new machine

[jdkick]

I had an older S939 AMD box that was still meeting my needs but life happened and i've been without a PC for about a week or so now - I need to build something soon.

Anyway, I want to start with a solid base (motherboard/memory) so i'm looking at an ASUS P5K-E and 2GB PC6400 (Corsair probably, tho the price point of Mushkin has been catching my eye). I know I could save a bit of $$$ with a different board, but it has the feature set I want long term. For the processor, i'm thinking of the E2180 given priceerformance and cost savings (< $100CDN). As for the rest, i'll be recycling an Enermax 495W NoiseTaker, BfG 7900GS OC, Maxtor 200GB SATA and Pioneer 16X DVD±RW.

The machine will run Vista Home Premium and be used for moderate gaming, digital imaging, office and surfing. I don't know if i'll bother to OC or not, but if I do, it would probably be something mild and on the stock cooler. Once Intel's new processors hit the shelves and my finances are a little more fluid i'll probably be in the market for an 8800GT and possibly a processor upgrade so I can game at native resolution (1680x1050).

Thoughts? Will i get burned buying an Intel processor this close to the release of new models (potential for savings on current stock)?

 

[jdkick]

oops

 

[MegaVovaN]

IMO by buying E2180 you won't get burned because that processor is cheap. I myself just ordered E6750 and I don't think I'll be "burned".

I am not familiar with ASUS P5K-E mobo, but it is being mentioned here a lot

I say you're all good. By time your finances are good, you can pick up new PSU (depending if your current one has enough amps), 2 more gb RAM, whatever card will be on the market *maybe even 9 series or some ATI card*;
You might even want new quad core in future.

You just can't get burned buying a CPU that is like $80.

P.S. They say that CPU is very easy to OC.

 

[Denithor]

Go for a single 2GB stick if only getting 2GB now, you can upgrade later to 2x2GB (which tends to run better than 4x1GB on lots of systems).

That processor should be easy to OC to ~3GHz on stock cooling. At that point you won't need another cpu for probably a year or more.

If buying a copy of Vista, go for the 64-bit version.

 

[jdkick]

Thanks Mega. I was just thinking that current CPU pricing might drop in the very near future once Intel's new releases hit the shelves. Ah well, technology moves fast enough anyway... and I need a new machine now. As for the PSU, it has dual 12V rails rated at 18A each so it should be up to the task for a while longer. I guess i'll see what the demands are when it's time for a new video card (not looking for SLI or high-end single card solution). And yes, the E2xxx do seem to OC well.

Denithor: I'll have to take a look at the memory options. The places I usually shop don't seem to stock much in the way of single 2GB PC6400 DIMMs tho. Dual channel kits are their primary offering (understandable). I'll do some reading on the 64-bit version of Vista as well. Thanks for the tip.

 

[Nurn]

JD, based on your OP you are a Canuck? If so, check out NCIX.com for buying your memory. They always have great weekly deals.

 

[jdkick]

Well, i'm patiently waiting for my order to arrive. I went with the following in the end:

ASUS P5K-E WiFi
Intel E2200
Corsair XMS2 PC2-6400 2x1GB
Vista Home Premium 64-bit

I took advantage of some good deals tho and got the board for less $$$ then the non-WiFi version, the E2200 for the same $$$ as the E2180 and the Corsair memory was a surprise promo @ $24AR.

 

[Zap]

Hot deals FTW! I think you made out like a bandit.

 

[jdkick]

Well, I got the new machine up and running and everything works like a champ. No performance numbers as of yet and i'm still running at stock speeds for now. The build went off without a hitch... bolted everything up, installed Vista 64-bit (ICH9R in RAID mode w/ drivers loaded via USB) and was gaming in a couple of hours. This was probably my easiest/most straightforward build to date.

I do need to sort out case cooling tho. I'm using a server cube chassis at the moment so the board is on one side of the chassis (drives and psu on the other)... things get a little warm on the board side once the GPU gets working tho. I'm going to toss in a 92mm Vantec Stealth in the front for that half of the chassis and will see how that helps out. ASUS Q-Fan seems to do it's job well tho.