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First ground up computer build ....

Goose

Goose

Limp Gawd
2FA
Joined
Mar 21, 2006
Messages
311
hey all,

This will be my first attempt to build a computer from the ground up. First some questions need to be answered!


* What is your budget? Are shipping and/or taxes included within that budget?

Budget is At the Most, $700, less is better but not at the sake of losing any 'future proof items' , and yes shipping/taxes are included in total.


* Where do you live? Where are you (planning on) buying everything at?

Newegg, Frys, Provantage, Buy.com - I will follow the least priced items :)


* Which components do you already have? Which components are you going to reuse (from older builds)? (Be as specific as possible.)

Monitor - Viewsonic 22" crt
Happauge PVR 350
Audigy 2 sound card (will upgrade later)
keyboard/mouse


* What are you going to use your computer for? Which games/programs are you going to use?

Little bit of everything. Gaming (1600x1200 mostly), photoshop, net etc. Max resolution of monitor is 2048x1536. Current desktop resolution is 1900x1440.

Games such as: crysis, ut3, bioshock, cod4, ut2004 etc.


* Do you plan on overclocking? Are you going to use water (or some other form of "exotic") cooling?

Not likely. Maybe the graphics card some. No water or 'exotic' cooling. The Case must be an excellent cooler, but very quite!



* Which monitor are you using? What resolution do you use? Are you using multiple monitors? Do you plan on buying a new/multiple monitor(s) any time soon?

Viewsonic 22" crt p220f. 1600x1200, but max resolution is 2048x1536. No multiple monitors, and no new ones in the future.


* Which features do you want on the motherboard?

Please elaborate on this ... Pci-e 2.0, sound, Future Proof as much as possible ... What features are necessary to be future proof but within budget for 2-4 years?


* How long do you want this system to last? Are you (planning on) making any incremental upgrades during that time?

2 to 4 years. With small upgrades in between. (ram, graphics card, soundcard, HD etc.)


The Build:

Case - 3 or 4 fans: front, side, back, top. NO Leds, NO windows, Sleek and nice looking. ( coolermaster rc-690? , Lian Li 7b+2 ? ) Others?

Power - corsair, don't need anything huge or expensive.

Processor- q6600? I would really like this :)

Motherboard- gigabyte ds3l? Kinda Future proof?

Graphics Card- evga 8800gt or something similar. Unless something better can be had within budget!

Ram- Corsair 2gb only, (2x1gb) I will upgrade later on unless I can get 4gb within budget!

Heatsink/cooler - xigmatek - needed?
Bracket-xigmatek

Hardrive- WD, Seagate: cheap but reliable 300-500gb sata

Can I use my 250gb IDE harddrive with this instead of the sata And upgrade later?

I greatly appreciate any help you guys could provide. It's daunting but it looks like it could be fun! :D

Thank!
 
You said you wanted to future proof for the next two to four years... I'm not sure that the 8800 will hold up for the next two or four years. Or if you do purchase an 8800 you will need a second one to keep up with the graphics in the future. Also, the next gen graphics seems to be held by the multi-GPU cards which require much future proofing of the motherboard (my personal choice would be the x48 or x38).

I believe that IDE harddrive is usable. However, it is highly suggested that you get 4gigs of ram. You could, in fact, grab the Hot Deal (in the forums) from newegg who are selling DDR2 800 ram for $74.
 
Alai said:
You said you wanted to future proof for the next two to four years... I'm not sure that the 8800 will hold up for the next two or four years. Or if you do purchase an 8800 you will need a second one to keep up with the graphics in the future. Also, the next gen graphics seems to be held by the multi-GPU cards which require much future proofing of the motherboard (my personal choice would be the x48 or x38).

I believe that IDE harddrive is usable. However, it is highly suggested that you get 4gigs of ram. You could, in fact, grab the Hot Deal (in the forums) from newegg who are selling DDR2 800 ram for $74.
Click to expand...

