I hate to ask but yet another rate my choices...

[DiverDave]

I'm thinking about building a new system to replace my old T-bird .
I've been doing a fair bit of research and reading advice and am now looking at the following step up. This will be a general purpose computer, needs to be stable and long lasting (I expect 3-5 years out of my systems). I would love to see the price of memory drop before I buy but I'm not sure it will before next year. I am interested in the DX10 cards but I believe I can easily wait a year or more so I think a fairly good card is a better option. Finally I might do some mild O/C but nothing crazy so I am planning to not buy anything to add significant cooling. Any and all suggests are welcome. Oh budget is about $1500 but will need to include OS and probably I'll have to buy business software (word/excel at least).

Thanks

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

Update GIGABYTE GA-965P-DS3 Socket T (LGA 775) Intel P965 Express ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail
Model #: GA-965P-DS3
Item #: N82E16813128012

Update SAPPHIRE 100189L Radeon X1900GT 256MB GDDR3 PCI Express x16 (RoHS) CrossFire Video Card - Retail
Model #: 100189L
Item #: N82E16814102022

OR

Update eVGA 256-P2-N615-TX Geforce 7600GT 256MB GDDR3 PCI Express x16 Video Card - Retail
Model #: 256-P2-N615-TX
Item #: N82E16814130062



Update ENERMAX Whisper II EG565P-VE FMA(24P) ATX12V 535W Power Supply - Retail
Model #: EG565P-VE FMA(24P)
Item #: N82E16817103512


Update Intel Core 2 Duo E6400 Conroe 2.13GHz LGA 775 Processor Model BX80557E6400 - Retail
Model #: BX80557E6400
Item #: N82E16819115004


Update Patriot Signature Series 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 667 (PC2 5300) Dual Channel Kit System Memory Model PSD22G667K - Retail
Model #: PSD22G667K
Item #: N82E16820220064


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


Update LITE-ON 16X DVD±R DVD Burner W/LightScribe and 5X DVD-RAM Write Black ATAPI/E-IDE Model SHM-165H6S - Retail
Model #: SHM-165H6S
Item #: N82E16827106015

 

[djplanet]

This looks good but I would take the x1900gt over the 7600GT, as the 1900 goes toe to toe with the 7900GT in most benchmarks. If you plan to upgrade to a DX10 card when they come out, be prepared to buy a PSU with seriously high wattage (if predictions so far are even half right). I'm talking 700 watts or more.

That Conroe looks fine but the E6300 is cheaper, just lower clocked. Get it in a heartbeat if you're comfortable with overclocking.

Finally, Lightscribe is a cool feature, but I've heard it takes a whole 1/2 hour or more just to etch the image. And of course you must buy the special CDs to use Lightscribe. Consider also regular CD labels come in color.

 

[440bx]

Just FYI on the Lightscribe time to etch.

When selecting "Best" quality on CDs, it takes roughly 30 minutes to etch the image on the CD. This amount of time is for a complex image (say a picture of your girlfriend), a text only "image" may take half that time.

On DVDs it is a different story. With the "extended burn" feature in place (only active for DVDs), and selecting "Best" quality, it can take as long as 45 minutes to etch the same image that took 30 minutes on a CD.

In either case, it does take a long time. I only use the lightscribe feature for "special occasions". The results on the other hand are truly superb if the images are well chosen and processed.

HTH.

 

[trixst4r]

I would also suggest going down a notch for the 6300.

What is default voltage for those patriots? You might want to spend just a bit of time to look up compatability with the DS3 to save yourself any hassle.

I have the same case, it looks very nice and very sturdy.

I second the 1900GT.

 

[DiverDave]

Looks like the default is 1.8V. For some reason I thought they were CAS 4 but it's 5. Not sure if this is a huge deal.

I might do some minor O/C but I doubt I'll go too crazy since I'm planning to go with stock cooling. Does the E6300 still fit the bill?

Also I was wondering, given the price of RAM if only getting 1G might be a better idea and pick up a second Giga later when prices drop? That way I could go for slightly better memory but not spend so much.

Finally, the lightscribe seems like an interesting feature and since the drive is only $35 I'll probably keep it even if I don't use it much or at all.

 

[trixst4r]

6300 is cheaper than the 6400 of course it will fit the bill 8) .

That ram will be okay on the DS3.

You can get 1 gig later. You just don't know when the prices will drop again, if ever 8O .

 

[DiverDave]

True prices may not drop for a while but they will, they are semiconductors...they always drop

Regarding the 6300 vs 6400 question...any big difference in terms of longevity?

 

[trixst4r]

not sure what you mean by longevity (sp?).

If you mean which will still be fast in 3 years, that is a hard question. But both will run everything fast today. the E6400 is 8 multiplier and the E6300 is 7 multiplier, so the speed of the 6300 is slower than the 6400 by 1*FSB. You will probably not know the difference unless you are a benchmark freak.

 

[chased13]

first- swap down to the gigabyte S3 instead of the Ds3. it saves 20$. the ONLY difference is the ds3 has solid capacitators which supposedly adds duability. ive never heard of a decent mobo acutally corroding. id save the 20 bux.

from what ive heard that patriot ram is goes great with the ds3/s3. but from ive heard many things about ram compatability with this mobo.

you didnt mention anything about gaming. if you dont game, dont spend 200 bux on a video card. a vid card realy only gets used in games. drop to an x850xt for like 120$

if u want this to last more than 3 years, you might wanna use the money u save on the video card to buy an e6600 which is REALLY fast. i mean you would actually notice it, whereas in your situtation, a video card isnt even really necesary, you could go onboard, but might as well throw in a really good 850xt.

also you could get windows xp from a less reputable source. since vista is commin out soon.

if you do game though, ur current setup seems pretty good.

memory will probably say high till november, where they will "discount" it for the holidays, or if they really dont like us, they will keep it up and burn everyone. with conroe and AM2, ddr2 is finally being used, and over there in asia where most of the ram is being made, they are changig over the factorys to make the new stuff, causing a lack of supply, in a time of higher demand= highway robbery.

if you dont need this asap, i think conroe prices might drop a little by xmas cuz of kenstfield. you might be able to save on both ram and proc if wait till then. but waiting sux