Building a new PC

[ktranacn]

Hey fellas and (gals?) I'm not new to anandtech and it seems like you guys know your stuff. I am in need of some advice on my new build. I was up to date on everything related to computers but been out of the loop for the past few years. Its been 6 years since I've built my last PC and things have changed greatly. Here's what I have set up. My goal is to keep it under $1500. I already have a 20 inch monitor. Sound system. About the ram should I run quad memory sticks since its a quad core processor? (noob question) Anything that i'm missing/add or subtract? Thanks guys!

For CPU
Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 Kentsfield 2.4GHz 2 x 4MB L2 Cache LGA 775 Quad-Core Processor
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?item=N82E16819115017

For Motherboard
GIGABYTE GA-EP45-DS3R LGA 775 Intel P45 ATX Intel Motherboard
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?item=N82E16813128344

For CPU Heatsink
Tuniq Tower 120 Universal CPU Cooler 120mm Cooling Fan and Fan Controller/Heatsink
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?item=N82E16835154001

For Videocard
VisionTek 900244 Radeon HD 4870 512MB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFire Supported Video Card
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?item=N82E16814129113

For Sound Card
HT OMEGA STRIKER 7.1 Channels 24-bit 96KHz PCI Interface Sound Card
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?item=N82E16829271001

For Power Supply
Antec TruePower Quattro TPQ-1000 1000W ATX12V / EPS12V SLI Certified CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS Certified Active PFC Power Supply
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?item=N82E16817371012

For Case
Antec Nine Hundred Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Casehttp://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?item=N82E16811129021

For Hard Drive
Western Digital Caviar Green WD10EACS 1TB SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drivehttp://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?item=N82E16822136151

 

[jeffw2767602]

CPU Q6600
In my opinion this is a fantastic value chip. If you plan to overclock you can get this CPU up to 3.2-3.6GHz with relative ease (your results may vary ) You could always opt for a 45nm chip but again, they don't offer the price/performance value that the Q6600 does.

Mobo Gigabyte Ga-EP45-DS3R
Good choice, but not the best choice in this price range. Gigabyte is my personal favorite so I would go with the Gigabyte EP45-UD3P OR UD3R depending on your need. These boards are a TREMENDOUS value and compete with $200+ motherboards. These have been shown to overclock quad core chips to 500+ FSB and even though you wont need that with a q6600, it is nice to have and it is relatively cheap .

CPU Heatsink Tuniq Tower
Again a great choice, but I would go with a Thermalright Ultra 120 Extreme. It is going to cost around $50 but it is one of the best air coolers out. I personally have a q6600 lapped with a lapped TRU120Ex with a VID of 1.30v (kinda high) and I am able to reach 3.6GHz with 1.456v and temps stay below 70C. Again your results will vary but I think it says something about the quality of the cooler itself.

Video Card Radeon 4870 512mb
Great choice, you could opt for a 4850 with a 20 inch monitor but this should be fine and should give you a sort of a cushion when the newer games come out.

Sound card.....
Unless you are doing something that needs absolutely the best audio quality, just use onboard sound. Onboard sound has come a long way and you'll never know the difference unless you work with audio.

PSU Antec TruePower Quattro 1000w
WAYYYY OVERKILL. You do not need 1000w PSU unless you plan on going crossfire 4870x2's. You could easily get by with PC Power and Cooling's 610w PSU. It has a single 12v rail so no power gets lost. Even the pcp&c unit would technically still be overkill but would leave you a little breathing room for future endeavors .

Case Antec 900
This decision is more personal, its really up to you. Solid case.

Hard drive WD Caviar Green 1tb
Bad choice for gaming, the Green drives run at 5400rpm, although WD claims they idle at 5400rpm and speed up to 7200rpm. I would go with a WD 640gb drive that is 7200rpm

With all that said, as far as ram is concerned, you will not need to run quad sticks for a quad core cpu. However Gskills 4gb (2x2gb) ddr2 1000 sticks are $65 at newegg and it would be very cost efficient to purchase 8gb of ram total. This is overkill right now but as the machine ages this will help keep it chugging along. Since ram is sooooo cheap you might as well get 8gb ram. One last thing I would suggest is that you save some money from your build to get an SSD when they become larger and more affordable. Dont buy one now, wait. You will be astounded when you make the jump from spinning discs to ssds

 

[Blain]

Originally posted by: jeffw2767602
Sound card.....
Unless you are doing something that needs absolutely the best audio quality, just use onboard sound. Onboard sound has come a long way and you'll never know the difference unless you work with audio.

