First time DIY build

[Zelpo]

Howdy all ... been wanting to build my own for some time now. Current home comp took a dump today so now it is a high priority to get a new puter in it?s place. Reusing all the usual suspects: monitor, keyboard, mouse, etc.

For the past month or two I have been researching a build. Uses include normal home web surfing, picture editing/storage, some mild venturing into OC land, and of course some light to medium PC gaming duty (I'm just a big kid, what can I say). Cost is not a limiting factor, but I'm not out to go broke & build the lastest/greatest either.

Case is already purchased: Antec 900

Mobo: ASUS P5B-E $149.99
Thoughts: I don't plan on x2 video cards, but did want firewire. This the right board for those reqs?

PSU: Seasonic M12 600w $164.99
Thoughts: Yeah it's expensive, but I don't want to compromise on the PSU. I'm going for quality here. Modular due to the case I have. Also, I'm leaning toward 600 instead of 500 so that I have 'room to grow'. Is this overkill?

Processor: Intel E6300 $183.00
Thoughts: Probably plenty for what I need, and the price is right. Plan to mildly OC it for kicks & giggles.

RAM: Corsair XMS2 2x1GB DDR2 800 $195.00 ($155.00 w/MIR)
Thoughts: This stuff was $280 just a few months ago, now $155 with MIR. RAM economics are a mystery to me. Anyway, I consider 2GB a minimum due to a game I regularly play (Civ4)

HDD: Seagate 320GB $89.99
Thoughts: No-brainer here - best drive, warranty, and capacity for the bling. I might get two and use one as a back-up (RAID 1?)

DVD/CD drive: http LiteOn SH-16A7S-05 $31.99
Thoughts: SATA for 965 chipset on mobo, price is right, and newegg finally has them in stock.

OS: Windows XP Home edition $89.99
Thoughts: I'm not in the habit of giving my $$ away ... my old Dell has an XP disc & key #, think I can use it on this new comp?

Video Card: Here's where I need help. I don't think I need (or want to spend the $$ for) a 8800 right now, so what would you all recommend? Price wise let's say $200-300.

I spied this unit when doing some research, but to tell you the truth I'm not up on the graphics specs for today's boards. Shooting for something ?in the middle? in regard to performance vs. price.

Assuming ~$300 on a video card, grand total is $1204.95 newegg prices.

Appreciate any feedback & comments on this proposed build, thanx again

 

[secretanchitman]

let me start by saying welcome to the forums!

mobo - yes, requirements are good. asus is good. that board especially good. i have its older brother, the P5W DH Deluxe and its basically awesome. overclocks nicely too.
psu - excellent choice. nope, not overkill at all.
processor - if you can wait until next month, intel is doing price cuts on all core 2 duo chips.
ram - corsair is always a good brand, but i stuck with g.skill 2x1GB (4-4-4-12 - the black heatspreaders one on newegg), and its been good to me. ive always told my friends to get this corsair ram and its been good to them. one has an e6400 overclocked to 3.2Ghz using that ram but in a shuttle.
hd - yeap, i would do the same thing. 320GB/400GB/500GB whatever size you want. raptors are overpriced imo, but you could do a raptor for a boot/programs drive and a 320GB/400GB/500GB for storage drive. your choice.
dvd-rw - dunno about sata burners personally. i thought they all used ide to sata converters to make them "sata". that might be changed with the newer models like the one you have. im still using my nec 3550A which i flashed to a 4551A and its perfect. lite-on, nec, samsung, plextor, and brand name companies are good. just make sure you can update the firmware on that dvd-rw.
os - xp mce/xp pro with sp2 is cheap i think too, but xp home is just fine. dont go vista until SP1 comes out...and if you want your games to run smooth.
video card - perfect fit for you is the 8800GTS 320MB. link - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16814130082 its $279 with a $20 mail in rebate making is $259. i just ordered it along with an amd opteron 170 and an asus a8n32-sli mobo for an upgrade to my 4 year old comp. the video card is damn fast enough for practically any game out there today. it should be fine for you up to 1920x1200. any more than that and you should invest in a 8800GTS 640MB, possibly an 8800GTX.
case - good choice, and its totally your opinion/decision.

overall very very good build! hope that helped!!!

 

[Zelpo]

Wow, thanks for the quick & informative reply! Appreciate it. Wish I could wait for the price cuts next month, but since my current home pc is totally dead (suspect hard drive) and the fact that I've been wanting to get a new comp for over a year, now is the time to just bite the bullet & do it.

Thanks for the video card suggestion. The 8800's seem to be very popular & get high praise from everyone I've talked to. I don't play demanding fps games, so I would imagine the 320MB model would suit my needs just fine.

This will be my first time building a comp from the mobo on up, looking forward to the journey

 

[vezinapotomis]

If you get the 8800, you will need to upgrade your PSU because a minimum of 26 amps @ 12V is required. I use a PC power and cooling silencer 610, also on newegg, which puts out 49 amps @ 12V, more than enough, and I believe its almost exactly the same price as yours, maybe like $10 more.

