New PC

[Evil_Maniac From Mars]

I've finally gotten around to putting together a parts list for my new PC (which will be built from scratch, and assembled by a local computer shop, since I don't have the time/skill to do it myself).

I came here to ask the expert opinion of our techies, since most people here know much more about this than I do. I'm particularly unsure about what sort of motherboard I should buy.

I'll buy all the parts from online and local stores. I'd appreciate it if somebody could suggest a reasonable price for me to pay for these.

Thanks in advance, your help is much appreciated.



Processor: Intel Core 2 Duo Processor E6400 at 2.13GHz, 1066MHz FSB, 2M Cache
Memory: 2GB Corsair TWIN2X2048-5400C4 DDR2 675MHz Memory (2 X 1024MB)
Hard Drive: 500GB S-ATA II 7200
Graphics Card: nVidia GeForce 8800 GTS 320MB Xtreme Edition @560MHz
Sound: Creative Sound Blaster Audigy SE 24-Bit 7.1
Monitor: Viewsonic VA703B 17" 1280X1024 350:1 8ms LCD Monitor
OS: XP Home SP2 w/ original disc

[Whacker]

Are you going to OC that bad daddy? You'd be nuts not to. Right now I'm somewhat leaning towards this: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813121059 because I'm not going ATI (as of right now) nor do I want SLI. Make sure you buy a retail boxed Intel CPU, you get a pretty decent fan/heatsink with it and also a 3 year warranty, you will get neither with an OEM/non-retail version. Also, consider going with a 6600 Conroe instead of the 6400, it comes with 4mb L2 cache and OC's like a monster, for $40 more. Given everything I've been reading, you should easily be able to OC a 6600 up to 3.0ghz rock solid stable on stock cooling safely. Getting a new rig myself in a month or two, until then I'll just have to be jealous. Best of luck!

[Gawain of Orkeny]

Everything he said but get a better monitor. *ms is too slow and 17 inch is too small. Hey is that you Kay? I Like my 6600 much better than my 6400.

[Stuperman]

Not the greatest moniter, and a E6420 has more cache and is like $3 more (most places).

[LeftEyeNine]

Agreed with Stuperman, save one day's spending and get a 4 MB-cache 6420, which gets along well with being overclocked.

[Gandalf the White]

Why not get Vista? It would mean teh 8800GTS would run at full potential

[Stuperman]

Why not get Vista? It would mean teh 8800GTS would run at full potential

Cause it's Vista.....

and there are many projects that are developing vista for Xp

[Gandalf the White]

Yes but DX10 is only supported in Vista not XP so its unwise to get a DX10 card when you cant have DX10. I would buy a X1950XTX

[Whacker]

Yes but DX10 is only supported in Vista not XP so its unwise to get a DX10 card when you cant have DX10. I would buy a X1950XTX

Not true. Depends on how long he wants this system to last him, and how soon he plans on buying a new one. Right now simple fact of the matter is Nvidia's higher end cards blow away everything ATI can throw at it, unfortunately. Just because a card supports DX10 doesn't mean that it doesn't rock your socks at DX9 and below. I plan on getting a 8800GTX soon which should hopefully hold me for another 2 or so years, and I'm sticking with XP until Vista has gone through a number of service packs, it's a horrible mess right now and proven to be slower in a good number of games than in XP.

[Gandalf the White]

Well my system is still going 6 years on and it cost £1000 so for that price thats how long a system should last.

[Gawain of Orkeny]

Not true. Depends on how long he wants this system to last him, and how soon he plans on buying a new one. Right now simple fact of the matter is Nvidia's higher end cards blow away everything ATI can throw at it, unfortunately. Just because a card supports DX10 doesn't mean that it doesn't rock your socks at DX9 and below.

I replaced my 7950GT512 with a 8800GTS320 and believe me the 8800 is better.

[Evil_Maniac From Mars]

Alright, thanks a lot for the suggestions. I really appreciate it.


