Getting tired of reasearch.... I need some suggestions...

[shadowtheweak]

I haven't built/worked on a computer for about a year and i'm a little behind on the new tech. I'm still building my first actual computer and It should be complete within a month or two. I've bought some components, but i'm still having problems deciding a few components. My computer will be used for massive music storage and games. The most intensive game I'll play would probably be Oblivion and at the very least I want to run it on high settings.

Here is my system thus far:

CASE: Rosewill R6AS5-BK 0.8mm SECC 120mm Fan ATX Mid Tower

PSU: CORSAIR CMPSU-620HX ATX12V v2.2 and EPS12V 2.91 620W

DVD DRIVE: LITE-ON 20X CD-ROM IDE DVD Burner

CD Drive: Some Lite-ON drive from two years ago

HARD DRIVE: Western Digital Caviar SE16 WD5000AAKS 500GB 7200 RPM 16MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM

FLOPPY DRIVE: I have no idea what it is, but I have one.

Those are the parts I already have, I've been short on cash for the past few weeks, so I still need to buy most of the major components. But here's what's left:

CPU: Core 2 Duo E6400 OEM

CPU COOLER: Not really sure, but here are a few i'm choosing from...
ARCTIC COOLING Freezer 7 Pro 92mm CPU Cooler - Retail
Thermaltake CL-P0370 92mm Enter CPU Cooler - Retail

RAM: Not sure yet, I'll decide once I know for sure which motherboard I want.

MOTHERBOARD:
GIGABYTE GA-965P-DS3 LGA 775 Intel P965 Express
GIGABYTE GA-965P-S3 LGA 775 Intel P965 Express
(not sure which one of these i'm going to go with, but they are my first choice)
ABIT AB9 QuadGT Motherboard
Asus P5B Deluxe Motherboard

GRAPHICS:
Sapphire Radeon X1950 XT Video Card
(this is my first choice just because of price, but if there is that big a a difference, I might shell out the extra cash)
PNY GeForce 8800 GTS Video Card

MONITOR:
LG Electronics L1952T Black 19" LCD Monitor
ViewSonic VX922 19" LCD Monitor
ViewSonic VX2035wm Black 20" LCD Monitor

Any suggestions or changes, let me know.
Thanks, I'd be so much more lost if it weren't for you guys.

 

[skyguy]

You doing any overclocking? That'll affect RAM, CPU, and mobo choices.

Without that info, since you're on a bit of a budget, here's my suggestion:

-E4300 (6400 not needed, and this will save some decent cash too)
-Arctic Cooler Freezer Pro HSF
-2 gigs G.Skill DDR2-800 (nice and cheap, but will take some overclocking)
-Gigabyte 965-S3 (cheaper than DS3, will last until your next system no problem)
-8800GTS 320 if you can swing the cash. It'll last you a long time and it simply kicks A$$ for not much more money. Besides, now you can afford it from the CPU and mobo changes you just made
-LG1952, very nice, good quality at a very affordable price. More bang-for-the-buck than the Viewsonics. Viewsonics are good, but overrated for the price. The LG is nice, crisp. Only negative is the viewing angles are slightly narrower than I'd prefer. But if the monitor is directly in front of you and not off to the side a bit, it's great.

Hope that helps. BTW, all the parts I've suggested.......I've used ALL of them personally in builds, this is not some "I read a review somewhere" sort of thing. I've used them, tested them, pushed them, and provide those comments as personal experience. 8)

 

[lx_flier]

For Psu i would go with this http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817341002 its only a weekend deal 104$ is unbeatable and is probably one of the best psu made thus far so i would buy it now! for motherboard a ds3 is great and a tuniq tower 120 for cooling, for ram i would go with http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231032
It can be easily oced to 1000mhz at 2.1v and for a cpu i would go with a e4300 or an e6400, i personally prefer an e6400 because of it being a Conroe. Only thing you have to decide on is the case!

btw definitely get a gts evga is preferred but dx10 is the future so it would be a great choice

 

[shadowtheweak]

Yeah I do plan on overclocking in the future (can't beleive I forgot to mention that haha). I've never overclocked anything before, but it's something I want to try. The only question I have is why would I want to go with the E4300 instead of the 6400? Is it because it's easier to overclock?

I won't be able to utilize that weekend deal because i'm going to be broke for the next week.

Thanks for the suggests.

 

[alcattle]

One reason people suggest the e4300 is you can use cheaper RAM. In the end a faster processor can be o/c'ed to be faster than a slower processor will be able to. The e4300 peaks out about ~3ghz and the e6400 should hit ~3.6ghz. The e4300 can do it with 667 Ram and use a 1:1 ratio, Faster processors cannot use the same mulipliers so to get the same ratio they need faster RAM speed. So since I confused myself even more then before, I hope you figure out a small part and hope those guys who understand FSB and RAM Speed will kick in more soon

 

[alcattle]

ok, you can think of it that way. I believe it is FSB x mutliplier=RAM Speed. 800x10=800, that won't work core speed time multiplier=FSB so 333 x 10= 3.3ghz and 333 x2(dual data rate)= 667 That is closer so 333 works for e4300 The e6400 is like 400 x 8=3.2 Clock speed 400 x 2=800.

 

[lx_flier]

except e4300 multiplier is 9 if i am not mistaken.

 

[alcattle]

I am trying to remember where the whole memory to FSB ratio thing is, I know I don't understand it totally.

 

[shadowtheweak]

alright, well that sounds like a plan to me. I've never tried overclocking before, but i'm sure i'll figure it out.

 

[proof]

Looks good man.

 

[skyguy]

When you're ready to OC, drop a post around these parts.

There are lots of people that have done OC'ing on the 4300 and can give you the settings probably needed to take out most of the guesswork. I'd done a little overclocking guide for newbies, but it's more geared toward the Gigabyte S3/DS3 mobos, since I have the exact settings you'd need. Each mobo is a bit different with the setups, so I don't know all the other ones' particular, exact setups.

If you get the Gigabyte board, drop me a PM and I can give you the guide and proper settings to get that 4300 to 2.8 ghz without doing voltage tweaks more than likely

 

[shadowtheweak]

alright cool, it'll probably be a month or two before my build is complete, but i'll let ya know when it's done.

 

[shadowtheweak]

Is there much upgradability to this setup? I mean when the DX10 games come out, I might want to have SLI because by the time they come out my 8800 GTS will be able to run them, but not at the greatest settings.

 

[proof]

Get the GTX.

One 8800GTX is better than two 8800GTS.

 

[shadowtheweak]

I'm set on getting the S3, but I don't know what the voltage/timing requirements I would need for my ram to be able to OC. I'm getting G. Skill DDR2 800 Ram, but i'm confused on what voltage/timing I need.

 

[alcattle]

With either of those CPU, the RAM will basically be stock, and timing won't matter, get CL5. Stock voltage should be set at 1.8v but sometimes RAM needs an extra 0.1V. Yes with DDR2-800 you won't max out the RAM speed.