EDIT: maybe not the silencer, It is enormous. It barely fits in my thermaltake full tower, I had to remove a chassis fan for it to fit, so i doubt it would even fit at all in a mid tower. But something with more juice is gonna be necessary for the 8800. newegg reviews of the 8800 seem to suggest that yes it will run and not die at less than recommended, but performance is absolutely terrible.

 

[Cheezeit]

Hey Zelpo, welcome to the forums

An 8800gts is actually overkill for what you need to do. Something like a 7900GS would suit you just fine, for half the price. If you buy and EVGA card, you can also step up within 90 days to the new 8600s that will come out. They are due in April, so you will have plenty of time.

 

[Fullmetal Chocobo]

Looks like a good build, and it looks like you did your homework. It makes me happy to see people who do not wish to skimp on the PSU. That Seasonic 600 is good, and it will last you for future upgrades should you want to do any at a later time. I have that LiteOn SATA DVD burner as well--excellent drive, and I've had no problems with it.

Just FYI... Linking here on these forums is: [ L = insert text for link ] URL [ / L ] (brackets and all were spaced out to see code).

 

[Fullmetal Chocobo]

Originally posted by: vezinapotomis
If you get the 8800, you will need to upgrade your PSU because a minimum of 26 amps @ 12V is required. I use a PC power and cooling silencer 610, also on newegg, which puts out 49 amps @ 12V, more than enough, and I believe its almost exactly the same price as yours, maybe like $10 more.

The Seasonic 600w has a max of 48 amps on the +12v rails...

 

[Eirgorn]

I dont really have much input, but if you get that HDD from Newegg use PPALBCUDA code to get $5 off. From the new paypal/newegg discount promo: PROMO

 

[Zelpo]

Thanks again for the replies! I play Civ4/Warlords quite a bit, so for me the more video card the better. Current (ehem, previous) comp, with all the upgrading I could throw at it, was barely adequate for playing it & that's not saying much lol.

I was thinking that the Seasonic 600w PSU would be more than enough, but the 8800's do tax the power supplies quite a bit from what I've been reading. I will only be running one video card, so that's a plus as far as PSU wattage usage is concerned.

Thanks again guys/gals, keep the comments comin'!

(I'll fix the links )

 

[Roguestar]

PSUs are often underestimated. A good brand like the Seasonic 600W will do more than well for an 8800GTS. Pretty good looking choices all around, there. I'd maybe have changed the Corsair memory to something else but if you're getting it for $155 after MIR then that's pretty good if you can wait for the rebate .

By the way, you can't use your Dell XP key from (presumably a barcode stuck on a sticker on the case) the old PC; it's an OEM license and is (long story short) tied to the old PC's hardware.

 

[oynaz]

The PSU is slightly overkill, a quality 450 watt would be enough. I doubt you will save a lot, so maybe you should stick with your choice.

Whatever you decide for your GFX card, stay away from ATI cards if you like to play Civ4. They have never gotten it to work properly with ATI cards.

 

[dkkruse]

I did basically the same thing, except I went with the antec true power PS, which is very quiet and efficient. spend a little extra to get the C2D6600. I got the XFX 7950 512 which is around $200. Use paypal by March 31 and save $15

 

[Pwnbroker]

I don't know if the truepower is modular, but I bought the smartpower 2.0 500W and it is modular...I love the modularity and the look of Antecs cables. If you have a window in your case, they make a lot of difference in the looks of your case.

 

[Boyo]

Definitley try and go modular on the PSU, as Pwnbroker stated...you won't regret it and it keeps your case cleaner. I would also recommend that you get a eVGA 7950GT for your build. Right speed and the right price.

 

[Zelpo]

Agreed about the module PSU, that's why I targeted the M12 line (& not the S12). After reading a thread about the 900 & wire management, modular seemed the only way to go.

Regarding the video card,Tom's Hardware had a decent article on benchmark comparisons between various video cards, really an eye opener as far as the 8800 320MB versions capabilities. Seems that those are the best bang for the buck right now, and Newegg has one going for $260 w/MIR. EVGA a decent brand for a video card?

 

[Zelpo]

Alrighty, build experience was great! Put everything together, and had a uCode error on POST. Flash of the BIOS cured that.

Final specs:
P5B-E
E6300
eVGA 8800 GTS 320MB
Corsair matched pair of 1GB sticks
Seagate 320GB 7200.10 SATA
Seasonic M12 600w
LITEON optical (SATA for the 965 chipset)

Okay, so I run 3DMark06 the first time around, and get a ~7300. Load up CPU-Z and realize I screwed up on the RAM and they are in singular configuration.

Get the RAM to dual, run 3DMark06 again and get a ~7200. I didn't expect much of a difference, but I also didn't expect the benchmark score to go down lol.

Anyone have thoughts on those results?