please look over my new build

[yuid]

I'm going to be building a new computer next week, as soon as the E8400 is available online. My trusty XP 2500+ is starting to show its age, so it's time to upgrade. I've been lurking on these forums for a while, and I just want to get some feedback to make sure that I'm buying the right stuff.

Here's what I have so far:

E8400 3Ghz ~$200
GIGABYTE GA-P35-DS3L $89
G.SKILL 4GB(2 x 2GB) DDR2 800 $95
ZALMAN CNPS7000B-ALCU 92mm 2 Ball Cooling Fan $25
(plus the $3 adapter to make it fit with the socket 775 processors)

BFG Tech BFGE88512GTSE GeForce 8800GTS 512MB $299 AR

Western Digital Raptor WD1500ADFD 150GB $169
Western Digital Caviar WD7500AAKS 750GB $154
PHILIPS 20X DVD±R SATA DVD Burner $29

I already have:
750W Corsair power supply
Antec P180 case
20" Dell 2005FPW
keyboard, mouse, Windows XP

I'm going to be using this computer primarily for games, with the second hard drive going mostly for file storage. I don't really plan on overclocking this thing much-- I'd like a quiet computer that I don't need to mess with for a while.

Besides the overall build (all the parts are compatible, right?), I have a few other questions:
1. Is the Gigabyte motherboard the right one to get? I don't want to use SLI... (also, I need the LPT port on that motherboard for my laser printer)
2. What sorts of issues can I expect with 4GB RAM in XP? I'd like to wait on Vista for another year or so until the bugs are worked out.
3. Any recommendations on the CPU heatsink/fan combo? The Zalman is supposed to be nice and quiet, but how is the retail heatsink on the E8400?

Thanks for the help!

 

[GuitarDaddy]

Originally posted by: yuid
1. Is the Gigabyte motherboard the right one to get? I don't want to use SLI... (also, I need the LPT port on that motherboard for my laser printer)

Good solid board in the sub $100 range

2. What sorts of issues can I expect with 4GB RAM in XP? I'd like to wait on Vista for another year or so until the bugs are worked out.

XP 32bit will only be able to use about 3.2gb, it will show full 4gb in bios but windows won't recognize but 3.2gb thus it is unusable. Other than than that there is no problem using 4gb, and off course if you upgrade to a 64bit OS you can utilize all 4gb

3. Any recommendations on the CPU heatsink/fan combo? The Zalman is supposed to be nice and quiet, but how is the retail heatsink on the E8400?

The reports that I have seen say the retail HSF is a smaller all alluminum unit, it's adequate if not overclocking but a nice aftermarket cooler would run cooler and be quieter



This is a very popular HSF in that price range

Aritic Cooler

 

[yuid]

Originally posted by: GuitarDaddy

Originally posted by: yuid
1. Is the Gigabyte motherboard the right one to get? I don't want to use SLI... (also, I need the LPT port on that motherboard for my laser printer)

Good solid board in the sub $100 range

Would there be any advantage in springing for a more expensive board?
Oh yeah, and that Gigabyte board will support the new Wolfdales, right?

 

[Fardor]

someone answer that question ^

 

[PolymerTim]

Originally posted by: yuid

Originally posted by: GuitarDaddy

Originally posted by: yuid
1. Is the Gigabyte motherboard the right one to get? I don't want to use SLI... (also, I need the LPT port on that motherboard for my laser printer)

Good solid board in the sub $100 range

Would there be any advantage in springing for a more expensive board?
Oh yeah, and that Gigabyte board will support the new Wolfdales, right?

I don't know about wolfdale support (wondering that myself and looking forward to the answer).

But as far as the differences between P35 boards I can offer a little clarification. So many of the performance related components are now included in the chipset that boards perform nearly identically wit the same chipset. Its kind of funny to look at all the reviews with 8 boards and < 1% variation over 10 different tests. There are two primary differences between the budget boards and the upper end boards. One is the ability to overclock. If you are pushing FSB to high levels, sometimes you will reach a MB limit before the limit of one of your components. The other difference, that you may be more interested in, is features. You want to make sure that the board supports all the connections you need (such as LPT for you) and the quality of any onboard components you're using. For instance, it is known that the DS3R has better onboard sound than the DS3L. If you have a discrete sound card of course this won't matter. So just take your time looking over the features and ask yourself what you need.

 

[DSF]

Originally posted by: PolymerTim

Originally posted by: yuid

Originally posted by: GuitarDaddy

Originally posted by: yuid
1. Is the Gigabyte motherboard the right one to get? I don't want to use SLI... (also, I need the LPT port on that motherboard for my laser printer)

Good solid board in the sub $100 range

Would there be any advantage in springing for a more expensive board?
Oh yeah, and that Gigabyte board will support the new Wolfdales, right?

I don't know about wolfdale support (wondering that myself and looking forward to the answer).

But as far as the differences between P35 boards I can offer a little clarification. So many of the performance related components are now included in the chipset that boards perform nearly identically wit the same chipset. Its kind of funny to look at all the reviews with 8 boards and < 1% variation over 10 different tests. There are two primary differences between the budget boards and the upper end boards. One is the ability to overclock. If you are pushing FSB to high levels, sometimes you will reach a MB limit before the limit of one of your components. The other difference, that you may be more interested in, is features. You want to make sure that the board supports all the connections you need (such as LPT for you) and the quality of any onboard components you're using. For instance, it is known that the DS3R has better onboard sound than the DS3L. If you have a discrete sound card of course this won't matter. So just take your time looking over the features and ask yourself what you need.

Totally correct, but the DS3L's onboard sound isn't bad. I have a DS3L in my gaming rig, and I don't feel the need to buy a sound card.

 

[yuid]

Hmm, I didn't notice that about the sound card. I just thought the R in DS3R meant that it had RAID.

It looks like the DS3L has the Realtek ALC888 while the DS3R has the Realtek ALC889A in it... I can't seem to find any reviews mentioning sound quality though. Does anyone know anything else about those sound chips?


On a side note, it seems that the 1.0 revision of the DS3R has the LPT port, but they got rid of it with the 2.0 and 2.1 revisions (http://www.giga-byte.com/Produ...w.aspx?ProductID=2543)

 

[Doclife]

Originally posted by: yuid
Hmm, I didn't notice that about the sound card. I just thought the R in DS3R meant that it had RAID.

It looks like the DS3L has the Realtek ALC888 while the DS3R has the Realtek ALC889A in it... I can't seem to find any reviews mentioning sound quality though. Does anyone know anything else about those sound chips?


On a side note, it seems that the 1.0 revision of the DS3R has the LPT port, but they got rid of it with the 2.0 and 2.1 revisions (http://www.giga-byte.com/Produ...w.aspx?ProductID=2543)

I'm using the Gigabyte P35-DS3R mobo and the onboard sound is superb.