Please Critique this Build

[Playmaker]

I'm building a new computer for my brother. He's not a heavy gamer, but wants to play CS:S. We're shooting for $1200 w/o the monitor. I haven't built a computer or followed hardware in over 3 years, so this is based on what he wants and what I've read regarding hardware in the past couple of days.

He'd like to maximize this build's lifespan without upgrading. Aside from the vid card, the next "upgrade" would probably be a new build in ~3 years. He also wants a mild OC to the 3ghz range...seems like that should be possible with stock voltage in this setup, no?

Motherboard: Asus P5N-E - $140
(is this the best option for a mild OC? or would the Gigabyte DS3 for ~$15 less be a better option?)

CPU: E6600 - $314
(I tried to suggest the E6400 deal at MicroCenter for $160, but he wants the 4MB cache...that would make this option more futureproof i suppose...)

Cooler: Tuniq Tower & AS Ceramique - $70
(is that the best there is in this price range? it's sold out atm, so we might have to look for something else)

RAM: GSkill 2x1gb DDR2 800 - $170
(never heard of GSkill...is this our best bet?)

Vid Card: GeForce 7900GS - $110
(seems like a good mid-range card at a great price...he might upgarde to a DX10 card in the fall if he gets into gaming, so I think this a good compromise of performance/price...sound good?)

Hard Drive: WD 250GB - $75
(seems solid...or should we step up to the Seagate 320gb 7200.10...what about that WD 150gb Raptor at $180...worth the price diff?)

DVD: Samsung 18x - $31
(not much to say here)

Case: CoolerMaster Centurion 5 - $50
(80mm in, 120mm out...seems okay at the the price)

PSU: Antec SmartPower 500W - $40 AR
(wow...this is the biggest/most unexpected change since the last time i built a computer...ive even seen some suggestions for a 600W+ PSU at $120...will this thing be adequate?...or do we need a PSU that costs more than the vid card?)

OS: Vista Home Premium - $120
(is this the right flavor?)

That should put as at roughly $1200 shipped...Any input is appreciated.

 

[Operandi]

-- The Antec SmartPower is not a good PSU, nor is Antec a particularly great brand in general. Despite what some people will tell you don't need a monster 500+ watt PSU to run what you intend to build, a good 350-450 watt PSU would be plenty.

Seasonic is one of most respected PSU manufactures available in retail; the 380 watt S12 would my suggestion.

-- The Centurion 5 kinda sucks in my opinion. The tool-less features barely work and are prone to breaking. It also looks and feels fairly cheap, not terribly disappointing considering the price but still..

I would suggest going with the Lian Li PC-7B. Or if want something cheaper this InWin is an all around better case the CM.

-- The 7900GS is pretty good price to performance card. This Gigabyte comes stock with a Zalman VF-700 for better cooling and lower noise.

-- The Tuniq Tower is not worth $70 in my opinion. The Zalman 9500AT will give you much better cooling performance and much lower noise (via it's PWM fan) VS. stock.

-- Lots of people seem to have success with G.Skill but I personally would stick with the more reputable names such as Crucial, Mushkin, Geil, or Kingston. This set of Geil sticks is currently a good deal.

-- The Gigabyte DS3 would be my choice for the motherboard.

The rest of your selections look fine.

 

[Playmaker]

Originally posted by: Operandi
-- The Antec SmartPower is not a good PSU, nor is Antec a particularly great brand in general. Despite what some people will tell you don't need a monster 500+ watt PSU to run what you intend to build, a good 350-450 watt PSU would be plenty.

Seasonic is one of most respected PSU manufactures available in retail; the 380 watt S12 would my suggestion.

-- The Centurion 5 kinda sucks in my opinion. The tool-less features barely work and are prone to breaking. It also looks and feels fairly cheap, not terribly disappointing considering the price but still..

I would suggest going with the Lian Li PC-7B. Or if want something cheaper this InWin is an all around better case the CM.

-- The 7900GS is pretty good price to performance card. This Gigabyte comes stock with a Zalman VF-700 for better cooling and lower noise.

