new system im building

[DarkiePower]

Hello guys, first post. Ive been reading anandtech news and reviews for a while, and decided I'd like to become part of the great site. Anyways, getting to the point.

I am about to build a new system, and id like for it to be core 2 duo, so i just want to check if there any problems with the hardware i selected interfacing, recognizing, quality issues, power, etc.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16829120103
for s/pdif out for a 7.1 home theater system. $25

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E168131280
Gigabyte GA-965P-DS3
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16819115005
core 2 duo e6300
newegg combo price: $349

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16820145590
corsair TWIN2X2048-6400 $180

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16827152058
NEC dvd burner $29

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16811129173
P-160W like the case.. $94

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16814130017
eVGA 256-P2-N554-AX Geforce 7600GT KO 256MB $146

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16835185001
Scythe SCNJ-1000P 120mm Sleeve CPU Cooling Fan/Heatsink $50

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16835186008
AC 120mm fan for back of case. $10

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16822152020
samsung 160gb hd. for a boot drive $55

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16822152045
2 samsung 300gb for storage.. $93x4

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16824014105
benQ FP202W Blackk 20.1 8ms widescreen. $290

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16817103931
Antec TruepowerII 550W $80

Im going for quietness on this puppy too, advice on that too
about $1600 total

so if anyone could just tell me, help me out on if all of this is good for a single system.. im going to have to order this on sunday so i get the computer built by saturday (newegg shipping via fedex pwns hard), so id REALLY appreciate it if i was helped somewhat expeidiently.. thx.. ill come back

 

[stevty2889]

Looks good.

 

[HarryP]

How about the Lian Li PC-7B plus II? It is black anondized aluminum and comes with two 120mm fans. Right now it's 5 bucks off with free shipping.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E16811112099

PS, did you take a look at Asus's passive cooled video cards?

 

[DarkiePower]

well, i have looked at Asus's, but they are a lilttle on the pricy side.. im sqeezing every penny out that i can. if i manage to get 50 bucks more, i shall get it. the LL PC-7B doesnt have a side window.. i want to admire that HSF and hardware.. i would REALLY like that Asus HSF in there.. do you think id have enough cooling?

Also, on the LL.. i love LL, but i dont really like the ones without front doors.. the grills on em are just.. too industrial..

 

[PhoenixOrion]

what will you primarily be doing with this pc?

I asked because depending on what apps or games then your vidcard for that nice 16x10 monitor and cpu (4mb l2 vs 2mb l2) may need to be reevaluated.

 

[DarkiePower]

well, real time strategy (civ 4 and wc3 tft) and some fps (mainly CS:S and maybe doom, farcry) for games, im worrying about if the gfx will be able to suffice.. but yea.. what you suggest, i will take to heart.

thanks, please reply

 

[Operandi]

Looks good, but a couple of things..

PSU: I would avoid Antec at this point; their PSUs are nothing spectacular. They have been using some very low-end caps in all of their units for awhile now. Pretty pathetic on Antec's part considering what they charge for their PSUs.

Since your looking for low noise Seasonic is without a doubt the best choice. Good alternatives are Forton-Source and Enhance. Both of which (Forton & Enhance) are cheaper, but can't match Seasonics build quality and low noise factor.

Video card: Since you going for low noise and appear to be going with the 7600GT I would choose one that is passively cooled.

Case: The P160 is a bit out of it's leage in the $100 price range; it certainly doesn?t compare favorably to any Lian Li.

Case fan: 120mm Yate Loon can be had for $3.99 from Jab-Tech.

CPU HS/F: The Ninja is a bit overkill for a CPU 6300. I would go with a Thermalright XP-90 or Ultra-90 with a Panaflo L1Bx.

 

[DarkiePower]

ok, i got that, thx.

but ive got a question on compatibility betwen the ram and mobo:
http://forumz.tomshardware.com/hardware...stalling-E6300-mobo-ftopict193811.html
http://forumz.tomshardware.com/hardware...blem-Core2Duo-build-ftopict193831.html
http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/showthread.php?t=109340

.. all people having problems with their DS3 motherboard.. if anyone understands all of that, please reply. thx

 

[Suspicious-Teach8788]

Do not go passive cooling. You'll just heat the case up insanely. You can get a low speed cooler like the Zalman VF900.

