First Build

B

bmorton18

Limp Gawd
Joined
Feb 1, 2008
Messages
442
After about three months of waiting to build a new computer, I am finally ordering my parts in a week or two.Here is what I have decided on so far. Please feel free to add any info. My budget is roughly $1500-1800. I mainly want this computer for gaming and I plan to upgrade some aspects of it later down the road, such as the vid card (possibly when the 9800x2 comes out) and the cpu. The $1800is for the entire box. PSU, Case, everything. Monitor not included. I am going to get Windows XP and Windows Vista 64 just to make sure I won't have any problems with old games or new games. I plan on gaming on a 24" monitor. Still undecided on which one right now but am leaning towards the Gateway FHD2400 or the HP w2408 right now.

MOBO: Asus Maximus Formula $249.99 -nterested in this mobo because in a year or two might want to upgrade to a newer Quad Core CPU.
CPU: Intel Core 2 Duo E8400 Wolfdale 3.0GHz $239.99 Want to go with this CPU for now until 45nm Quad Core's become more available.
PSU: CoolerMaster Real Power Pro 850w $199.99 Going with this one just to future proof myself in case I ever need more power.
Memory: G.SKILL 4GB(2 x 2GB) DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) $94.99 Will possibly upgrade to 1066 or more later down the road.
GPU: EVGA 8800GTS 512MB $289.99 First thing that will problably be replaced down the road, with one of the new 9 series cards.
Case: Antec Nine Hundred. Decided on going with air cooling and have read nothing but good things regarding the air cooling of this case. Noise is not a big deal to me.
HDD: 2 Seagate Barracuda 7200.11 500gb $119.99/each
Also adding a DVD-RW and a DVD-ROM drive to the case. $30 for each.
Windows Vista = $109 + Windows XP = $135

On Newegg with all these parts plus my additional parts such as my new keyboard and mouse and a few other accessories it all comes out to $2100 without shipping. That is pretty close to my budget. I have a little flexibility in the price, maybe $200-300 total.

I think I want to stick with the X38 chipset for some future upgrade possibilities. However I think I can find it in my budget to go with SLI and buy a 2nd 8800GTS right away. Anyone have suggestions on the 780i boards or X38 boards? Or if you see anything else that could use some improvement with my build. Thank you.
 
X38 has native CrossFire, which requires AMD/ATI cards; if you want SLI, then you'd want the nForce 780i chipset. Having said that, CrossFire and/or SLI is only a viable option if you plan on playing games at a resolution of at least 1920x1200 and you're going to buy the board and all of the cards at the same time. If that's too expensive for you, right now the 8800GTS 512MB and the HD3870x2 are capable of gaming at a 1920x1200 resolution.

Basically, if you're not going to buy everything at once for CrossFire, there's no other reason to get an X38 board. When Nehalem arrives at the end of this year, it will require a new socket and a new chipset, and it will eventually make all LGA775 boards obsolete -- including the P35, X38/48, and 680i/780i. The P35 chipset is the most mature and stable out of the ones that support the Core 2 Duo/Quad processors; stick with that unless you really feel the need to use CrossFire/SLI (which are only useful for serious/heavy gaming).

There are better power supplies available for much cheaper. A 750 watt PSU from Corsair or PC Power & Cooling, among other brands, could get the job done just as well for less; and if you decide not to go the SLI/CrossFire route, then you could drop down to a 500W-650W power supply. Look at the Corsair, PC Power & Cooling, Seasonic, Silverstone, and Thermalright Toughpower brands -- and also, pick up the PSU from a location other than NewEgg, like ClubIT, Buy.com, or ZipZoomFly.
 
Ok I'm going to take a look at some P35 boards when I get the chance, also at some new PSU's. Any suggestions on a good mobo for P35? I have seen the DFI Lanparty Dark mentioned but haven't heard bout too many others.
 
Abit IP35-E Intel P35 Motherboard - $90
Gigabyte GA-P35-DS3L Intel P35 Motherboard - $90
MSI P35 Neo2-FR Intel P35 ATX Motherboard - $119
Gigabyte GA-EP35-DS3R Intel P35 Motherboard - $125
Gigabyte GA-P35-DS3P Intel P35 Motherboard - $151
Abit IP35 Pro Intel P35 Motherboard - $170
Gigabyte GA-EP35-DS4 Intel P35 Motherboard - $176

Just to help you out: If you don't need RAID, more than 4 SATA ports or legacy ports, then the DS3L is a good choice. If you need 5 SATA ports, 2 eSATA ports, and a second PCI-E x16 port, then get the Neo2-Fr. If you want 8 SATA ports, RAID, and legacy ports and high overclocks, than the DS3R is a good choice. If you want the DS3R but need Firewire, then go for the DS3P. If you want something that can overclock pretty damn high along with eSATA ports and firewire connections, than the IP35 Pro. Note that the IP35-Pro seems to have problems with the Wolfdales CPUs.

There are more available P35 boards than just the ones mentioned, but simply look for one that has the features that you need, and check the [H] and other hardware sites for reviews on the board(s) you're interested in.
 
Thanks for the links. Looking at some reviews of the Gigabyte and Abit Pro right now. Guess it makes more sense to go with one of them instead of the X38 chipset for my needs.
 
Thanks again for the help. I've decided on the DS3P for my mobo. $80 cheaper than the Asus Maximus Formula and way cheaper than the Asus Striker II Formula that I was considering when I first started planning this build. Gives me more money to splurge on something else. Think I'm going to go with the G.Skill 4GB PC-8000 now.
 
If you're not overclocking then some of the $65 (after rebate) RAM would be just fine then too.

The Western Digital single-platter 320gb drives (WD3200AAKS-00B3A0) have been getting good reviews ($75). See here for more info. I'd consider one of these for the OS drive and then a ~$140 750gb drive for storage, see Hot Deals forum.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top