Hard drive WD Caviar Green 1tb
Bad choice for gaming, the Green drives run at 5400rpm, although WD claims they idle at 5400rpm and speed up to 7200rpm. I would go with a WD 640gb drive that is 7200rpm

* He may not know the difference untill the onboard audio starts buzzing.
* Do you have any links that specify WD claiming rpm speeds on the Green HDs?
I can't find any rpm speeds mentioned on the WD Caviar Green site, Product at a Glance PDF or the Drive Specification Sheet PDF

 

[jeffw2767602]

I have never had onboard audio that "buzzed". Please clarify.

As far as the WD Green drives are concerned, that just comes from knowledge I have gained from researching my own purchases. I don't have any solid sources however. Just the knowledge I have gained from pouring over forums and reading their links. Just check the Memory and Storage forums regarding these Green drives. I am not saying they are bad drives, just not good for the purpose. Green drives are great for storage.

 

[Blain]

Originally posted by: jeffw2767602
I have never had onboard audio that "buzzed". Please clarify.

As far as the WD Green drives are concerned, that just comes from knowledge I have gained from researching my own purchases. I don't have any solid sources however. Just the knowledge I have gained from pouring over forums and reading their links.

After pulling my X-Fi card and falling back on my Gigabyte's onboard option, the system has developed a buzzing (not right away, but after a few months).
I've also read of others onboard audio going south on them.

I've also read the buzz about WD Green drives but thought you might have more concrete information...
"WD claims they idle at 5400rpm and speed up to 7200rpm"

 

[MagickMan]

The Realtek ALC888 is a fantastic chip, far better than many add-on cards. I'd just go with it.

 

[Blain]

Originally posted by: MagickMan
The Realtek ALC888 is a fantastic chip, far better than many add-on cards.

How long have you been using the ALC888?

 

[ktranacn]

Thanks Jeff. I know you can never have too much ram. I heard that in a few months something big is coming out in the CPU industry...... could that be the new i7? You said that 1000wat psu is overkill which I agree but I was trying to be safe than sorry. Anyways do you have any recommendations on psu?

 

[jeffw2767602]

PC Power and Cooling 610w unit is GREAT. If you want to get something beefier then the 750w version of this PSU is like $80 after rebate at newegg and is capable of running 4870x2 sli. I personally have this unit and wouldn't switch for the world. The ONLY downside is no modular cabling, which tends to decrease efficiency anyway. Really any PC PandC or Corsair unit is going to be solid. Just look for units with a SINGLE 12v rail and good reviews on newegg. The exception to the 1 12v rail would be the Corsair modular units. These are very solid PSUs. Core i7 is the new CPU coming out and it isn't worth the money for the ddr3 and such. It doesn't offer better gaming performance and is more of a server platform. It is, however better for video encoding etc. If I were you I would grab the q6600 now while it is such a great value and maybe wait to upgrade to i7 when they shrink the die to 32nm and ddr3 has had a chance to be competitive as far as price/performance ratio is concerned.

 

[jeffw2767602]

On a side note, the reason many people overestimate the amount of wattage needed in a PSU is because PSUs used to be rated a bit higher than they could actually handle. Therefore the 500w PSU was really more along the line of a 350w PSU. These days, that has somewhat changed on the higher end models. PC Power and Cooling actually rates their units BELOW what they can run. The 610w unit is actually a 675w max unit and the 750w unit is actually an 825w max unit. That is one thing that makes me loyal to the PC power and cooling brand. A 4870x2 crossfire system with an overclocked quad core and like 4 hard drives will probably only pull 600-700w of power so a 750w PSU unit is actually still overkill for what you need. I, like you, like to have a wattage cushion as well. I have an 8800gt and a q6600 at 3.6ghz and 5 hds and I guarantee I am not using 400w at max power draw.

 

[Roguestar]

Get the WD 1TB Caviar Black instead of the GreenPower.