need some advice on new system build

[shooter124]

hey this will be my first time putting together a system

im going to be using cd2 6400 or 6600, a 7600gt card, 1 sata hd, 2 optical drives, sound blaster xfi with front panel. People say stay away from rosewill power supplies but I need advice:

Whats a ~500 watt power supply I can get that is reliable for 50-60$??

Also, I am not looking to over clock, so should I just get 533 ram or 667 ram? Can I get value select or should I go with something better? Looking for 2gs.

Now the most important question is the MB. I am not looking to overclock, just something stable and most importantly something that won't give me a hassle with ram or with installing windows and using my sata drive. Whats the best cheap no frills stable c2d board? thanks

tom

 

[WR2]

FSP 450W Power Supply
Intel BOXDP965LTCK P965 Express Motherboard or GIGABYTE GA-965P-S3 Motherboard
It just so happens that the GA-965P-S3 MB also happens to be decent at overclocking if you want to try that in a year or two.
The 965 chipset had problems with high voltage 800Mhz DDR RAM modules early on but those problems were mostly sorted out and did not apply to 533 or 667 memory.
Since the price of 533 & 667 RAM is pretty close there is really no reason not get the 667 for its higher bandwidth. Value RAM is OK for C2D systems. Cas Latency 4 is marginally faster than Cas Latency 5. 533 and 667 DDR2 RAM examples in the same price range
667 DDR2 and the GA-965P-S3 would be a smart move IMO.

 

[melarcky]

Well first of all about the CPU
What will you be using your PC for ... Is it games? Or more CPU demanding programs such as for... Video Editing?
If for games go for the E6400 ( or even E6300 and overclock it to reach a E6400. but you don't want to over clock) and with the extra cash get a better Video card. ( I am not saying that the GF7600GT isn't a good card.... its just why not get better)
As for the Power supply the GF7600GT isn't a very power hungry card so as a whole anything over 400W will be fine

 

[gondo]

If you sepnding that little on a power supply I'd recommend a cheapo case with an included power supply. Otherwise, get a case you like and look at an Antec NEO modular power supply or something equivalent.

If you absolutely need a power supply at that price, pick up an enermax. Have decent, cheap, and available almost anywheres including 7/11.

If your going all out on that sound card with the panel consider the one with the external panel. Eliminates the interference when recording, and also has more options and plugins. If you want the soundcard for recording consider a sound card designed for it from www.musiciansfriend.com. If its jsut for gaming the panel might be overkill. Consider using the onboard sound, use the saved money on a better power supply and case. Then buy a sound card in the future if desired.

As far as motherboards go I will always stress an Abit board. Great support, they upgrade the BIOS frequently, support future OSes quickly, have the best warranty and electronic processing in the business, their website is always availalble for downloading unlike Asus, their boards are very overclocker friendly, their boards are bulletproof, etc.... Overall the best Manufacturer of boards in the business.

Good luck. If your going with an aftermarket heatsink/cooler for the CPU such as my recommendation with Zalman, then I can't stress enough using some Artic SIlver 3 or equivalent thermal compound. Use it and remove the pink pad on the OEM heatsink if your not buying an aftermarket cooler.

Good luck and hope the new system boots 1st shot and is stable for you.

 

[shooter124]

Okay here is what I'm thinking for all my parts: tel lme what you think:

COOLER MASTER Centurion 532 RC-532-SKN1 Black Aluminum bezel, SECC chassis ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16811119094


COOLMAX CP-500T EPS12V 500W Power Supply 115/230 V UL, CSA, TUV - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16817159040

Intel Core 2 Duo E6400 Conroe 2.13GHz 2M sharing L2 Cache LGA 775 Processor - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16819115004


Foxconn P9657AA-8KS2H Socket T (LGA 775) Intel P965 Express ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16813186102

OCZ S.O.E 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 667 (PC2 5400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16820227118

BFG Tech BFGR76256GTOCE GeForce 7600GT 256MB GDDR3 PCI Express x16 Video Card - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.asp?DEPA=0&type=&Description=bfg+7600gt&Submit=ENE&N=0&Ntk=all&Go.x=0&Go.y=0

plus an xfi soudn card i already have
a 250 sata hitachi i already have
and of course a nec 3550

let me know what u think