Build Advice

[gaktoid]

Long time reader, first time poster.

I build myself a new PC about every 4 years. It's time to replace my aging Athlon and DX8 video card with something a little more modern.
I'm not interested in overclocking or a dual video card setup. The primary uses will be gaming (World of Warcraft, Half-Life 2, etc) and software development.
The goal is more of a bang-for-the-buck PC than a hot rod and I'm trying to make it reasonably quiet. (low speed 120mm fans vs 80mm fans)

case - undecided (Lian Li PC-7B plus II?)
power supply - SeaSonic S12 Energy Plus SS-550
motherboard - Asus P5B-E
cpu - Intel Core2Duo E6600
ram - Corsair 2GB (2 x 1GB) DDR2-800 (PC2 6400) TWIN2X2048-6400
sound - on board
video - ATi X1950 PRO (probably Sapphire) -or- GeForce 7600GT (probably eVGA)
nic - on board
hard drives - 2x Western Digital Caviar SE16 WD2500KS
dvd-rw - reuse existing BenQ DW1640

This works out around $1300.

Now, my questions:
1) Is this a reasonable balance between cpu - video - ram?
2) I've read different opinions on the 'ideal' ram speed to get for the Core2Duo. Is DDR2-533 or DDR2-677 sufficient?
3) I was leaning toward a 500W power supply, but the 550W is only $10 more. 500W (or 550W) will be more than enough for this setup, but am I preventing a future DX10 video card upgrade due to power constraints?
4) Anything missing?

Thanks for your input and advice.

-Gak Toid

 

[yas]

Your system looks fine. For the ram it depends whether you plan on OCing or not. If you do then get 667 because you wont need high FSBs on E6600 or if not then just get 533. Also you should be OK for a DV10 board although maybe on the limit. Doesnt mean it wont work but you might get the occasional crash if there is a small lack in power.

 

[gaktoid]

I've seen several builds where people recommend:

"Don't get more than DDR2 667. (or DDR2 533)"

Why is that?

-Gak Toid

 

[JMecc]

People say don't get over 533 since that is the natural speed that a C2D wants to run the ram. All current C2D's run 1066MHz FSB quad-pumped so 266 external with the ram doubling the external to 533. According to wusy's oc guide, 333 FSB is achievable though & in that case you would need 667 RAM. Also, next year's processor crop will be 333 external (1333 effective), which will use DDR2-667.

Jo

 

[gaktoid]

I knew the FSB was 266MHz, I just never made the connection.

Which leads to the next question:
I'm sure that someone has run a C2D with all three DDR2 speeds and posted the relative performance. So, can someone point me to where?

And a final (unrelated) one:
I've read mixed reviews of the efficiency and noise level of the retail heatsink and fan. Can someone share a URL to a review/comparison?

Thanks again.

-Gak Toid

 

[everett]

1-yes look's balanced
2-I do not have a C2D, so i will not comment on that one.
3-Might i suggest a corsair psu, about $120 + 5 year warranty and three 12v rails for GPU upgrade's later.
4- not really

 

[geofelt]

I just finished building such a system using the seasonic energy plus 550 power supply with an E6600 and a 8800GTS video card with no problems.
As to memory, if you are not into overclocking, faster memory will only bring marginal benefits as far as I can tell.
For what it's worth, look at the Antec solo for a case. I love mine.

 

[skyguy]

1) looks good balance
2) the RAM you show is overkill if you're not gonna overclock. C2D's run great on lower RAM, so get the cheapest 667 you can find. Cost difference between 533 and 667 is negligible, so just get some Value 667
3) get the 550W PSU, Seasonic is GREAT.
4)..........

