe, but I honestly don't think I'd ever use that. I'm going to see if I can find one. I've read they're not available in the U.S. yet. Basically I'm looking for something that will burn DVDs well and be highly rated for Taiyo Yuden blank media.
As far as a master, I think I'll stay with Lite On.

Thanks again. :)
 

LOUISSSSS

Diamond Member
Dec 5, 2005
8,770
54
91
Western Digital Caviar SE16 WD5000AAKS 500GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb (System) - $110

Western Digital Caviar SE16 WD5000AAKS 500GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb (Data) - $110

you dont need 500gb for "system" OS programs and games.. you'll need at most 150gb raptor
 

jpeyton

Moderator in SFF, Notebooks, Pre-Built/Barebones
Moderator
Aug 23, 2003
25,375
142
116
Originally posted by: LOUISSSSS
you dont need 500gb for "system" OS programs and games.. you'll need at most 150gb raptor
We already debunked the Raptor argument. Two drives can be good for multitasking, where two sets of large files can be accessed at the same time.