I'm not too worried about the graphics card, that is an easily replaceable item later on when needed. As for the ram, 2gb for this build now, unless the 4gb can fall within budget.
:)

Looking for opinions on the build and what is best for the money and distance. :)
 
Toaster Oven said:
Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 $196 (5% off coupon at Buy.com)
Patriot Extreme Performance 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 $78 + $6 Shipping - $20 MIR
Asus P5Q Pro + Asus HD4850 combo $308 - $30 MIR (2nd link on that page)
Corsair TX650 $95 - $20MIR
Samsung SH-S203N $27 + $7 Shipping
Antec Three Hundred $55


Total Shipped: $725
MIR: $70
Final Total: $655



Reuse your HD for now. You don't need an aftermarket HSF if you're not gonna overclock.
Click to expand...

Thanks. I don't plan to overclock much, the graphics card probably but would it be a good idea for heat dissipation?
And I'd really like to use the current HD!

I'm Probably going with this case, unless there are issues I don't know about:
http://www.provantage.com/cooler-rc-690-kkn1-gp~7COOL023.htm

I don't need any dvd drives have (2), I forgot to mention that! :)

I'd like to stay with Corsair for the Ram and Gigabyte for the Mobo despite combo deals.

As for the graphics card, I'd rather put that money into something else better future proof. (mobo in particular) The card can be replaced at a later date. Same for the Ram unless the build comes in under budget.

The 8800gt in my other system is doing just fine with the current crop of games.

thanks for the input! :)
 
Main issue with that case is where you're purchasing it from. The Antec 300 case from buy.com that Toaster Oven linked to has free shipping. The RC-690 does not have free shipping. Shipping to CA is $22. So that does eat into your budget for other parts.

Unfortunately, there is no CPU path (AMD or Intel) at all that is future proof. Then again, rarely is anything in PC hardware future proof.

Support for DDR3 RAM is moot since A) Current DDR3 RAM has not shown to provide a performance increase with current Intel C2D CPUs and B) the faster DDR3 RAM that *might* provide a performance increase will not be supported at all by current Intel motherboards. In addition, both AMD and Intel are switching to new sockets later this year. Intel's new sockets will not be compatible with current Intel CPUs and AMD has had a spotty record of backwards compatiblity with their sockets and CPUs.

So basically, your CPU, RAM, and motherboard, no matter which one you choose, is more or less a dead end with no viable upgrade path. But at least the graphics card, sound card and other expansion cards should be safe.

Well that Asus combo does include a pretty high-end motherboard. But I understand your reluctance to go with Asus.

Yes a HSF would be a good idea for heat dissipation but your budget is way to tight for one. So either A) reduce your CPU requirements or B) up your budget.

I'm assuming that both DVD drives are IDE right? Personally I hate the idea of a hard drive and DVD drive sharing the same IDE port even though there shouldn't be a performance decrease from doing so. But it doesn't seem right.....:(

Quick question though: Do you actually follow through on rebates? If so, Toaster Oven's build is your best bet. Then again drop the DVD drive, Toaster Oven's build is still your best bet before rebate.
 
You could safely downgrade your power supply to the Antec Earthwatts 500W power supply, which would be enough for your proposed setup. Right now it's on sale at Buy.com for $70 with free shipping. Paired with the Antec Three Hundred, you have a nice case/PSU "bundle" for $125 shipped.

You have three IDE devices. Today's motherboards come with only one IDE port, which supports two devices. You'll have to lose one of the two DVD drives for the time being. (Personally, I suggest that you "replace" one of them with a SATA DVD burner, but you really don't have to.)

With your CRT monitor, I believe that the HD4850 would be the better choice in terms of video cards. Budget-wise, however, the 8800GT is the better deal, especially since it can be found for around $150 before rebates.

If you don't need any major features, you could go with an inexpensive P43 board like the Gigabyte GA-EP43-DS3L or the MSI P43 Neo3-F. The P43 chipset supports PCI Express 2.0, which gives you options if/when you decide to upgrade your video card later on.

You could still get 4GB of RAM, but for immediate savings, you should get the G.Skill 2x2GB DDR2 800 kit.

Here's a different list of suggestions. You can change and/or adjust things according to your needs and wants.

