New computer build, suggestions?

[hoovie]

I realize based on other threads posted, that the general consensus is that people are tired of these "build me a computer" posts, but i'm hopeful that I don't get too many flames for this

Anyway, I should be getting my tax return in a week or so, and will be building a new computer, with the intention of spending about $1000. I plan to use the computer primarily for gaming, and have intentions of incremental upgrades in the future. I've done a bit of research and have peiced together some components that I think will work well together, and (at least at newegg) meets my budget.

Case: Antec Sonata III 500
Motherboard: GIGABYTE GA-P35-DS3L
CPU: Intel Core 2 Duo E8400
Video: MSI NX8800GTS
Memory: OCZ Vista Upgrade 4GB(2 x 2GB) DDR2 800
Hard drive: Seagate Barracuda ST3250410AS 250GB 7200 RPM SATA
Monitor: SAMSUNG 906BW Black-Silver 19"

As far as components I plan to reuse, I've got my 5.1 speaker setup, optical mouse and MS natural keyboard(one of those split in half jobbies) and I've got 2 optical drives that I plan to move over to the new system.

Do any of you guys have any suggestions regarding any incompatibilities, or changes for better hardware(more bang for buck, or equivilant bang for much cheaper)?

Like I said earlier, I've found all this on newegg.com for just over $1000, and I'd like to keep the total to that or less. Thanks for looking.

:EDIT: I'd like to add that I do NOT plan on overclocking this machine(or any other I build, for that matter) so intel isn't a necessity, I just wanted something different, as I've had AMD in every computer since 1998.

 

[HawkeyeRecon2]

Hello Hoovie,

I'm new to the board and have read a ton of threads here the past week. I too was searching for the perfect budget gamer.

Today I purchased the P35 DS3R, and the MSI NX8800 GTS OC (the overclocked one with the giant heatsink and fan).

I went with G.SKILL 4GB(2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) and an Intel e2180 which I plan on OC'ing. The chip you listed is supposed to be a really good, powerful chip that offers great value. My chip is 1/3 the price though and should overclock to above 3.0 Ghz. Something to consider if it looks like you are surpassing your budget.


I haven't priced out everything you listed to see if $1000 is possible. Your chip, board and video card look to be great. You might want to consider a better case (it only has one fan), an aftermarket CPU cooler (Antec Freezer 7 Pro), and possibly 4 gigs of RAM. HD's are relatively cheap, a 500GB for $100 is a good value.

Let us know what you go with.

 

[hoovie]

as far as the hard drive, I'm currently running an 80GB hdd, so stepping up to a 250gb not only is a big step, but will give me plenty of headroom, not to mention that as you stated, hdd's are cheap, and I really could afford one later on down the line, if I needed more space.

For the memory, from the research I've done I was under the impression that windows couldn't use more than 3GB of ram, at least any version of Vista less than ultimate. - Which is something that I neglected to mention in my original post - that I will be using vista home premium.

as far as my list goes, if I could figure out how to link to a wish list on newegg, I would do so, to show my priceout.

The case I chose currently goes for 34.99 due to an instant rebate, but if the rebate goes away when my tax return comes in, it will retail for 54.99. do you have any suggestions for a different case that costs about the same?

 

[HawkeyeRecon2]

I believe that 32 bit windows is limited to 3.5 Gigs. If you run any 64 bit windows though, I THINK you can run up to 8Gigs.

Hopefully someone else will confirm or deny this.

 

[chinaman1472]

Any particular reason for the DS3R? The DS3L is a bit cheaper if you don't need the extra features.

At 250GB, you might as well double the space for less than doubling the price if they're on sale.

Non-64 Bit OS will use/report about 3.2GB of memory. Vista is somewhat of a memory hog, I'd put my money on the fact that 3.2GB non dual channel outperforms 2GB dual channel. Crucial is a pretty high priced brand; G.Skill 2x2GB kits run $90 on Newegg. I've seen other 2x2GB kits from Corsair and OCZ as low at $60 (at other places as well) after rebates.

At $55, a Cooler Master case is a great option, but there's that whole $15 shipping thing...

 

[hoovie]

for the speed of memory I'm going with(PC2 8500), for now, 2GB seems more affordable... G.skill 4GB (2x2GB) goes for $170.

