New Build List - opinions please?

swimtech

Been hunting at NewEgg the past month - and came up with this component list for a new build based upon the E4300 Core2. I'd love to hear y'alls opinions for changes or improvements - but the budget is 1300-1400 (monitor included) and I can't go any higher. I picked the Asus board for the overclockability and features (e-sata, ADI onboard audio w/coax digi out, etc.).

Here she be...

Case

Newegg.com - ATRIX CSCI-A9003-C4 Black Computer Case With Side Panel Window - Retail
Net price after rebate, plus shipping $61.68 - Purchased!

ASUS P5B-E LGA 775 Intel P965 Express ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail
Model #: P5B-E
Item #: N82E16813131070

Return Policy: Standard Return Policy

In Stock
$150.99 $150.99 Update
HIS Hightech H195PRF512DDN-R Radeon X1950PRO 512MB GDDR3 PCI Express x16 HDCP Video Card - Retail
Model #: H195PRF512DDN-R
Item #: N82E16814161061

Return Policy: Standard Return Policy

In Stock
$229.99 $229.99 Update
ePOWER ZU-500W ATX12V Ver. 2.01 PCIe 500W Power Supply 115/230 V UL, CE, FCC, TUV - Retail
Model #: ZU-500W
Item #: N82E16817101011

Return Policy: Standard Return Policy

In Stock
$47.99 $47.99 Update
Intel Core 2 Duo E4300 Allendale 1.8GHz LGA 775 Processor Model BX80557E4300 - Retail
Model #: BX80557E4300
Item #: N82E16819115013

Return Policy: Processors (CPUs) Return Policy

In Stock
$174.99 $174.99 Update
GeIL 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model GX22GB6400UDCK - Retail
Model #: GX22GB6400UDCK
Item #: N82E16820144061

Return Policy: Standard Return Policy

In Stock
$249.99 -$50.00 Instant $199.99 Update
Western Digital Caviar SE16 WD3200KS 320GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM
Model #: WD3200KS
Item #: N82E16822136003

Return Policy: Standard Return Policy

In Stock
$89.99 $89.99 Update
Microsoft Comfort Curve 2000 B2L-00047 Black USB Ergonomics Keyboard Mouse Included - OEM
Model #: B2L-00047S
Item #: N82E16823109156

Return Policy: Standard Return Policy

In Stock
$21.99 $21.99 Update

Monitor
Newegg.com - SCEPTRE X20WC-Gamer Black 20.1" 5ms Widescreen LCD Monitor Built in Speakers - Retail
Net price after rebate plus shipping $214.10 - Purchased!

LITE-ON 20X DVD±R DVD Burner included extra White bezel, with 12X DVD-RAM Write Black IDE Model LH-20A1P-186 - Retail
Model #: LH-20A1P-186
Item #: N82E16827106050

Return Policy: Standard Return Policy

In Stock
$33.99 $33.99 Update
Thermaltake CL-P0370 92mm Enter CPU Cooler - Retail
Model #: CL-P0370
Item #: N82E16835106085

Return Policy: Standard Return Policy

In Stock
$33.99 $33.99 Subtotal:$???? - yet to be determined, but likely less than $1400.00, shipping included.

Tax return money is on the way - but I could wait a bit longer if worthwhile - I believe AMD is coming with DX10 cards in March/April - right?

kris23

try the gigabyte DS3 board...its cheaper and also very good for overclocking.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813128018

this G.Skill memory has much better timings on it for 30 bucks more than what you have
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820231114

the e4300 i hear tops out at 3.2GHz with low scores compared the e6xxx series, try the e6300 you got good enough ram
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16819115005

the hard drive you got is good but this has lower latencies and perpendicular recording. has a better rating too, some say seagate is noisy tho
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16822148140

you can remove almost $100 bucks if you just go without that extra 0.9 inches of screen man
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16824112003

these parts are better and more powerful while still being like $75 dollars cheaper. you can use the extra money to get a better graphics card for your monitor or a simple sound card or a better mouse and keyboard and...yea u know where im goin with this

swimtech

Yeah, the Gigabyte board was my second choice, this one:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813128012
twelve dollars cheaper without the onboard video.

I want the monitor to be HDCP compliant/enabled. I like the Sceptre monitors though - actually thought about leaving NewEgg for the monitor and getting a Dell 22" here:

http://accessories.dell.com/sna/prod...9&sku=320-5205
and I can get it for $267.00 - but it doesn't look to be as good a panel overall - but good enough.