$55 - Antec Three Hundred (Buy.com - free shipping)
$70 - Antec Earthwatts 500W PSU (Buy.com - free shipping)
$95 - Gigabyte GA-EP43-DS3L or MSI P43 Neo3-F (NewEgg)
$186 - Q6600 (with 5% Buy.com discount factored in - free shipping)
$80 - G.Skill 2x2GB DDR2 800 kit (NewEgg - free shipping)
(reusing hard drive & one DVD drive)
$150 - EVGA 8800GT (NewEgg - free shipping & $20 mail-in rebate)
=====
$636 - Subtotal (not including shipping, taxes, or rebates)
 
tiraides said:
You could safely downgrade your power supply to the Antec Earthwatts 500W power supply, which would be enough for your proposed setup. Right now it's on sale at Buy.com for $70 with free shipping. Paired with the Antec Three Hundred, you have a nice case/PSU "bundle" for $125 shipped.

You have three IDE devices. Today's motherboards come with only one IDE port, which supports two devices. You'll have to lose one of the two DVD drives for the time being. (Personally, I suggest that you "replace" one of them with a SATA DVD burner, but you really don't have to.)

With your CRT monitor, I believe that the HD4850 would be the better choice in terms of video cards. Budget-wise, however, the 8800GT is the better deal, especially since it can be found for around $150 before rebates.

If you don't need any major features, you could go with an inexpensive P43 board like the Gigabyte GA-EP43-DS3L or the MSI P43 Neo3-F. The P43 chipset supports PCI Express 2.0, which gives you options if/when you decide to upgrade your video card later on.

You could still get 4GB of RAM, but for immediate savings, you should get the G.Skill 2x2GB DDR2 800 kit.

Here's a different list of suggestions. You can change and/or adjust things according to your needs and wants.

$55 - Antec Three Hundred (Buy.com - free shipping)
$70 - Antec Earthwatts 500W PSU (Buy.com - free shipping)
$95 - Gigabyte GA-EP43-DS3L or MSI P43 Neo3-F (NewEgg)
$186 - Q6600 (with 5% Buy.com discount factored in - free shipping)
$80 - G.Skill 2x2GB DDR2 800 kit (NewEgg - free shipping)
(reusing hard drive & one DVD drive)
$150 - EVGA 8800GT (NewEgg - free shipping & $20 mail-in rebate)
=====
$636 - Subtotal (not including shipping, taxes, or rebates)
Click to expand...

Thank you Both for the info!

Let me clear things up a little.

The system that this is going to replace is a 4+ year old AGP system.

To include the above hardware that I mentioned and a 9800 Pro AGP card. So when I say practically anything will be an upgrade, I mean it! :D But I want Quality Items, Retail! :D

This build will ultimately be my fathers. He likes the RC-690, BUT, Really wants a case that's simple to work on/in and has nice features, slide out this, movable that.... easy of use and great looks too.... there's a joke in there somewhere :D

This build has some 'slight' wiggle room from the figure above. He would like the RC-690 and a Corsair power supply, since they get great reviews; and above all else, you kind of really want a great power supply for the entire system. It just doesn't need to power the space shuttle! :D

So yes, the IDE drive will be reused at the moment, as well as one IDE DVD Burner, a NEC Duel layer.


The final price must include all shipping and taxes. I'm located on the coast of Maine, btw.

So Far:

$95 - Gigabyte GA-EP43-DS3L ( P45 OR P43?)

$186 - Q6600 (with 5% Buy.com discount factored in - free shipping) :D

$150 - EVGA 8800GT (NewEgg - free shipping & $20 mail-in rebate) OR Something similar


Left:

Case - What about this? Even if not shipped free? I will look around though.
https://www.provantage.com/scripts/cart.dll/x/0/review

Power supply - What about this?
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139004

Ram- What about this?
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820145184
 
If you're considering the DS3L board, get the P43 model -- they otherwise have the same features.

Get the Corsair power supply from either Provantage or Buy.com. If you need to, you could drop down to the VX450, which would still be enough for your rig.

You get no immediate savings from mail-in rebates, so go for the upfront savings whenever possible. On that note, I suggest that you stick with the G.Skill set I recommended earlier.

