New Computer Overview and Comments

[Garthex]

Hey everyone!

I'm building a new computer for my brother and myself and I would love some input.


1. What YOUR PC will be used for. That means what types of tasks you'll be performing. Gaming (AoC right now), Music, Internet

2. What YOUR budget is. A price range is acceptable as long as it's not more than a 20% spread $800-$900, was hoping for lower but doesn't look like that's going to happen and can go higher even, if recommended.

3. What country YOU will be buying YOUR parts from. US

4. IF YOU have a brand preference. That means, are you an Intel-Fanboy, AMD-Fanboy, ATI-Fanboy, nVidia-Fanboy, Seagate-Fanboy, WD-Fanboy, etc, etc, etc, you get the picture. None

5. If YOU intend on using any of YOUR current parts, and if so, what those parts are. Keyboard, Monitor

6. IF YOU have searched and/or read similar threads. Yes, been reading a lot of forums

7. IF YOU plan on overclocking or run the system at default speeds. Most likely overclocking, but I've never done it before.

8. WHEN do you plan to build it? Soon, sometime this week or the next



Here is the setup thus far. My brother is getting a different case than I am, but other than that our setup will be the same. For the prices, I just rang up the price for the system with the first case.


SAMSUNG 20X DVD±R DVD Burner Black SATA Model SH-S203B - OEM
$29.99
-$3.00 Instant
$26.99

My case:
COOLER MASTER Centurion 534 RC-534-KKN2-GP Black Aluminum & Mesh bezel / SECC Chassis ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - Retail
$52.99
-$8.00 Instant
$44.99

His case:
COOLER MASTER Elite 330 RC-330-KKN1-GP Black SECC ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - Retail
$44.99
-$5.00 Instant
$39.99

Seagate Barracuda 7200.11 ST3320613AS 320GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM
$69.99

ECS N8800GTS-512MX GeForce 8800GTS (G92) 512MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card - Retail
$209.99

$50.00 Mail-in Rebate

Creative Sound Blaster SB0570 Audigy SE 7.1 Channels PCI Interface Sound Card - Retail
$29.99

CORSAIR CMPSU-550VX 550W ATX12V V2.2 Power Supply - Retail
$104.99
-$5.00 Instant
$99.99

$10.00 Mail-in Rebate

ARCTIC COOLING MX-2 Thermal Compound - Retail
$6.99

CORSAIR XMS2 DHX 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model TWIN2X4096-6400C4DHX - Retail
$126.00
-$17.00 Instant
$109.00

$30.00 Mail-in Rebate

GIGABYTE GA-EP35-DS3R LGA 775 Intel P35 ATX Dynamic Energy Saver Ultra Durable II Intel Motherboard - Retail
$119.99

Intel Core 2 Duo E8400 Wolfdale 3.0GHz LGA 775 65W Dual-Core Processor Model BX80570E8400 - Retail
$194.99

XIGMATEK HDT-S1283 120mm Rifle CPU Cooler - Retail
$36.99

Subtotal: $949.90
Rebates: $90.00
Total: $859.90


1. Does this setup look totally awesome to you? If not, what do you suggest? I don't plan on getting any large monitors any time soon, so SLI from what I hear, is not worth it. Also, DDR3 is not worth it on a budget from what I hear. Dual core is better for gaming and as far as everything else goes, I pretty much chose what I saw being recommended consistently across forums. If there is a conflict of parts, let me know.

2. Do you think a sound card is worth it? I have nice $100 speakers (klipsch ProMedia 2.0), and I hear a sound card takes of some of the load of the CPU. Is this true and if so should I shoot for the nice $90 one or will the $30 be more than enough? I'm not looking to create any sort of surround sound stage, I just want to know what the obvious choice is. (if any)

3. I keep hearing new nVidia cards are come out soon and people should wait. There would be at least a $100 gap between the $160 8800GTS and the newer cards, right? So, since the 8800GTS is so cheap, is it worth it to wait and get the newer ones? Or is the only reason to wait for my price range so that the other cards drop in price? (In which case the card already has IMO)

4. The motherboard I wasn't so sure on, but I chose what was recommended. What is the difference between the GA-EP35-DS3R and the GA-EP35-DS3L? and should I get the R? Does the motherboard offer any better performance at a higher price, or do more expensive motherboards just allow for newer technology? (i.e. SLI, DDR3, etc)

5. If you have any comments about anything regarding the system, or overclocking with what I have, I'd love to hear. Also, if anything seems unbalanced.