I've decided on this speed memory becuase that is the memory standard of the mother board I've selected. I chose this mobo becuase of the touted energy efficency claims(not only good for the wallet, but good for the environment).

As far as the harddrive, I really don't store that much stuff on my computer, and I actually TRY to keep the amount of junk to a minimum(not because of my current 80GB hdd, but when I defrag it takes less time, and there is less seek time when I don't get around to a defrag for a while) In my case, where I don't store a lot of music and videos on my computer, the only thing that would take up lots of space are games, which other than a couple of multiplayer games, once I've finished a single player game, I'm done with it for a while - long enough for me to uninstall it, thus not necessitating a larger hard drive. I could probably get away with one of the roughly 80GB 10000K rpm raptors, if I wanted to spend the money on it.

I'll check out the cooler master cases, to see what the offerings are.

Thanks for the prompt replies, I'll take all the suggestions so far into consideration.

 

[Roguestar]

Originally posted by: hoovie
for the speed of memory I'm going with(PC2 8500), for now, 2GB seems more affordable... G.skill 4GB (2x2GB) goes for $170.

I've decided on this speed memory becuase that is the memory standard of the mother board I've selected. I chose this mobo becuase of the touted energy efficency claims(not only good for the wallet, but good for the environment).

There's no need to go with that memory speed. The motherboard says "memory up to 1066", not that it requires 1066. If you're not overclocking, your memory will actually run at 666MHz regardless of what it's rated for, so it's a waste of money to buy the DDR2-1066 rated stuff. Just get the cheapest set of DDR2-800 and you've got plenty of headroom if you decide to overclock it. Bottom line: You do not need PC2 8500 memory, especially if you are not overclocking.

 

[DSF]

What Roguestar said is correct. Your motherboard is not specified to handle anything higher than DDR2-1066, but it will run anything lower. For your usage (i.e., not overclocking) there's no reason to pay for DDR2-1066. There's no real performance increase, just a price increase.

 

[MarcVenice]

Yes, better to get 2x2gb of ddr2 800mhz instead of 2x1gb of ddr1066mhz. I'd skimp a bit on the mobo, and get a ds3l or abit ip35-e instead, and spend a little more on the case. Like this one for example: http://www.microcenter.com/sin...tml?product_id=0265143

You could also buy this btw: http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16811129024 because it comes with the antec earthwatts 500w PREinstalled. Meaning the case costs 45$, and it's definately better then the rosewill case.

 

[Roguestar]

Go team! :thumbsup:

 

[hoovie]

I see. Thanks for the advice, I'll definitly go with the lower speed memory, and I think I'll go with that sonata III case as well. Even if I don't get it on sale, it will be the same price as the original case and PSU seperatly cost, so it seems to make more sense that way.

The ds3l board you suggest, marc, is interesting to me, but is it compatible with 45nm process cpu out of the box, or will it require a bios upgrade first? I would prefer it to work out of box, as I'm not entirely comfortable with doing a bios flash myself. Thanks for the suggestions, I'll be updating my list shortly

 

[Roguestar]

It specifies that is supports an FSB of 1333 or 1066, so your 45nm 1333FSB processor should work fine without any changes.

 

[DSF]

Originally posted by: hoovie
I see. Thanks for the advice, I'll definitly go with the lower speed memory, and I think I'll go with that sonata III case as well. Even if I don't get it on sale, it will be the same price as the original case and PSU seperatly cost, so it seems to make more sense that way.

The ds3l board you suggest, marc, is interesting to me, but is it compatible with 45nm process cpu out of the box, or will it require a bios upgrade first? I would prefer it to work out of box, as I'm not entirely comfortable with doing a bios flash myself. Thanks for the suggestions, I'll be updating my list shortly

Quite a few people here have recently built computers with the DS3L and E8400, and I haven't heard of any problems.

 

[hoovie]

Well, the boss(aka wife) dropped a bomb on me today, and I need to take between $100 and $150 off of the price of the computer, which I think I may need some help accomplishing. If you guys wouldn't mind helping me a bit more, I'd appreciate it.