Not sure about the Gskill memory (I much like the brand too) - the boards are picky about what they will boot with - still looking at that too - the Geil will take the nominal 1.8 volt default voltage - but maybe that doesn't matter as much with the Gigabyte board - another bit of research to be done. Also, the Geil has a wide voltage range...

I know, I really need to make room for an X-Fi sound card...

And I really want an Enermax Noisetaker PSU (the 485 watter should do - and I didn't see any reports of them blowing up!) here:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817194009
it leaves room down the road to go Crossfire with a mainboard replacement - but I don't really need it. The EPower units look to be the best of the elcheapo's...

I missed the Seagate drive - nice one, thanks!

kris23

woops looks like i put up the wrong board.... it seems that you can only boot with 1.8v ram and thats mostly lower end ram.... unless you got a stick of 1.8v ram laying around you wont be able to use the G.Skill ram i showed http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813128012

kris23

well i guess u can waste 22 bucks and get a cheap little stick to help boot http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820144146

bleh....

DudeBoyz

You could get a Samsung 204b and get 1600x1200 in a nice 20.1" package (much higher pixel density) for between $319 and $349. Has a true 4:3 aspect ratio so when you change resolutions to like 1024x768 for some games, you won't get aspect ratio distortion.

kris23

dude, you got to get an 8800GTS card, they came out with the 320mb versions and they are 300 bucks, now your system is a bit more expensive than what u amed for but you are set for the future pretty much

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814130082

CDsDontBurn

pretty nice setup there swimtech! .

the only thing though is the PSU. I had that enermax noisetaker 485w before. i didn't like it. don't get me wrong, it's a great PSU for the money, but if you plan on doing any OCing and/or you go w/the 8800GTS like kris23 suggested, it won't be enough PSU for that. i'd say for a little bit more money, go for the OCZ GameXtreme 600w PSU. Or for a little less, but still better than the enermax IMO, check out the SeaSonic 500w PSU.

i'm just concerned about your choice of PSU. i don't feel that the enermax can cut it for even the x1950 you've chosen. Higher end cards, require more juice, and it's not just the wattage number that you need to look for, but also the quality of power.

If you want to stick to an enermax PSU, the 500w Liberty should do just fine, and perform better than the noisetaker .

Lowfat

I disagree completely. my GFs system runs an E4300 @ 3.3GHz, a 8800GTS @ 670/1016, 2GB ram, all off an Enermax Noisetaker 485W PSU. Completely stable.

CDsDontBurn

hmm....maybe i just had a poor quality Enermax Noisetaker then? It ran fine at stock and also w/a slight OC. But if i ever tried to max out my machine (specs on the left); CPU @ 4Ghz, gfx @ 560/595, RAM @ 3.0v; it just couldn't take the load and shut my machine down in the middle of a benchmark.

maybe the design of the 485w Enermax Noisetaker has improved since then, but i'm just sharing my experience w/that specific power supply.

Dyre Straits

swimtech,

If you don't know what you want, I sure can't begin to tell you. LOL!

PangingJr

GeIL DDR2 ULTRA PC6400 DDR2 800Mhz
PC6400 DDR2 800Mhz, CAS 4-4-4-12 - http://www.geilusa.com/products/showSpec/id/65
2GB (1GBX2- SKU#GX22GB6400UDC ) Dual Channel Kit
- Hand-picked BGA 64Mx8 Chips
- 240pin, Non-ECC, Un-buffered DIMM
- Racing-Orange Aluminum Heat Spreader
- Retail Package
- Lifetime Warranty
- Working Voltage: 1.8v ~ 2.3v

i think, GeIL DDR2 "ULTRA" series is a good memory (performance is quite higher in "Ultra Plus" series, but more expensive. if this was its Value series then i would just go for Kingston's or Corsair's will be better, imo)

the one that you picked from newegg has a 'Blue special edition aluminum heat spreader' on, i think the price is now just about right (its quite cheaper than before)

the G.Skill F2-6400CL4D-2GBHK is a newer product than the above GeIL, it uses a bit lower quality IC modules and having price lower than the "HZ" one, however this "HK" model has been spec'ed to have lower memory timings than others.

it's hard to choose between those 2, the GeIL Ultra and G.Skill HK... if you're willing to disregard the price and the spec of the minimum voltage required... i felt i would go for the G.Skill HK.

btw, swimtech, i have a hard time checking info of your post there lol, you have cut/pasted those links from the wishlist pages... my web browser is set to filter out those links lol.