BTW, Ninja is not overkill. The reason you wanta 120mm fan and not a 92mm fan (XP-90) is because of NOISE.

If you use 120mm fans and a quiet video cooler, you don't need passive cooling. Why let your GPU run at 70 - 80C when you can run it 20 - 30C cooler with a quiet cooler?

 

[gobucks]

Originally posted by: DarkiePower
ok, i got that, thx.

but ive got a question on compatibility betwen the ram and mobo:
http://forumz.tomshardware.com/hardware...stalling-E6300-mobo-ftopict193811.html
http://forumz.tomshardware.com/hardware...blem-Core2Duo-build-ftopict193831.html
http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/showthread.php?t=109340

.. all people having problems with their DS3 motherboard.. if anyone understands all of that, please reply. thx

I got the DS3 and I really like it, except for the problems i had with my OCZ ram, but I just ordered the Corsair kit and I've heard they play much nicer together. To be honest, if you're overclocking the e6300, it's really your only choice, since it's about the only board capable of the huge FSB overclocks necessary to max out your CPU. After all, in order to hit, say, 3GHz, you'll need like 440FSB, which most boards can't do.

Also, if you're looking to play games, I'd recommend spending a little extra on a 7900GT, X1800XT 256MB, or X1900GT. They are all around $200 and will provide double the performance for only an extra 33% in price.

 

[DarkiePower]

so, the e6300+ ds3 + corsair TWIN2X2048-6400 CL5 should work seamlessley together? or are you using a different xms ram? with that setup, i wouldnt have to mess with changing the ram settings, right? please reply. thanks!

 

[Operandi]

Originally posted by: DLeRium
Do not go passive cooling. You'll just heat the case up insanely. You can get a low speed cooler like the Zalman VF900.

BTW, Ninja is not overkill. The reason you wanta 120mm fan and not a 92mm fan (XP-90) is because of NOISE.

If you use 120mm fans and a quiet video cooler, you don't need passive cooling. Why let your GPU run at 70 - 80C when you can run it 20 - 30C cooler with a quiet cooler?

Ok.....

All a fan can do is move heat energy from one point to another. Putting a fan on the GPU will do absolutely nothing for case temp. The 7600GT is a very cool running chip, there isn't any reason not to run it passively.

The Core2 6300 is not a power hungry CPU, it dose not need a huge tower heatsink and 120mm fan to be cooled effectively and quietly (we?re not dealing with P4s anymore). The XP-90 or Ultra-90 with a low speed 92mm fan like the Panaflo L1Bx will do an excellent job of keeping that CPU cool and noise very low.

 

[Operandi]

Originally posted by: DarkiePower
so, the e6300+ ds3 + corsair TWIN2X2048-6400 CL5 should work seamlessley together? or are you using a different xms ram? with that setup, i wouldnt have to mess with changing the ram settings, right? please reply. thanks!

This must be the Gigabyte board your looking at? If so that RAM should be fine but you can probably save some money with value RAM and lose almost no performance.

Also that board has digital out so there isn't any reason to buy that Chaintech sound card.

 

[DarkiePower]

the problem with cheaper high performance ram like OCZ or g.skill is that people have problems getting to post because the ram doesnt boot with the motherboard for some reason. i was hoping someone more experienced than me could understand what is going on with that and explain it to me.

i selected the chaintech sound card because sometimes some s/pdif outs do not output 44khz or 48khz or something.. maybe sampling rate.. i think im going to drop the chaintech card, if you suggest to.

 

[DarkiePower]

oh and also: i have never set up sata/ raid up on a computer.. i know there is F6 that i have to press, but how exactly is it done?

thanks

 

[Operandi]

Originally posted by: DarkiePower
the problem with cheaper high performance ram like OCZ or g.skill is that people have problems getting to post because the ram doesnt boot with the motherboard for some reason. i was hoping someone more experienced than me could understand what is going on with that and explain it to me.

i selected the chaintech sound card because sometimes some s/pdif outs do not output 44khz or 48khz or something.. maybe sampling rate.. i think im going to drop the chaintech card, if you suggest to.

I was suggesting something along the lines of Crucial, Corsair, Mushkin, or Kingston value RAM. It's not as fast as the XMS, but the difference is so small you'd never be able to tell the difference unless you benchmark it. But if you don?t mind paying extra for the XMS it?s a fine choice.