First build - advice needed

K

Krame

Weaksauce
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Apr 2, 2006
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I'm building my first computer, mainly a gaming/general use computer. Also want to try my hand out at overclocking. Here is the list of parts that I have picked out so far:

Motherboard: ASUS P5Q Pro LGA 775 Intel P45 ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail

CPU: Intel Core 2 Duo E8400 Wolfdale 3.0GHz LGA 775 65W Dual-Core Processor Model BX80570E8400 - Retail
or
Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 2.4GHz LGA 775 Quad-Core Processor - Retail
or
Intel Core 2 Duo E7200 2.53GHz LGA 775 65W Dual-Core Processor - Retail

CPU cooler: ZEROtherm Nirvana NV120 120mm 2-ball UFO Bearing / Transparent CPU Cooler - Retail

Memory: G.SKILL 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model F2-6400CL5D-4GBPQ - Retail
or
G.SKILL 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model F2-6400CL5D-2GBNQ - Retail

HD: Western Digital Caviar SE WD1600AAJS 160GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM

DVD drive: ASUS 20X DVD±R DVD Burner with LightScribe Black SATA Model DRW-2014L1T - Retail

OS: Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium SP1 64-bit English for System Builders 1pk DSP OEI DVD - OEM

PSU: Antec earthwatts EA500 500W ATX12V v2.0 SLI Certified CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS Certified Active PFC Power Supply - Retail

Case: COOLER MASTER RC-690-KKN1-GP Black SECC/ ABS ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - Retail

I've already bought the case and the psu and I'll be using an EVGA 9800GT that I've already been using for now. I still can't decide which CPU to go with though. Go quad core with the Q6600, the E8400 or save some money and get the E7200. My budget is around $550-$600 without a monitor or video card. Let me know if I can save some money by changing some parts without losing that much performance/quality and also the compatibility of these parts.
 
Go with the E8400 and Asus P5Q Pro combo:
Intel Core 2 Duo E8400 CPU and Asus P5Q Pro Intel P45 Motherboard Combo - $275

RAM wise, to not be limited by your RAM when overclocking, I recommend this set:
G.Skill F2-8000CL5D-4GBPQ 2 x 2GB DDR2 1000 RAM - $70

PSU wise, you can do better than the EA500 at that price range. I recommend these PSUs:
Corsair 450VX 450W PSU - $70
Corsair 550VX 550W PSU - $85

You can save about $25 (once you factor in shipping) by getting that case from here:
Cooler Master RC-690-KKN1-GP ATX Case - $75

Hard drive wise, I recommend getting this much much faster hard drive:
Seagate Barracuda 7200.11 320GB 7200RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - $65

Other than that, your choices are fine.
 
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Thanks for the link to the CPU combo, that price is great. I already bought the case and PSU from Newegg, except I got the PSU for only 49 shipped. I definitely would have gotten a Corsair instead if I was going to pay $90.
 
asus combo is no more
ram is back to 124.00

built a mock system
increased 200.00 from sept 30 to 10/01

bah!!!!
 
When you see a good deal and you need the parts, you gotta jump on it.

If you didn't get the combo, you won't lose much performance by dropping down to the E7200 and OC'ing it to 3.6Ghz. ;)
 
The lowest price DDR3 4GB kit I found on Newegg was $150. You can still get a DDR2-800 4GB kit for around $70, less than half that price. I'd avoid DDR3 still, since it shows no noticeable performance improvement over DDR2 on the current Intel Core2 platform.
 
enginurd said:
The lowest price DDR3 4GB kit I found on Newegg was $150. You can still get a DDR2-800 4GB kit for around $70, less than half that price. I'd avoid DDR3 still, since it shows no noticeable performance improvement over DDR2 on the current Intel Core2 platform.
Click to expand...

In addition, there's no guarantee that whatever DDR3 RAM you buy today will be supported by future chipsets or that it won't limit future CPUs.

So avoid DDR3 RAM and by extension that Intel motherboard. I still recommend the Asus P5Q Pro and then just drop down to the E7200 CPU. Should be about the same price.
 
Finished build pics:

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Cooler Master 690
Antec Earthwatts 500W
Asus P5Q Pro
Intel E7200
G. Skill 4GB (2x2) DDR2 800
EVGA 9800GT
Western Digital 160GB 7200RPM
Lite-On DVD burner
Antec 80mm tricools(x2)
Thermaltake 120mm front intake
Windows Vista Ultimate x64
 
Excellent wiring for a person's first PC. Nice work!
 
Nice wiring! My first build didn't look anywhere near that good! Of course the CM 690 makes it easy, god I love that case.

edit: just noticed you have the video card plugged into the black slot, that only has a max link of x8, you need to move it to the blue PCI-E X16 slot to get the full bandwidth.
 
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