Is this computer any good? Purchasing soon NCIX.com

[kawika07]

Hi All,

I live in Canada and used to buy all my parts seperately and build my own systems. The last system I built about 3 yrs ago has had it and its been so long since I have been in the game I find I dont know anything about some of the new products available.

In Canada there is a company called ncix.com that builds custom systems. I configured the following system but I am not sure if its good or what needs improvements. I would GREATLY appreciate any feedback people could provide on whether this is worth the money.

Specifically I am looking for feedback on the video card and core components (cpu/motherboard/RAM) and the PVR.

THANKS!

Computer Cases Antec P160W Anodized Aluminum Super Mid ATX Tower 4X5.25 2X3.5 4X3.5INT W/ Front IO Ports & Air Duct 1 $159.85
Processors (CPUs) Intel Core 2 Duo E6400 Dual Core Processor LGA775 Conroe 2.13GHZ 1066FSB 2MB Retail *Limit 1 / Cust* 1 $302.10
Motherboards ASUS P5B ATX LGA775 Conroe 965P DDR2 PCI-E16 3PCI-E1 3PCI 6 SATA2 Sound Motherboard 1 $159.28
Memory (RAM) Mushkin EM2 PC2-5300 1GB 2X512MB DDR2-667 CL5-5-5-15 240PIN DIMM Dual Channel Memory Kit 2 $249.52
Video Cards EVGA E-GEFORCE 7600 GT PCI-E 256MB VGA DVI-I HDTV Out Video Card
$20.00 mail in rebate, valid from Feb 01, 2007 to Feb 28, 2007
Rebate Form: http://source.ncix.com/pdf/http://docs.ncix.com/artman2/uploads/1/20801-Feb-28-07.pdf 1 $139.64
Hard Drives Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 320GB SATA2 3GB/S 7200RPM 16MB Cache NCQ Hard Drive 1 $129.40
Power Supplies Fortron Sparkle FSP/SPI ATX-400PN 400W ATX12V 20/24PIN Power Supply W/ 120MM Fan P4 AMD Ready OEM 1 $42.76
DVD Writers Samsung SH-S182F DVD+RW 18X8X18 DVD-RW 18X6X18 DL 8X 2MB IDE OEM Black DVD Writer 1 $46.71
Operating Systems Microsoft Windows Vista Ultimate Edition 64BIT DVD OEM 1 $247.63
Sound Cards Creative Sound Blaster X-FI Xtreme Audio 24BIT Sound Card 7.1 PCI OEM 1 $58.05
OEM Microsoft Works & Entertainment Suite 2006 English DVD with Office Small Business Edition 2003 Trial
This software must be sold with a fully assembled PC with Windows installation. If your PC does not meet the requirements, this product will be removed from your order. 1 $24.99
TV & Video Hauppauge Wintv PVR-150 Media Center Kit MPEG2 PCI TV Tuner Retail Box W/ Certified MCE Remote 1 $111.15

Reg. Price: $1,671.08
Instant Discount: -$0.00
Your Price: $1,671.08

 

[VBDude]

Welcome back to the fold.

What do you plan to do with the system? Is it a casual game machine? A home theater PC? A work station?

My impressions from the build:

Case: Don't know a thing about it.
Processor: Looks good.
Motherboard: Should be good.
RAM: Get two sticks at 1GB each. You'll need it if you game, record video, or use Vista Ultimate, which you are...
Video Card: Okay if you're not running new games, but you'll need more if you are. Just in case, look for nVidia's GeForce 8600 (mid-range DirectX 10 cards), which should be out soon.
Hard drive: If you're recording video, get at least 500GB. Preferably on a separate drive, or set of drives.
Power supply: Go at least 500W. Higher if you can afford it. This will limit all future upgrades. Don't overlook it!
DVD Burner: Pretty much anything works as long as you trust the brand.
OS: This is why you're upgrading, right? Are you sure you need Ultimate? Home Premium might be a better choice as there isn't a lot of difference in features, but a definite difference in price.
Sound Card: With an X-Fi on Vista, you'll need to check Creative's site for info on getting EAX emulation for any games you play. (In case you haven't heard, EAX and DirectAudio3D support were killed in Vista, so Creative made drivers to convert audio API calls to OpenAL. Each program needs a .dll added to its main directory for that feature.)
Office Suite: I've never liked Works. I'd personally upgrade to MS Office, or check out OpenOffice, which is free.

Get a second opinion as well.

 

[akhilles]

Sounds like you're building a HTPC in a standard atx case.

350W 18A can power a fully built 7600gt pc. I'd suggest getting a psu with higher wattage of the same brand or a better brand.

http://forumz.tomshardware.com/hardware/modules.php?name=Forums&file=viewtopic&p=1491365#1491365

If you're overclocking, get at least P5B-E. P5B vanilla doesn't overclock as well. If budget is tight, look at ASUS P5N-E SLI 650i for about the same price. The 650i overclocks as well as 680i for much less.

Lastly, consider Antec P180 for about the same price as P160.

 

[skyguy]

This RAM is better. Better timings, higher speeds, lower price:
http://www.ncix.com/products/index.php?sku=19337&vpn=OCZ2P800R22GK&manufacture=OCZ%20Technology

You should really consider a better, more powerful power supply. That one will do for now but doesn't leave any wiggle room. It's also too cheap. Spend the money on a better, more stable PSU. You can easily afford it from the money you just saved on the RAM. Consider:

http://www.ncix.com/products/index.php?sku=22852&vpn=PPA5000206&manufacture=FSP%20GROUP%20USA

or this:
http://www.ncix.com/products/index.php?sku=14427&vpn=S12-500HT-F3BLR&manufacture=Seasonic%20Electronics

That graphics card is okay for now. But if you wish to upgrade, then those PSU's above will have enough power to push a DX10 card.

And the P160 is passe.....get something better quality and value. P180 is a great choice. Depends if you want something more flashy or simple. There are many cases, just gotta know what your price range is and flash or simple to recommend a few.

 

[lx_flier]

I don't know if those prices are in usd or in Canadian but 239 for 1g of ram seems ridiculouse. I bought my ram from newegg 2gb G skill ram 4-4-4-12 timing for less then 200. I suggest you go to a site such as lucomputer.com (its in Canada) build your computer and buy your ram from a diffrient company such as newegg.

 

[skyguy]

Best price in Canada I can find for decent non-VALUE RAM is $200 for 2 gigs. OCZ.

http://www.directcanada.com/products/?sku=13220BD3144&vpn=OCZ2SOE8002GK&manufacture=OCZ

You guys get stuff CHEAP at the Egg. We unfortunately have much higher prices for RAM, and less selection too