New Build - MB Question

[BF04]

Hi all. Building a new pc for a friend. His budget is $1500. He mainly plays eq2, does not OC or need SLI vid cards. He wants Vista, as he will keep this rig for years. He prefers not having to upgrade later if possible. Here is what I am thinking so far. He has an ATX case so one is not needed.

MB - Asus P5N-E SLI LGA 775 chipset 650i $129 - Ive looked for reviews, found a couple and seem ok. However does anyone use this board here and give some input?

CPU - Intel Core 2 Duo E6600 $314. Might drop it the E6400 for $212 if needed due to cost.

EVGA 8800GTS 640MB $409
Samsun 18x DVDRW $32
Seagate 7200 320GB SATA 3g $89
CreativeLabs X-FI XtremeGamer $80
Corsair PSU 520W $129
Corsair XMS2 2GB DDR2 800 $207
Windows Vista home premium OEM $119

Comes out to about $1515

Any thoughts or suggestions, Im thinking if the MB is good this build should last him a long while.

Thanks for the help

 

[o1die]

I'd go for an antec, enermax, or fortron power supply. I don't know who builds corsair power supplies. Any of those 3 mentioned will work fine.

 

[moosey]

Keep the Corsair PSU, its a great choice (made by Seasonic), way better than Antec.

I'd check out some motherboards on an Intel chipset as well, take a look at some good P965 boards.
Check out the Gigabyte DS3 or S3, as well as the Asus P5B-E and P5B (note the P5B isn't good to overclock so make sure he really doesn't want to)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductLi...t=ENE&Manufactory=1314&SubCategory=280
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductLi...t=ENE&Manufactory=1315&SubCategory=280

Also, with no overclocking, if you needed to save money you could instead invest in some DDR2-667 memory
Examples
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16820145015
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductCo...List=N82E16820227118%2CN82E16820227078

 

[yiranhu]

There's some Patriot xtreme memory at NEWEGG is only 190 after rebate. That's a very solid D9 memory. I don't know what XMS2 uses but that's another one you can consider...

Also buffalo firestix is only 190 (no rebate) at NE. Both this and patriot and extremely good overclockers so in case he changes his mind later. They are also cheaper...

Also I would not spend 125 on a 500 Watt power supply. Check out Rosewill power supplies at NE for some really solid 500 to 600 Watt power supply (great reviews) that will cost only half of 125... To be honest, if he doesn't need SLI, the power draw of this system is at most 300 Watts. So any solid 500 watt will be more than enough...

 

[o1die]

Fry's has a 500w antec for $39.99 today through Tuesday, if you live near one.

 

[paydirt]

I've heard bad things about Rosewill PSUs quitting after a few months.

 

[BF04]

Hey thanks for all the replys so far. Ill check out other PSU's however I chose that one due to the modular cable and wanting to tidy things up inside the case. I will look around some more and check out the memory you mentioned Yiranhu.


thanks

 

[LiquidFlame]

You guys are making a big mistake, Watts are not the main thing to look at, you need to look at how much total Amps are put out on the +12V rails. Keep in mind that for a single 8800GTX you need at least 34 Amps on the +12v rail. The corsair 620 puts out 50 amps and at Zip its only 123 after rebate. The corsair is a solid PSU.

 

[moosey]

Originally posted by: LiquidFlame
You guys are making a big mistake, Watts are not the main thing to look at, you need to look at how much total Amps are put out on the +12V rails. Keep in mind that for a single 8800GTX you need at least 34 Amps on the +12v rail. The corsair 620 puts out 50 amps and at Zip its only 123 after rebate. The corsair is a solid PSU.

That's why I said the Corsair was a great choice. I'm also 99% sure it'll run an 8800GTS fine since the 620W supposedly will run 2 8800GTX in SLI.

I wouldn't buy a Rosewill though, you don't know who makes it and they're generally low quality.