Need advice on my semi budget build

[polloz]

Hi,

I was trying to build a more or less budget pc (trying to keep below 1000). This is what I have purchased so far:

Core 2 Duo E6300
GIGABYTE GA-965P-S3 LGA 775 Intel P965
G.Skill 2GB (2 X 1GB) DDR2 800 (PC2 6400)
BFG Tech Geforce 7600 GT
Seagate Barracuda 250GB 7200 Sata 3.0gb/s
Micorsoft Windows Vista Home Premium 64 bits

So far I've spend 850 bucks. I need advice in purchasing a power supply which can handle my pc ok and a cooling system (is it necessary?). Also, I read somewhere that i probably wont be able to use my RAM at 800 since that will require to set the volt at 1.9v and this board only supports 1.8v. Is this true? or did I misunderstand the info? Also, I'm not planning in overclocking it (i'm kinda newbie, nerver overclocked before).
Thanks in advance people

 

[drummerdude]

heres a good psu for you http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16817104954
the ram shouldnt be a problem, but i found gskill ram that runs a 1.8V link

 

[Syntonic]

Just FYI, next time, make a post BEFORE you purchase stuff as it's a bit late to comment on stuff like your memory - if you aren't planning to overclock because you are a newbie (which shouldn't stop you - everyone has to start somewhere), then you could have gotten possibly much cheaper memory. I started with the Intel Celeron 300a (actually still have it gathering dust in the closet.)

And no, the motherboard supports higher voltages but defaults at 1.8v at first boot as that is the standard - you can then go into the memory and input the correct timings along with the correct voltage. Most high performance memory will run at boot just fine at those settings till you can change it up yourself.

You might have some trouble getting things to work (programs etc) with your 64bit OS but support is quickly rolling in. You'll just have to suffer in the meantime.

A cooling system? You mean an aftermarket cooler? No, if you aren't going to overclock or overclock very high. If so, add about 60 bucks here. A good case with airflow will be extremely beneficial. There was an xclio with a huge case fan on the side that looked promising but you can easily grab another cheap case (say like a Rosewill or some other offbrand) and add case fans to the side vents yourself. Basically, find a case that is pleasing to your eye and has the requirements that suits your needs (bays and/or front panels and/or cooling and/or easy to work with like a motherboard tray.) I'd say to stick around 40-50 dollar price point here for an entry midrange c2d and possibly cheaper if you want to save some cash. Then again, you can possibly go without a case or make one yourself if you are that inclined to.

As for a power supply, there are plenty that around that range that will fit you. The sunbeam nuuo 550w modular with active pfc is pretty good overall and it's at 60 bucks making it one of the better value purchases. Otherwise, check to see if there are any rebates floating around for good power supplies. I believe you missed out on the Antec 650w True Power PSU with rebate that brought it down to the same price (around 60) which was a real bargain. Case and PSU should hit around 100 (if not less) to keep yourself within your spending limit along as you have to consider shipping (and possibly taxes). Edit: Forgot, you might have to consider extra case fans as well but you should still be under your spending cap.

 

[polloz]

Thanks man, you've been really helpful. I think I'm buying now this power supply
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E16817182030
as for a case, I'll look for a nice cheap one with good air circulation.
As for the memory, do you think that I did wrong in purchasing this one at 800mhz if I'm not going to overclock?
Well thanks again for the feedback

 

[yquo]

40 usd after rebate SFC Silent 550W 12V1 20A 12V2 22A

 

[Syntonic]

You didn't go wrong necessarily with the memory - you just made an additional unnecessary expense for the short term. As I said, the RAM will work but you could have gotten cheaper ones if you weren't going to overclock. It might not be significantly cheaper though - I haven't looked at memory prices in awhile. As it is, if you don't overclock, you can possibly get some really good timings for your memory - which is good but at the same time, probably not worth the price difference if there is any.

For power supplies, you should check other lists for recommended PSUs. Not all of them have the same build quality and Rosewill's seems like a hit and a miss. Jonnyguru reviewed one and it got passing marks but others have failed rather miserably. Several forums/websites have recommended PSU lists. SilentPC has a different standard (obviously noise level) so you might not want to use theirs unless you have that same standard.

http://www.hardforum.com/showthread.php?t=1045259
http://www.jonnyguru.com/forums/showthread.php?t=103
http://www.overclockers.com.au/wiki/Power_Supply_Unit

That you should tell you what to generally look out for. You can always read up on reviews of your particular PSU choice but make sure whoever is doing the review actually is credible to some degree.