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Build Kewop a PC: Part 2 - Rate this PC
Kewop Decam
Registered User regular
Registered User regular
OP EDIT
Rate my Computer of awesomeness (ignore the video card, I'm waiting on DX10)
OCZ Platinum Revision 2 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) $239.99 with $32 mail in rebate
GIGABYTE GA-965P-DQ6 LGA 775 Intel P965 Express ATX Intel 199.99
Intel Core 2 Duo E6400 Conroe 2.13GHz 2M shared L2 Cache LGA 775 Processor 221.00
SAPPHIRE 100164L Radeon X1650PRO 256MB GDDR3 PCI Express 119.99
ARCTIC COOLING Freezer 7 Pro CPU Cooler 29.99 *For overclocking... maybe
Antec LifeStyle SONATA II Case 100.00
I need to build a new PC and I need to right now. My limit is a $1000 and below, but there's a catch... the videocard must be something that isn't all that strong. The reason is the whole new d10 cards is the reason I don't care for how good the videocard is now. It has be a card that can handle 3D modeling, but not to the extreme. I'm running on an old Radeon 9700 Pro, so my standards aren't high. I can't use this old videocard cause I'm giving this PC away. So, most of the money will be going to other shit like the processor and ram I guess.
I need this computer for photoshop, flash, maya, and all the other artsy stuff. I haven't built a PC since the late 90s, so I'm not up to date with the parts and all, that's why I'm asking you guys to help me out. Help me out my brothas!
Rate my Computer of awesomeness (ignore the video card, I'm waiting on DX10)
OCZ Platinum Revision 2 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) $239.99 with $32 mail in rebate
GIGABYTE GA-965P-DQ6 LGA 775 Intel P965 Express ATX Intel 199.99
Intel Core 2 Duo E6400 Conroe 2.13GHz 2M shared L2 Cache LGA 775 Processor 221.00
SAPPHIRE 100164L Radeon X1650PRO 256MB GDDR3 PCI Express 119.99
ARCTIC COOLING Freezer 7 Pro CPU Cooler 29.99 *For overclocking... maybe
Antec LifeStyle SONATA II Case 100.00
I need to build a new PC and I need to right now. My limit is a $1000 and below, but there's a catch... the videocard must be something that isn't all that strong. The reason is the whole new d10 cards is the reason I don't care for how good the videocard is now. It has be a card that can handle 3D modeling, but not to the extreme. I'm running on an old Radeon 9700 Pro, so my standards aren't high. I can't use this old videocard cause I'm giving this PC away. So, most of the money will be going to other shit like the processor and ram I guess.
I need this computer for photoshop, flash, maya, and all the other artsy stuff. I haven't built a PC since the late 90s, so I'm not up to date with the parts and all, that's why I'm asking you guys to help me out. Help me out my brothas!
Kewop Decam on
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Here is the computer building sticky. It has some useful info in there.
Continue.
OCZ Platinum Revision 2 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) $239.99 with $32 mail in rebate
GIGABYTE GA-965P-DQ6 LGA 775 Intel P965 Express ATX Intel 199.99
Intel Core 2 Duo E6600 Conroe 2.4GHz LGA 775 Processor Model 318.00
COOLER MASTER RC-330-KKN1-GP Black SECC ATX Mid Tower Computer 39.99 with a $10 mail in rebate
SAPPHIRE 100164L Radeon X1650PRO 256MB GDDR3 PCI Express 119.99
COOLER MASTER eXtreme RP-500-PCAR ATX from factor 12V V2.01 500W Power Supply 49.99
and if you don't want to add this up it is 967.95
Post could be greatly improved with links and prices.
> turn on light
Good start to the day. Pity it's going to be the worst one of your life. The light is now on.
GIGABYTE GA-965P-DQ6 LGA 775 Intel P965 Express ATX Intel $199.99
Intel Core 2 Duo E6600 Conroe 2.4GHz LGA 775 Processor Model $318.00
COOLER MASTER RC-330-KKN1-GP Black SECC ATX Mid Tower Computer $39.99
SAPPHIRE 100164L Radeon X1650PRO 256MB GDDR3 PCI Express $119.99
COOLER MASTER eXtreme RP-500-PCAR ATX from factor 12V V2.01 500W Power Supply $49.99
Total = 967.95
it is now....
Well to be honest I just threw in the case and power supply I would go with what taliosfalcon said. As for the video card that I will tide you over till the dx10 cards come out. Also the 6400 is about 100 bucks less but I don't like to overclock myself that is the reason I listed the 6600.
Link for the e6400 $221.00
Overclocking won't fuck me over in the future will it?
EDIT - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16835186134
that's the right heatsink right?