The reason I'm not getting Vista is, just as Stuperman gracefully stated, "because it's Vista." I've heard some not-so-great reviews of it from both friends and people here, so I'd rather not get it until I can test-drive it. Preferrably on somebody else's computer.

[Evil_Maniac From Mars]

Processor: Intel Core 2 Duo E6600 2.40GHz / 4MB Cache / 1066MHz FSB / Conroe / Dual-Core / Socket 775 / Processor with Fan (Retail) - $332.99

Memory: Corsair Dual Channel TWINX 2048MB PC6400 DDR2 800MHz Memory (2 x 1024MB) - $122.96

Hard Drive: Seagate / Barracuda 7200.10 / 400GB / 7200 / 16MB / Serial ATA-300 / OEM / Hard Drive - $166.97

Graphics Card: XFX GeForce 8800 Ultra / 768MB DDR3 (or should I go to the EVGA GeForce 8800 GTS / 640MB GDDR3 which is about $350?) - $759.97

Sound: Creative Sound Blaster Audigy SE (mixed reviews, is this a decent sound card to get?) - $46.99

Monitor: Hanns·G HW-191DPB 19" Widescreen LCD Monitor - 5ms, 700:1, WXGA+ 1440x900, DVI·D, VGA(D-sub), Black - $179.97

OS: XP Home SP2 w/ original disc

Cooling: Not sure so far.

Case/Tower: Apevia Black/Black X-Plorer ATX Mid-Tower Case with Clear Side, Fan Controller, Front USB and Firewire Port (so far) - $79.99

Keyboard/Mouse: Just something cheap but durable, not too picky.

Motherboard: Not sure, really need some help. Can't be too expensive, but it has to be fairly good quality.

PhysX: Not sure if I need one at all.

What else would I need for this computer? All prices are in Canadian dollars.

[LeftEyeNine]

Um, you'll probably get a supa-mobo with a 7.1 audio codec integrated. So I'd save money for a better soundcard, instead of spending it to a Audigy SE.

[Evil_Maniac From Mars]

Nevermind.

[Gawain of Orkeny]

Um, you'll probably get a supa-mobo with a 7.1 audio codec integrated. So I'd save money for a better soundcard, instead of spending it to a Audigy SE.

Yup thats the way to go plus you can pick up alot of other extras like WiFi in your Mobo.

Processor: Intel Core 2 Duo E6600 2.40GHz / 4MB Cache / 1066MHz FSB / Conroe / Dual-Core / Socket 775 / Processor with Fan (Retail) - $332.99

Special savings on combo deal, ends 6/30
Intel Core 2 Duo E6600 Conroe 2.4GHz LGA 775 Processor Model BX80557E6600 - Retail-$223.90

Hard Drive: Seagate / Barracuda 7200.10 / 400GB / 7200 / 16MB / Serial ATA-300 / OEM / Hard Drive - $166.97

Seagate Barracuda 7200.9 400GB 3.5" SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM


* 400GB
* 7200 RPM 8MB Cache
* SATA 3.0Gb/s
$94.99

Whats the difference?

Have you checked newegg?

[Evil_Maniac From Mars]

Newegg only ships to America, AFAIK. It won't work for me. I need shipping to Canada or Germany.

[Gawain of Orkeny]

How close are you to the NY border?

[Evil_Maniac From Mars]

4278 miles.



I do have friends near Albany whose names I can use, but I prefer to get them directly this way.

[Evil_Maniac From Mars]

Does anyone know of a Canadian/German site where I can get this cheaper?

[Evil_Maniac From Mars]

Any suggestions as to what I should do regarding USB ports?

[Stuperman]

www.directcanada.com

is where I buy computer stuff, they susally have good prices. also: www.ncix.com

I'd go for the price, I don;t think a 8800ultra is a good deal, the 8800gtx or 640mb GTS should be lots of video card fo a while.

