Final specs... (I think) Opinions?

[AMDThunder]

I say "I think" just in case ya'll have some recommendations that will fall into my budget.

C2D 6300
Biostar 965PT
Sapphire X1950Pro
250GB Seagate Perp. Drive
2X1GB Crucial 10th Anniv. Ram
500W Apevia PSU

All for just a hair under $855 shipped.

Will be using my Antec case I got about 4 years ago. Soho II or some such, with 4X120MM fans, 2 intake and 2 exhaust.

The Biostar board seems to be a decent budget board for OC'ing. I won't go crazy with it, anything over 2.5, and I'll be happy. Was looking at the Asus P5NSLI, which will give me SLI options if I ever decided to go that way, but from what I've read, won't OC past 10%. 10% would probably be ok for me, but the Crucial ram is listed at 2.2V and the P5NSLI has a max of 2.1. I'm aware that the Crucial ram will boot at lower voltages, but not sure how that will affect my OC attempt.

I give up SLI with the Biostar board, but I'll probably never go SLI anyway. There's only a $4 difference in the 2 boards.

I've read both good and bad reviews on the Apevia PSU, but for $39.99 and free shipping, I think I'll take my chances.

Just some explanations of my thinking, but it's not set in stone. Should be ordering in about a week. Would like to stay around the $850 mark, but could be swayed to go a little higher.

Thanks for any input or advice.

BKJ

*edit*
Just saw this memory linked in another thread.
G.SKILL 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Standard System Memory - Retail
Saves me about $30 I could put into a different mobo. 800 vs. 667 for the Crucial. Thoughts?

 

[Wgfalcon]

i'd pass on the 500 watt apevia (specifically if it's the $29 one from newegg)
i'd check out the antec 550's instead. power supply is the one place you really can't afford to skimp on

 

[jaguarskx]

I would go for the GIGABYTE GA-965P-S3 mobo instead for $116. It offers better overclocking capabilities and has a known track record.

Also the PSU you selected sucks. You should really choose a good namebrand PSU. If the PSU dies then your PC will not turn on. In fact a blown PSU have a good chance of damaging other components as well.

For a cheap 500w PSU I would consider:

XCLIO GOODPOWER 500W ATX 500W Power Supply - $50

Something better would be:

Antec SmartPower 2.0 SP-500 ATX12V 500W Power Supply - $75

 

[mad-dog]

Out of the top 15 motherboards for the "775" the Biostar doesn't even rank.......that board is crap.
I know your type, you like the pretty lightsm and colorful cables, that's
why you picked out that Apevia PSU, it's on the list of PSU's to avoid, it's that bad..if it doesn't catch fire consider yourself one of the luck ones.

Get a Antec instead, maybe a touch mo money, but well worth it..
Nothing fancy about Antec, just rock-solid performance..

If you can't afford the ASUS P5B Deluxe then check out the Gigabyte
GA-G1975X or the ABIT-AW8D.

I don't know why people keep buying ATI cards when EVGA has a great step-up program that gives you store credit towards your next card (8800GTS)

good luk

 

[AMDThunder]

Thanks for the advice so far.
How's this?

C2D 6300
GIGABYTE GA-965P-S3
Sapphire X1950Pro
250GB Seagate Perp. Drive
G.SKILL 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400)
Rosewill RP500-2 ATX 2.01 500W Power Supply

Linked the memory and PSU change. Still skimped a little (I guess) on the PSU. It's in between the 2 you mentioned, but with a $10 instant discount makes my checkbook feel a little better.

 

[jaguarskx]

Rosewill RP500-2 ATX 2.01 500W Power Supply

The Rosewill PSU isn't a brandname PSU. Rosewill is actually Newegg's own house brandname. Newegg simply goes to an OEM manufacturer, places a large order and slaps the name Rosewill on it. I haven't seen any Rosewill hardware reviews.