If you can afford it, the HD4850 would be the better video card for your monitor.
 
It's shocking to see how prices have dropped some much from last year to this year. Last year when i built my current rig i spent 2600. I can build the same system for about 1500 now. *See Sig* :D
For a company i would try to use Newegg as much as possible. Their support, shipping and everything else is top notice. When i ordered my last system i had all my parts in 3 days. And they came from 3 different Warehouses. And i live in BFE Michigan :p
 
tiraides said:
If you're considering the DS3L board, get the P43 model -- they otherwise have the same features.

Get the Corsair power supply from either Provantage or Buy.com. If you need to, you could drop down to the VX450, which would still be enough for your rig.

You get no immediate savings from mail-in rebates, so go for the upfront savings whenever possible. On that note, I suggest that you stick with the G.Skill set I recommended earlier.

If you can afford it, the HD4850 would be the better video card for your monitor.
Click to expand...

The ds3l p43 is ok then, if there are no noticeable differences.

What other boards are better for the same or similar price?

Why the G.Skill over the corsair? Other than rebate?

Corsair vx450: http://www.provantage.com/corsair-cmpsu-450vx~7CSMC05C.htm

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B000UF28V4?smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER&tag=cnet-ce-20&linkCode=asn

I'll stick with an 8800gt for the moment. The other one I have is doing fine for the moment.

When it comes to the 'future proof' part of my statement, this is centered around the fact that the computer that is being replaced is a Dell Precision 360, AGP system. Proprietary to DELL and not really upgradable at all.

The 'Future proof' in my view, has to do with my ability to upgrade everything ( individual components) in the case at any time I choose to. Something I have not been able to do.

For example, will I be able to take the new Intel processor, Nehalem or other new ones, with whatever new mobo it takes, and swap that out of this rig and put new stuff in it?
Thus swapping out components to the Newest ones, my idea of future proofing, not making one component last 2, 3 or 4 years and still be viable. That make sense at all?

I'm looking for this build to last because ALL the components can be swapped out at any time to New, state of the art stuff at a later date and not be proprietary!

Yes I follow through will All Rebates. :)
Thanks guys for all your help! :D
 
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Nehalem will replace all Socket 775 motherboards and processors -- they'll essentially become EOL. So will DDR2 RAM, as Nehalem will (reportedly) require the use of DDR3 RAM. Every other component can be updated and/or transferred over to a new machine, should the need arises.

The MSI P43 Neo3-F, the other board that I recommended, has eight SATA300 ports compared to the DS3L's four.

The reason why I recommend the G.Skill RAM is the price -- it will perform just as well (and it reportedly has excellent customer service) but it costs less up front. You won't get any benefit from choosing the "performance" XMS2 RAM.

I didn't know about the Amazon deal on the VX450, but the point was to not buy it from NewEgg. If you could afford to, though, get yourself either the VX550 or the Antec Earthwatts 650W. While the VX450 would be enough for your needs, you may want a little extra headroom for future upgrades.
 
Toaster oven's build looks the best so far, but...

Quad core is unnecessary for a budget build. Get an E7200 or something and throw that extra cash into a better videocard.
 
tiraides said:
Nehalem will replace all Socket 775 motherboards and processors -- they'll essentially become EOL. So will DDR2 RAM, as Nehalem will (reportedly) require the use of DDR3 RAM. Every other component can be updated and/or transferred over to a new machine, should the need arises.

The MSI P43 Neo3-F, the other board that I recommended, has eight SATA300 ports compared to the DS3L's four.

The reason why I recommend the G.Skill RAM is the price -- it will perform just as well (and it reportedly has excellent customer service) but it costs less up front. You won't get any benefit from choosing the "performance" XMS2 RAM.

I didn't know about the Amazon deal on the VX450, but the point was to not buy it from NewEgg. If you could afford to, though, get yourself either the VX550 or the Antec Earthwatts 650W. While the VX450 would be enough for your needs, you may want a little extra headroom for future upgrades.
Click to expand...

