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New Build - Help - I know nothing - Well I know a little but need advice from the experts!

M

msutiny

Junior Member
Hello,

New to the forum but have heard a ton about anandtech over the years (you guys / girls are the experts)! 🙂

Okay, I want to build a new PC as I am sick of my old one (I will not be using any parts from the old one).

I currently have already purchased:

Processor: Intel E8400

Tower: [/u]Cooler Master Cosmos 1000

PSU: Cooler Master Real Power 750

DVD Burner: Samsung S-203b

Any suggestions on what to upgrade to?

I have tried reading but apparently I have totally lost touch with technology and am now completely lost as to what to buy.

My thoughts based on my reading:

Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-P35-DS3R (has the 8 sata ports for future scalability)

Memory: NO CLUE - I read some good reviews on OCZ Reaper & Corsair XMS2 DHX

Power Supply Cooling Fan: NO CLUE

Hard Drive: Thinking of a 500gb to 750gb sata drive western digital or seagate

Video Card: NO CLUE - I read that the new 9600 series of cards will be out soon which is suppose to be between the 8600 and 8800 which seems like the best place for my needs.

Answers to the general questions from the sticky:

1. What YOUR PC will be used for. That means what types of tasks you'll be performing.

Primarily just general use - occasionally ripping dvd's, archive compression (rar, zip, etc.), and sometimes high end gaming (if I ever have time)!

2. What YOUR budget is. A price range is acceptable as long as it's not more than a 20% spread

I can spend up to $800 - $900 more. But if the 9600 series is coming out soon I would rather go really cheap on the video card and save some of the cash to get the 9600 when it's realeased.

3. What country YOU will be buying YOUR parts from.

I'm in the USA.

4. IF YOU have a brand preference. That means, are you an Intel-Fanboy, AMD-Fanboy, ATI-Fanboy, nVidia-Fanboy, Seagate-Fanboy, WD-Fanboy, etc, etc, etc, you get the picture.

I just want performance - could care less about brand.

5. If YOU intend on using any of YOUR current parts, and if so, what those parts are.

N/A

6. IF YOU have searched and/or read similar threads.

I've been reading for about 1 - 1/2 weeks and am no closer to a decision than when I started but I have learned a little! 🙂

7. IF YOU plan on overclocking or run the system at default speeds.

I do intend to overclock as much as feasible but I do want this PC to last at least a few years if possible so the final settings will need to not be overkill to prematurely waste the processor.

I just want the power in the pc to do whatever I want when I want. I can't stand to wait for things on the pc - if it takes 10 seconds to open now I will pay the extra cash to get it to open in 8 seconds - that's how much I can't stand a slow pc! I know - I'm crazy but what the heck!

Thoughts and advice are greatly appreciated!

Thank You!

MSUtiny
 
I was not a huge fan of the cosmos case, the ONLY thing I don't like about it is their interesting hard drive mounting setup and apparent lack of HD cooling. I have heard that there are workarounds to get good HD cooling with the cosmos, but I couldn't've been bothered to worry about that.

I went with this case because of the excellent HD cooling, and it's overall just really spacious and easy to manage cables.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16811112155

and it's cheaper than the cosmos as well, last time I checked...

there are a lot of great antec cases out there as well. I'm just not the biggest fan of the cosmos.

750W is more power than you need even if you run 2 video cards, which it does not sound like you are.

for memory, get some DDR2-800 2x2GB or 2x1GB ... timings either 4-4-4-12 or 5-5-5-15 are good, won't make an extreme difference. go for lower rated voltages of 1.8ish. don't overpay for DDR2-1066 unless you are really serious about overclocking


best bang for your buck video card right now is the 8800GT... unless you want to spend over $400 on video alone.


for hard drives, if you are doing JBOD (non-RAID) then I would've gotten a raptor for OS + program files most likely, and one of the 500GB seagate 7200.10 perpendicular recording HD's for storage.


 
If you don't intend to overclock then any decent ddr2 800 will be fine (corsiar, crucial, ocz, patriot...) if you do want to overclock then you might want to go for higher speed memory. WD's 750 is very fast but you might be beter with two 500gigs so you have some backup options. As for gpu's if you aren't worried about high resolution gaming but want an option to play almost any game then go for the 3850 or 256 meg 8800gt, both are under $200 and are more then fast enough for most games (basically everything besides crysis (which nothing is fast enough for)). Supposedly the 9600 will be around there speed (maybe a little slower and a little less expensive). If you realy dont intend to game at all then an 8600gt for $100 would be fine.
 
