Please give your opinions!

[Newbuilder1]

Hi everyone!
I posted this on another site but I want to get as much feedback as possible to ensure I have the right componets. I want something to last me for a couple years with an upgrade here or there or SLI. I play MMO's and I am not interested in OC at all. In a perfect world everything would work out the box and I would be a happy camper. I have not built a rig before but I have swapped out parts all the way down to the mobo, so I know one end of the screwdriver from the other. BIOS scare me tho lol Also can I downgrade that PSU some or is the three 12v rails something i should have.
Anyway here goes please give me any advice you can!


Update ASUS P5N-E SLI LGA 775 NVIDIA nForce 650i SLI ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail
Model #: P5N-E SLI
Item #: N82E16813131142
In Stock $124.99 $124.99

Update EVGA 320-P2-N811-AR GeForce 8800GTS 320MB GDDR3 PCI Express x16 HDCP Video Card - Retail
Model #: 320-P2-N811-AR
Item #: N82E16814130082
In Stock
Mail-in Rebate $279.99 $279.99

Update Antec True Power Trio TP3-650 ATX12V 650W Power Supply with Three 12V Rails - Retail
Model #: TP3-650
Item #: N82E16817371001
In Stock $129.99 $129.99

Update Intel Core 2 Duo E6300 Conroe 1.86GHz LGA 775 Processor Model BX80557E6300 - Retail
Model #: BX80557E6300
Item #: N82E16819115005
In Stock $181.00 $181.00

Update CORSAIR XMS2 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 675 (PC2 5400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model TWIN2X2048-5400c4 - Retail
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Update Western Digital Caviar RE WD1600YS 160GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM
Model #: WD1600YS
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Update Hanns·G HG-191RPB Black 19" 2ms DVI Widescreen LCD Monitor - Retail
Model #: HG-191RPB
Item #: N82E16824254015
In Stock $209.99 -$10.00 Instant $199.99

Subtotal: $1,128.94

 

[skyguy]

Looks pretty good, just a couple comments:

-do you really need an SLI mobo? If not, consider a Gigabyte 965P-DS3, it's a proven winner. If you do need SLI mobo, that ASUS is a bit touchy. You should seriously consider the MSI P6N-SLI instead....getting excellent reviews, stable, and less touchy than the P5N-E.

-If you're overclocking, consider an aftermarket heatsink.....a Scythe Infinity or Ninja, Tuniq Tower, Thermalright Ultra, or Thermaltake Big Typhoon.

-Lastly, consider a standard-aspect 19" LCD. They actually have more pixels than the widescreen 19" ones. Plus, the 19" wides will seem rather small because they aren't tall....they're about the same height as a 17" standard aspect. So in fact, it's more like you're getting a regular 17" that happens to be wider. A 19" widescreen LCD is misleading....it's not tall at all. So you might be disappointed with a 19" wide........so do some hard thinking on that.

That's about it.

 

[The_Rev]

I, too, think it looks pretty good, though Skyguy makes a good point about the mobo. I know you said you may possibly want to move to sli at some point, but unless you're buying two top-of-the-line cards, it usually just makes more sense to go with one great card rather than 2 mid-range cards. Plus, an upgrade to sli could potentially require a psu upgrade as well, so that's something else to consider.

Given the fact that you don''t plan on oc'ing, you may want to drop to a less expensive mobo and psu, which would allow you to put that $$$ toward a quicker processor (like the E6600, for example).

You could also put that money toward a larger monitor. I haven't tried gaming on a 19" widescreen, so I can't comment directly on what Skyguy said about the size, but I will say that widescreen gaming is pretty damn cool.

 

[Newbuilder1]

I dont plan to OC and i dont plan on SLI at the moment. Figured that woud be an upgrade much later down the line which is why I went with the Geforce 8800.

I have yet to do any widescreen gaming but I hear it rocks which is why i was going to go that route. I will go look at the two sizes and see which is better for me.

I went with that Asus board mostly because I hear they make good boards. I will check into the others that were suggested. I didnt think I needed a PSU that elaborate for what I was doing, so I will look into the others. I just want a really good stable machine!

 

[proof]

Good stuff!

 

[akhilles]

p5n-e sli is my next upgrade. Why oh why people are buying them left & right! Leave one for me on 22nd.

You don't o/c & you don't sli. I'd get the DS3 instead. Another good one is ASUS P5B-E for about the same prices as the p5n-e sli.

The psu is more than enough for a fully built 8800 gts which needs 400w & 26a or more.

I used to be a standard resolution lover. Mine is 941BW. I got used to the wide screen. It's great for driving games. Most new games support WS. Battlefield won't due to "cheating" cuz some see more things on screen than SD owners.

Bookmark this:

http://www.pcmech.com/byopc/

 

[skyguy]

Widescreen is awesome IF:

-your games support it
-you're gaming at a decent size to begin with (ie--22" is great, 19" wide not so hot)
-you don't do alot of Photoshop, video editing, modelling, etc.

I had to "hack" BF2 to game in widescreen without cutoff bars and crappy image scaling Now it's fine. CoD2 games excellent in widescreen, 16:10, 16:9, 4:3, whatever. So depends on the game. MMORPG's will benefit from the wide as well.