So besides RAM, MOBO, and Processor, (new and later on) the rest can stay put. That is exactly what I wanted to hear. :D

That is true about the head room. But even if I got a 4850/4870 or gtx260/280 will I Really need a ton of power if I don't intend to overclock much at all?

After all this I forgot to mention that the IDE 250GB HD that will be used for the moment in this rig, has VISTA 32 Ultimate on it.

So is there a deal on the G.SKILL that is just 2 GB total, at the moment, or will I really see a difference with that extra gig or gig 1/2 in performance since 32bit doesn't recognize all 4gb?

" The MSI P43 Neo3-F, the other board that I recommended, has eight SATA300 ports compared to the DS3L's four."

So what does this really mean? I apologize for my ignorance.

Thanks
 
If you bought one of the new cards, you'd want at least the VX550 for the extra power they would generate. In general, you'd want some extra headroom to prolong the lifespan of the power supply -- it would run much longer when it's constantly at 50% max load than it would at 80% load.

You may be able to reuse your existing OS, but you would likely have to repair the installation. But if the installation is based off an OEM license, you're not supposed to transfer that license to a new machine.

For most games, 2GB is still the "sweet spot" and you wouldn't see much improvement with 4GB. Vista, however, responds better with more available memory -- but the 32-bit limitation of the OS would reduce the amount of "usable" RAM to around 3.5GB.

SATA is the connection used for today's hard (and optical) drives. With SATA, each drive operates independently compared to the master/slave interaction between IDE drives. Having more SATA ports simply means that you could connect more hard drives and CD/DVD/BR drives to the computer. That may or may not be a benefit to you over the long run.
 
tiraides said:
If you bought one of the new cards, you'd want at least the VX550 for the extra power they would generate. In general, you'd want some extra headroom to prolong the lifespan of the power supply -- it would run much longer when it's constantly at 50% max load than it would at 80% load.

You may be able to reuse your existing OS, but you would likely have to repair the installation. But if the installation is based off an OEM license, you're not supposed to transfer that license to a new machine.

For most games, 2GB is still the "sweet spot" and you wouldn't see much improvement with 4GB. Vista, however, responds better with more available memory -- but the 32-bit limitation of the OS would reduce the amount of "usable" RAM to around 3.5GB.

SATA is the connection used for today's hard (and optical) drives. With SATA, each drive operates independently compared to the master/slave interaction between IDE drives. Having more SATA ports simply means that you could connect more hard drives and CD/DVD/BR drives to the computer. That may or may not be a benefit to you over the long run.
Click to expand...

I'm not likely to put more than 2 or 3 HD in this case. So the Gigabyte DS3L should be ok, right?


Did I forget anything? I assume that all of these items will come with Everything that I need to put all these parts together???

Case: RC-690 - $77 shipped
http://www.provantage.com/scripts/cart.dll


Processor: Q6600 - $186 shipped (5% off)
http://www.buy.com/prod/intel-core-...b-65nm-95w-quad-core/q/loc/101/203829458.html


Ram: G.skill 2GB kit $45 shipped
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231098

or

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820145590 $47.50 free s/h $10 MIR


Power: vx450, maybe vx550 $75-89

http://www.provantage.com/scripts/cart.dll shipped

https://www.provantage.com/scripts/cart.dll/x/0/review shipped


Graphics:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102747 $175 free s/h with $20 MIR ($155 after MIR)

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130319 $155.99 free s/h with $20 MIR ($136 after MIR)

Why is the 4850 better? I'd like to know.


Mobo: Gigabyte DS3L P43, unless something else is better for $95 + $9.00 Shipping
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128347

Total: $667 with 4850 and vx550
$618 with 8800gt and vx450

Critique please.
 
I would get the HX520 instead of the VX550 for some modular cable comfort.
 
We can't see what's in YOUR cart at provantage.com. We can only see our own carts.

Mobo:
Yes the DS3L should be OK for just 3 hard drives.

RAM:
Go for the Corsair RAM if you're capable of following through on the rebate.

PSU:
The 450VX will be enough for your current system but if you want a bit of headroom for future upgrades, I recommend getting the 550VX.

