Yet Another Conroe Build

[JSNOLAN]

Okay, this is what I have... All is on newegg.com. Except the memory. My budget is about $1200 or less if possible. I would like to be able to overclock eventually. I have a hard drive already. How does it look? Any suggestions?


Intel Core 2 Duo E6600 Conroe 2.4GHz LGA 775 Processor Model BX80557E6600 - Retail $360.00
Model #: BX80557E6600
Item #: N82E16819115003

ASUS P5B Socket T (LGA 775) Intel P965 Express ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail $156.99
Model #: P5B
Item #: N82E16813131030

MSI RX1900XTX-VT2D512E Radeon X1900XTX 512MB GDDR3 PCI Express x16 Video Card - Retail $276.99 After Rebate
Model #: RX1900XTX-VT2D512E
Item #: N82E16814127205

BenQ 16X DVD±R DVD Burner With LightScribe Black E-IDE/ATAPI Model DW1655 - Retail $36.39
Model #: DW1655 BK
Item #: N82E16827101008

Seagate Barracuda 7200.7 ST3200822A-RK 200GB 7200 RPM IDE Ultra ATA100 Hard Drive - Retail $0.00
Item #: N82E16822148036
Model #: ST3200822A-RK

Antec LifeStyle SONATA II Piano Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case 450Watt SmartPower 2.0 ATX 12V V2.0 for AMD & Intel systems Power Supply - Retail $89.99
Model #: SONATA II
Item #: N82E16811129155

OCZ Platinum 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Unbuffered Dual Channel Kit System Memory Model OCZ2P8002GK - Retail $159.99 After Rebate @ Fry's
Model #: OCZ2P8002GK
Item #: N82E16820227089


Total:$1080.35

 

[The_Prophecy]

The BenQ burner isn't listed at Newegg anymore. If you're going to get an X1900XTX, you're going to need a lot more power than what the 450W Antec Smartpower PSU can provide that comes with the Sonata II case.... NEVER get PATA drives anymore....

Suggested Changes:

Video Card: eVGA Geforce 7600GT <--- If you have no interest in moving to DX 10 when it arrives, grab a Sapphire Radeon X1900XT.

DVD Burner: NEC ND-3550A

Hard Drive: Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 320GB SATA2

If you decide to ignore this advice and stick with your X1900XTX, you're going to need an Antec NeoHE 550W at least. For an X1900XTX, a 600W supply might be a better idea.

 

[miffy]

upgrade your HDD to a SATA drive it's worth it. The XTX isn't really worth the additonal expense versus performance.

 

[JSNOLAN]

So, $276.99 is not worth it for a X1900XTX?

 

[ArbY]

So, $276.99 is not worth it for a X1900XTX?

That's a great price for an XTX.

 

[The_Prophecy]

So, $276.99 is not worth it for a X1900XTX?

That's a great price for an XTX.

Too bad it's from a crappy manufacturer. I think that explains the $150 MIR. There's no guarantee you will get that 150 back btw....

 

[JSNOLAN]

That card definately would not work with the PSU in the Sonata II?

Would I be better off getting an E6400? Or should I stick with the E6600?

 

[The_Prophecy]

The second 12V rail on the 450W Antec Smartpower PSU which comes with the Sonata II case only puts out 17A, and the first 12V rail only puts out 15A. For an X1900XTX, you want at LEAST one of those 12V rails to be able to put out 19A. That's why I suggested the NeoHE 550W. Both 12V rails on it put out 19A. If you're going to drop form the E6600, drop to a 6300 instead of a 6400. The Core 2 chips overclock so well that it's not worth the extra $50 to get the 6400.

 

[rickpcnerd2004]

First of all, ATI X1900 requires a minimum 480 power supply. For overclocking, u cant just use any power supply must be a very top quality power supply like Enermax or Seasonic if u dont want to fry that cpu.
Recommend a 550 or 600 power supply.

 

[JSNOLAN]

Well, since the PSU in that case won't work, I might as well get a diff case. Will the x1900xtx, mobo, and everything else fit in this case okay?

COOLER MASTER Centurion 5 CAC-T05-WW Black/Silver Aluminum Bezel, SECC Chassis ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - Retail $49.99
Model #: CAC-T05-WW
Item #: N82E16811119077

 

[sithscout80]

I had some trouble with 2 mail-in rebates from soyo. After months and months of trying to get them from soyo, i just told newegg about the problem and they gave me a refund of the rebate money.

