Summer's here, along with a Computer parts list

[Crazed Rabbit]

So with the arrival of summer I've finally gotten around to making up a computer parts list, mostly copied from Ars Tech's May hot rod guide:

First, some thoughts; I have a good LCD screen. Tops out at 1280 by 1024, but good otherwise. I don't think I'll be buying a new monitor, at least not now. I'm also probably going to stay away from the whole SLI thing. I'm also going with Intel, as they seem to be ahead at this time.
What I'm looking for is gaming power and DVD ability (cough netflix cough). Since I don't know of special requirements for DVD playing that aren't covered by having a good gaming rig, mainly the DVD thing is about keeping the noise down. I'm interested in overclocking ability (and info about that would be appreciated) but it isn't my priority.

What I'm looking for is comments on what you think is good and bad about the choices, and the companies packaging the video cards and chipsets, and finally, experience with dealing with net merchants, as there seems to be an awful lot of them.

Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-EP35-DS3R

CPU: Intel Core 2 Duo E8400 Retail

RAM: 4GB PC6400 DDR2-800 SDRAM (What are good brands for RAM?)

Video Card: BFG Geforce 8800GTS 512MB

Sound Card: Creative X-Fi XtremeGamer (there's dispute on this, any other recommended sound cards?)

Hard Drive: Samsung Spinpoint F1 750GB

DVD/CD Drive: DVD±/CD-RW: Samsung SH-S203N

Case: AT recommends the Antec Solo, but if there was I similar case that was slightly bigger whilst retaining the sound reducing qualities, I'd be interested. Small case size is not my priority, and it seems better to avoid potential obstacles stemming from a smaller case as a small case size won't help me much. Or will the Solo do fine?

PSU: I'm thinking of the Enermax Pro82+ 385W, which is listed as one of the more silent PSU's. Anyone have experience with this brand? I also want a bit of buffer built into the power requirements.

Speakers: Altec Lansing FX4021 Much better than the cheap-o two speakers I've got now, and I don't feel a need for 5.1 sound.

Monitor, Mouse, & Speakers: All currently owned. I may get new ones later on.

Cost: Approx 1100 USD.

Now, my OS choices are broad, because being in school lets me get Microsoft OS's for free:

• Windows XP Professional (Single User) Windows
• Windows XP Professional (Single User) 64bit Edition Windows
• Windows XP Professional (Single User) ISO Image Windows
• Windows XP Professional (Single User) ISO Image (Español) Windows
• Windows XP Professional with SP1a (Single User) ISO Image Windows
• Windows XP Professional with SP1a (Single User) ISO Image (Deutsch) Windows
• Windows XP Professional with SP2 (Single User) ISO Image

Are all free, as is something called " Windows Vista Business DVD ". I'm thinking of staying with XP, I don't know of any big advantages to going Vista. The 64bit edition of Windows XP would let me get more out of the RAM, but are there any availability problems with drivers or other similar issues with it?

I am also interested in a free Linux OS, more focused on ease of adaptability for a lifetime windows user like me than the bells and whistles for computer gurus. But I want what I understand to be the benefits of Linux: speed over a Windows OS. If a Linux OS has so much stuff added to it that it loses almost all of that over the Windows OS, I have to ask; what's the point?

Any and all help is appreciated.

CR

[Lemur]

Re cases, I thought the Antec Sonata came out something like five years ago? Oh, you, it's been five years exactly.

Well, I make no secret of my favorite case. For sound reduction and general ease of install, you can't beat this baby. Unlike the Sonata, all the fans are 120mm, which means they can turn more slowly while moving more air. No matter what, I would go with a newer design than the Sonata.

[Xiahou]

Re cases, I thought the Antec Sonata came out something like five years ago? Oh, you, it's been five years exactly.

Well, I make no secret of my favorite case. For sound reduction and general ease of install, you can't beat this baby. Unlike the Sonata, all the fans are 120mm, which means they can turn more slowly while moving more air. No matter what, I would go with a newer design than the Sonata.

He said "Solo", not "Sonata"... unless I'm missing something.

Nonetheless, I got a SonataII when I built my last PC and I've been very happy with it. I see that the SonataIII is out now and looks like a decent case- comes with a 120mm fan in the back and a slot for one in the front (as did the SonataII).

For RAM, I've always just gotten Kingston ValuRam or the like.... cuz it's cheap. It's definitely not designed with overclocking in mind, but I'm OCing my current system by about 10% and still haven't had any problems. I have 2GB, but yeah, if you're building a machine now- go for 4.

