opinions on new PC build
 

I was thinking of building a pc.
was gonna order from newegg.com.
any comments or suggestions on my choices?

http://www.newegg.com/product/produc...82E16811200035
http://www.newegg.com/product/produc...82E16813128017
http://www.newegg.com/product/produc...82E16814102068
http://www.newegg.com/product/produc...82E16819115003
http://www.newegg.com/product/produc...82E16820220088
http://www.newegg.com/product/produc...82E16824001088
http://www.newegg.com/product/produc...82E16827136108
http://www.newegg.com/product/produc...82E16835100009
http://www.newegg.com/product/produc...82E16835106048

it all totals up to about$1000 w/o shipping. I don't really play games or anything on the pc so is this too much? I may have gone slightly overboard lol. tell me whatcha guys think.

looks like a decent setup. core duos are great.

Nice build, but I'd change a few things. First off, choose a larger case. With the size case you chose (I have one similar, the Spire Silverfin) the hard drive tends to overlap the motherboard, which makes it quite hard to do upgrades. I actually had to move my hard drive around until I could find a good case configuration to make it work.

Consider changing the graphics card as well. I had the X1600 Pro a while ago, and it worked for it's purpose, but when I wanted to play games on it, such as Need for Speed Carbon, the graphics were lacking. I bought the x1950 pro, and I love it to death. Here's a link for the x1950 by sapphire:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814102061

Also consider some different memory. Patriot memory isn't bad, but OCZ is better for a comparable price. I recommend going with a dual channel kit for best performance, and here's a link for some ddr2 800 OCZ dual channel memory, 2x512.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820227126

I've got a "similar" build to what you're looking at, and I couldn't be happier. I've got an Intel DG965WH motherboard, an Intel Core2 Duo E6300, 1gb (2x512) ddr2 667 Corsair TwinX memory, 500gb SATA-II Western Digital hard drive, Samsung SH183L SATA DVD Burner, and the ATI Radeon X1950 Pro, and it does anything and everything I want it to do. I just installed Vista via dual boot, and it scored a 4.6 on the Vista Hardware Rating. I'm planning on another 1gb kit for better performance.

All in all, this is just my "professional opinion", since I'm a Firedog Tech and all... :D

My current machine is a HP that i bought from officemax like 5yrs ago. Has an upgraded 2.7 celeron and half a gig of memory. It's getting kinda slow and i was wanting something much faster.
the board and processor i chose cuz i've been wanting to try some overclocking and the prebuilt pcs in stores and the intel boards don't have features for that. I can't seem to find a pc store anywhere close to me. Damn big box stores killed'em all apparently.
Fast240z, that card you recommended seems similiar to the card i chose except it's like 30 bucks more with a slower clock core lol. I see that it's a higher model number (x1950pro vs x1650xt) but other than that, I don't see where it would be better. I was also comtemplating just staying with the current old card i have (radeon 9250). Like I said before, it's not like i play games at all on my pc. I just want faster performance for the work and browsing i already do.
also, the memory i chose because it times with the MB according to the spec notes and i was planning on getting two one gig sticks.
the only thing that has me worried about the products i chose is the power supply that comes with whatever case i choose. Seems to me that i read alot of reviews about power supplies making a big difference in system performance and i'm worried about getting something that won't work up to par. Honestly, i already think i'm spending too much as it is so i'm constantly changing my mind and seeing where i can save a few more pennies.

brick and mortar stores tend to cost more. newegg is a great retailer. got my lappy from them, truly amazing deal. very happy.

Riz, I recommended the x1950 because of it's higher numbers of pixel pipelines. The x1650 only has 12 pixel shader processors and 5 vertex shader processors, whereas the x1950 has 36 pixel shader processors and 8 vertex shader processors. Although the clock speeds on the x1950 are lower than on the x1650, the x1950 still beats it hands down because of the numerous pixel pipelines. I know it may seem like overkill, but the extra $30 would be very well spent, at least in my opinion. The x1650 isn't a bad card at all (I install them on customer's pc's all the time) but I recommend the x1950 for the price. Not to mention, if you decide to get Vista, the x1650 will do a great job.