GPU:
The HD4850 is significantly faster than the 8800GT yet is only a $25 to $40 more. It's simply one of the best bang for your buck card out now. So definitely get the HD4850.
 
Toaster Oven said:
Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 $196 (5% off coupon at Buy.com)
Patriot Extreme Performance 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 $78 + $6 Shipping - $20 MIR
Asus P5Q Pro + Asus HD4850 combo $308 - $30 MIR (2nd link on that page)
Corsair TX650 $95 - $20MIR
Samsung SH-S203N $27 + $7 Shipping
Antec Three Hundred $55


Total Shipped: $725
MIR: $70
Final Total: $655



Reuse your HD for now. You don't need an aftermarket HSF if you're not gonna overclock.
Click to expand...

+$100 for OS
+$80 for HDD (no, you dont want to reuse your hdd =.=, cant tell you how many Q6600's ive seen dragged down by Vista+40MB/s read speeds...)
oops...

Off the top of my head:
For $700 a Q6600 is a no go, I think you should look at an E7200. You could push for an E8200 but that would start pulling money from other parts of the budget I don't perticularly wanna allocate elsewhere.

As for a motherboard, I'd suggest a P43 or maybe P35 board, maybe from gigabyte. The motherboard market is so supersaturated and pricing so erratic its hard to know what to buy. With motherboards the perfect board for you is always on sale with someone, you just have to find that someone.

The HD4850 is a significant step up over an 8800GT, maybe 25-40%, so I'd say if the upgrade is $30 or $40 its worth it. That said, NCIX has a $120 ($99 after $20 MIR) EVGA 8800GT w/ Dual slot cooler (not akimbo). One of the major turn offs for me in terms of the 8800GT was its huge heat production --a problem that the HD4850 shares. I'm reluctent to recomend the HD4850 because in the southern states on a hot day you might see failures and artifacts when the core temp jumps over 100C.

Get the WD 320GB. Just as fast as the WD640, but obviously cheaper.

Ram is just... whatevers cheapest, lol.

hows this:
Hbuild700revisedJuly08.jpg

$645 before OS and optical. Combined those two are going to put you just over $800... I spose a cheaper PSU could be done, infact I'm sure it could, dropping down to a 450 or 400W unit would be OK (check out the seasonic section, big instant rebates on them). I guess you could drop down to 2 Gigs of ram, some say 4 gigs is excessive, having been through Vista with 1 gig, 2 gigs, and 4 gigs I gotta tell ya being able to minimize out of WIC is nice as hell.
 
tiraides said:
One caveat: If you're in the US, you need to make sure that you order from NCIX's US site. (That deal appears to be only for the Canada site.)
Click to expand...

True. I'm in the US.

I have a couple different questions. The Gigabyte DS3L mobo has: according to Newegg....

PCI Express 2.0 x16 - 1
PCI Express x1 - 4
PCI Slots - 2

Will the Audigy 2 sound card and a PVR350 that I have fit in the PCI Express x1 slots? Or are they limited to the normal PCI slots?

I have another Dell Precision, a 380. It has DDR2 SDRAM at 533Mhz. Can I put any old DDR2 ram in it? Say the same DDR2 800 that is likely to be going into the new build?

The new build is still a work in progress. Many thanks to all for the info.

Thinking of going now with the Antec P182 case. Anyone have one of them or any thoughts on it?
 
Both the Audigy 2 card and PVR350 are PCI cards. So they'll take up both available PCI slots on the DS3L. However, you may want to try out the onboard audio first and then try to use your Audigy 2 card. See which one you like the best.

Any DDR2 533 RAM and above will work with that Dell Precision. RAM will downclock itself to the highest speed available on the motherboard.

Love the P182 case. Excellent case.
 
Danny Bui said:
Both the Audigy 2 card and PVR350 are PCI cards. So they'll take up both available PCI slots on the DS3L. However, you may want to try out the onboard audio first and then try to use your Audigy 2 card. See which one you like the best.

Any DDR2 533 RAM and above will work with that Dell Precision. RAM will downclock itself to the highest speed available on the motherboard.

