Need Help with Build...

[viracocha711]

Hello,
I would like to build a cpu to be used for basic computing, internet, HD DVD/Blu-ray, some gaming...I am not interested in OC right now as I am just learning. However, I want to build the best cpu I can for $2000.

I have some parts picked out but I am open to expert opinions on what would be the best for my budget and use. Thanks.

OK, here is what I have so far, I am missing a PS as I am not sure what size...I know I would like a modular PS if possible.

Update COOLER MASTER COSMOS 1000 RC-1000-KSN1-GP Black/ Silver Steel ATX Full Tower Computer Case - Retail
Model #: RC-1000-KSN1-GP
Item #: N82E16811119138

Return Policy: Standard Return Policy

In Stock
Mail-in Rebate
$199.99 -$25.00 Instant $174.99

Update ASUS P5K-E LGA 775 Intel P35 ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail
Model #: P5K-E
Item #: N82E16813131225

Return Policy: Limited 30-Day Return Policy

In Stock
$139.99 $139.99

Update BFG Tech BFGE88512GTOCE GeForce 8800GT 512MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card - Retail
Model #: BFGE88512GTOCE
Item #: N82E16814143118

Return Policy: Standard Return Policy

In Stock
$279.99 $279.99

Update Intel Core 2 Duo E6850 Conroe 3.0GHz LGA 775 65W Dual-Core Processor Model BX80557E6850 - Retail
Model #: BX80557E6850
Item #: N82E16819115028

Return Policy: Processors (CPUs) Return Policy

In Stock
$279.99 $279.99

Update CORSAIR XMS2 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model TWIN2X2048-6400C4 - Retail
Model #: TWIN2X2048-6400C4
Item #: N82E16820145034

Return Policy: Memory (Modules, USB) Return Policy

In Stock
Mail-in Rebate
$87.00 -$10.00 Instant $77.00

Update Western Digital Caviar SE16 WD5000AAKS 500GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM
Model #: WD5000AAKS
Item #: N82E16822136073

Return Policy: Limited 30-Day Return Policy

In Stock
$104.99 $104.99

Update LG Blu-ray/HD DVD-ROM & 16X DVD±R DVD Burner Black SATA Model GGC-H20L - Retail
Model #: GGC-H20L
Item #: N82E16827136133

Return Policy: Limited Non-Refundable 30-Day Return Policy

In Stock
$299.99


I have a few questions that may sound dumb...

1. What is "OEM" VISTA? Why are the OEM cheaper?

2. Should I go with the 64bit VISTA? 64bit is the future, right?

YES, I want to use VISTA...PLEASE do not make fun of me, I know most think everything MS makes is trash but I own stock in MS and I have made plenty of money off MS to buy their garbage...Gotta support the cause!

3. I need advice on a power supply and any other advice is welcome as well.

 

[captaincranky]

Disowned by Big Brother.......

YES, I want to use VISTA...PLEASE do not make fun of me, I know most think everything MS makes is trash but I own stock in MS and I have made plenty of money off MS to buy their garbage...Gotta support the cause!

As a M$ stockholder, you might want to consider that the money you spend on a copy of Windows XP would go right into the same pocket. This unless they've decided to start giving XP away. (Sorry, sometimes my imagination runs away with me).

An OEM copy of Windows is forever tied to the computer in which it's originally installed. You, as the installer, are responsible for support of the software, which is drastically curtailed by M$ in an OEM.
As you know, it's half the price. That should take some of the sting out of the forgoing points.

Vista driver support is a tad dodgy at the moment. 64 bit even more so. You would still need to install a 64 bit OS should you want or need to utilize more than about 3GB of RAM.

That 8800 Card is a massive power draw. You would be best with a PSU of about 600 Watts, Seasonic and Fortran Source (FSP) come to mind.

 

[viracocha711]

Thanks...BTW- My reasoning for picking XP over VISTA is I want to help boost the "copies sold" of VISTA by one! LOL! To support the cause, right? Seriously, I have been waiting for the bugs to get worked out before I started this build, do I need to wait longer? Will there ever be a time a novice like myself will be able to use VISTA? I do know that most hated XP when it first came out and the masses continued hating XP til VISTA came along, right? However, I am open to hear why I should buy XP now only to turn around and buy VISTA in the near future. Is there really that many bugs in VISTA that it is not worth using at this time? What about the 64bit ver.?

...I go to newegg and cnet read the reviews on VISTA along with the reviews on the 64bit version and one would think there has been many improvements since it's release. Most seem to like it, some actually went as far as to say they loved it? Needless to say I am getting confused? LOL!