Thanks guys!

I got the cosmos for $50 after rebates so I will probably just keep it and find a way to cool the HD.

What brand of memory is best right now? I read that the OCZ Reaper is good and the Crucial XMS2 as well. I do plan to over clock so I need something capable.

Any thoughts on the motherboard I am thinking of getting?

Also, what is the best bang for the buck as far as processor cooling right now? I plan to try to squeak out around 3.6 - 4 .0 ghz so I don't want to fry it.

Thanks again for the tips! I really appreciate the help!

MSUtiny
 
Originally posted by: msutiny
Thanks guys!

I got the cosmos for $50 after rebates so I will probably just keep it and find a way to cool the HD.

What barnd of memory is best right now? I read that the OCZ Reaper is good and the Crucial XMS2 as well. I do plan to over clock so I need something capable.

Any thoughts on the motherboard I am thinking of getting?

Also, what is the best bang for the buck as far as processor cooling right now? I plan to try to squeak out around 3.6 - 4 .0 ghz so I don't want to fry it.

Thanks again for the tips! I really appreciate the help!

MSUtiny
Click to expand...
Any brand of DDR2-800 at all is good to take that CPU up to 3.6GHz, and you can use stock cooling on that. If you want something better, read the Anandtech main site for cooler reviews and roundups.
 
Would it be better to get DDR2 1066 and clock down to DDR2-800 ish? Won't that get me tighter timings while allowing me to OC the processor?
 
Again, thank you for the prompt replies!

So, if tighter timings really don't mean much how about 800 vs. 1066? Which one would allow me the best chances at a high OC?

 
Well, ddr800 will do for 3,6ghz, I'd buy at least an arctic freezer 7 pro for that, to keep things nice and quiet, and cool running too. For 4.0ghz I'd reckon you want a Tuniq Tower 120 for 40-45$. To achieve 4.0ghz your ram will have to run at 880mhz though, and lots of ddr2 800mhz will quite easily run at 880mhz, it might only need 0.1v extra for that. Like this ram for example: http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16820231122 But if you want to play it safe, just buy this ram: http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16820231145 it's only 115$, so still pretty much a steal if you ask me for 2x2gb, and it will allow you to overclock to 4.5ghz, something you won't be able to do anyways on air.
 
Thanks for the info!

I'll look into the ram suggested when I get home tonight (typing on my cell phone).

Is there a real benefit to 4gb vs. 2gb? I'm only on xp 32 bit right now but may upgrade to 64 bit if necessary. I know 32 bit will only recognize 3gb so if I put in 4gb will it harm my ram by only using 1/2 of stick?
 
Originally posted by: msutiny
Thanks for the info!

I'll look into the ram suggested when I get home tonight (typing on my cell phone).

Is there a real benefit to 4gb vs. 2gb? I'm only on xp 32 bit right now but may upgrade to 64 bit if necessary. I know 32 bit will only recognize 3gb so if I put in 4gb will it harm my ram by only using 1/2 of stick?
Click to expand...

It will actually use what windows won't show. (if this makes sense) Windows 32 bit can only "show" 3.25GB to the user. However, it uses what's leftover for kernel-level processes such as running the OS itself. The rest (3.25GB) goes to user processes (apps, games, porn). However, if you're not doing a lot of serious encoding/decoding, there's not any real reason to get more than 2GB of RAM. My computer runs like a dream with it on Vista U32.
 
Awesome, thank you! I will find whatever the best deal is and go with that on the RAM.

In regards to the PSU - It's brand new so I don't plan to replace it. It seems sufficient for what I am looking to do (besides it was like $50 or $60 after rebates-normally $169).

Although, I do realize where the comment is coming from as I originally put "Power Supply Cooling Fan" - it was late - I meant to say "Processor Cooling Fan" LOL.

I'll let you guys know what components I decide on.

Thanks!
 
Holy crap!

I just opened my American Express bill and have a -$250 credit balance on it! It is a business gold card and apparently when I got it there was a "$250 credit w/first purchase" promotion going on and I didn't know it. Since I don't carry a balance on the card they are sending me a check! $250 more to throw at the build!

Is water cooling hard to do?

Any advice if I were to go water cooled?
 
Well, this is what I decided to go with for now.