-Lian-Li case is great.
-Quality RAM (contrary to my #2 comment) would really be the only "weakness" in your system. If you can afford the good RAM, then you can definitely easily OC your system......in which case you could downgrade to a 6400 and put that saved money into better RAM
-vid card......don't blow your brains out on something now.....get something reasonably priced with reasonable performance, then just upgrade the vid card for Vista in a year. Then your system will be good until you upgrade totally 3 years after that

 

[gaktoid]

So I can really buy the cheapest DDR2 type (of a high quality brand) and it won't make that much of a difference if I'm not planning on over clocking.

Something like (667 is cheaper than 533):
CORSAIR ValueSelect 2GB (2 x 1GB) DDR2-667 (PC2 5300)

-Gak Toid

 

[JMecc]

Yeah; I've heard ValueSelect works very well actually. That 2GB set should be good for you.

Jo

 

[skyguy]

That Seasonic PSU is a great choice.

If you're not gonna overclock, get whatever RAM is cheapest. Get 2 gigs.

If you're not gonna overclock, that motherboard is overkill, you can get away with something cheaper. Don't get me wrong, that board is good, but not necessary if not OC'ing.

And the 1950 will easily outclass the 7600. Just depends on your budget.....but considering the suggestions above and the money you should save, I'd say go with the 1950, it'll easily handle your requirements and games.

 

[gaktoid]

If you're not gonna overclock, that motherboard is overkill, you can get away with something cheaper. Don't get me wrong, that board is good, but not necessary if not OC'ing.

I've always bought Asus motherboards. The one non-Asus (Abit, I think) I bought died right after the warrantee did.

-Gak Toid

 

[AMDThunder]

The PB5 vanilla only saves you $11. There's other good boards that could save you $30-40, but if you're more comfortable with Asus, and you have the money, go for it.

Agree on the memory, the Corsair VS will do you fine. Go for the X1950Pro. Definitely a better card, and prolly won't require upgrading as soon. The Sapphire is a good choice. Got an email from newegg saying they have free shipping up to $20 for the next week. Save you a few bucks anyway.

 

[gaktoid]

Do I need a floppy drive?

What about installing "Intel Matrix Storage Manager"? Most comments about this utility reference installing it using the "F6" method.

I'm not planning on setting up a RAID array.

-Gak Toid

 

[AMDThunder]

You shouldn't need a floppy. Only need to do the F6 thing for raid and/or scsi drivers.

And if you're not planning on using raid, give the Gigabyte S3 a shot. Don't think you'll be disappointed. Good board, even if you're not going to OC.

 

[skyguy]

I agree....my last board was ASUS, was good. But switched to S3 for this C2D build and I love it. OC's amazing, has a great price tag, and I like this BIOS so much more than the ASUS setup. Board layout is also very good, things not in stupid spots like some MSI boards for example. Power on the outside, etc, etc.

Either board is good, but I just really like the interface of the Gigabtye so much better than the ASUS.

 

[gaktoid]

So, I can install the Intel Matrix Storage Manager after WindowsXP is installed and still receive the benefits of AHCI NCQ?

Sorry I'm being so obtuse about this topic, I haven't built an Intel box in years.

-Gak Toid

 

[skyguy]

ummm......that question is beyond me. Sorry.

 

[cdonato]

The only thing I'd suggest is a add on sound card, such as an Xfi otherwise the sys looks pretty good

 

[gaktoid]

I think I found my answer.

I'd appreciate it if someone could confirm/deny this...

If I buy a hard drive like WD2500KS, which does not support NCQ, I do not need to install Intel Matrix Storage Manager via F6 during windows install.

If I buy a hard drive like WD2500YS, which does support NCQ, I do need to install Intel Matrix Storage Manager via F6 during windows install.

-Gak Toid

 

[gaktoid]

Sorry about replying to my own post, but I found confirmation.

http://www.intel.com/support/chipsets/imst/sb/cs-012305.htm
- Says NCQ requires AHCI.

http://www.intel.com/support/chipsets/imst/sb/cs-015988.htm
- Says AHCI requires the Intel Matrix Storage Manager and the F6 installation method.

-Gak Toid