[Evil_Maniac From Mars]

www.directcanada.com

is where I buy computer stuff, they susally have good prices. also: www.ncix.com

I'd go for the price, I don;t think a 8800ultra is a good deal, the 8800gtx or 640mb GTS should be lots of video card fo a while.

Thanks very much, glad to have another site to check against. Good prices too, I have the feeling I'll be buying more there than anywhere else. I don't think there's much point in trying to find any more German sites - it's always more expensive. The only place I'd be able to save would be shipping.


Do I need to add my own USB ports/hardware, or will the case usually already contain them?

EDIT: Another question. Is the EVGA GeForce 8800 GTS Superclocked / 640MB GDDR3 / SLI Ready / PCI Express / Dual DVI / HDTV compatible with the Gigabyte GA-965P-DS3 Atx LGA775 Conroe P965 DDR2 PCI-E16 3PCI-E1 3PCI SATA2 Gblan Audio motherboard? In other words, is the motherboard PCI Express?

[Gawain of Orkeny]

Most motherboards come with all that stuff. You can always add a USB hub if you need more.

In other words, is the motherboard PCI Express?
Today 15:42

Without a doubt, But with all that high end hardware i would not use that cheap Mobo.

[Evil_Maniac From Mars]

So, basically, any motherboard that says PCI-E(number) is compatible? Great, that helps, thanks.

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

I know how I sound a bit...helpless here, but I know next to nothing about motherboards.

[Gawain of Orkeny]

PCI-E(number) is compatible

PCI-E IS PCI Express

With what you have I would recomend one of these 5 Mobos

P5N32-SLI SE Deluxe

P5W DH Deluxe

P5WDG2-WS Professional

P5B Deluxe

P5B

I had a P5B on my last pc with a e6400 now I have a P5W DH Deluxe with an E6600 . Its great. Has Wifi and a great sound card. As far as USBs go it has 8 x USB 2.0
2 x Firewire 400

Core 2 Duo Platforms From Asus - A Top To Bottom Comparison

With what you have the extra $100 is well worth it. If you want to run dual vid cards though I will recomend you another mobo.

[Evil_Maniac From Mars]

I don't need to buy a sound card if I buy the P5B Deluxe, right?

[Evil_Maniac From Mars]

Updated parts list:


Processor: Intel Core 2 Duo E6600 2.40GHz / 4MB Cache / 1066MHz FSB / Conroe / Dual-Core / Socket 775 / Processor with Fan (Retail) - $332.99

Memory: Corsair XMS2 TWIN2X2048-6400 2GB 2X1GB PC2-6400 DDR2-800 CL 5-5-5-12 240PIN DIMM Dual Channel - $110.40 www.directcanada.com

Hard Drive: Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 500GB SATA2 3GB/S 7200RPM 16MB Cache Ncq - $149.50 www.directcanada.com

Graphics Card: EVGA GeForce 8800 GTS Superclocked / 640MB GDDR3 / SLI Ready / PCI Express / Dual DVI / HDTV - $399.97

Sound: On motherboard?

Monitor: Hanns·G HW-191DPB 19" Widescreen LCD Monitor - 5ms, 700:1, WXGA+ 1440x900, DVI·D, VGA(D-sub), Black - $179.97

OS: XP Home SP2 w/ original disc - $103.35 www.directcanada.com

Cooling: Not sure so far.

Case/Tower: Apevia Black/Black X-Plorer ATX Mid-Tower Case with Clear Side, Fan Controller, Front USB and Firewire Port - $79.99

Keyboard/Mouse: Just something cheap but durable, not too picky.

Motherboard: Asus P5B Deluxe / WIFI-AP Atx LGA775 Conroe 965P DDR2 PCI-E16 3PCI-E1 3PCI 8 SATA2 Sound Motherboard - $235.44
www.directcanada.com

PhysX: Not sure if I need one at all.