-- The Tuniq Tower is not worth $70 in my opinion. The Zalman 9500AT will give you much better cooling performance and much lower noise (via it's PWM fan) VS. stock.

-- Lots of people seem to have success with G.Skill but I personally would stick with the more reputable names such as Crucial, Mushkin, Geil, or Kingston. This set of Geil sticks is currently a good deal.

-- The Gigabyte DS3 would be my choice for the motherboard.

The rest of your selections look fine.

Is 380W enough if he wants to upgrade to a DX10 card eventually? Everyone seems to be going for 500W+ PSUs.

I think he likes the window on that case. I'll try and push that Lian Li though.

Better cooling for an OC on the GFX card would be nice, but is that worth jumping from $110 to $170?

Thanks for the suggestion on the Zalman. The Tuniq is sold out anyway, so I was looking for a replacement there.

I had GeiL in the last comp I built, maybe I'll have him go with that.

Any reason for the Gigabyte DS3 over the Asus?

Thanks for the responses.

 

[JEDIYoda]

Originally posted by: Operandi
-- The Antec SmartPower is not a good PSU, nor is Antec a particularly great brand in general. Despite what some people will tell you don't need a monster 500+ watt PSU to run what you intend to build, a good 350-450 watt PSU would be plenty.

Seasonic is one of most respected PSU manufactures available in retail; the 380 watt S12 would my suggestion.

-- The Centurion 5 kinda sucks in my opinion. The tool-less features barely work and are prone to breaking. It also looks and feels fairly cheap, not terribly disappointing considering the price but still..

I would suggest going with the Lian Li PC-7B. Or if want something cheaper this InWin is an all around better case the CM.

-- The 7900GS is pretty good price to performance card. This Gigabyte comes stock with a Zalman VF-700 for better cooling and lower noise.

-- The Tuniq Tower is not worth $70 in my opinion. The Zalman 9500AT will give you much better cooling performance and much lower noise (via it's PWM fan) VS. stock.

-- Lots of people seem to have success with G.Skill but I personally would stick with the more reputable names such as Crucial, Mushkin, Geil, or Kingston. This set of Geil sticks is currently a good deal.

-- The Gigabyte DS3 would be my choice for the motherboard.

The rest of your selections look fine.

Totally--stay away from Antec PSU`s in general there are much better PSU`s available...
Don`t scrimp on your PSU...you get what you pay for...

 

[bamacre]

I would get the Gigabyte S3 board, much cheaper, good OC, and an Intel chipset (much better than Nvidia IMO).

And I think the Antec PSU is fine, there is a lot of, (IMO) unwarranted, hatred of Antec lately. That said DX10 isn't what needs power, it's just a feature. It is the GPU and memory that need the power. If he wants a mid-range DX10 card (8600 series, or future ATI equivalent), the Antec would be just fine. But if he is going to want a $400+ DX10 card (8800/8900 series, or ATI equivalent), I'd get this...
http://www.ewiz.com/detail.php?p=PS-E56...afc37c1602642c1f07adc4938e80220457d977

If he is not going to OC the cpu, the retail HSF is fine, even good enough for a mild OC. Also, if no OC, get this cheaper memory...
http://shop4.outpost.com/product/5141546

Hard drive is fine, do NOT get a Raptor drive. Money is MUCH better put into something else.

A SATA dvd burner is worth considering, if not for any other reason, smaller cable.
http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/ProductDetail.jsp?ProductCode=175510

 

[JEDIYoda]

Antec hatred right?
Then explain why over %80 percent of all PSU complaints on these forums and other forums are Antec PSU complaints???
Think there could be some truth to the Antec thingee...duh

 

[John]

Originally posted by: JEDIYoda
Antec hatred right?
Then explain why over %80 percent of all PSU complaints on these forums and other forums are Antec PSU complaints???
Think there could be some truth to the Antec thingee...duh

80% of what? It's people like you that continue to bash in any thread that mentions the word Antec and psu. :roll:

Nobody is disputing the fact that Antec has had some issues with Fuhjyyu caps and psu failures. Not all threads posted are due to cap failures, nor is the number of complaints excessive by any means. Antec offers a 3-5 years warranty whereas some mfg's are lucky to offer you one year and the RMA may take a month or two. I've bought and sold hundreds of Antec psu's over the last 8 years and have only had to RMA a handful of them. I wonder how many jonnyGURU RMA'ed while he was @ TCWO.