I'm not worried about rebates if you buy from newegg because they have such great customer service.

 

[JSNOLAN]

Would this PSU be okay?

RAIDMAX RX-630A ATX12V/ EPS12V 630W Power Supply - Retail $39.99 after rebate at Fry's
Model #: RX-630A
Item #: N82E16817152026

 

[The_Prophecy]

Look for power supplies from the following manufacturers.

OCZ, Enermax, Antec, Seasonic, Fortron

 

[boro169]

also look at silverstone st650zf it's less efficient than seasonic and a bit noisier (not too much for me it's still a 12cm ) and it can deliver 650w and a 710w peak if i'm not wrong so it could manage that cpu and card overcloked with out problems and even in crossfire if not overclocked. if you look arround at the THGforums there is a post with a page were you put your sistem specs, motherboard, cpu, mems, graphic card, number of hdd, if you'll oc them and how much and it gives you aproximately what peak power you'll need. 8)

 

[djplanet]

Seagate Barracuda 7200.7 ST3200822A-RK 200GB 7200 RPM IDE Ultra ATA100 Hard Drive - Retail $0.00
Item #: N82E16822148036
Model #: ST3200822A-RK

Wow! That's a cheap hard drive (lol). But yeah, get SATA. Many Conroe mobos have only one IDE connector anyway (but plenty SATA connectors).

On a side note, don't forget about PC Power and Cooling The_Prophecy, they make excellent PSUs as well.

 

[The_Prophecy]

Ya.... their supplies aren't bad either. I was just listing a few manufacturer's off the top of my head though.

 

[WR2]

The MSI 1900 XTX you picked is not a bad choice.
Here is a review of 1900 XTX cards from ASUS, ATI, MSI, PowerColor and Sapphire.
http://www.firingsquad.com/hardware/ati_radeon_x1900_xtx_roundup/default.asp

 

[The_Prophecy]

The MSI 1900 XTX you picked is not a bad choice.
Here is a review of 1900 XTX cards from ASUS, ATI, MSI, PowerColor and Sapphire.
http://www.firingsquad.com/hardware/ati_radeon_x1900_xtx_roundup/default.asp

While you're at it.... add another $30 to the cost of the power supply that's needed to provide the juice the XTX is going to need.

Get a mid range card for now and once the DX 10 cards arrive, go high end then. Not now.... it's only throwing money away.

 

[JSNOLAN]

Decided just to change the video card to avoid any problems:

Recertified: eVGA 256-P2-N560-RX Geforce 7900GT 256MB GDDR3 PCI Express x16 Video Card - Retail $202.99
Model #: 256-P2-N560-RX
Item #: N82E16814130049

 

[JSNOLAN]

Here's what I have now, how's it look now?

NEC 16X DVD±R DVD Burner Black IDE/ATAPI Model ND-3550A - OEM $29.25
Model #: ND-3550A BK OEM
Item #: N82E16827152058

Antec LifeStyle SONATA II Piano Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case 450Watt SmartPower 2.0 ATX 12V V2.0 for AMD & Intel systems Power Supply - Retail $74.99 after rebate
Model #: SONATA II
Item #: N82E16811129155

Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 ST3320620AS (Perpendicular Recording Technology) 320GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM $94.99
Model #: ST3320620AS
Item #: N82E16822148140

Recertified: eVGA 256-P2-N560-RX Geforce 7900GT 256MB GDDR3 PCI Express x16 Video Card - Retail $202.99
Model #: 256-P2-N560-RX
Item #: N82E16814130049

ASUS P5B Socket T (LGA 775) Intel P965 Express ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail $156.99
Model #: P5B
Item #: N82E16813131030

Intel Core 2 Duo E6600 Conroe 2.4GHz LGA 775 Processor Model BX80557E6600 - Retail $339.00
Model #: BX80557E6600
Item #: N82E16819115003

OCZ Platinum 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Unbuffered Dual Channel Kit System Memory Model OCZ2P8002GK - Retail
Model #: OCZ2P8002GK $159.99 @ Fry's
Item #: N82E16820227089

 

[boro169]

im not an expert but if you are looking forward to change to a high end graphic card maybe it would be interesting to buy a good PSU and not to spent some in a bad unstable low power psu(even if it comes with the case) and later add the price of a good one

 

[JSNOLAN]

By the time I am ready to get a better graphic card, will probably be 2nd Gen DX10 and will probably need more than even a 600 watt supply, so I will just wait to upgrade the PSU when I upgrade cards.