Making a new system, would love input

[Lord Cecil]

So right now I'm rocking a P4 2.4ghz @ 533fsb with 512mb of the most ungodly slow ram you could imagine. This is all paired up with an ATI 9800pro with an amazing 128mb of ram. This bundle of joy is stuffed into a pos SFF case that I have to take the sides off or else it overheats when playing any game. Not that it can actually run any game made within the last 2 years of course. I've been using the machine for almost 4 years now (though the parts are 4.5 to 5 years old) so I figure it's probably time for a new machine, wouldn't you? Suffice to say I'm not exactly 100% up to date on everything.

All that said I've spent a week or two piecing together a system and with a bunch of rebates going on right now figure it might be time to pull the trigger. I guess I'll just post the list and you guys can tell me where I'm doin' it wrong.

Mobo - ASUS P5K-E LGA 775 Intel P35 $140
CPU - Core 2 Duo E8400 Wolfdale 3.0GHz $240
Case - Antec P182 $140 (-40)
Video Card - EVGA 512-P3-N841-A3 8800GTS (G92) 512MB $300 (-30)
Ram - CORSAIR 4GB DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) $115 (-40)
PSU - CORSAIR CMPSU-620HX $140 (-25)
CD/DVD - Samsung SH-S203N $33
Hard Drive - Seagate Barracuda 7200.11 500GB $120
Monitor - SAMSUNG 226BW Black 22" $310 (-40)

Prices are all from newegg except the PSU which is zipzoomfly. First number is price without rebate, number in ( ) is rebate if there is one.

Motherboard was a huge concern of mine and the hardest choice to make, was really hard to find good data between the thirty million boards on the market these days. I have zero interest in overclocking and absolutely zero interest in any sort of SLI/Crossfire type solution. Also I wanted a mobo that had optical out so I can hook my PC up to a reciever.

The video card is also up in the air. Definitely want to wait on that until NDAs are lifted on the 9800GTX. I'd love to upgrade from an ATI 9800pro to an Nvidia 9800 GTX. =D

Also I'll be installing Vista Ultimate 64-bit so I can use all 4gb of ram.

Alright fellas let 'er rip !

 

[ebeattie]

Looks like a good build. Only thing I could say would be to look into getting a PC Power and Cooling PSU. I have a 610W Silencer edition and this thing is ROCK solid. As the foundation of any PC, you might as well pony up the bucks for a top of the line PSU for top of the line components.

But I totally admit PC P&C is my personal choice for PSUs. Based on experience, they are essentially the Cummins 6.7L Turbo Diesel of PSUs.

 

[Wildfire788]

The problem with PCP&C is that they don't do modular PSU's. I think the Corsair (Seasonic) PSU's are just as good of a choice, especially if you prefer modular.

For monitor, might want to check out the newer Samsung 22":
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824001268
I personally have a 2232BW and love it, Newegg doesn't have it but I got mine from Best Buy.

Also I'd get 2x2gb of ram instead of 4x1. You didn't specify but maybe that's what you're getting anyway.

As for the rest, looks good. Don't know much about that motherboard but Asus is fine. Seagate HDD's are good.

 

[Lord Cecil]

Also I'd get 2x2gb of ram instead of 4x1. You didn't specify but maybe that's what you're getting anyway.

I didn't specify, but it is a 2x2gb solution. I'm currently look at the Corsair TWIN2X4096-6400C5 (http://www.newegg.com/product/product.aspx?item=N82E16820145184) but I saw a thread in the memory forum talking about the new Dominator TWIN2X4096-8500C5DF (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820145197)

There are several sticks of ram in between the two as well and I have no idea what the differences would be. I don't think fancier ram is needed since I'm not overclocking though. <shrug>

 

[Aon]

In regards to the motherboard, if all you really need from the motherboard is optical out, then why not just get a DS3L and save yourself $40?

 

[crhscoog]

what kind of budget do you have?

