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Help me build my new PC

O

OKComputer

Junior Member
Help me build my PC

I?ve taken the guide in the general forum and answered below.

Goals: PC for 90% work, 10% hardcore gaming. I will be working from home part of the time using VPN and citrix hosted apps and RDP connections. At my office, I have a desktop + laptop with 3 monitors. I can remote both of them. I usually have about 12 windows open at a given time at the office and likely will at home too (for monitor considerations)

For gaming, I haven?t in a while, at least PC based. I like fast paced games, racing, dogfighting (planes, no Vick) plus some RPG (Halo)

I will also do some video editing, so that's a concern, but not the top use of the PC.

My budget is variable, but I want to maximize performance while minimizing cost. I have the HD's already, but nothing else. Ideally, less than $1,000 not including monitor.

I built my brother's PC about 4 years ago, but haven't touched the internals of one since.


Core items
1. Power supply ? what size/brand?
2. Case I?ll find one
3. Motherboard help me choose
4. CPU not sure, looking for few steps below the top, dual core Intel
5. Heatsink/fan for the CPU not sure
6. Memory 2-4 gigs??
7. Primary hard drive I have 2 seagate 300GB and 2 Seagate 400GB drives. I?d like to do a dual raid setup with the 300?s as the primary. I?m open to suggestions though.
8. Primary optical drive blue-ray is too expensive for this build, so I?ll use some standard DVD RW, not chosen yet
9. Video card (unless you?re using onboard video) Suggestions? No SLI, I want games to explode, but not my wallet
10. Monitor(s) ? see xtknight?s LCD thread I?ve got some ideas, including a 22? Samsung. I?d like a dual monitor setup, but a 22? may make that unnecessary
11. Mouse/keyboard I already have numerous sets to pick from
12. Operating System Vista was a pain the few times I?ve used it so I?m leaning towards XP pro. Thoughts?
13. Snacks crystal light, protein shakes and beef jerky


Optional stuff
1. Additional hard drive(s) see above
2. Additional optical drive(s) do I need?
3. Memory-card reader probably, suggestions
4. External hard drive meh
5. USB flash drive nah
6. Audio card Soundblaster Audigy SE, unless you have a better idea
7. Video-capture card and/or TV-tuner card not sure yet
8. Speakers I like logitech?s 5.1 system?not sure though
9. Headphones no
10. Printer have laser printer
11. Scanner broke mine, but don?t need one rightnow
12. Graphics tablet not an artist
13. Uninterruptible Power Supply and/or surge suppressor UPS not needed, have good surge guard
Anything I?m missing? Cables? What else?
 
Do you plan on overclocking? I assume work is nothing strenuous on the PC, at least not more than video editing or hardcore gaming. Here's a typical outline that you really can't mess up.

-CPU: Intel Q6600 $270 or Intel E8400 $225 for top of the line; E4500 for best price/performance at $125 (especially if you overclock)
-Motherboard: Gigabyte P35 DS3R $130 (Not sure if it has enough IDE/SATA ports, you'll have to check)
-RAM: 4GB (2x2GB kit) $100 G.Skill, Corsair, OCZ are all good brands. DDR2-667 if you don't overclock, DD2-800 if you do
-Video Card: ATi 3850 for $170, ATi 3870 for $200, or nVidia 8800GT for $230
-Power Supply: Antec EARTHWATTS 430 for $55, Corsair 450VX for $60 or 520HX for $120 or http://www.buy.com/prod/ocz-50...loc/101/206526699.html
-OS: Vista 64-Bit
-Heatsink Fan: Arctic Freezer 7 Pro $20 (optional)
Total: Just under $1000 for the most expensive parts, well below $1000 for the lesser parts

The Q6600 is a quad core, and will be a bit better for video editing. The E8400 is a dual core and will be a bit better for gaming since most games can't take advantage of quad core. You really can't go wrong either way, the performance gain/loss between the two is very minimal for the average user. It's a different story when the person is a hardcore video editor or gamer and really needs every little bit of power, but since you do both and seem to be casual about both, it's not really an issue. Vista 32-Bit and XP Pro 32-Bit will only recognize about 3.2-3.5GB of memory, not 4GB. Avoid XP 64-Bit. The aftermarket heatsink isn't really necessary unless you overclock pretty extensively.
 
Thanks!

Overclocking is an option, but i'm 50/50 on doing it. I'd like to build one fast enough that I'm not looking into that for a few years.

I'm going to use a 2 core, 4-core isn't supported enough for me at this time

The newegg link below lists the following:
Storage Devices
PATA 1 x ATA100 2 Dev. Max
SATA 3Gb/s 8
SATA RAID 0/1/5/10


I also found this post in another thread. I'm trying to put everyone's ideas together.

Originally posted by: Doclife
I would replace with the following components from your list:

MOTHERBOARD: GIGABYTE GA-EP35-DS3R $127

http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16813128086

I'm not sure if the motherboard you picked (Gigabyte DS3L) will support 45nm CPU (E8400) out of the box. If it is not, then you will not be able to boot your system up with the E8400. You will have to install an older Intel CPU to boot up and upgrade the BIOS first before you can use the E8400. The motherboard that I'm recommending will support 45nm CPU out of the box and will save you the trouble of updating the motherboard BIOS. It also has superb onboard sound (you will not need to buy a sound card), 8 USB ports and other improvements. Overall, it is a better quality mobo than the DS3L.


MEMORY: mushkin 4GB(2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) $83 (no rebate, Free Shipping)

http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16820146693

You want to buy Jedec standard memory, which will run at 1.8V. Jedec standard memory will save you a lot of headache with incompatibility issues. Other memory will require you to increase the voltage to 2.0 - 2.2V and may cause incompatibility. No rebate to mess with.


SOUND CARD: On board sound is very good on the DS3L and superb on the DS3R. I don't think you will need a sound card. Buy a sound card only after you have listened to the onboard sound and you decided that it is not good enough for you.


CASE: Antec P182 Gun Metal Black $60 (after $30 instant promo code discount: EMCACAJBH, $50 rebate, Free shipping)

http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16811129025

If you want to save some money, then buy this case now (instant promo code may expire any time). This is a very popular case in the silent PC community.
Click to expand...

 
Originally posted by: OKComputer
Does the Gigabyte GA-EPS35-DS3R not have 1394 built in?
Click to expand...

The GA-EP35-DS3R does not have 1394 built in. If you want 1394 built in then get Gigabyte GA-EP35-DS3P (~$155), which also support 45nm CPU out of the box and have superb on board sound.

Other components I recommend:


PSU: Corsair VX 450w Power Supply - CMPSU-450VX $50 (after $10 rebate, $10 Google checkout, Free Shipping)

http://www.buy.com/prod/corsai...loc/101/205466485.html

Quiet and efficient. The cables on this PSU is long enough for the Antec P182 case if you decide to go with that. You can read the review of the PSU here

http://www.silentpcreview.com/article751-page1.html

VIDEO CARD: ECS 8800GT 512MB ~$220

This card was on sale for $199.99 at Newegg the other day (search the hot deals forum for details), but I think it is OOS now. This is an excellent card because of the Accelero S1 cooler that came with it. The card is also factory OCed to 650MHz (core)/1900MHz (memory). You could also buy the EVGA 8800GT 512MB card and install the Accelero S1 cooler yourself.

CPU HEATSINK/FAN: I recommend that you use the stock cooler first and see if it meet your needs. The stock cooler is quiet and more than adequate for stock or moderate OC (see my signature at the bottom). When you're ready to push your CPU hard, then consider an aftermarket cooler.
 
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