Depends you are running the proc. over the specs stated. But people have run overclock system for years with no problems. It is kind of a crap shoot and a personal choice. I don't but with decent cooling and you are not too crazy with your overclock it should work till you get the upgrade bug again.
is there really that much of a difference from the 6400 and the 6600?
yea, like is it that much faster? Is the price worth the extra speed?
This is what I threw together for you:
Core 2 Duo 6400 $221
Antec Case $100
400GB Seagate drive $120
Gigabyte MB $109
2GB Corsair RAM$208
DVD RW Drive (Lite On)$30
Finally I don't know too much about low end video cards but this is pretty cheap:
X1600Pro 256 MB $110 -$30 Rebate
Total is $898-$30 rebate=$868 So you can start saving for the big DX10 card now.
You could go with that OCZ memory, it is faster, but memory speed doesn't seem to have a huge impact and there is a chance that it's high voltage requirement will cause some difficulty.
(Please do not gift. My game bank is already full.)
The ocz memory is for a 800mhz bus which is what is needed for the board i listed. if you want to use the Corsairs you will have to go with his motherboard because you can use the 667mhz on it. As for memory speed it better to have faster bus. On memory intensive applications they will be more responsive. and you stated that artsy stuff I would stick with the faster ram. etc "maya!" also I forgot to add harddrives and a cdrom... sorry
Get an Enermax Liberty. They're amazing and modular. Also, make sure the memory is compatible with the motherboard. You can check that out at http://www.ocztechnology.com. I bought OCZ originally but it turned out to be incompatible with my motherboard, thus causing issues (it also didn't help that the second stick was dead, too). Now I have Kingston DDR2 4300 instead of 5400, although the performance differences between the two is almost zilch (one 3DMark test showed only an increase in 10 marks between the two speeds).
Yea, I realized that and went, "wait a minute...".
I got an old drive and HD sitting around that I can use for a couple of months.
My designs call for something different however. I am looking to build the MOST upgradeable machine for the lowest price... (reliability should also be factored in).
Again, tiny things are fine..
on board graphics are fine, my current pc still works, so I will be waiting a while before getting a video card.
Little HD, like.. whats cheap these days.. 20 gigs? fine.. I can upgrade later. I have an OS set aside already. Cd drives are pretty cheap now too.
512 ram will be more than enough for the time being.. 1 gig if it is of decent price.
Motherboard should probably not be skimped on.. being the base of the system and all... decent power supply too.
SO dual core is the way to go keeping upgradeability in mind yes? And pci express.. what x16 is that what kind of slot I will need in the future for the dx10 cards I keep hearing so much about?
Help me build a cheaper rig?!
Umm... here is what I think. Stick with the intel 775 socket you will be good for the new quad cores down the raod. Since amd keeps changing there socket every 2 months it is harder to keep up when you have to buy a motherboard and proc. each upgrade. And yes pci-e is the newer standard for video cards.. Also you might want to get a board that does cross fire or sli. you can run one card for now and later upgrade to a faster multi-card solution as the price drops on them.
SLI will NEVER be required in any games. Most consumers don't even have it and there's always a single card that gets released later that's more powerful than any SLI and Crossfire setup. The 8800GTX is twice as powerful as X1950XT's in Crossfire mode. As for the motherboard, I'd go with an ASUS PB5. Great motherboard with great features. The Q-Connector is a HUGE plus. It removes the pain of plugging in those little case connectors individually, trying to maneuver in that tight corner like a surgeon.
Yes any new card is always going to be better then any current card sli or not why would anyone buy a card that slower then what they have... and comparing a dx10 card to a non dx10 even in an x-fire setup isn't really fair. The major benifit it sli or x-fire it that it allows you to get the same performance or close to the same performance out of two older cards that you could get with one new card.
You don't need a DQ6 mobo. You're basically paying for overclocking features (solid caps) and another PCIx16 slot for Crossfire.
You also don't list any other components in the initial post like a hard drive/dvd drive, which although relatively cheap, can push a build through your price limit. Don't list a monitor either, I hope you don't need one.
I'm going to assume you need drives, but not a monitor.
Case: Enermax Case - $69.99 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E16811124116
Matter of preference. I just picked this because it's about what you can expect to spend on a case, it doesn't have retarded case design, and I laughed at the giant 250mm fan on the side.
Fan: 120mm fan for rear exhaust - $5.99 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E16835150073
Need a rear exhaust fan to work with..
Heatsink: Arctic Cooling Freezer 7 Pro - $29.99 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E16835186134
I use this and it works great. Have my comp OC'd to 425FSB and it stays plenty cool (57ishC full load, 40ish idle).
