Noob mb advice?

[dude_here]

Hi all! I want to build a new system after being out of the loop for a few years. Am pretty set on a c2d e6400, 2 gig ram. Not a real big gamer,but want something that lasts awhile and will probably get XP media center with the upgrade to Vista and not install it for a while (waiting for sp1).

Been looking at 3 Asus boards and not sure if i will get a vid card just yet. Seems to me like with 2gig ram, I can get by without one for awhile til I can afford one.

lookin at either p5l-mx/p5b-vm/p5n-sli. not sure if i'll even attempt overclocking and on a budget, but want the best bang for the buck. Not sure what case/ps/and the like I will get yet, but I think Western Dig SATA drive. dvd-rw seems to be the new standard, so that as well.

What do you all think? And any advice on other components is MORE than welcome!!! Sorry if this is too remedial and repetetive, but I'm thoroughly in a fog now, after trying to go thru old posts! (falls down with head spinning!)

 

[jeff_2087]

Those three are all poor overclocking boards, but out of them I like the p5b-vm the best because at least it's the 965 chipset.

If you're at all serious about gaming, you need a graphics card. Even a cheap 7300GT or 7600GS, for less than $100US. Having 2 gigs of RAM won't help integrated graphics one bit.

Also, if you ever want to do an overclock, you should either get a board like the 965P or the e4300 instead of the e6400.

 

[akhilles]

First off, you don't browse through the whole forum for your old posts. What I do is search for posts made by myself (username) so I can follow through if needed.

http://www.asus.com/products4.aspx?l1=3&l2=11&l3=331&model=1311&modelmenu=1

If that's the mobo you're interested in, you should have an ATX case. If you do, you can get GIGABYTE GA-965P-S3 for about a 100 USD.

 

[dude_here]

Yeah, i'm not sold on any one board at this point, just don't really know what the heck to look for, and there is so much info and so many changes since the last time i've done this. just want something reliable, that i can tinker with, and maybe expandable a bit.

 

[dude_here]

MSI boards any good?

 

[akhilles]

MSI is stable at stock. It may not overclock as well as others. Except for MSI 965 Platinum.

 

[skyguy]

None of those boards overclock well. Forget all of them for various reasons. SLI sounds like a waste for you as well.

The MSI is overpriced for what you're getting. The MSI Neo-F is a good cheap alternative but again, doesn't overclock well, and the board layout is not the greatest either.

ASUS P5B-E is an option. Overclocks well, good features, not too expensive, but I hear is somewhat touchy with RAM.

A great option is the Gigabyte 965P-S3. Stable board, overclocks very well, good features, not picky about RAM at all, good board layout, and very inexpensive. Highly recommended. Great board. You should seriously consider the S3.

 

[dude_here]

Thanks for the advice Sky-Guy! I will look at that board as well. Got a week or so to search out before I start buying parts, so I will def check it out. Any advice on RAM?

 

[deathsycthehe11]

If you need help to what to build upon heres a list I made. Well it was suppose to be an $800 budget rig but since you wanted 2Gig Ram it became an $850 budget. You can tweak it a little to lower the budget. Most of the items I think is the best bang for the buck.

Processor: Intel Core 2 Duo E4300 Allendale 1.8GHz $ 169 - Free
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16819115013

You can also get an E6300. Whatever floats your boat.
Intel Core 2 Duo E6300 Conroe 1.86GHz $183 - Free
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16819115005

Motherboard: GIGABYTE GA-965P-S3 $108 - $6.13
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16813128017

Memory: OCZ Platinum Revision 2 2GB (2 x 1GB) DDR2 800 $168 - $4.50
http://www.chiefvalue.com/product-_-productdetails.cv_-_linkid--111&item--20-227-139

Video Card: EVGA GeForce 7600GT 256MB $110 - $5.64
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16814130062

If you want a lower budget you can try the 7600GS $70 - $5.64
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16814130075

Hard Drive: Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 RPM 320GB $90 - Free
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E16822148140

You can also choose Western Digital for quieter hard drives. 320GB is consider the best bang for the buck. If its over your budget get less GBs HDDs.

CD/DVD: SAMSUNG Black DVD Burner With LightScribe Technology $34 - $5.64
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E16827151136

If you dont want a DVD burner you can choose a CD/DVD Rom instead.
SONY Black CD-ROM/DVD-ROM Drive $19 - $5.64
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E16827101131

Case: COOLER MASTER Centurion 534 ATX Mid Tower Computer Case $50 – Local

Best to do local pickup because shipping is a ton online.

