New Build for a friend

[jcny19x]

Hey guys, I am wondering if you could help me out with a new build for my friend; so far I plan to buy these parts, let me know if you have any better suggestions (esp. on the mobo, ram, and gfx card)

Soundcard: X-fi Extreme

PSU: XClio 500w

CPU: E6300

Hard Drive: Seagate 300gb SATA

Ram: pqi 2gb Power series DDR2 - 533 (PC2-4200) - I want the PC2-4200, and not 4300, right?

Mobo: Gigabyte S3 - Here

Case: Lian Li 7Bplus II

Gfx Card: Evga 7600gt

Does this sound alright? I have a 1k budget, and cheaper is always better. Also, I am only familiar with building A64 computers...are there any Core2duo build guides out there, or is it pretty much the same? Excuse my ignorance. Thanks guys. Later

 

[CurseTheSky]

I'm not a case or PSU expert, so I'll leave those up to someone else. Here are my suggestions for a $1,000 budget gaming PC. The first one would require you to go a little bit over budget for the case and power supply, but it would give you a great deal of overclocking headroom, and performance. The second one will get you within your budget, but definately won't perform as well.

This is designed for overclocking:
Core 2 Duo E6300 - $184
ASUS P5B-E, P965 Express - $153
2x1GB Crucial DDR2 667, C3 - $230
Powercolor X1950 Pro - $210
Seagate 320GB 7200.10, SATA - $95
Sound Blaster X-Fi XtremeMusic - $73 after MIR
Total: $945 (NOTE: no case and power supply)

This is designed for stock use or light overclocking:
Core 2 Duo E6300 - $184
Gigabyte S3, P965 Express - $116
2x1GB G.Skill DDR2 533 - $200 (NOTE: I have not read anything on this particular memory; it might be good, it might not)
eVGA 7900GS - $166 after MIR
Seagate 320GB 7200.10, SATA - $95
Sound Blaster X-Fi XtremeMusic - $73 after MIR
Total: $784 (NOTE: no case and power supply)

 

[jcny19x]

thanks man awesome!

 

[stogez]

If you're looking to OC with an E6300, you really want PC6400 so you can up the FSB as much as possible. Go with the E6300, Gigabyte DS3 and good ram.

Actually probably PC25300 667mhz will be fine but you could get higher in case you want to upgrade in the future

 

[Operandi]

Originally posted by: jcny19x
Soundcard: X-fi Extreme

PSU: XClio 500w

CPU: E6300

Hard Drive: Seagate 300gb SATA

Ram: pqi 2gb Power series DDR2 - 533 (PC2-4200) - I want the PC2-4200, and not 4300, right?

Mobo: Gigabyte S3 - Here

Case: Lian Li 7Bplus II

Gfx Card: Evga 7600gt

The X-Fi is a waste of money; the Gigabyte board has onboard HD-audio, use it. I would also change the PSU to a Seasonic or Enhance unit; 350-400 watts is plenty.

 

[jcny19x]

thanks guys, I'll keep the sound card in mind, and I'm thinking I'll put the xclio 450W PSU in there instead...saves about 10 dollars. I shouldn't really worry about the build even though I have only put A64s together in the past? Thanks

 

[CurseTheSky]

Everything will go together pretty smoothly. The Socket 775 setup is actually the easiest I've ever used - the pins on the processor itself are flat, so there's no worry about bending them. The motherboard's socket has pins (it comes with a plastic protector that must be removed) instead of slots, making it even easier to drop the CPU into place and lock it in.

 

[caberguy]

I've been quite pleased with my G.Skill RAM (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16820231098). I've had it for about 2 weeks now. It's running at DDR2 920 at 4-4-4-13 timings at 2.0V with my GA-965P-S3 and an e6300. I fiddled with it the other day and got it up to DDR2 1020 at 5-5-5-15 with 2.2V, and it was stable enough to use (though i didn't prime95 it). My mobo would have let me throw another .2V at it so it probably could have gone a bit higher. It's only $210 for the 2GB kit and it has purty red heat spreaders on it.

I've got the same mobo that you're looking at, and am quite happy with the sound. I've heard reasonably good things about the higher end Xclio units. Are you referring to the $50 one or the $94 one? I'd stay away from the cheapy and go with Antec or something, and I'd say that at the $95 price point you could get an excellent product (Seasonic, enermax, etc) instead of a relatively unproven newcomer.

 

[pkme2]

Good luck on your build. Checkout the FS/T forum for some great deals. Just saw some computer pull DDR2 RAM FS there a few minutes ago.

 

[jcny19x]

curse, caber, and pk THANKS for your info, I will definitely use your advice + help - I was referring to the xclio 500 w by the way. Thanks for the build tips, and i'll check the FS forum as well. Also, GREAT info on that ram, if I don't see anything worth buying in the FS/FT, then I'll check that pair out. Thanks again...