Thanks

 

[DSF]

Originally posted by: Garthex
1. Does this setup look totally awesome to you? If not, what do you suggest? I don't plan on getting any large monitors any time soon, so SLI from what I hear, is not worth it. Also, DDR3 is not worth it on a budget from what I hear. Dual core is better for gaming and as far as everything else goes, I pretty much chose what I saw being recommended consistently across forums. If there is a conflict of parts, let me know.

2. Do you think a sound card is worth it? I have nice $100 speakers (klipsch ProMedia 2.0), and I hear a sound card takes of some of the load of the CPU. Is this true and if so should I shoot for the nice $90 one or will the $30 be more than enough? I'm not looking to create any sort of surround sound stage, I just want to know what the obvious choice is. (if any)

3. I keep hearing new nVidia cards are come out soon and people should wait. There would be at least a $100 gap between the $160 8800GTS and the newer cards, right? So, since the 8800GTS is so cheap, is it worth it to wait and get the newer ones? Or is the only reason to wait for my price range so that the other cards drop in price? (In which case the card already has IMO)

4. The motherboard I wasn't so sure on, but I chose what was recommended. What is the difference between the GA-EP35-DS3R and the GA-EP35-DS3L? and should I get the R? Does the motherboard offer any better performance at a higher price, or do more expensive motherboards just allow for newer technology? (i.e. SLI, DDR3, etc)

5. If you have any comments about anything regarding the system, or overclocking with what I have, I'd love to hear. Also, if anything seems unbalanced.


Thanks

1) How large is your monitor? You might be able to go lower than the GTS, although $160 is hard to argue with. (I'm still not sure I'd buy an ECS card based on the reputation of their motherboards, but I haven't heard about anything wrong with the graphics cards.)

2) I would try out onboard sound first, especially since you're trying to cut costs.

3) New cards from both Nvidia and ATi are due out in a couple weeks. Nvidia solidly won the last round, but I hear ATi might come out on top this time. There's more information (some of it just rumor) in the Video Cards forum, but I haven't followed it closely enough to relay it all here.

4) For a basic system the DS3L is fine. It has four SATA ports and no onboard RAID capability, whereas the DS3R has eight SATA ports and an onboard RAID controller. The DS3R is also supposed to have better onboard sound if that interests you. Personally I'm happy with the DS3L, but I'm playing on a $40 gaming headset.

5) Since you're interested in overclocking I would change a few things to save some money. Go with an E7200, which can overclock over 3.0GHz. The PSU also might be less expensive at buy.com - they tend to have better PSU prices than Newegg, plus you can save an additional $10 that way if you've never used Google Checkout. (You also don't really need 550W. If you can find a quality 450-500W PSU for less, that's something to consider.)

If every penny counts to you, then you could probably save even more money on the heatsink if you go with the E7200. On the other hand, you'd still probably be spending around $25-30 for a decent heatsink, so I'd just as well stick with the Xigmatek.

With the money saved on some of these things I would consider a bigger hard drive like the WD Caviar 640GB or Samsung Spinpoint 750GB. It will offer a little bit better performance and a lot more space. The sweet spot in terms of $/GB has shifted into the 500-750GB range.

 

[Garthex]

1) I have a 19" and my brother has a 17" and we're still using CRTs. Is it worthwhile to get a nice 21" or so LCD? He has to move back and forth between houses every week, so are they durable enough for that? (right now he just has 2 diff monitors at each house.)


4) I'll probably get the DS3L then if the sound difference is negligible (since I don't need raid or the extra sata controllers)

5) I saw the one on buy.com. I could probably save $15 (from the buy.com price for the 550) if I step the PSU down to Corsair VX 450w Power Supply - CMPSU-450VX is this 450W enough for my setup? Also, there's a $30 Antec earthwatts EA430 430W ATX12V v2.0 Power Supply 100 - 240 V UL, CUL, FCC, TUV, CE, CB, C-tick, CCC - Retail. I don't want to skimp on the power supply unless it's truly worth it, though.