If you do not mind I would love to hear all you and anyone else has to say about VISTA. (and the 64bit) I am here to learn before I buy so all opinions are welcome.

OEM...? I am still confused. Are you saying once the OEM version is loaded on a hard drive that's it? If the original HD it is loaded on fails the OS can't be reloaded on a new one?

Power supply...I am going to look now at thje suggestions you gave me, thanks!

I hope you do not mind answering my silly questions...Or send me to a thread that may help? I am looking for all the knowledge I can get before I build. Thank-you very much!

 

[viracocha711]

What about this power supply? I would really like a modular power supply, I want a neat build with as little clutter as possible. This is OK, right? There is no reason why one should not use a modular ps is there?


CORSAIR CMPSU-620HX ATX12V v2.2 and EPS12V 2.91 620W Power Supply 100 - 240 V UL, CUL, CE, CB, FCC Class B, TUV, CCC, C-tick - Retail

 

[viracocha711]

Sorry for double post but it would not let me post a link until I had 3 post?

Anyway, here is the link to the ps...

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139002

 

[Frostmonkey]

For $169 you could get this 700w modular PSU. It has great reviews, and from what I could gather online it's a great PSU (looks awesome too )
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817814015

For RAM I would recommend the DDR2 1066 version of the Corsair XMS2
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820145033

As for a motherboard, this ABIT IP35 Pro would be a more reliable choice, has recieved rave reviews everywhere for stability and overclocking
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813127030

I'd also recommend grabbing a Q6600 instead of the E6850. They are the same price and the quad core is faster/more future-proof.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115017

Add to this an 8800GT (G92) and you have yourself a very nice rig for under $2,000 (I ran the numbers with these parts and vista ultimate retail and it is just under $2,000)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130312

If you have any questions about any of the parts I have listed I'd be more than welcome to answer them to the best of my ability

Edit: If you were willing to use a PSU that was not modular than I would HIGHLY recommend this PSU instead at $129.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817104015

 

[viracocha711]

Thanks monkey!

That modular PSU looks great! I am trying to find some more info on it now but I really like that one. I wonder how I missed it as I thought I had looked at every 600-700watt PSU at newegg! LOL! Guess not?

The RAM you suggested I like as well...

About the mobo...The one I have in my list (ASUS P5K-E LGA 775 Intel P35 ATX Intel Motherboard) is it not a stable board? I do not plan on doing any overclocking for now...However, I may if I get game crazy. But for now I am not a big game player. Does this matter?

Thank you very much for your help!

 

[Frostmonkey]

In regards to the motherboard: I suggested the ABIT being that I have the "basic" version of it and it's superb, as the reviews reflect. The version I linked for you has also gotten great reviews, showing that it is very reliable and overclocks quite well (when people do overclock.) The ASUS you linked appears to have some issues and stability problems, so I linked you one that seems to be a better choice.

About overclocking: Between the parts I have suggested and the other gear that I did not give replacement suggestions for you shouldn't need to overclock The only forseeable overclocking with that rig would be to max out Crysis in DX10 lol. With that rig I would wager you could play Crysis on High with quite playable frame rates (without overclocking anything). The quad core will also help considerably in any media work such as rendering in photoshop or anything like that.

 

[captaincranky]

Everybody says that......

I'd also recommend grabbing a Q6600 instead of the E6850. They are the same price and the quad core is faster/more future-proof.
[/url]

The E6850 will probably out perform the Q6600, or at least break even unless you can find programs that can utilize the 4 cores. As I understand it, most of today's games won't. Adobe's photo and movie editing programs might.
"Future-proof doesn't really exist in the computer world, and certainly not for the Q6600. Everybody seems to think that the software will catch up with the hardware. It might, but the 45nm quads are probably only months away.

 

[captaincranky]

I'm not sure where to start with this.....

Thanks...BTW- My reasoning for picking XP over VISTA is I want to help boost the "copies sold" of VISTA by one! LOL! To support the cause, right? Seriously, I have been waiting for the bugs to get worked out before I started this build, do I need to wait longer? Will there ever be a time a novice like myself will be able to use VISTA? I do know that most hated XP when it first came out and the masses continued hating XP til VISTA came along, right? However, I am open to hear why I should buy XP now only to turn around and buy VISTA in the near future. Is there really that many bugs in VISTA that it is not worth using at this time? What about the 64bit ver.?

...I go to newegg and cnet read the reviews on VISTA along with the reviews on the 64bit version and one would think there has been many improvements since it's release. Most seem to like it, some actually went as far as to say they loved it? Needless to say I am getting confused? LOL!