Western Digital Caviar SE16 WD3200KSRTL 320GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - Retail
$84.99

Western Digital Caviar SE16 WD7500KSRTL 750GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - Retail $159.99

ZOGIS ZO86GT-E GeForce 8600GT 512MB 128-bit GDDR2 PCI Express x16 SLI Supported Video Card - Retail
$89.99

G.SKILL 4GB(2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 1000 (PC2 8000) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model F2-8000CL5D-4GBPQ - Retail
$114.99

GIGABYTE GA-EP35-DS3R LGA 775 Intel P35 ATX Dynamic Energy Saver Ultra Durable 2 Intel Motherboard - Retail
$126.99

Tuniq T-120-LFB 120mm CPU Cooler - Retail
$52.99

I will consider upgrading the video card when the new 9600's are out but it should be good for now.

Thanks Guys!

MSUtiny
 
I got a 750 and 320 because I wanted around 1TB of storage as I have 1TB of additional storage in IDE drives. I didn't really want to spend the extra $15 - $20 for a 500gb as I honestly probably wouldn't use it. The 320 will be for the OS, Program files, games, etc.... while the 750 will be for data storage.

As for the card I just went with what was cheap. I figured $70 for 512mb isn't bad and according to reviews if you over clock it the performance will be similar to a 7900GS but with DX10 playback capability. If it doesn't work well for me then I will eBay it. Should be able to get most of what I paid for it back. And since the GPU's are all made by the same people there shouldn't really be any performance difference between an EVGA or this one (I think).

Can anyone give me a link to a good How To that will let me learn how to OC this board and Ram or tell me the settings I should use?

Thanks!

MSUtiny
 
The videocards do differ, they use 'cheaper' pcb's, hence they cost less. As for the HD's, that 750gb HD is going to be the fastest HD, and you are going to use it for storage, pretty much a waste if you ask me. I would have went with 2x500gb HD's instead. As for overclocking guides, check the overclocking forum perhaps: HOWTO: Overclock C2Q (Quads) and C2D (Duals) - A Guide v1.4 ?
 
Thank you for the reply. Both the 320 and the 750 are 7200 rpm so why would there be such a big difference that you think its a waste?

Also, are you saying a 500gb would be equivalent to the 750gb?

Besides, I'm upgrading from IDE so I would think either one would seem speedy to me.

MSUplayboy
 
IDE vs SATA doesn't matter that much. The 750gb is higher density though, which is why it will be faster. It's not like day or night differences, I guess I exagerated a bit, but keeping performance in mind, boot times and such 'should' be faster with the 750gb HD. And no, a 500gb HD won't be faster then a 750gb, but will probably faster then the 320gb HD. You could of course just make a boot partition on the 750gb HD, like 100gb, and use the rest for storage ?
 
My concern is that I don't want to have al the data on one large drive and with the OS constantly accessing it have it die prematurley and losing everything.

If I do a partition and the drive crashes would just the partition that crashes be unreadable or would the whole thing be trash?

I'm now debating getting 2 of the 750's and calling it a day.

Thought?

MSUplayboy
 
Well if it's going to be your backup drive, and you really want to keep things save, then why not 2x500gb HD's and a 320gb HD, and use 1x500gb as a PURE backup drive ? I don't know, if longevity and security is that much of an issue you should look into other options. But like I said, it's not going to matter 'that' much, 1x750gb for storage and a 320gb for your os/applications and games will be just fine, and cheapest of course.
 
Originally posted by: msutiny
If I do a partition and the drive crashes would just the partition that crashes be unreadable or would the whole thing be trash?

I'm now debating getting 2 of the 750's and calling it a day.

Thought?

MSUplayboy
Click to expand...

Partitions are not safer that stuff stored in one partition on a drive. If the drive crashes, all is lost. If you're worried about this, just get multiple hard drives and make regular backups to an external drive.
 
Thanks again for the prompt replies.

My plan was to keep my old pc running and use it as a file server (which if anyone knows of a good how to make a file server link I would greatly apprecite it as I don't even know where to begin). The old pc has approx. 1TB of space so I figured the main pc with the 320 for the OS etc... and a 750 for local backup all linked to my other pc as a file server.

I just don't want to lose anything as I have around 9 years of pictures on the drives and various other data from college, etc.... What I typically do is buy a new HD every year or so and copy the files onto the new drive and leave the other copy on the original drive so I always have the files in two places.

Sorry for the long winded reply.

I appreciate any advice or thoughts on my logic.

MSUplayboy
 
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