Building a new PC

[Jasper005]

Hi every1, I've had my AMD XP for way too long so its time for a change. I'm looking to build a new custom pc for general MS office related stuff but I also need some raw power so i can play FPS in all there glory. I'm not too fussed about vista yet but want to be able to upgrade at some point. I'm planning to OC a bit but def aint planning to break any records! I've got a rough idea of parts that is around the upper limit of my budget listed below. Any advice from you guys would be greatly appreciated. Cheers - Jasper

Motherboard
Asus P5N32-E SLI PLUS 775
Case
Lian-Li PC-61 Black
Power Supply
OCZ 600W SLI Ready GameXStream PSU
CPU
Intel Core 2 Duo E6600 Retail
Ram
Corsair TwinX 2GB XMS2 Dominator
Graphics
EVGA GeForce 8800GTS 320MB GDDR3 PCIE DUAL DVI
HDD
250Gb Western Digital Caviar SATAII 16MB


Great site by the way, loads of useful goodies!

[theonetruewill]

I'd replace the Corsair with either Crucial Ballistix or G.Skill sticks with Micron D9's. ONly certain Dominator's have Micron D9's (D9's are very good for overclocking)

[Paulieg]

Yeah, I'd go with the Ballistix. You could also save some jack by getting a E6420, which clocks higher than the E6600 in many cases. I'd also look at some other cases. Lian-Li are quite over priced and over rated in my opinion. Here's a link to a couple of cheaper alternatives, and the Ballistix RAM.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811103017
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811208022

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811208022

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115016

[Darknova]

Lian-Li are quite over priced and over rated in my opinion.

I love my Lian-Li case, and every Lian-Li case I have seen has been superb, build quality is excellent, and (atleast not here in the UK) they are no more expensive than any other aluminium case.

Personally I wouldn't go for a Western Digital, I've read about all sorts of problems, you are better off with a Seagate or Samsung drive (or two), and they are cheaper.

[Paulieg]

In terms of air-flow, Lian-Li are not the best. Although, I agree the build quality is excellent.

[theonetruewill]

Personally I wouldn't go for a Western Digital, I've read about all sorts of problems, you are better off with a Seagate or Samsung drive (or two), and they are cheaper.
Hitachi T7K500 FTW!:rockout:

[Mussels]

Hi every1, I've had my AMD XP for way too long so its time for a change. I'm looking to build a new custom pc for general MS office related stuff but I also need some raw power so i can play FPS in all there glory. I'm not too fussed about vista yet but want to be able to upgrade at some point. I'm planning to OC a bit but def aint planning to break any records! I've got a rough idea of parts that is around the upper limit of my budget listed below. Any advice from you guys would be greatly appreciated. Cheers - Jasper

Motherboard
Asus P5N32-E SLI PLUS 775
Case
Lian-Li PC-61 Black
Power Supply
OCZ 600W SLI Ready GameXStream PSU
CPU
Intel Core 2 Duo E6600 Retail
Ram
Corsair TwinX 2GB XMS2 Dominator
Graphics
EVGA GeForce 8800GTS 320MB GDDR3 PCIE DUAL DVI
HDD
250Gb Western Digital Caviar SATAII 16MB


Great site by the way, loads of useful goodies!

Good choices. Grab a samsung 500GB drive w/ 16MB cache - silent, faster than any WD, and just damned nice to use :) (also, they're dirt cheap here in aus - cant cost you much)

You can change the ram around if you want, but it may not be neccesary. Everyones got a D9 micron craze lately, but if you arent going to OC the ram too much it doesnt matter (on my board, i can still do 3.5Ghz before even hitting 800MHz ram at 1:1 with an E6600)

Welcome to the world of an 8800 w/ a C2D :) its fun!

[WarEagleAU]

Id change the ram as that Corsair is grossly overpriced and its not the best out there in terms of oc and general use. Yeah, Micron D9's might have caused a craze, but there is good reason. Bar none they are the best memory chips out now in terms of stability, power and overclocking. Even if you dont use it to overclock too much, its still nice to have the D9s where you know its ok to oc and they are stable. Id go with the Gskill Black Heatspreaders ($110USD on the egg) Buffalo Firestix or the Crucial Ballistix that has been suggested.

also, Id like to change the PSU you selected. Not that its bad, but I would go for the Corsair 620HX, 520HX, PC P&C 600W or 710W or the Enermax line. Those are some of the best (of course, Seasonic as well) with clean power and very low ripple.

