New PC Build

[monty797]

Hey everyone, been a lurker on the site for a long time, first time posting.

I haven't really built up a machine in a while and a friend has asked me to build him something decent for gaming. Mainly for Warhammer Online. I'm thinking of building up the following. How do you think this machine will run and would you recommend any tweaks?

My concerns really lay in the PSU in the case, and the cooling fan. I'm thinking I should probably upgrade them, but to what? Also this is meant to be somewhat of a budget build as well for him as he doesnt have a ton of cash.

Asus P5N-D Motherboard

Intel Core 2 Duo E8400 Processor - 3.0GHz, 6MB Cache, 1333MHz FSB, Wolfdale

Corsair Dual Channel TWINX 4096MB PC6400 DDR2 800MHz Memory (2 x 2048MB)

PowerUp P4 CPU Cooling Fan

XFX GeForce 9800 GTX

Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 250GB Hard Drive (Have a second 500gb drive just for storage)

Xion Solaris Black/Green ATX Mid-Tower Case with Clear Side, Front USB and Audio Ports and 450-Watt Power Supply

The rest is jus pretty generic dvd burner, sound car, nic, floppy just the rest of the basics.

Any advice or suggested changes or should this work pretty decent for the needs? Total out of pocket cost will be around $900 or so. Also the system will be running Windows Vista Home Premium 64Bit but if you think I should change it I can.

Thanks for the help!

 

[modoheo]

Read thru:
http://forums.anandtech.com/me...=2194271&enterthread=y

and:
http://forums.anandtech.com/me...=2090214&enterthread=y

Don't get a 750i chipset motherboard unless you want to go SLI (which you don't appear to) - pick a solid p35 or p45 chipset board instead (more stable).

Pick whatever case you want, but get a better PSU. The Antec earthwatts 500w listed in the thread above or similar would be fine.

Do you plan to overclock? If so, pick a better CPU cooler (see first linked thread above).

That hard drive is a generation behind; go with the 7200.11 version or a WD AAKS.

 

[monty797]

Oo good catch, thanks for the heads up!

Nope probably no overclocking on this machine. I have to support it and really just want a rock solid stable machine for him. But picking up a better fan is on the to do list for sure!

 

[DSF]

Well if you're not overclocking you don't really need an aftermarket fan at all. The computer will run just fine with the stock heatsink, the only reason to upgrade would be noise reduction. (Not that the stock cooler is particularly loud, but it isn't silent either.)

Read through modoheo's parts lists. If he's working on a budget, the 9800GTX doesn't offer him much. It's essentially an overclocked 8800GTS, and either a G92 GTS or HD4850 would be a better buy.

I agree with him on the motherboard, PSU and hard drive as well. I would throw the Samsung Spinpoint series out there as another good group of drives to consider.

Edit: By the way, integrated ethernet is standard on motherboards now. There isn't really much reason to pay for a separate NIC unless you have a specific need. Same with the sound card, although it's a matter of opinion. Onboard sound is good enough for me - I'd try the integrated audio before you pony up the dough for a sound card if you're working on a budget.

 

[monty797]

Thanks DSF, great info!

 

[DSF]

Oh, one thing. If you decide to stick with the stock fan, make sure you buy the retail version of the CPU. Avoid CPUs listed as "OEM", "tray" or "bulk" as they won't come with a fan.

 

[monty797]

Originally posted by: DSF
Oh, one thing. If you decide to stick with the stock fan, make sure you buy the retail version of the CPU. Avoid CPUs listed as "OEM", "tray" or "bulk" as they won't come with a fan.

Yup I got that at least heh!

I think I have the build pretty good

Antec Sonata III 500 Black 0.8mm cold rolled steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case 500W Power Supply - Retail

SAMSUNG 22X DVD±R DVD Burner with LightScribe Black SATA Model SH-S223Q/BEBN - OEM

Western Digital Caviar SE16 WD6400AAKS 640GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM

EVGA 512-P3-N845-AR GeForce 8800GTS (G92) KO 512MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card - Retail

CORSAIR 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model TWIN2X4096-6400C5 - Retail

ASUS P5Q LGA 775 Intel P45 ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail

Intel Core 2 Duo E8400 Wolfdale 3.0GHz LGA 775 65W Dual-Core Processor Model BX80570E8400 - Retail

Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium SP1 64-bit English for System Builders 1pk DSP OEI DVD - OEM

I figure I'll use the onboard stuff on the motherboard instead of picking up anything else. Looks to be a fairly decent machine, the only thing I'm thinking about is bumping up the memory some, but this may be sufficient. Any thoughts?