6) Is the E7200 worth it with half the L2 cache and $60 cheaper? I'm willing to spend for added performance, but if it's not worth it then I'll go with the E7200.

7) I'm looking at the Seagate Barracuda 7200.11 ST3500320AS 500GB 7200 RPM 32MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM right now since it's only $90. Do the WD or Samsung you suggested offer any extra performance over the Seagate to justify $40? If it's just the extra space, I'll stick to the 500GB.

8) Also, with this setup should I get Vista 64-bit or 32-bit, I heard the overhead of 64-bit isn't worth the extra memory if you only have 4GB RAM. Is there some other factor I'm missing, since most people seem to suggest 64-bit with 4GB of ram?

 

[Garthex]

9) Are these cases sturdy enough to be moving around? Any suggestions on one? Don't need flashing lights, just a nice, aesthetically-pleasing, sturdy case. Of course, ease of use, air flow and such still apply.

 

[DSF]

Originally posted by: Garthex
1) I have a 19" and my brother has a 17" and we're still using CRTs. Is it worthwhile to get a nice 21" or so LCD? He has to move back and forth between houses every week, so are they durable enough for that? (right now he just has 2 diff monitors at each house.)


4) I'll probably get the DS3L then if the sound difference is negligible (since I don't need raid or the extra sata controllers)

5) I saw the one on buy.com. I could probably save $15 (from the buy.com price for the 550) if I step the PSU down to Corsair VX 450w Power Supply - CMPSU-450VX is this 450W enough for my setup? Also, there's a $30 Antec earthwatts EA430 430W ATX12V v2.0 Power Supply 100 - 240 V UL, CUL, FCC, TUV, CE, CB, C-tick, CCC - Retail. I don't want to skimp on the power supply unless it's truly worth it, though.

6) Is the E7200 worth it with half the L2 cache and $60 cheaper? I'm willing to spend for added performance, but if it's not worth it then I'll go with the E7200.

7) I'm looking at the Seagate Barracuda 7200.11 ST3500320AS 500GB 7200 RPM 32MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM right now since it's only $90. Do the WD or Samsung you suggested offer any extra performance over the Seagate to justify $40? If it's just the extra space, I'll stick to the 500GB.

8) Also, with this setup should I get Vista 64-bit or 32-bit, I heard the overhead of 64-bit isn't worth the extra memory if you only have 4GB RAM. Is there some other factor I'm missing, since most people seem to suggest 64-bit with 4GB of ram?

1) With 17" and 19" monitors I would go with the 8800GT. I play on a 19" monitor. An 8800GT gives me 1200x1600 with all the eye candy on in a lot of games. On newer games I sometimes have to bring the res down a little bit, but it still plays just peachy. (Crysis ran smoothly at 1024x768, all settings on high, 2xAA.)

5) The 450W is enough power without a doubt. The 430W should probably be fine, but I'd stick with the Corsair if for no other reason than it should be a little bit quieter.

6) It'll be fine. Games are generally far more dependent on the GPU than the CPU. I have an E4500 @ 2.93 GHz and it handles any game I give it. The 2MB cache hasn't been an issue. If you weren't overclocking I might recommend the E8400, but I would definitely save some cache and go with the E7200 here.

7) I've heard the new Seagate drives can be a tad noisy, but I don't own one, so don't take my word for it. I have a Samsung Spinpoint 500GB and the thing is silent, at least inside an Antec Solo. The WD 640 and Samsung 750 would be higher performance than the Seagate. If you really feel like you need to cut costs, I would say the $40 expense isn't necessary.

 

[Garthex]

1) Is there a reason to get the 8800GT over the 8800GTS if they both cost $160?

6) lol

7) Is there a reason to get the WD over the Samsung if the Samsung is larger and they both cost $130? It has 16mb cache instead of 32.

 

[chinaman1472]

The WD is slightly faster in most cases.

 

[Garthex]

Thanks DSF and chinaman1472.

I went with the E7200, the GA-EP35-DS3L, the ECS 8800 GTS 512MB, the WD Caviar 640MB, and the Corsair 450VX in case anyone is curious. Total comes to $790 after rebates and shipping, so I'm happy =)

Thanks again, and until next time, peace.