Again, I recommend the XClio GoodPower 500w PSU for $50 + shipping and handling. Here's a hardware review:

http://www.tweaktown.com/reviews/829/4/page_4_final_thoughts/index.html

 

[mad-dog]

I guess i gotta pound it into your head, out of the advertised 500W on that rosewill it's only rated for 475.5, out of that 475.5 it's rated for 380W on the 12V rails OR 275W on the 3.3/5V rails.
Ok, now let's say that your system draws 380W on the 12V rails which is very easy for a modern system to do....all of the sudden you've only got 95.5W left on your 3.3/5V rails......
Are you getting my drift yet and hopefully beginning to understand why most of us are so an$l about PSU's.
You skimp on PSU size and/or quality and it will come back to haunt you, if you can't afford a quality PSU now then wait until you can.

 

[IcY18]

His system wont even come close to 380W, no need to be so crazy about psu's don't fall into the hype of late

Numerous Core 2 Quad and 8800GTX setups have only reached 300W, with what he has in his system a 450W psu would be fine but get a 500W for some future proof, he'll be absolutely fine

 

[mad-dog]

His system wont even come close to 380W, no need to be so crazy about psu's don't fall into the hype of late

Numerous Core 2 Quad and 8800GTX setups have only reached 300W, with what he has in his system a 450W psu would be fine but get a 500W for some future proof, he'll be absolutely fine

I've already washed my hands on it

 

[AMDThunder]

I know your type, you like the pretty lightsm and colorful cables, that's why you picked out that Apevia

Actually, you don't know a thing about me. That PSU has nothing fancy about it. It was cheap, and looked like it had the power to run what I have.

I guess i gotta pound it into your head

I've already washed my hands on it

Someone pi$$ in your cheerios? Maybe you didn't intend to, but you came across like an ***. All you had to do was explain your reasoning. Kinda like jaguarskx did. All the same, thanks for your input.

I can afford to bump up on the PSU a tad, was just trying to save a bit where I could. I've never used anything but stock PSUs in the past, so didn't realize till recently it was that big of a deal. The Rosewill PSU looked like it had plenty of juice to run my setup. At least according to the PSU calculator.

Thanks to those who were constructive. Any info out there on that memory with the Gigabyte board? Gigabyte's supported memory list for that board was down. If I have to spend more on memory, it'll cut into PSU cash.

C2D 6300
GIGABYTE GA-965P-S3
Sapphire X1950Pro
250GB Seagate Perp. Drive
G.Skill 2X1GB PC6400
XCLIO Goodpower 500W PSU

 

[jaguarskx]

Any info out there on that memory with the Gigabyte board? Gigabyte's supported memory list for that board was down. If I have to spend more on memory, it'll cut into PSU cash.

The following PDF file is the official list of supported RAM. Your RAM is not listed because a mobo manufacturer cannot test every brand and model out there.

http://www.gigabyte.com.tw/FileList/MemorySupport/motherboard_memory_ga-965p-s3.pdf

However, the good news is that one of the user reviews at newegg.com does mentioned that the DDR2 800 G.Skill RAM does work.

 

[mad-dog]

I'm sorry, you're the second person I've snapped at tonight so I'm logging out........g'nite

 

[AMDThunder]

Any info out there on that memory with the Gigabyte board? Gigabyte's supported memory list for that board was down. If I have to spend more on memory, it'll cut into PSU cash.

The following PDF file is the official list of supported RAM. Your RAM is not listed because a mobo manufacturer cannot test every brand and model out there.

http://www.gigabyte.com.tw/FileList/MemorySupport/motherboard_memory_ga-965p-s3.pdf

However, the good news is that one of the user reviews at newegg.com does mentioned that the DDR2 800 G.Skill RAM does work.
I've read so many reviews lately, I'm going cross-eyed. Thought I'd read all those on the Gigabyte board, but guess I missed it. Thanks for the link, I couldn't get it to come up earlier.

So I guess I'm about set, unless anyone has anything else to add. Here's to hoping my bonus check is a bit more than I'm thinking it will be. (100% commision jobs can suck sometimes, had a crappy 1st half of the month, that's what killed my budget!)

Don't sweat it, mad-dog. I didn't take it personally.