First Build in Three Years - Need Help

[brokejumper]

I am looking for some help with my first foray into building a quiet computer on a budget. I have a little bit of experience (3 builds total) but I am finding the learning curve a bit steep this time around so any help would be greatly appreciated. I have tried to do my homework on this but I have a feeling I have missed something.

The computer needs to have some gaming capability but I am more than happy to not play the latest greatest games. (I just bought BF2 last week!) The only other thing that would stress the computer is occasional video and audio editing.

I have no real interest in overclocking so budget, noise levels and stability are the guiding principles.

I have put together both a Conroe and an AMD build below. My major concern with the Conroe is availability of both the motherboard and the cpu as I need to build within the next two weeks.


EDITED - Increased power supply and changed MB to the Intel version. Am I right that it is rock stable?

Conroe
Antec Solo - $90
Intel P965 Express ($140) - (Biostar TForce P965 Deluxe - but where to order? Other options? $145)
Intel E6300 - $168 (where to order?)
eVGA Geforce 7600GT 256MB - $170 (7600GS for $109 an option too)
Zalman VF900- $30 (Replacing stock cooler on 7600GT)
SeaSonic S12-380 380W- $72
pqi TURBO 2GB DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 667 - $109
Samsung SpinPoint 250GB 7200 RPM 8MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb- $77.00
Total - $802

AM2
Antec Solo - $90
AMD Athlon 64 X2 3800+ $162
Gigabyte GA-M51GM-S2G AM2 - $78 (or ASUS M2N-E - $97 - other options?)
eVGA Geforce 7600GT 256MB - $170 (7600GS for $109 an option too)
Zalman VF900 - $30 (Replacing stock cooler on 7600GT)
SeaSonic S12-330 380W - $72 (enough power here?)
pqi TURBO 2GB DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 667 - $109
Samsung SpinPoint 250GB 7200 RPM 8MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb- $77.00
Total - $757

 

[Nightmare225]

I don't like the power supply, too weak and cheap for a good model.

 

[brokejumper]

Originally posted by: Nightmare225
I don't like the power supply, too weak and cheap for a good model.

Do you think 400W would be enough or should I jump up to 500W?

 

[Lyfer]

Get a FSP450, its $49 and has 18a dual 12v rails. I would ge option 2 btw. I'm in the same boat too.

 

[mc866]

The E6300 & E6400 won't be available till the 4th quarter of this year, so for a two week time frame you may not be able to go Conroe with that budget.

 

[brokejumper]

Originally posted by: mc866
The E6300 & E6400 won't be available till the 4th quarter of this year, so for a two week time frame you may not be able to go Conroe with that budget.

Wow... I somehow missed that in my quick research. (This is a bit of an emergency build.) Thanks though. It looks like I may have to go with the AMD then.

EDIT - Wait... are you sure this is not for the 4X00 series? I swear that I have read the E6300 would launch the 27th.

And... here is a link from another thread that shows the E6300 for sale in the UK.

http://www.novatech.co.uk/novatech/specpage.html?IL-E6300

 

[mc866]

I could be wrong.

I took my info from here:

http://techreport.com/onearticle.x/10413

"The Core 2 Duo E6400 and E6300 won't become available until the fourth quarter of this year, so AMD's new pricing may allow it largely to avoid direct competition with Intel's new offerings for a few months."

 

[Howard]

No, I'm fairly certain they'll be available on the 27th. Link coming soon...

http://www.digitimes.com/news/a20060629A2007.html

 

[mc866]

My mistake

 

[Operandi]

Originally posted by: brokejumper

Originally posted by: Nightmare225
I don't like the power supply, too weak and cheap for a good model.

Do you think 400W would be enough or should I jump up to 500W?

The 330 watt S12 is fine as long as you stick with the 7600GT. Anything higher then that and I'd suggest you move up to the 380 watt version for the dedicated PCI-E power header.

 

[bob4432]

for bf2 i would go something stronger in the gpu dept - like a 7900gt/x1800xt or higher. i have seeen both for ~$230AR and if you go these i would do a 450W fsp psu as they do draw some power. you may want to hold off on the zalman if you go the 7900gt route just to make sure you need it, no sense in spending $30 if you don't need to

also, in regards to the energy efficient cpu, less V=less heat output if that is a concern

also, i would go the C2D route if it were me, the am2 socket upgrade for amd doesn't really do anything a 939 can't do as the cpu is not memory bandwidth limited. imo there is no reason to build a am2, basically 939 with ddr2...

 

[brokejumper]

I think I have decided on the CD2 but I am holding off until I see if I can actually get my hands on one in the next couple of weeks.

As for the video card, a 7900 would be great, but since I am upgrading from a 9700 I think the 7600GT might just be good enough for now.

The AM2 I threw on there because there did not seem to be much of a price difference between 939 and AM2 boards and it gave me a better upgrade path, though I doubt I would ever use it. I keep my computers long enough that by the time I have money to upgrade it no longer makes sense.

 

[bob4432]

Originally posted by: brokejumper
I think I have decided on the CD2 but I am holding off until I see if I can actually get my hands on one in the next couple of weeks.

As for the video card, a 7900 would be great, but since I am upgrading from a 9700 I think the 7600GT might just be good enough for now.

The AM2 I threw on there because there did not seem to be much of a price difference between 939 and AM2 boards and it gave me a better upgrade path, though I doubt I would ever use it. I keep my computers long enough that by the time I have money to upgrade it no longer makes sense.

just save a bit more and get the 7900 or pick one up from the fs/ft forum....it is a better card and if you are gaming with bf2 you can use the power (trust me, the game is not that efficient), not as bad as wow but it will push the 7900gt hard and you will have good fps with the eye candy on