Power Supply: Antec NeoPower NeoHE 550W Power Supply $70 - Free
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E16817103941

Right now I think this is the best bang for the buck power supply with the rebate.

Cooler: ARCTIC COOLING Freezer 64 Pro 92mm CPU Cooler $19 - $5
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E16835185125

Considered one of the best bang of the buck CPU Cooler.

Thermal Paste: Arctic Silver 5 Thermal Compound $6 - $5
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E16835100007

Total: $821 + $31.91 = $852.91

If you follow this overclocking guide.
http://forumz.tomshardware.com/hardware/Core2Duo-Overclocking-Guide-v1-ftopict197995.html
You computer should go very fast.

 

[dude_here]

Thanks Death! Yeah 50$ more won't break the bank and it looks like that m/b you are recommending me is actually cheaper than what I was looking at, so it may be a wash anyway.

I'm maybe looking at picking up all my parts locally here (Portland, OR area) as we have a Fry's not too far down the road for a few things and a local store with similar pricing about 3 miles from my house. here is their addy- maybe take a look and tell me what you think? (I have ZERO vested interest in this company, so not trying to endorse them by any stretch! just want an opinion)

www.enuinc.com

Also, what features do you look for in a m/b? not even sure what is good/bad/indifferent these days, but I would tinker with stuff if I understand it and can get myself out of a jamb if I screw up! :lol:

Would a Gigabyte GA-965G-DS3 be a good one?

 

[hashbrown]

Just to toss this in, if you were interested in that aftermarket heat sink that death suggested, do not get the Freezer Pro 64, that is for AMD sockets only, you need the Freezer Pro 7, which is now $76 with shipping. I personally own this heat sink, but bought it when it was only $30, and it performs great. I'd recommend trying to find it elsewhere than newegg, try tigerdirect.

jsv

 

[dude_here]

Is that much better than an OEM heatsink? Would I need a new fan as well?

 

[hashbrown]

It's an aftermarket HSF, or heatsink-fan. a processor that is listed as OEM at a retailer won't have an hsf, so you'd need an aftermarket one. Otherwise any processor comes with a stock hsf, just that if you wanted to overclock, i'd recommend an aftermarket one in anyways.

 

[alcattle]

Since you mentioned Fry's They have a e4300 combo on sale, with free mb for $159. I call any Fry combo deal a free mb because that is all they are worth. I have about 4-5 sitting around here now, but I have not looked at the 490 series.
The Gigabyte DS-3 is a improved version of the S3 and is very popualr on this forum. I also have a MSI 965 Neo for my next build, will keep you informed on how it works.

 

[skyguy]

I'm currently building for a friend, and am using the MSI Neo-F. A couple comments about it:

-Affordable, stable
-Does NOT overclock much at all, so if you're into OC'ing then don't bother. If not OC'ing, then it's a good option
-Northbridge heatsink sucks. BADLY. Gets rather hot. I'm definitely replacing it with an aftermarket one
-24-pin Power cable is in an awkward spot in the middle of the mobo, sorta behind/beneath the CPU. So if you have an aftermarket heatsink, your cable management is tougher....you'll likely need to route that big cable to the top of the case and across. Pain the butt.
-the 4-pin mobo power cable is beside the 24-pin header. Stupid. That makes 2 power cables going across the middle of the board.
-lastly, and this is tricky...the IDE header is poorly positioned if you are getting a big graphics card. For example, the 8800GTS sits directly AGAINST the header and cable. EXTREMELY tight fit, almost can't do it. Had to really bend the IDE cable hard, and the 8800 is literally seated tightly against it. This also becomes slightly more problematic when you see that there is no "locking" mechanism for the PCI-e slot. Which means that if there's too much pressure from the IDE cable against your graphics card, then it could conceivably "pop out" slightly and not sit tightly in the PCI-e slot. Now THAT is a problem.

So, overall not a bad basic board. But has its quirks. A few bad layout things that stop it from being great, and a northbridge that's too hot for my liking. But this is an inexpensive board. However, if you can get a good deal on a Gigabyte 965P-S3 I would totally go with that instead. Far better layout except for the crappy IDE header is located at the bottom of the board instead of along the right side like some of the ASUS boards.

The Neo is a decent board on the cheap, but don't get it if you want good overclocking, intend to push your board hard, will use higher-end parts, or want good cable management. But for everyday usage and all-around performance it's fine.