It has been too long, and I need someone to check this build

Haven

Haven

Supreme [H]ardness
Joined
Oct 11, 2002
Messages
6,469
So my desktop is 4 years old, and it needs to be updated. I plan on doing general computer stuff, gaming being the major thing for the new desktop. I am not looking at overclocking, I want a board that will work with the Wolfdale processor right out of the box, so the IP35-Pro is out. I have a budget of around $1,400. Here is what I am looking at:

  • Intel Core 2 Duo E8400 Wolfdale 3.0Ghz (45nm) $225
  • Asus Maximus Formula ATX $260
  • OCZ Gold 4GB DDR2 - 800Mhz (PC2 6400) Dual Channel $114
  • Seagate Barracuda 7200.11 500GB SATA $120
  • Creative Sound Blaster X-FI Xtreme Gamer Fatal1ty $136
  • Logitech G9 $75
  • Corsair CMPSU-550VX 550W power supply $100
  • EVGA GeForce 8800GTS SSC 640-P2-N829-AR $310
That totals $1,340, and I plan on getting an Ideazon Fang since my old Belkin is wearing out and there are no drivers for Vista. I also need to factor in shipping. I already have a full license of Vista Ultimate so I do not need another OS. In fact
​
I plan on using my current case and optical drives and monitor, but I do need a new almost everything else. The current system is:

  • AMD Athlon XP 3200+
  • Asus A7N8X-E Deluxe
  • 1GB PC3200 Mushkin Level One matched set
  • 300GB PATA
  • BFG 6800 OC 128MB

Did I make any major mistakes or misteps with the new build? I would like to know what I should change to get the best system I can get with my current budget and planning on it being decent for the next 3 years or so. Thanks!

One last thing, is the default cooler that comes with a retail processor good enough for cooling a system if you are not overclocking? If not, recomendations?
 
Few notes:

Your power supply is on the weak side.

If you buy a good motherboard and aren't an audiophile, the integrated surround sound on most new motherboards will do you just fine.

The 8800 GTS 640 is the old GTS. You want the new one. Get the 8800 GTS 512 or the GT 512. Much better performance.

The stock cooler will work but it will be loud if it has to ramp up at all. If you want an aftermarket cooler for your CPU, the Zalman 9700 is always a good one. Quiet and cool.
 
The Corsair 550W is MORE than enough for your build, and its a good quality PSU, so stick with it.

The stock cooler is fine if you're not OC'ing, but why not OC? These Core2 chips are literally super easy to OC, especially with a good cooler. I've read that the stock cooler for the wolfdales is much smaller than before, so I doubt you could OC much with it at all. Another reason for getting an aftermarket cooler would be for a more quiet computer.

The Zalman 9700 is overpriced for such mediocre performance. If you do want an aftermarket cooler, I'd suggest one of these instead:
$35 - Scythe SCNJ-1100P Ninja Plus Rev.B CPU HSF (optional $7 Thermalright LGA775 Bolt-Thru-Kit; recommended if using w/ quadcore)
$45 - Tuniq Tower 120 CPU HSF
$46 - Thermalright Ultima 90 CPU HS + FBA09A12M - Z ($3)
$50 - ZEROtherm Nirvana NV120 120mm 2-ball UFO Bearing / Transparent CPU Cooler ($10 MIR)
$55 - Thermalright Ultra 120 eXtreme CPU HS + Scythe S-Flex Fan SFF21E ($15)

I've used all except the ZEROtherm, and my personal recommendation goes to the Ultima90. The best air cooler right now is the Ultra120Extreme, but the rest aren't far behind. The Ultima90 is smaller, lighter, easier to install, and can perform as good as the other coolers (aside from the Ultra120Extreme, of course).

$114 for 4GB of DDR2-800 seems a bit overpriced, IMO. 4GB should cost around $70-$90. Fry's had some A-Data sticks for $70, check if they still have it. Though, if you want to OC, switch to the G.Skill DDR2-1000 kit instead for around the same price as your current OCZ choice.

