First time building my own PC, review and/or suggestions

[yunier2002]

This is my first time building my own computer and even thought I'm not newbie I would like for you to review what I have selected to make sure everything is compatible or if there is any changes that you recommend. Here it is:

Intel Core 2 Duo E8400 Wolfdale 3.0GHz LGA 775 65W Dual-Core Processor Model BX80570E8400 - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16819115037

GIGABYTE GA-EP45-UD3P LGA 775 Intel P45 ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16813128358

EVGA 512-P3-N871-AR GeForce 9800 GTX+ 512MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16814130339

CORSAIR CMPSU-650TX 650W ATX12V / EPS12V SLI Ready CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS Certified Active PFC Compatible with Core i7 ... - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16817139005

(2 of this for a total of 8GB) G.SKILL 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 1066 (PC2 8500) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model F2-8500CL5D-4GBPK - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16820231166

Antec Nine Hundred Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16811129021

Western Digital Caviar Black WD1001FALS 1TB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drives - OEM
http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16822136284

ASUS VH226H Black 21.5" 2ms(GTG) HDMI Widescreen LCD Monitor - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16824236051

Sony Optiarc 24X DVD/CD Rewritable Drive Black SATA Model AD-7240S-0B - OEM
http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16827118030

Windows Vista 64bit that I have


Is this a good configuration? Suggestions are welcome, thanks guys!

 

[jae]

looks great. will u be overclocking?

 

[philosofool]

It would be helpful if you told us a little more about your computer usage. Do you encode video? Do you play games? What resolution? Are you an overclocker? What's your budget? (There's a sticky post at the top of this forum that mentions some of the big questions besides these that will help us help you.)

Here are my initial thoughts without even knowing the answers to those questions:
-The Core 2 Duo processor is at the end of it's life span and, while it was an amazing processor in its day, I question the wisdom of adopting it now. AMD makes less expensive processors with three cores (Phenom II X3 720) which dramatically out perform it in any multithreaded task and compare handsomely in task that cannot use more than two cores. As far as the longevity of a processor is concerned, I think more than two cores will very soon be a necessity for high performance (though it hasn't definitively happened yet unless you employ a lot of multi-threaded tasks.)
-The 9800GTX is definitely not the graphics card to get. Tom's Hardware publishes a guide to gaming graphics every month that is usually pretty accurate. http://www.tomshardware.com/re...t-gaming-cpu,2398.html is August's. My guess is that a Radeon 4850 is the card for you, or else a Radeon 4870. ATI has pretty much owned the price/performance crown in the sub-$200 market recently, but if you really like nVidia, their GTS or GTX 200 series is the place for you to look.

 

[yunier2002]

Thanks for your replies and advice guys. Yes I want to do a little overclocking not too extreme. I'll use it for mostly do multitasking and also play games that I haven't been able to play before. Some graphic design too. My budget is around what it is now which is less than $1200.

philosofool: I checked Tom's Hardware and I think I'll change to the Radeon HD 4870. For the processor, which one do you recommend? If staying with Intel, which quad core will you recommend?

Thanks guys! Any other input?

 

[Lunyone]

Okay here is what I'd consider with ~$1200:
I've included your LCD/DVD Burner/HD that you listed before, so just add these parts to complete the build:
$180 shipped!!
Antec 900 & Antec TP 750w PSU, plenty here, actually a bit overkill on the PSU, but it's cheaper than your selection!
$280 shipped!
Intel Core i7 920 Nehalem 2.66GHz 4 x 256KB L2 Cache 8MB L3 Cache LGA 1366 130W Quad-Core Processor - Retail
$210 - $15 MIRc= $195 shipped!
ASUS P6T SE LGA 1366 Intel X58 ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail
$87
Patriot 6GB (3 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1066 (PC3 8500) Triple Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model PSD36G1066KH - Retail
$145 shipped!
XFX HD-487A-ZHFC Radeon HD 4870 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFire Supported Video Card - Retail

Total ~$1218 - $20 MIRc (LCD) - $15 MIRc (Mobo) = $1193!!! That would be a pretty good rig for the $.

Other options to consider:
Use the same parts listed above (Case/PSU combo, HD, DVD Burner, LCD) and just add these instead:

$315 - $15 MIRc = $300!!
AMD Phenom II x955 Black Edition (unlocked multiplier) w/Asus M4A78T-E Mobo
$210 shipped!
XFX HD-489A-ZDFC Radeon HD 4890 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFire Supported Video Card - Retail
$75 shipped!
G.SKILL 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model F3-12800CL9D-4GBNQ - Retail

Total ~$1080 - $35 in MIRc's (LCD/Mobo) = ~$1045!!!
Now with the AMD setup you get:
* A better GPU to game with (4870 - Intel build vs. 4890 - AMD build)
* More room in your budget for other upgrades if you like.
* Better upgrade path vs. the s775 that you originally picked!
* Unlocked CPU multiplier (have to spend ~$1000 for this option on an Intel i7 chip). This unlocked multiplier means that you can spend 2 minutes in the BIOS and OC your CPU to 3.4-3.8 gHz with only changing "1" adjustment in the BIOS = EASY OC!!

Things that are different over the Intel build:
* You have 4 gb's of DDR3 vs. 6 gb's with the Intel i7 build
* The AMD Phenom II x4 955 Black Edition is about 95-100% of the i7 920 CPU (depending on which benchmark that you look at).

It's up to you to decide what will work best for you.

 

[yunier2002]

Lunyone: if going with the AMD setup which is cheaper, I like the CPU, but the motherboard doesn't have good reviews, what else can u recommend or how about this one? http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16813131363

Also, how about bumping the RAM higher for the AMD build?

Thanks!

 

[philosofool]

Originally posted by: yunier2002
philosofool: I checked Tom's Hardware and I think I'll change to the Radeon HD 4870. For the processor, which one do you recommend? If staying with Intel, which quad core will you recommend?

Thanks guys! Any other input?

If you can wait one week, Intel is releasing their performance/mainstream platform of the future on the 8th, socket LGA 1156. That will save you about 100-200 dollars over the Core i7 920 (performance sockett LGA 1366), and will probably get you the best performance bang-for-buck. ATX motherboards should range from 120-180 and uATX boards at $100 are going to happen as well. The basic Core i5 750 will be about $200 (give or take five bucks) and the better ones will be $280 and up. That is the thing I recommend doing right now. Given the very near release of Core i5, I think anything else is like buying steam engine a week before internal combustion comes out, unless you can afford one of those pricy diesels (Core i7 920) that have been out for awhile.

But if you must build a computer this weekend, I recommend the AMD Phenom II X4 945, 95W version: http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16819103696