 

[Atheus]

Originally posted by: Playmaker
Is 380W enough if he wants to upgrade to a DX10 card eventually? Everyone seems to be going for 500W+ PSUs.

You want to look less at the rated peak wattage, more at the amperage you can get off the 12 rails, and also at the brand and quality of the unit. I would rather run that system off a really good 380 than a crappy 500 any day. Yes maybe for a powerful DX10 card you will want 450 to 500, but still, quality over quantity.

Originally posted by: John
Nobody is disputing the fact that Antec has had some issues with Fuhjyyu caps and psu failures. Not all threads posted are due to cap failures, nor is the number of complaints excessive by any means.

I think some of the top range Antecs are fine, but people do tend to associate all Antecs with quality for some reason, and that's just not true.

Also the only PSU I have ever had fail catastrophically was an Antec - noise, smoke, the lot. Many people have similar stories...

 

[ShellGuy]

here is my system as you can c i have the centurion case and same psu as they are suggesting, i can say it runs great can hardly hear my sys even with my 7800gtx running.. Good luck..



Will G.

 

[Operandi]

Originally posted by: Playmaker

Is 380W enough if he wants to upgrade to a DX10 card eventually? Everyone seems to be going for 500W+ PSUs.

I think he likes the window on that case. I'll try and push that Lian Li though.

Better cooling for an OC on the GFX card would be nice, but is that worth jumping from $110 to $170?

Thanks for the suggestion on the Zalman. The Tuniq is sold out anyway, so I was looking for a replacement there.

I had GeiL in the last comp I built, maybe I'll have him go with that.

Any reason for the Gigabyte DS3 over the Asus?

Thanks for the responses.

Yes, the 380 watt S12 will be enough. Enough for any single CPU, single GPU system for the foreseeable future as a matter of fact. To put things into perspective a 8800GTX, quad Core2, 680i based system draws just under 300 watts under full load.

I think the Gigabyte card is worth it. However I'm injecting my own preference for low noise machines here. But higher potential clocks speeds and better reliability are also a factor.

I've used Geil in bunch of machines now, they are actually my first choice.

I like the DS3 for it's solid design, passive cooling, high-build quality, and as mentioned above use of the Intel 965 vs. the nvidia chipset.

 

[Playmaker]

Originally posted by: Operandi

Originally posted by: Playmaker

Is 380W enough if he wants to upgrade to a DX10 card eventually? Everyone seems to be going for 500W+ PSUs.

I think he likes the window on that case. I'll try and push that Lian Li though.

Better cooling for an OC on the GFX card would be nice, but is that worth jumping from $110 to $170?

Thanks for the suggestion on the Zalman. The Tuniq is sold out anyway, so I was looking for a replacement there.

I had GeiL in the last comp I built, maybe I'll have him go with that.

Any reason for the Gigabyte DS3 over the Asus?

Thanks for the responses.

Yes, the 380 watt S12 will be enough. Enough for any single CPU, single GPU system for the foreseeable future as a matter of fact. To put things into perspective a 8800GTX, quad Core2, 680i based system draws just under 300 watts under full load.

I think the Gigabyte card is worth it. However I'm injecting my own preference for low noise machines here. But higher potential clocks speeds and better reliability are also a factor.

I've used Geil in bunch of machines now, they are actually my first choice.

I like the DS3 for it's solid design, passive cooling, high-build quality, and as mentioned above use of the Intel 965 vs. the nvidia chipset.

It looks like that Asus board I initially had requires additional SB and NB cooling for any OCing...If we just want to OC the E6600 to 3ghz, can we get by with no aftermarket cooling on the Giga DS3?

 

[Operandi]

Originally posted by: Playmaker
It looks like that Asus board I initially had requires additional SB and NB cooling for any OCing...If we just want to OC the E6600 to 3ghz, can we get by with no aftermarket cooling on the Giga DS3?

