Seeking advice on mid-range Conroe build. Please comment.

[EQShaman]

I’m making my first build in a few years and would greatly appreciate your help. I’m currently on an Athlon 1800+ with 768MB RAM and an Radeon 9600XT (128MB) video card. That machine has served me well but it is time for a new one! Here is what I plan on using the computer for:

80% Online gaming on Everquest – This is the ONLY game I will be playing. I will be playing 1 character on M-F and would like to run as many as 4 sessions (aka 4 boxing) on the weekends.

20% Internet browsing, MS Office, email, etc.


Here are some assumptions I would like to make:

1) I have approximately $2,000 USD to spend.
2) I’d like to be up and running by mid to late August.
3) I do not need a keyboard or mouse. I also have a Dell 1905FP monitor, which I feel is getting the job done (is it HDCP certified?).
4) I am not a hardcore overclocker. Since this is going to be such a huge upgrade, I’m sure stock settings will probably blow me away.
5) The desk is in my living room and I often have my TV on across the room. I’d like to avoid components that are known for being particularly noisy so I don’t have to jack up the volume on my TV.
6) I would like to somewhat future proof the system so that it will last for at least 2 years. I am not interested in upgrading another part 6 months down the road. I will probably run XP Pro for two more years.

I’ve been doing a ton of research and I’m fairly certain I want to go with an Intel Conroe. More specifically, I’m pretty sure I want the E6600. After that, things get very fuzzy so that is why I am requesting your help with my build:

Edit 8/6/6 Okay, I did some thinking over night and am thinking I may have selected components slighty stronger than I need.

Replaced P180 & Seasonic S12-600W with P150 w/430 Antec NeoHE
Removed 'Cooling' since I'm sure I'll use retail fan.
Replaced Intel D975XBX ‘Bad Axe’ r304 with Intel BOXDP965LTCK Socket T (LGA 775) Intel P965 Express.
Replaced eVGA Geforce 7950x2 1GB with eVGA Geforce 7900GT KO 512MB .
Replaced Pioneer Black 111D with NEC ND-3550A Silver.


CPU – Intel Core 2 Duo E6600 Retail
??
$340

Case – Antec P150 -- Thoughts?
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16811129166
$140

PSU – Antec NeoHE 430 ATX12V 430W -- From what I've researched, 430W should be enough to power this system.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16817103940
$0 (included with case)

Thermal Compound – Arctic Silver 5
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16835100007
$6

MB – Intel BOXDP965LTCK Socket T (LGA 775) Intel P965 Express ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail
-- I don’t really need SLI or Crossfire and I’m not a hardcore overclocker. I’m probably going to use onboard sound for now. What features am I going to lose by going from the 'Bad Axe' to this?
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16813121035
$107

GPU – eVGA 512-P2-N568-AR Geforce 7900GT KO 512MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express x16 Video Card - Retail
-- I know I want eVGA and 512MB so this narrows it down. Thoughts?
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16814130034
$360

RAM – G.SKILL 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM Unbuffered DDR2 533 (PC2 4200) -- Will run 1:1 if I don’t overclock. Thoughts?
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16820231018
$150

HDDs – I’m pretty sure I want to get a 10,000RPM drive for my OS and game. Then a nice 7,200RPM for storage. I am slightly concerned about noise.

Western Digital Raptor WD740ADFD 74GB 10,000 RPM 16MB Cache Serial ATA150 Hard Drive – OEM
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16822136033
$170

Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 320GB
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16822148140
$95

DVD/RW – NEC ND-3550A Silver
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16827152060
$30

Stuff I’ll probably get later:

LCD -- UltraSharp 2007FPW if the budget allows. If not, I’ll add later.

SC – How much CPU power do you really save by getting a sound card? Everquest does not have amazing sounds so I’m tempted to go with onboard audio. X-Fi probably... Thoughts?

TV Tuner – Hauppauge WINTV-PVR-150 PCI -- Convert from VHS to DVD and watch TV in a window.

Speakers – ?

3.5/reader – MITSUMI Black 1.44MB 3.5" Internal USB 2.0 digital card reader with Floppy Drive Model FA404M BLK - OEM

UPS – I think it is time to finally buy one. OPTI-UPS Enhanced Series ES1000C 1000VA 700W had pretty good reviews.


Is there any stuff I’ve left out? Thanks in advance for all of your opinions, advice, and help!

 

[The_Prophecy]

Suggested Changes:

CPU: If EQ is the only game you're going to be playing.... drop to an E6300

Mobo: If you don't need SLI or Crossfire, switch to either the Gigabyte GA-965P-DS3, Abit AB9 Pro, or Asus P5B

PSU: Antec Truepower 480W <--- Since you aren't going to be using SLI or Crossfire, anything over 500W for this build will most likely be overkill. Anything over 550 will definitly be overkill.

RAM: OCZ Gold 2GB (2 x 1GB) DDR2-800 <--- People who use CAS 5 on an Intel platform don't lose nearly as much performance as an AMD system would if they were to use CAS 4, but if you really want a CAS 4 set, this Corsair XMS2 2GB will do nicely.

Video Card: If you really want good performance out of the box, get an eVGA Geforce 7900GT. If it's not a problem, get a 7600GT. Upgrade to the DX 10 cards once they arrive, but don't bother with a 7950GX2, a 7900GTX or an X1900XTX. All of them are incredibly power hungry and just aren't worth the extra cost with DX10 approaching.

DVD Burner: NEC ND-3550A <--- This one has better specs.... and cheaper.

Sound Card: Adding a sound card only gives a couple extra % back to the CPU (no more than 3%). If you don't care about sound that much, don't bother with a seperate sound card.

 

[EQShaman]

Okay, I did some thinking over night and am thinking I may have selected components slighty stronger than I need. The following changes were made:

Replaced P180 & Seasonic S12-600W with P150 w/430 Antec NeoHE
Removed 'Cooling' since I'm sure I'll use retail fan.
Replaced Intel D975XBX ‘Bad Axe’ r304 with Intel BOXDP965LTCK Socket T (LGA 775) Intel P965 Express.
Replaced eVGA Geforce 7950x2 1GB with eVGA Geforce 7900GT KO 512MB .
Replaced Pioneer Black 111D with NEC ND-3550A Silver.

Those changes saved over $400. Out of all the parts, I'm most uncomfortable with the motherboard. Does anyone have any comments or suggestions?

How does everything else look? Thanks in advance for your help guys!

 

[chimrichalds]

Suggested Changes:

PSU: Antec Truepower 480W <--- Since you aren't going to be using SLI or Crossfire, anything over 500W for this build will most likely be overkill. Anything over 550 will definitly be overkill.

I agree with this. PSUs that come with cases arent usually that great.

 

[The_Prophecy]

Mobo: If you don't need SLI or Crossfire, switch to either the Gigabyte GA-965P-DS3, Abit AB9 Pro, or Asus P5B

I already suggested alternative boards to the D975XBX (and now the DP965LTCK)