As for the memory, what you chose will do fine. I had assumed you were buying only one stick, which would be a fairly large bottleneck. :D

For power supplies, they can have a large effect on pc's, but not too bad if you get something that puts out the wattage that the computer calls for. Stay away from the cheap psu's, and get something somewhat worthwhile. I've got a cheap raidmax psu in my system, and it does a good job. Look for either an Antec or a Thermaltake psu, those are fairly good. Modular is even better to go with if you can get it.

Here's some links for the specs on the x1950 and the x1650 from Sapphire:
http://www.sapphiretech.com/us/produ...gpid=168&grp=3
http://www.sapphiretech.com/us/produ...gpid=162&grp=3

ok, i see. Thanks fast240z. I'll go with your recommendation. An extra 30 bucks on a vid card isnt going to kill me.

looks like i'm going to be spending more than i want to on a case and power supply but for my peace of mind's sake, i'm willing to spend the extra. but to save a couple of bucks i think i'll downgrade the processor. I was surprised at the jump in price between processors. it's almost a hundred dollar difference between the 6400 and the 6600. hundred bucks for essentially .3mhz in clock speed, ridiculous. maybe i'll get lucky and it'll go on sale when i finally decide to order lol.

as far as Vista goes, I don't trust it yet. I'll stick with what i know and xp works very well for me right now. I can also get xp pro for free so i think i'll stick with that.

The reason that the e6600 is such a drastic jump in cost as compared to the e6400 is because the e6600 is sporting a 4mb L2 cache, whereas the e6400 has a 2mb L2 cache. The e6600 would have a huge performance gain, even though the clock speeds are very similar.

Honestly, the e6400 will do all you want and more. As I said above, I've got the e6300, and the computer is screaming fast. I was disappointed at first when I realized that my e6300 only had the 2mb L2 cache, but after building the pc and gaming with it, I've been thoroughly impressed. :D

Good luck, and you've got an awesome build in front of you.

imo, you dont really need to spend $300 for a core 2 duo if youre not going to be stressing out the computer much. a pentium D is much much cheaper and easily overclockable. ive got a 2.6ghz that is running at 3.12ghz and could easily be o/c'd more if i upgraded my cooling.

i wouldnt go much bigger than that case if youre not going to be in there messing with stuff from time to time. just get it set up right the first time and leave it. that case also comes with a 550 watt power supply, which would be plenty for your computer

Better yet, buy a single core AMD and be happier for cheaper, you'd never plausibly need the duo core's power, unless the game is INCREDIBLY huge and supports dual or duo core anyway. I'm running a simple AMD Athalon 3700+ and I can burn cd's while playing Vanguard or Oblivion at max settings.

Buy NVidia, not ATI. ATI always has driver problems.

My Set up now is not too expensive.

DFI Lanparty SLI-D MoBo
2 GEforce 512 mb 7950GT's Sli'd <--- most expensive part.
AMD 3700+
OCZ 2gb dual channel kit. (Half way between bargain and performance. Most timings are 2.5-4)

I can run EVERY single game ever made on max settings with no lag (I could before I SLI'd too, and was using a 7800gt 256mb). On a fresh install I can count how many seconds it takes for xp to load on one hand. Intel Core Duo's are over-rated, and not useful at the moment, and single core Pentium's suck in performance compared to single core AMD's.

Not gonna lie to you though, the benchmarks on the intel duo's are insane, however, if you got a tandem motherboard and installed amd's instead, it would be MUCH faster.

My MoBo/Processor combo cost me about $180 bux man lol.