I agree with Volcanon about the soundcard and videocard. Try out the onboard HD Audio first, and see if its good enough. If not, you can always add the soundcard in later. The 8800GTS 320MB/640MB is based off of the G80 core, while the newer 8800GTS 512MB is based off of the G92. The 8800GT 512MB outperforms both of the old GTS 320MB/640MB cards, and the newer 8800GTS 512MB outperforms the 8800GTX. What size monitor do you have or plan on getting?

Thats one pricey motherboard. Do you really need all the features in it? or are you getting a great discount on it? lol. What specific features do you need in a motherboard?
 
I think the 8800GTS 640MB (even the newer versions) are outperformed by the 8800GT which is cheaper. If you want better performance go with the 8800GTS 512MB (yes it has less memory, but it is actually faster). There's also the ATI 3870 and 3870x2 to consider. If you are not going to overclock you can probably drop down to something cheaper than the Enthusiast Maximus Forumla, although it is a good and reliable board. Based on this thread:
http://www.hardforum.com/showthread.php?t=1266257&page=2

You have some options on boards that are cheaper than the Maximus if you want to save money and don't need all the features, although it seems like sometimes you might get lucky. Go with whatever you feel comfortable with, but it seems like even some of the older Maximus Formula's shipped with bios that couldn't handle the 45nm cpu's, so I guess you can't ever know.

The default cooler is just fine if you aren't going to overclock (Intel would be in pretty big trouble if it wasn't heh).
 
Good point on the G80 vs, the G92. I I forgot that I had switched that out in one of my "wish lists" on NewEgg.

As far as the sound card goes, I was looking at increased performance by taking load off the processor when playing games. A friend added one of those cards and saw an increase in performance because he wasn't using the onboard sound.

For the memory, is A-Data any good? The reason why I wanted OCZ or any name brand was because of quality. If A-Data is just as good, then I could go to them instead.
 
ianshot said:
Good point on the G80 vs, the G92. I I forgot that I had switched that out in one of my "wish lists" on NewEgg.

As far as the sound card goes, I was looking at increased performance by taking load off the processor when playing games. A friend added one of those cards and saw an increase in performance because he wasn't using the onboard sound.

For the memory, is A-Data any good? The reason why I wanted OCZ or any name brand was because of quality. If A-Data is just as good, then I could go to them instead.
Click to expand...

Honestly, your CPU utilization with onboard audio is, at most, 3%, and with the current CPUs, that shouldn't have any noticeable effect on gaming (at most, 3fps).

A-Data is one of the largest memory manufacturers. Most of their kits are compliant with JEDEC specs, to maximize compatibility. OCZ sticks usually require more voltage than usual. I've yet to RMA with A-Data, but I do know that G.Skill is good with RMAs. The only thing good about the better known name brands is customer support, IMO.
 
enginurd said:
Honestly, your CPU utilization with onboard audio is, at most, 3%, and with the current CPUs, that shouldn't have any noticeable effect on gaming (at most, 3fps).

A-Data is one of the largest memory manufacturers. Most of their kits are compliant with JEDEC specs, to maximize compatibility. OCZ sticks usually require more voltage than usual. I've yet to RMA with A-Data, but I do know that G.Skill is good with RMAs. The only thing good about the better known name brands is customer support, IMO.
Click to expand...

I can agree with the the fact that customer support is very important. I know OCZ has had issues in the past. I just took another look at NewEgg and found some Mushkin (which I have had very good luck with in the past) for less then the OCZ. The A-Data on NewEgg is around the same price as the Mushkin, so I will end up going with one of the two.

You might be right on the sound card, but I do like decent quality sound, and have some issues with some of the onboard sound cards in the past.
 
I've used mushkin in the past, but have seen a few issues recently with Mushkin RAM, so I havent tried them in a while (since DDR1 days, lol). My 4GB OCZ SLI kit is nice, but it was only $55AR... if that deal wasn't around, I would have gone for the A-Data 4GB kit for myself. I actually do have the A-Data kit on my cousin's system, and it works great.

As I said before, the onboard HD Audio is much better these days than it used to be.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top