If you do not mind I would love to hear all you and anyone else has to say about VISTA. (and the 64bit) I am here to learn before I buy so all opinions are welcome.

OEM...? I am still confused. Are you saying once the OEM version is loaded on a hard drive that's it? If the original HD it is loaded on fails the OS can't be reloaded on a new one?

You've put out a liberal budget for a machine, so you might want to consider a dual boot system. 32 bit XP home on one hard drive and 64 bit Vista on a 2nd drive. Using OEM copies for both OS's, you would only spend as much as 1 retail copy of XP home about($200.00)

Vista is still not fully hardware or software supported an this time. The DX10 is a lure with no fish in the lake. Most gamers claim that XP is faster. This I think has actually been proved.

The argument XP vs Vista is still raging with M$ extending the time it will sell XP licenses a good bit. Actually most people (whether they publicly admit it or not) are quite happy with XP. Windows Millenium edition was so bad that everybody abandoned it ASAP, and went with XP in spite of it's problems. XP works so well now, you can understand the reluctance to take on the problems of the new OS, simply wait for the service packs to come along, then reread the reviews.

It's hard to say sometimes what the powers that be in Redmond will allow in the way of equipment changes before they refuse to reactivate an OEM copy of Windows. Reactivation after installing a new drive would be NO problem. Sometimes they get nasty about if you replace the motherboard. But in those instances, it usually involves an "OEM, OEM" copy. By this I mean something like an Emachine that you bought at Best Buy and are now trying to use the OEM OS from that on another board.

Windows polls the system over time and balances what has changed with what remains, with points being assigned to every component in the system before it requires reactivation. Too much of a change too soon, and it's XP phone home! You can plug and unplug HDDs or DVD drives, add and subtract memory, or add a video card without Windows taking any action.

 

[Frostmonkey]

The E6850 will probably out perform the Q6600, or at least break even unless you can find programs that can utilize the 4 cores. As I understand it, most of today's games won't. Adobe's photo and movie editing programs might.
"Future-proof doesn't really exist in the computer world, and certainly not for the Q6600. Everybody seems to think that the software will catch up with the hardware. It might, but the 45nm quads are probably only months away.

Fair enough. I was going off of personal experience and Tom's Hardware benchmarks for the performance end. As for the future remark, well i really have no excuse, I shouldn't have included it.

You are right that few non-professional applications include any multithreaded support, let alone quad core. But even with that in mind, at the same price point - I personally would choose a Q6600.

 

[viracocha711]

Thank you very much for the help! So many choices I can not decide! I guess this is a good thing?

 

[Rage_3K_Moiz]

I'd recommend the Gigabyte GA-P35-DS3L over your current motherboard choice.
Also, you'd be better off getting the G.SKILL 2GB DDR2 800 kit on Newegg, since it's available for under $50 and provides excellent performance as well.
Next, I recommend the Corsair 550VX as an excellent PSU for your system. It's of superb quality and comes with a single +12V rail delivering 41A, which is more than enough for your system.
Lastly, I recommend you get a CoolerMaster Stacker case instead, since they have more room for cooling. There's a Stacker case available on Newegg for $110 after a mail-in rebate and with free shipping. It's a full ATX case and supports upto nine 120mm fans.
Good luck and let us know how it goes.

 

[viracocha711]

thanks rage,
I have dumb question, maybe two questions...What are the advantages of having Dual 10/100/1000Mbps LAN ports on a motherboard? What is the advantage of the Intel X38 chipset over the P35 chipset?

This is my first build and as I read I have tons of questions so I am just trying to learn what I can and then buy my parts as I see what I really would use.
Thanks!

 

[Rage_3K_Moiz]

Two LAN ports means you can have two connections to your PC. One could be used for your internet connection, while the other could be used for a a home network, for example.
As for the X38, it features PCI-E 2.0 ports and full x16 Crossfire as the only advantages over the P35.

 

[viracocha711]

Rage,
You suggested another Mobo from the one I have...Please explain to me why? I am trying to learn what the dif are among the dif parts so that I am buying parts I understand rather than what is suggested or popular.

I really do appreciate the time you have taken to answer my quetions and the help you have provided!

 

[Rage_3K_Moiz]

Simple, because of the price and reputation. The features of both are exactly the same, but the Gigabyte board is cheaper. Also, it has won an award on Newegg which indicates superior quality and reliability to the P5K-E.

 

[viracocha711]

Thank-you Rage! I do have a question...Will a MoBo like the one you suggested except memory DDR2 800 when the specs say the memory standard is DDR 1066?

If the answer is yes, could explain?

Thank you very much you have helped me see important details I had not seen.