Love the P182 case. Excellent case.
Click to expand...

hey danny,

What cards use the PCI-E X1 then?

Thanks about the RAM info, I figured as much, but thought I'd ask just to make sure before I upgrade the ram in that computer to 4gb.

I've been using sound cards for years, I don't think I'd ever go back to onboard sound. :)

The reviews for the P182 mostly read well, except for long graphics cards - the upper HD case gets in the way. The lower fan by the PSU apparently is too close, and mobos are a tight fit. But it's reviews are very similar on the Antec 300, 900 and comparable Lian Li.

So deciding on a Case and Motherboard within a reasonable budget is becoming quite a task.:(
 
Sound cards, TV tuners, wifi cards, RAID cards, etc do use the PCI-E x1 slot.

Onboard sound has improved a lot in the last few years so it is worth a try.

Just remove the upper HD case. Simple as that. I removed the lower fan by the PSU for more space there. But I modded the front portion of the lower hard drive bay to fit a 120mm fan to cool down the hard drives.
 
Danny Bui said:
Sound cards, TV tuners, wifi cards, RAID cards, etc do use the PCI-E x1 slot.

Onboard sound has improved a lot in the last few years so it is worth a try.

Just remove the upper HD case. Simple as that. I removed the lower fan by the PSU for more space there. But I modded the front portion of the lower hard drive bay to fit a 120mm fan to cool down the hard drives.
Click to expand...

So could I use the PCI x1 slot for a Audigy 2 card and a PVR350? If so, is there a benefit? Or do they have to specifically be PCI x1 cards?
 
Goose said:
So could I use the PCI x1 slot for a Audigy 2 card and a PVR350? If so, is there a benefit? Or do they have to specifically be PCI x1 cards?
Click to expand...

They have to be specifically PCI-E x1 cards. PCI and PCI-E are completely incompatible
 
Danny Bui said:
They have to be specifically PCI-E x1 cards. PCI and PCI-E are completely incompatible
Click to expand...

Again, I thought so.

So, has your p180 given you any trouble. Was it a hard case to build? The p182 is very close to it and REALLY don't want ANY issues on my first build. :)

I'm also looking at the Gigabyte GA EP35 DS3R mobo, heard anything bad about it?

Budget is almost shot to hell. :(:)
 
Well the P182 has a bunch of improvements that my P180 doesn't have (Mostly the cable management features). So you should have a little bit easier time to build with. Anyway, it wasn't that hard to build with. It just took a bit longer to build with due to the layout of the case. Cable management is a slight bitch with the older P180. But the P182 has a lot of room and slots for cable management.

The EP35-DS3R is a very very good motherboard. However I cannot recommend getting that mobo at this time when the EP45-DS3R offers PCI-E 2.0 which might be useful for future video cards. So its best to err on the side of caution and go with the EP45-DS3R.

Yes, budgets do have a tendency to get like that :)
 
Danny Bui said:
Well the P182 has a bunch of improvements that my P180 doesn't have (Mostly the cable management features). So you should have a little bit easier time to build with. Anyway, it wasn't that hard to build with. It just took a bit longer to build with due to the layout of the case. Cable management is a slight bitch with the older P180. But the P182 has a lot of room and slots for cable management.

The EP35-DS3R is a very very good motherboard. However I cannot recommend getting that mobo at this time when the EP45-DS3R offers PCI-E 2.0 which might be useful for future video cards. So its best to err on the side of caution and go with the EP45-DS3R.

Yes, budgets do have a tendency to get like that :)
Click to expand...

Good to know on all counts. I'm leaning towards the p182 case.

So the EP45 DS3R should be that much better! Yes, PCI-E 2.0 would make the board a little more future proof.

Thanks for the heads up. Lots to chose from and one can get a headache easily.

Thank you for the information.
 
Will the Corsair VX 550 PSU fit inside the Antec P182 Case?

So far this build tentatively looks like this:

Antec P182 case
Intel Q6600 Processor
G.Skill 4GB Kit OF Ram
Gigabyte EP45 - DS3R Mobo
ATI VisionTek HD 4850 Pci-e Graphics Card

Will EVERYTHING play nice together? Did I miss anything that I could even possibly need?