Lowfat

The noisetaker she is using is closing on 2 years old

CDsDontBurn

mine is pushing 3yrs.

it's being used in my lady's machine as well. but imna upgrade it soon, and use a different PSU in the process as well.

kris23

if you still want a cheaper HDCP compatible monitor, this sceptre monitor will do Newegg.com - SCEPTRE X20WG-Naga Black 20.1" 5ms (GTG) Widescreen LCD Monitor Built in Speakers - Retail its a slightly different model from what i showed you

swimtech

Nice advice guys - the give and take from experience is what I was hoping to see and build a judgement from. I do have a close idea of what I need for what I want (thanks too Dyre for the compliment... ), but I'm not 100% certain 'cause I have to go by specs and reader surveys, reviews, etc. - not hands on - which is what you guys have.

OK, here's the idea behind the system.

Wanna take the E4300 and clock 'er to 3.0 or thereabouts steady - run it all the time that way - which looks to be no great shakes with a decent mainboard. I'm doing the math still on the memory to maintain 1:1 with the CPU bus - could use some input here though...

I figure it'll last and have no problems with stability or reduced life if I keep it cool with a decent add on cooler. That'll give me the performance of an Extreme edition Core 2 - give or take - and save me over 700.00! That makes the cooler, case, and PSU pretty important. I picked the case because a friend bought one and likes it for the cooling - but I'm sure there's got to be a little better - I could use some input on the case and cooler, but again, by spending just enough to do the job reliably. Just saw the Enermax case with the 250mm fan on the side which looks to be a better cooling solution - but doesn't have all the connection (USB, Audio, Firewire - has eSATA instead - the board I've picked has that on the back...) goodies I will use - pooh. My wife gets say so on how the case looks and she's ok'd the Aspire case...

I want to be able to run any game software at the native resolution of the LCD display. That's why I'm keeping to a 1600x1050 display - a 1950pro should do that ok with some eye candy on, but not much better, I know. I also want the capability in the monitor to play HD content on the computer (HD or BluRay) down the road after they turn on the nasty bit on the disc that knocks down the resolution or blacks the content out - I know it's not on today - but I want to be ready when they do rather than buy a new monitor and video card for that reason - so it's HDCP video card and monitor. I'd rather upgrade the video card next year maybe, rather than need to replace a monitor.

I'll be running Vista Business.

I've used the mouse I picked to game with on the Macbook - it works ok. The keyboard should be reliable - and both for 22.00 - looks good.

The memory should be flexible enough and the timings are great for the money - prices have started to fall nicely - I'd been looking at GSkill pretty much exclusively over the past couple months - the Geil caught my eye this past week 'cause it dropped so much in price. I'll be keeping my eyes open right up until the day I place the order - very volatile situation right now... I still have to study some more on the aspects of memory timing versus bus speed so I buy the right stuff for my intended overclock - like I said, I still need to do the math in running the E4300 at about 3Ghz.

So, now you know my thinking in general - pick at that too, please!

kris23

i really think you should go with the e6300 though......the components there are good enough so that it can get the thing to break 3.2GHz with more performance than the e4300 at 3.2GHz, i really dont think the e4300 is a good deal just yet, its still just too expensive.

though the e4300 seems to be able to match or surpass the core 2 extreme when OCed.
i think the e4300 chip is really for those people with lower end components like the ASrock core 2 board because of the FSB, it allows it to OC higher on that equipment than lets say an e6300. but the performance seems to hit the fan at 3.3Ghz to 3.4 tops from what i see

kris23

hmm..... reading some benchmarks on the OCed e6300 and e4300, the e4300 and e6300 chips are roughly equal to each other both OCed and not. Core 2 E4300 vs. E6300 Overclocking Battle - TechSpot there ya go, the e6300 chip only pulls ahead by a few points in most tests except in FarCry where the e4300 takes the lead, these tests were on the Gigabyte 965P DS3 board it seems

PangingJr

don't you think you should get the E6400 and do less overclock, apply less stress on the memory modules and the rest? no?

i think you can afford to be patient, already. i mean you have been waiting for this new computer...
you could start buying things likes the computer case and whatever power supply, optical and hard drives, etc...
and the RAM too, if you think all of the prices are now right. and then save up more in another month or so for the system processor (and for a better motherboard if you could.) and last, keep the last amount of money that you save for CPU cooler and buy this thing last.

once you are ready, set the components up, first use the Intel stock fanheatsink and run the new computer...
you will then can examine the computer case air flow advantage or problems.

DudeBoyz

Less overclocking is indeed better for the components. No need to over stress them.

I'd get the fastest processor you can reasonably afford, frankly.

I like the 6600 cause of the 4 meg of cache, but still, whatever the fastest is that you can afford, that's worth considering.