I do have a couple of requirements, though - the monitor isn't included in the calculations, and I would like to keep the graphics card I've already picked. Pretty much everything else is fair game, but I would like to stick with the DS3L motherboard, as I think it will pair up nicely with the E8400(which I may have to upgrade to in the future, at which point, I'll probably choose a different 45nm cpu). I won't be doing any overclocking at this point, and I'd like to stay with a 500W PSU. I'm off to do some more searching, and I'll post an updated list once I've finished, but I would also like to compare to what you guys come up with as well.

I think it would be best to make all the purchases from one retailer, so as to save on shipping - I've been using newegg, as they've treated me well in the past, but I will consider other sites, especially if they are price competitive.

thanks for the help you've already given me, and for any you give in the future

oh, one more thing: I would prefer to not take into account any sales going on. If there is something on sale when I actually make the purchase, I can always pick that up instead(no list is final until paid for ), but to make it easier, I think it best to ignore sales and rebates.


**EDIT**
This is my revised list, please don't hate on this too much, becuase of the rosewill case - I realize it sucks, but it works better than a cardboard box(which I've done, btw)

Case: Rosewill R222-P-BK $28
Motherboard: GIGABYTE GA-P35-DS3L $90
Video: MSI NX8800GTS GeForce 8800GTS $200
Power: Antec earthwatts EA500 $90
CPU: Intel Core 2 Duo E6550 $175
RAM: Patriot 4GB(2 x 2GB) DDR2 800 $86
HDD: Seagate Barracuda ST3160815AS 160GB $53
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Total: $722


The previous build I specced out came to be about $850(not including monitor), so this meets my wife's demands, but also gives me a pretty decent computer, I think. Note that all prices are from newegg.com and they do not take into account any sales. Obviously, once I make my purchase, if I can find something better for the same price, due to a sale, I'll be going with the better hardware.

BTW, I'd like to apoligize to those who helped with the original list, since some changes had to be made, but I still appreciate the help. Now, does anyone have any suggestions to make this better for about the same price? I'd like to keep the price as close to the $722 as possible, thanks.

 

[chinaman1472]

If you plan to upgrade in the future, I'd probably cut back on the CPU and get an E4500 at $125 for now, and do some mild overclocking. You can pocket the $50 or get a better case.

 

[Roguestar]

Originally posted by: hoovie
Well, the boss(aka wife) dropped a bomb on me today, and I need to take between $100 and $150 off of the price of the computer, which I think I may need some help accomplishing. If you guys wouldn't mind helping me a bit more, I'd appreciate it.

Boo! Fight the power!

You could save some $$$ on the CPU, as chinaman said, cutting it back to an E4500. If you're averse to that you could change the 8800GTS for an 8800GT; there's not a huge difference in them.

 

[MarcVenice]

Nah he mixed up the 8800gt for 200$ AR, and mistakenly put and S behind it. I'd drop down to a e4500 too, and get a better case. Because sooner or later you'll want a new case, a decent one, so getting a rubbish one right now is like throwing money away. E6550 surely is NOT worth it for 175$, I mean, at microcenter 189$ used to get you a e8400. It's only marginally faster then the e4500, and is a lot harder to overclock.

 

[DSF]

Another vote for the E4500 as a good way to save the necessary money. As said, it's only marginally slower than the E6550, and has a lot more overclocking potential. At stocks speeds it's fine for just about any game right now, and when you deem it necessary it will very easily overclock to 3.0GHz.

 

[hoovie]

So even though the E6550 has a higher FSB speed, and twice as much L2 cache, the E4500 would be better for the price, huh? would the E4600 be worth considering, since it seems to be in the middle between the two others price-wise, or is the extra 200Mhz not even worth the trouble?

**EDIT**
OK, I've done some more thinking, and I decided to agree with you guys, and go with the E4500. with the savings from the processor change, I am now able to pick a better case, which I've decided on the hec 6XR8 Black, thus bringing my total down to $708. Not too shabby, if I do say so myself. Thanks for all the assistance, and if there are any other suggestions you care to make, I'll be more than happy to consider them, right up until I actually make my purchase.

 

[imported_wired247]

Originally posted by: HawkeyeRecon2
If you run any 64 bit windows though, I THINK you can run up to 8Gigs.