Power Supply: OCZ GameXStream 700W ATX12V 24PIN SLI Ready Active PFC

ATX Power Supply 120MM Fan Black - $177.61 www.directcanada.com

DVD writer/CD drive:

[Gawain of Orkeny]

No you surely do not it comes with this

Realtek ALC883M
8-Channel Analog
Optical/Coax S/PDIF Digital

Although features such as ATI CrossFire and Core 2 processor support suggest that the P5W DH Deluxe could be the ultimate gaming platform, there is more to this motherboard. With technologies such as LCD TVs taking off quite rapidly, the demand for HTPCs (Home Theater Personal Computers) is also increasing quite dramatically. ASUS hopes that features such as the DH Remote, WiFi-AP and MP3-In, will become handy then, making the P5W DH Deluxe more than a motherboard for gamers.

Other impressive board features include a total of seven Serial ATAII ports, including an external one. The Realtek ALC882M High Definition Audio 8-channel Codec is another welcomed edition to the P5W DH Deluxe. There is on-board WiFi-AP, as well as dual Marvell Gigabit LAN controllers. Capping off the boards connectivity are two Firewire ports and eight USB 2.0 ports.

As was to be expected on a high-end ASUS motherboard, the P5W DH Deluxe comes in a rather impressive packaging that almost makes you feel you are getting your money's worth. The physical design, cooling and layout of the P5W DH Deluxe is also very impressive and given the chance, there is really nothing I would change. The 8-phase power circuitry is cooled via a large array of copper fins which are connected to the northbridge chip via a heatpipe.

Actually, the northbridge is connected to the copper fins where the heat is then dispersed through the rear of the case. The typical black ASUS PCB board looks quite good, as do the numerous color coded connectors scattered across the board. The color coded connectors make installation a breeze and I am sure novice users will really appreciate their presence.



Moving on, ASUS has included a feature which they call EZ-Backup; this feature is designed to help secure the data on your hard drives through the SATAII interface and RAID0. The controller chip actually comes from Silicon Image and is a member of their SteelVine storage series. The version featured on the P5W DH Deluxe is the Sil4723 which supports just two hard drives. The Sil4723 is a bridge chip rather than a controller, notice how the ICH7R only offers three SATAII ports on the P5W DH Deluxe. This is because one of the ports is bridged to the Sil4723 chip, which then splits it into two ports for the EZ-Backup feature. Everything is hardware driven, meaning complex software is not required. ASUS has also included the JMicron JMB363 controller which supports an additional two SATAII ports, one of which is mounted on the I/O panel.

Although I was quite impressed with the P5WD2-E Premium, the former ASUS 975X heavyweight, I feel the P5W DH Deluxe is a more solid product. The biggest improvement comes from the upgraded cooling system which I have found to be highly effective. The board design itself is also cleaner, and the updated features and processor support could be excuse enough for the new model. Another design improvement includes the PCI Express x16 expansion slot placement. Rather than featuring a single space between these two slots, ASUS has placed a PCIe x1 and PCI slot between the dual graphics ports.

Performance-wise the P5W DH Deluxe did well, matching the Gigabyte 965P-DQ6 every step of the way. Clearly the Intel 975X and P965 chipsets are very evenly matched in terms of performance. However, when it comes to overclocking, the P5W DH Deluxe completely blows the Gigabyte 965P-DQ6 out of the water. While the 965P-DQ6 was limited to a 300MHz FSB using the Core 2 Duo E6700 processor, the P5W DH Deluxe went all the way to a comfortable 366MHz FSB. This resulted in a total clock frequency of 3.66GHz using nothing more than a $50 after market HSF (Thermalright XP-120).

In fact, overclocking with the ASUS P5W DH Deluxe seemed almost too easy, as I found there were very few settings that required changes to achieve the 366MHz FSB. There has been countless posting of users reaching a 400MHz FSB and beyond with the P5W DH Deluxe. However most appear to have been using processors with lower clock multipliers, such as the E6300.

I love this thing and havent even begun to tap all the things it can do. If you have the mutimedia version of windows xp your really set.

Heres the full review

LINK

[Stuperman]

Good choice on the Powersupply, the PSU is often the most overlooked part on a PC.