Power Supply: Corsair 520w - $119.99 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E16817139001
Do not skimp on the PSU, you will regret it, especially if you're looking at DX10 cards. This thing is high quality with lots of amps and will run any DX10 card (probably 2) you throw at it without a problem. Don't let watts dazzle you when amps and quality are even more important.
Processor: Intel C2D E6400 - $221.00 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E16819115004
Arguably the best bang for the buck out there right now. I have one, it OC's very nicely if you have any inclination to do so.
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-965P S3 - $108.99 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E16813128017
Fights a tough battle with the similarly priced Biostar board, but I've seen a ton of people have lots of success with the S3. I have the DS3 which is basically the same board with solid capacitors and it's been great. As long as you don't want SLI or Crossfire this board will do you fine.
Memory: 2GB G-Skill DDR2800 - $209.99 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E16820231098
It's the cheapest DDR2800 memory from a good company. You're not going to get a crazy overclock out of it because they're not D9, but they're spec'd at 400 which means a very respectable 400FSB OC for your E6400 to 3.2GHz.
Video: BFG 7600GT - $139.99 ($109.99 with rebate) - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E16814143049
The X1650Pro is kind of a janky card. The 7600GT will give you better performance. At least in games, anyway, don't know if your 3D stuff is different.
Hard Drive: Western Digital 160GB - $52.99 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E16822144415
I have 160GB of HD space and I don't even use half of it, but I also format frequently and am more interested in performance than archiving crap. If you need more upgrade at your leisure.
DVD Drive: Pioneer DVD Burner - $32.49 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E16827129001
Random drive I picked out. I just picked up a Sony burner that's been good to me but it's out of stock right now. Just picked a black one to match the case with decent reviews.
Floppy Drive: NEC Floppy Drive - $6.25 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16821152005
Don't let anybody kid you, you still need a floppy drive. Especially with Windows needing SATA drivers to install most of the time. Easier to just have a floppy than sit around making specific slipstream install discs.
Total: $997.66 ($967.66 after the $30 vid card rebate)
One thing to keep in mind when building a computer these days with SATA drives is that you'll almost always need a SATA driver floppy when installing Windows. So be sure to make one before you lose your computer access. And if you do go with a Gigabyte board, make the SATA floppy with the driver file from their website, the one I made off the included CD didn't work.
EDIT - that huge side fan looks so dumb and it would probably be useless because it would be blowing like 5 inches from a wooden wall that's a part of my computer desk
And no, mounting fans is easy. It's either a matter of 4 screws or just popping it into a plastic mounting bracket depending on the case.
This is sound advice. Literally! The 250mm fan is quieter and makes a easier-to-ignore lower tone than your 80mm-120mm fans. Plus, it has excellent airflow if you're planning on putting this in a cabinet or under-desk system where your rear fans are confined.
Looks count, though. If you think it's dumb, then don't bother.
So that case wouldn't be able to fit a DX10 card? Are they really that long!?
And yeah, even if you stick exactly with the build in the OP, change the graphics card at least. The 7600GT shits all over the X1650PRO and is about the same price.
From a good good OC-Friendly brand (XFX) : $116 after rebate.
Proof of performance (and a useful tool for you and other builders): Tom's VGA Comparison Tool.
THG also have a CPU tool too.
In my case it's a full tower (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16811144053) but while I could fit a GTS (about 9.5"), I would most likely have to cut out part of my hard drive mounting slots to fit an 11"ish GTX.
However ATI is releasing their new cards sometime in March/April and they might be smaller, plus Nvidia should launch a refresh sometime later this year which might cut down on the size. They're also going to launch their lower end DX10 cards as well which will be smaller. (At least if the GTS to GTX size ratio is any indication.)
If you dig around on the Anandtech.com forums in the case/video sections you can probably find old threads where people posted what cases they have that fit 8800s if you're that worried about it.
Anything else I should know before I go and order these parts?
I spent a few weeks reading all the crap I could find about various parts in my price range before I hit the purchase button. There are usually a few quirks in every build (nonworking sata drivers off the mobo cd, an issue getting one of my optical drives to recognize, still not getting max data transfer from my hard drives in my case) and you need to be ready to deal with them.
I'm of the opinion that you absolutely need a functioning computer handy when building a new one simply for driver downloads/Googling for issues you run into.
Also might need a new copy of XP. After installing/activating on my new build my copy wouldn't let me activate on my old box which I gave to my parents. I may or may not have used the same copy(key) on mine and my parents' boxes for the past few years. This time they decided I had dual-upgraded enough and I had to buy a new copy for my parents. And I'll likely have to call them next time I do an overhaul to activate mine again.