I personally would stick with the E6600...for future upgrade purposes. Agreed that ATI's have way to many driver problems too often, go nVidia. That case looks small and has two fans listed, a 120mm intake fan and a rear 80mm exhaust fan...the problem here is the 120 will pull more air in than is being let out...this is a positive pressure system..the benefits are less dust in the case and the cons are a slightly warmer case. A negative pressure case will be cooler but more dust in the case...if you go this route use fan filters. I would run at minimum 2 gig of memory ( Crucial, Kingston, or OCZ) AMD's do seem to out perform Intel chips though.

Check out this site www.xoxide.com for cases and cooling and a few other really cool things.

I mainly wanna build a pc that i won't have to touch again for the next 5-7yrs, if that helps any.
i decided to stick with the 6600.
i also changed the case cuz i'm going with an antec power supply unit. i'm leaning towards the clear acrylic cases all of a sudden lol.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817371001
so you guys suggest nvidia. So what would be comparable to the x1950 pro? I was sticking with ATI mainly cuz i have an ATI card in my pc now and i've had no problems with it and it improved the graphics significantly.

i think imma try out one of those new SATA connection optical drives. I hear they're smaller and run cooler with the added benefit of a faster connection.
ttp://www.newegg.com/Product/Product...82E16827151141

IMO, I'd stick with ATI. Nvidia isn't bad, but I've been seeing a rash of problems where Nvidia forceware drivers are causing computers to artifact. I bought an Nvidia card once, and returned it promptly. I am helping a friend build a sli gaming rig using two 7950 gt's, so wish us luck.

Riz, I say stick with what you are comfortable or familiar with on the graphics card...Fast likes ATi, I like nVidia...both will work and both companies offer similar options and connectivity. If you plan to watch TV on your PC or record TV on your PC then make sure you get a card with VIVO (Video in Video out) If you plan to watch Hi Def video on your PC make sure you get a card that is HDCP ready or enabled, this will keep you from having to upgrade sooner than your time frame. With the case, yeah if you go Clear case then Sata is the way to go, much cleaner looking...hell even if you don't go clear case Sata is just better.

On your power supply, list all of the components that you wish to have in your PC and add up all their power requirements together. With this total add 200 watts to it and that is what you should get...this way if you decide to add some extras like fans or controllers or whatever you should have enough extra power. I like PC & Power Coolings Turbo Cool Power Supply's. You really don't want to skimp on a power supply or memory for that matter as they are VERY important parts of performance. Just plan ahead brother and you will be happier in the long run, spend a little more now for less hassle later.

Amen thxone, amen.

uh oh, i smell a Intel vs AMD Nvidia vs ATI fanboy war coming.

ps: all my desktops have been AMD+Nvidia and all my lappys have been intel, and either integrated or ATI graphics.

Unless you don't keep up with graphically enticing games, there is no plausible way to buy a comp now that will last you 5-7 years.

And I'm not a fan boy, amd is just cheaper, and faster for the money you pay. If you wanna go nuts, buy those Intel core duo's but I can't conceivably see anyone using that much power for a few years now. Unless you wanna spend around 2g's, you're not going to buy a comp that will last a lonnggg time. it's cheaper to just buy simple, with a mobo that will handle upgrades. And pay 1-300 bux depending every 1-2 years to keep up.

Right now, in a few months my computer can handle a 1-300 upgrade (It's 2 years old basically). And It will be top of the line again.

As for graphics, if you don't wanna touch video cards again for a while, go SLI. I personally have never had problems with Nvidia, but it really doesn't matter what you pick, it will cost half what you paid in 6-8 months lol.

As previously stated, i don't play very many if any games so graphics aren't a that big of a deal to me.
as long as i can run multiple applications at the same time w/o huge slowdown and lockups, that's all i care about for the most part. If I overbuild for it then great.

Poor riz, we took his thread over. I'd say build the pc how you'd like :D

lol
it's ok
I asked for everyone's opinion.
it's been all good so far.

in my lappy i heart my AMD dual core and Nvidia graphics card, now i just need some more games, lol, all i got goin on is counter strike.