That I couldn't say as I don't really overclock. I am fairly sure that the 956 chipset dose run cooler then nVidia's Intel chipsets however.

 

[Cheezeit]

Originally posted by: Operandi

Originally posted by: Playmaker
It looks like that Asus board I initially had requires additional SB and NB cooling for any OCing...If we just want to OC the E6600 to 3ghz, can we get by with no aftermarket cooling on the Giga DS3?

That I couldn't say as I don't really overclock. I am fairly sure that the 956 chipset dose run cooler then nVidia's Intel chipsets however.

The DS3 is fine overclocking as it is. Most people on these forums easily get it above 3.0 ghz with a C2D, with no additional cooling. However, Nvidia chipsets do have cooling problems, like Operandi said.

BTW Operandi, are you running a new rig with the 380 S12? Its got pretty low amperage on the +12 rails.(10/15) You seem to be one of the few now that aren't reccomending 500+watt PSU's. I'm about to build a new C2D rig similar to the OP's but I still have a nice Fortron Blue Storm lying around that has +12 rails (15/15). I'd like to keep it but was wondering if it was enough.

 

[Operandi]

Originally posted by: Cheezeit
BTW Operandi, are you running a new rig with the 380 S12?

I've built 4 or 5 so systems with the 380 watt S12, ranging from 939 to Core2 Duo.

Most of them were mid range to moderately high-end machines. In terms of power draw the biggest consumer was probably a 939 Athlon 64 3800+ (not X2, single core) 7800GT based system.

 

[RonAKA]

Motherboard: Asus P5N-E - $140
(is this the best option for a mild OC? or would the Gigabyte DS3 for ~$15 less be a better option?)

> Just put a computer together in the last two days. I think the DS3 or Asus P5B DX would be a better choice, depending on noise. If noise is not a concern, then the DS3.

CPU: E6600 - $314
(I tried to suggest the E6400 deal at MicroCenter for $160, but he wants the 4MB cache...that would make this option more futureproof i suppose...)

> Why not go with the E4300? It is cheaper and overclocks well to 3.4 +/- depending on what you can take for heat and afford for memory. The speed will make up for the lower cache.

Cooler: Tuniq Tower & AS Ceramique - $70
(is that the best there is in this price range? it's sold out atm, so we might have to look for something else)

>I have not overclocked my E4300 yet, but so far it is running 34 C with the stock intel cooler. Why not use stock? I'm expecting to do 3G with the stock cooler and 667 DDR2.

RAM: GSkill 2x1gb DDR2 800 - $170
(never heard of GSkill...is this our best bet?)

>Don't know the brand, but with 800 you should be able to get up to 3.2-3.4 with the E4300. You may not need 2G with XP.

Hard Drive: WD 250GB - $75
(seems solid...or should we step up to the Seagate 320gb 7200.10...what about that WD 150gb Raptor at $180...worth the price diff?)

>I got the Seagate, and it seems fine. Just need to look at price and storage and make your decision.

DVD: Samsung 18x - $31
(not much to say here)

>I would look for DVD drives that use SATA interface instead of IDE. Reason is that you avoid those big awkward ribbon cables that restrict cooling inside the case.

Case: CoolerMaster Centurion 5 - $50
(80mm in, 120mm out...seems okay at the the price)

>I think you can save some $$ by going with the Antec Sonata II. That is what I used and it seems to work just fine. Quality and fit is excellent. It has a 120 case fan, and can be fitted with more if you really need it.

PSU: Antec SmartPower 500W - $40 AR
(wow...this is the biggest/most unexpected change since the last time i built a computer...ive even seen some suggestions for a 600W+ PSU at $120...will this thing be adequate?...or do we need a PSU that costs more than the vid card?)

>The Sonata II comes with a 450W, and with what you have mentioned, that is all you need. Save you $$. This PS is very quiet, with the second exhaust fan running only when needed.

OS: Vista Home Premium - $120
(is this the right flavor?)

>I sweated over this one for a long time and decided on XP Home. I think you will run into more incompatibility than you bargained for, by going with Vista.

Hope that helps,

Ron