This is subject to change. :D
 
The PSU will surely fit. You could chose the modular Corsair HX520 instead to save 1-2 cables, but that's personal preference.

Pretty sure everything will play along nicely.
 
You might want to put your HDDs in the lower bay otherwise it would be a tight squeeze fitting the PCI-E plug as well as the power and data cables for the HDDs.
 
Hopefully the last time I need to ask for this build.

CoolerMaster 690 Case

Intel Q6600 Processor - G0 Stepping at Amazon

Corsair VX 550 PSU

G.Skill 4GB Kit oF Ram - already purchased

Gigabyte EP45 - DS3R Mobo

ATI VisionTek HD 4850 Pci-e Graphics Card (or something)


Everything's going to play nice?


Do I need Artic Silver 5 or something? Or should the Q6600 come with all I need?

Anything else????

thx :)

Another Question: People have been having some issues with the BIOS on the DS3R MOBO, how Do I update that to the F6 one?

If I need a power extension for the PSU, what is a good one, and where do I get some?
 
The Q6600, if it's an actual boxed retail model, should come with everything you need.

As for updating the BIOS on the DS3R mobo, just read the manual. Everything you need to know is in there. In fact, if you check the Gigabyte page for that motherboard, they have a copy of the manual up for download if you want familarize yourself with the motherboard now.

As for the power extension, doubt you will need one but with some PSU on the bottom cases, the 4Pin or 8Pin CPU connector comes up a bit short. You will then need this kind of extension:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16812198005

But more than likely you won't need it.
 
If you order a new Mainboard, chances are the BIOS is up to date.

You will enjoy building the system in your P182, it's a good case :)
 
timme said:
If you order a new Mainboard, chances are the BIOS is up to date.

You will enjoy building the system in your P182, it's a good case :)
Click to expand...

Actually the case is now the CoolerMaster 690. I just ordered the CoolerMaster 690 and the Intel Quad Q6600 from Amazon.com. Free shipping on both! :D

The build is getting there. I have the G.skill 4GB kit and soon the above. I can't wait to try this out for the first time!

There maybe a lot of additional questions to come soon! :)
 
Another question guys.....

The old computer that this build is replacing has IDE drives. I plan on using the 250gb Vista 32bit hdd in this new build
(for the time-being) With Out formatting it.

The new mobo is most likely the Gigabyte EP45-DS3R, and I'll be using the IDE HDD and my IDE NEC dvd DL drive on this mobo for the time-being.

What kind of issues might I have and/or could run into?

I do not want to reformat the Vista 32bit IDE drive.

thanks
 
Most of us will recommend you to format it. Actually, you just may be forced to format because you're changing so much hardware that Vista will experience conflicts. As tiraides said:

You may be able to reuse your existing OS, but you would likely have to repair the installation. But if the installation is based off an OEM license, you're not supposed to transfer that license to a new machine.
Click to expand...

It can be frustrating (at least I know from Windows XP) but I suppose you can give it a try.
 
Goose said:
What kind of issues might I have and/or could run into?
Click to expand...

Issues:
- Slow performance
- BSODs
- Hard crashes

Pretty much a slow unstable system

Rarely does swapping a hard drive between two different motherboards work well in my experience.
 
Danny Bui said:
Issues:
- Slow performance
- BSODs
- Hard crashes

Pretty much a slow unstable system

Rarely does swapping a hard drive between two different motherboards work well in my experience.
Click to expand...

That figures. I was too hopeful I guess. Certainly don't want an unstable system, tho I was trying to Avoid having to change everything and possibly loose things... and/or buy a HDD. :(

Is there a way to mirror the IDE HDD onto a SATA HDD? Or another way to copy the contents of the IDE HDD to ????

Also, about the 640gb WD HDD mentioned in this thread and in many other places here, I'm finding it near impossible to find a RETAIL drive...... just OEM on Newegg, Buy.com, etc. :(

Since I don't have any extra SATA components (cables) where/what cables are needed to run an OEM drive.
I prefer retail because it's all included.........
 
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