-you can go with the corsair 520hx instead to save some bucks, since your doing no sli-ing or oc-ing
-most p180, p180b cases now have the same features as the p182 does, so you could save some bucks by going with either of those instead
-e8400 is a good processor to choose, but are certainly overpriced right now. I believe they were supposed to be $190 area, but of course demand for it is high so prices go up. for $250 you can get the Q6600 processor and if you have a microcenter nearby, you can get the Q6600 there for only $200!!
-the 8800GTS G92 512mb is a really good video card. Just know that if you get the video card from EVGA you have the 90 day step up option. Just have to register and within 90 days if you want to upgrade then you can and you pay the difference between two cards.

 

[tiraides]

If you're not planning any heavy overclocking, you could get away with using DDR2 800 RAM. However, if you go that route, get a cheaper 4GB kit... NewEgg has several 4GB kits available for under $100 (and some of those kits also have mail-in rebates). (Personally, I'm not a big fan of mail-in rebates though....)

The only other advice that I can give you is to look at buying everything from two or three locations. Some other places to look at buying from are ZipZoomFly, ClubIT, eWiz, Frys, Buy.com, and Mwave.

 

[Lord Cecil]

what kind of budget do you have?
-most p180, p180b cases now have the same features as the p182 does, so you could save some bucks by going with either of those instead
-e8400 is a good processor to choose, but are certainly overpriced right now. I believe they were supposed to be $190 area, but of course demand for it is high so prices go up. for $250 you can get the Q6600 processor and if you have a microcenter nearby, you can get the Q6600 there for only $200!!

Whats the difference in the P180b and the p182?

And whats the current state of quad core? I haven't followed that scene at all. At a glance the Q6600 is only 2.4ghz as opposed to the 3.0ghz of an E8400 / E6850. Thats a pretty huge drop in speed. Don't see any 45nm quad core either. Are those coming to market soon?

 

[silent-circuit]

600Mhz is nothing, and you can easily OC /any/ Q6600 to 3Ghz in a matter of minutes if it actually bothers you, normally without so much as a voltage bump. Quads aren't as helpful in gaming yet (save the occasional RTS) but that's changing, so it's not as if you're "wasting money".

45nm quads already exist, but they're all stupid-expensive QX series chips. The Q9450 and Q9550 45nm quads should be widely available come early to mid April, and available in small quantities in the next few weeks. They're a good bit more expensive than the chips you're looking at though ($350+).

I agree that if you're near a Microcenter there's no better deal than the Q6600 at $200+tax right now.

The P180B is black, the P182 is a kind of gray metallic with black trim. That's it. If you want a deal on a P180B and live anywhere near ZIP 29803, pick up mine. It's in great condition, and I love it, but I'm switching to dual watercooling loops and need moar space!

 

[Dangman]

No difference between the P180B and P182 besides colors. I think that all of the P180 and P180B cases have been upgraded with the exact same features as the P182. However there may be a few older P180B/P180 cases with the old feature set around the net somewhere. The P182 had the following features over the old non-upgraded P180/P180B cases:

* External 3-speed fan control on rear panel for 2 fans in the upper chamber. The speed of the fans can be adjusted without opening up the case.
* Flexible snake light to illuminate your way while working inside the case. (Only in the SE model.)
* The ineffective VGA card cooling duct and fan of the first generation P180 is no longer included.
* There are rubber grommeted ports on the rear panel for liquid-cooling tubes to mount external liquid-cooling hardware, such as radiators. This is in recognition of the popularity of the P180 among über-gamers who want to use watercooling.
* Cable organizer behind motherboard tray minimizes cable clutter. This last item seems like a small, but it describes a number of changes that collectively improve cable management from a challenge in the P180 to a fairly routine procedure in the P182.

As for the current state of quad-core CPUs, right now very few games and other apps take advantage of quad-cores. However, many media (music, 3D, video, etc) editing and rendering apps do support quad-core CPUs. In addition, future games will take advantage of quad-core CPUs. Considering your long upgrade time, I recommend getting the Q6600.