As to vendors, I know most a big fans of NewEgg. Personally, I've done a lot of business with Mwave.com and have always had good results.

Normally, I only get up to date on hardware whenever I'm researching a new PC for myself, which Im not currently. So I'll shut up for now and let people who are better informed take over.

[Whacker]

CR, you're going to want at least a 600W good brand PSU for what you're building. My guess is minimum power draw on that for gaming is going to be in the order of 400-500W, and you want a good safety margin since PSUs do degrade over time. Maybe check out the 750W PC Power and Cooling Silencer brand PSUs.

Also, two things never to skimp on. Good quality PSU and RAM. For RAM, you're probably looking at Corsair or OCZ, those have been my two "sure bets". Friends and I have all had good experiences with them, so take that for what it's worth.

Last thing I might recommend on the video card, just spend the extra few bucks and go for a 768MB GTX. Nvidia is already two generations past the 8x00 series, but they can still pull good weight. IMO the performance gains between the GTS and GTX are worth the cash. You could always go cheaper and roll with an 8800GT and hope that you can overclock it to GTX performance specs, but that's not always a sure bet, and I do know someone who fried his card doing that.

Cheers

[Lemur]

He said "Solo", not "Sonata"... unless I'm missing something.

Let's all do me a favor and just pretend I never posted in this thread, mmmkay? I'm lacking that special lemur magic tonight ...

[Crazed Rabbit]

OK, bigger PSU.

Having done more research, I've seen that there's been a smattering of video cards released recently. Specifically of interest is the Radeon HD 4850, at less than $200 and powerful as well. It looks to outperform the Geforce 9800 GTX or break even as well.

But the 4870 is going to be released at $299 on Wednesday.

I'm thinking one of them will be the video card. We'll see how nVidia responds with price drops.

I'm going to put more thought into the case for now.

CR

[Alexander the Pretty Good]

Butting in on the video cards, but how far off are we from the CPU/GPU hybrid things people have been talking about?

[Crazed Rabbit]

Ok, final list (late, I know):

Computer Rig:

Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-EP45-DS3R
~$110

CPU: Intel Core 2 Duo E8400 Retail
~$175

RAM: Corsair 4GB PC6400 DDR2-800 SDRAM
~$80

Video: VisionTek Radeon HD 4870 Video Card
~$280

Sound: Creative X-Fi XtremeGamer
~$80

HD: Samsung Spinpoint F1 750GB
~$120

DVD/CD Drive: DVD±/CD-RW: Samsung SH-S203N
~$30

Speakers: Altec Lansing FX4021
~$100

Case: Antec P182
~$150

PSU: Silverstone Decathlon 700W
~$180

Cost so far:
$1305


I think that should cover it; any last minute stuff I've forgotten?

CR

[seireikhaan]

Hmm. What rpm is the HD?

Also, it might be a good idea to get a cooling unit of some kind. I'm not sure what brand or kind is best, but I'm sure someone else is more informed about it.

[Lemur]

Just wanted to point out this little baby. More than adequate for the resolutions you will be playing, and it looks quiet.

-edit-

makaikhaan, a 750 gig drive is guaranteed to be 7200 RPM.

[Crazed Rabbit]

Lemur's correct about the HD rpm.

But about your recommendation; too late, I'm afraid.


CR

[Lemur]

Well then, if the dual-slot cooling rig on your shiny new 4870 is too loud, you know what to do.

[Crazed Rabbit]

Okay, the parts I ordered are pretty much the same as the list. I got a more expensive Sony DVD drive (the cheaper one being out of stock), and have held off on the creative sound card for now.

Question for our resident gurus: is a cpu heatsink/fan combo a good investment? I saw one at circuit city for $20 from Antec, but I don't know if it'd be needed. I'm not planning on overclocking right now.

CR

[Lemur]

is a cpu heatsink/fan combo a good investment?

Depends on what you like. A non-Intel heatsink can be cooler, but more importantly it can be quieter. If neither of those things matter significantly to you, then no, it's a terrible investment.

[Crazed Rabbit]

*phew!*

Got it all together and it works spiffy, after going some 45 hours with one and a half hours of sleep.

(Don't worry, the complete time to get the comp working was much less, as I had two ten hour workdays in that 45 hour period.)

Well the mobo fan is running as the softest fan right now, so I'll leave it be. And the profile settings hack to change 4850 fan speed is working as well, so all's right on the good ship CR.

Plus, when looking through for a windows key to go with the CD I burrowed from my folks, I found a Ghost Recon: Advanced Warfighter disc.

CR

[Lemur]

Congratulations, CR! An new gaming boxen is born!