You can run somewhere in the neighborhood of 18446744073 gigs on a 64 bit OS

 

[hoovie]

So, my wife and I were in Circuit City today, and we were looking at the fancy all in one, touch screen monitor HP computers they had, and she immediately fell in love with them, which would have been bad, as she was willing to shell out $1600 for one. I managed to keep her convinced that building a computer was the way to go, and she relented, giving me more freedom, so I think I'm *sigh* making a new list. I'd like to go with the E8400, if I can get one, but I'll settle for one of the E6xxx processors, I think. I'd like to avoid OC'ing to aid in making the components last as long as possible - I don't get to do much upgrading very often - my current HDD is 7 years old!

Anyway, do you have any recommendations? I've got a list to start with, and go on from there:

Case: APEVIA X-Plorer ATXB8KLW-SS
Motherboard: GIGABYTE GA-EP35-DS3R (or P35-DS3L)
CPU: Intel Core 2 Duo E8400 / E6xxx(?)
Video: PNY G92 GeForce 8800GT 512MB
PSU: Antec earthwatts EA500
Memory: G.SKILL 4GB DDR2-800 F2-6400CL4D-4GBPK
Hard drive: Seagate Barracuda ST3500630AS 500GB 7200 RPM SATA
Optical: Sony NEC Optiarc 20X DVD±R DVD Burner
Monitor: ???

So with my new budget, I can actually consider going SLI, but is there actually any point at the moment, where I still intend to go with the G92 8800GT? Also, if I don't get the E8400, is there any point to the E6xxx series(especially as I'm NOT overclocking)

As far as a monitor, I'd like as low a response time as possible(2 ms preferably), but a fairly decent size(no smaller than 19", think still a budget monitor). From what I've seen in person, I would prefer a monitor with a glossy screen, as the colors and blacks seem much better than on the matte finish screens, but I seem to be having problems finding one online.

Also worthy of note is I will be using Vista home premium 64bit, so if there are better hardware choices to consider, I'm all ears.

Oh, one more thing - I'm going to be using a windowed case(my first one) so I'd like to keep everything neat and tidy, and will need some suggestions on that front, as far as wiring, and layout(lighting, possibly). should I go with a modular PSU, or is the one I've chosen fine? If I go with a standard type PSU, are there wire wraps I can purchase to pretty it up a bit?

tia

 

[tynopik]

> she immediately fell in love with them

what was it that she liked? if it's the touch screen tell her they're stupid

i would be tempted by the ST3500320AS over the ST3500630AS

i thought you were moving the optical drives over from an old system?

monitor: i would really try for a 20" or 22" like this:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16824009108
i know it's not glossy, but glossy leads to more glare

> Also worthy of note is I will be using Vista home premium 64bit

why?

 

[hoovie]

If I had told her the touch screens are stupid, I don't think she would have caved on her budget demands

I see the wisdom in your harddrive temptation. I think I will go with your recommendation here.

I was going to move the optical drives over, but I decided that they were also old, and a new sata drive would be pretty inexpensive - on a better budget, why go with older hardware? Also, by keeping my older system intact, I can allow my children to use it, without having to worry too much about damage(kids get rowdy sometimes, and accidents happen)

Before I jump in and buy a monitor online, I'm definitely going to several stores and looking at the different monitors available in person. I may not buy it there, but I think as far as a monitor goes, seeing IS believing. That being said, I'll try to pay particular attention to any acer displays I come across.

Vista 64 bit -> why not?

 

[tynopik]

well anything smaller than the 1680x1050 resolution 20" and 22" provides just seems cramped to me

newegg has pretty good return policy although shipping it back may be steep

watch on fatwallet or something, they're always running lcd specials at officemax/officedepot/bestbuy/circuitcity/etc if you're patient

> Vista 64 bit -> why not?

why?

more likely to run into compatibility issues (both hardware and software) and the only thing you would gain would be <0.5GB ram (as 64bit binaries are bigger and take up more memory)

 

[chinaman1472]

Unless you run your system 24/7 for the next 5+ years, it's unlikely the overclocking will cut the life of your hardware components if you take proper precautions. E6XXX series just doesn't seem worth it at the price of $170 imo. A E4500 mild-medium OC at $40 cheaper seems better, or E8400 at another $30 more for a cooler, faster, more efficient CPU.

22" monitors can be found for about $230 AR or if they're on sale. I've always been quite happy with Samsung displays. Definitely go check them out at a store.