Your HDD isnt a bad choice as WD are rock solid (Ive never had a problem with them or any of the other HDDs mentioned).

Everything else looks good.

PS. The case is good but Id opt for an Antec Nine-Hundred (HUR) or Coolermaster CM Stacker 830 or Thermaltake Mozart or summat. Better airflow and a bit better for room.

[bruins004]

Not a bad build.
I would change a few things though

First off, the mobo.
You could get a 680i or 650i motherboard and those are much better.

Second, the RAM.
High End Corsair RAM is overpriced and they dont even put the best modules in them anymore. They dont use Micron D9s, they use Epilida chips. Go get a set of Crucial Ballistix, G Skill (Black Heatspreaders) or Buffalo Firestix DDR2-800 RAM.

Third, the PSU.
That PSU isnt that great. The OCZ PSU line has not been high quality as of late. Those PSUs suffer from a high amount of ripple. Look at the Corsair PSUs, they are one of the best out on the market currently.

If you need help take a look at this thread http://forums.techpowerup.com/showthread.php?t=30822

Also, please support that thread. :)

[Jasper005]

Thanks for all the advice guys. Time to look into a new PSU and RAM for a start. I read some decent reviews of the Corsair TwinX 2GB XMS2 Dominator, but like you all said its damn expensive. The Asus P5N32-E SLI PLUS 775 is meant to be picky about the RAM you stick in it, I take it Crucial Ballistix wont have a problem?

[Sovereign]

I'm looking to build a new custom pc for general MS office related stuff but I also need some raw power so i can play FPS in all there glory. I'm not too fussed about vista yet but want to be able to upgrade at some point.

Want an alternative suggestion for a new system? First off, theres nothing wrong with the choice to go with a new C2D chip! This is just a suggestion because of the upcomming AMD Barcelona/Phenom processors due to be released later this year. This setup will be equal to your C2D E6600 and will allow you to step up to the newer AMD processors when they become available. Again, this is just a suggestion to an alternative setup just so that you know there are more choices other than Intel atm...

Motherboard : (SLI) ASUS M2N32-SLI Deluxe Wireless Edition Socket AM2 NVIDIA nForce 590 SLI MCP ATX AMD Motherboard - Retail (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131011) @ $169.99 or (CrossFire) ASUS M2R32-MVP Socket AM2 AMD 580X CrossFire ATX AMD Motherboard - Retail (ASUS M2R32-MVP Socket AM2 AMD 580X CrossFire ATX AMD Motherboard - Retail) @ $129.99 - Probably some better overall choices in this department but you really can't lose with either of these ASUS boards...

Case : (Standard) Antec Performance One P180B Black 0.8mm cold rolled steel for durability through the majority of chassis 1.0mm cold rolled steel around the 4 x HDD area ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - Retail (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811129017) @ $89.99 After MIR or if you want some flair (Style) Antec P182SE Silver Mirror-finished stainless steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - Retail (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811129026) @ $229.95 - How about that stainless steel mirror finish ... :p:rockout:

PowerSuppy : Mushkin 550250 ATX12V / EPS12V 580W Power Supply - Retail (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817812004) @ $99.99 - Up to 84% Efficiency!!!

CPU : AMD Athlon 64 X2 6000+ Windsor 3.0GHz Socket AM2 Processor Model ADX6000CZBOX - Retail @ $229.99 - The E6600 equalizer! Stock for stock, this AM2 holds it's own against the simular priced C2D chip!

Memory : Crucial Ballistix Tracer 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model BL2KIT12864AL804 - Retail (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820148076) @ $114.99 After MIR - Might be a little bit overkill, especialy if you are not going with a windowed case but why settle for less? ;)

Graphics : (nVIDIA/SLI) Same, no change or (ATI/CrossFire) Nothing ATM (Gotta wait until they bring out a fuller lineup of the HD series to help bring down the prices)

Hard Drive : Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 (Perpendicular Recording) ST3250620AS 250GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM @ $72.99 - Faster Latency, Seek and Write Times vs WD Caviar model

Optical : ASUS 18X DVD±R DVD Burner with LightScribe and 14X DVD-RAM Write Black SATA Model DRW-1814BLT - OEM (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827135145) @ $33.99 - Good affordable SATA based burner with LightScribe

Now remember, this isn't a set in stone list of the end all, be all of an alternative choice... It's just what I thought of at the top of my head @ about 4AM in the morning! :p Just remember, you don't have to go with Intel to have a high end system...