If you really want SLI, then take a look at the MSI P6N. Seriously. Really not a fan of the P5N-E......I think there are better options on the market now. Pwner SLI (actually 3 pci-e) that's affordable? P5N32-E SLI PLUS. 650/680 hybrid. *drool* But not in the budget range of a P6N.

 

[Newbuilder1]

I made a few changes. I am NOT going to OC and I dont plan to SLI but I still have a SLI board mostly because im not really sure which one to swap it out with. They are all starting to look the same! So I am gonna stick with this for now and see what the prices do at the end of the month. But if you know of a good stable board that wont be OC'ed for a non SLI build lemme know.



Possible 2


Qty. Product Description Unit Price Savings Total Price
Update COOLER MASTER Centurion 534 RC-534-KKN2-GP Black Aluminum & Mesh bezel / SECC Chassis ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - Retail
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In Stock $49.99 $49.99

Update ASUS P5N-E SLI LGA 775 NVIDIA nForce 650i SLI ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail
Model #: P5N-E SLI
Item #: N82E16813131142
In Stock $124.99 $124.99

Update EVGA 320-P2-N811-AR GeForce 8800GTS 320MB GDDR3 PCI Express x16 HDCP Video Card - Retail
Model #: 320-P2-N811-AR
Item #: N82E16814130082
In Stock
Mail-in Rebate $279.99 $279.99

Update COOLMAX CP-500T EPS12V 500W Power Supply - Retail
Model #: CP-500T
Item #: N82E16817159040
In Stock
Mail-in Rebate $59.99 $59.99

Update Intel Core 2 Duo E6600 Conroe 2.4GHz LGA 775 Processor Model BX80557E6600 - Retail
Model #: BX80557E6600
Item #: N82E16819115003
In Stock $308.00 $308.00

Update G.SKILL 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model F2-6400CL5D-2GBNQ - Retail
Model #: F2-6400CL5D-2GBNQ
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Update Western Digital Caviar SE16 WD2500KS 250GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM
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Update Hanns·G HX-192RPB Black 19" 2ms DVI LCD Monitor - Retail
Model #: HX-192RPB
Item #: N82E16824254006
In Stock $209.99 -$10.00 Instant $199.99

Subtotal: $1,222.93

 

[skyguy]

Looks better. Not terribly impressed with that crappy PSU though.

Don't get discouraged by the motherboards! They are NOT all the same. Ok, if you want a decent, stable, non-overclocking mobo, then consider:

-MSI 965 Neo-F. Very inexpensive, good layout, stable, easy BIOS to understand, limited overclocking in case you change your mind at some point.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813130052
$87

-Biostar 965PT. Inexpensive, stable, overclocks if you want, decent layout (but not as good as the MSI in my opinon).
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813138039
$105

-Gigabyte 965P-S3. Inexpensive, widely considered the best of these 3 boards, can overclock if you want, good board layout, very stable, a proven winner.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128017
$105

All 3 are good for your needs. The MSI is cheaper due to more limited overclocking, the 2nd two are a bit more money. Choose any of those 3 and you won't be disappointed, they'll all perform admirably for what you need. If you can spend that few extra bucks, I highly recommend the Gigabyte, it's definitely the best of those 3 boards.

 

[Newbuilder1]

Thank you so much for those mobo suggestions! Will prolly go with that gigabyte one.

So what dont you like about the PSU? Not enough power?

 

[skyguy]

Coolmax is garbage. And that 8800GTS needs very specific power requirements......any old 500w PSU won't cut it.

Spend about $100.....Antec Trio, FSP, OCZ are probably within your range. Seriously. The PSU will affect everything in your system. Spending another $50 is peanuts in the total build price, yet it is arguably the most critical part of a system, regardless of what CPU, mobo, GPU, optical, hdd, etc that you choose.

 

[Newbuilder1]

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817371002

Is that going to be enough or do I need more power?

And im not really sure what the 3 12v rails mean.

*edit* I am totally aware of how important a good PSU is and I thought that other one was decent. Not tryin to skimp on a PSU just thought that was a good one

 

[skyguy]

That is just fine. Will handle an 8800GTS no problem

The 3 - 12v rails refers to the amperage of the PSU. Higher end graphics cards need strong rails to deliver that juice.

That PSU will deliver enough. Much better than that Coolmax crap

 

[Newbuilder1]

Yaaay you rock! Thank you SO much for all the help. Its going to be hard to wait until the 22nd. Ive become obsessed.

 

[Lionhardt]

how is the ds3 and asus board comparatively?

ia m also torn between them, and i MIGHT do overclokcing later on since i will be getting 800mhz ram.

ive heard they are both touchy, and i just want to know which one is more "n00b friendly"

helpies?

 

[skyguy]

DS3 is definitely noob friendly.......or lionhardt-friendly in your case

ASUS not so much.

 

[Lionhardt]

wait, so lionhardt and noob are interchangable?

dude, they're fukkin antonyms 8)


anyway, you are definently sure that for me (a middle class frugal child) a ds3 would do fine?

ive heard that the 650i oc's the ram and cpu separately, and that both are quite picky with ram, although the newer BIOS's might have fixed it

i DONT want to flash teh BIOS, as i have heard that it has a high percentage (espeacially if ur a "lionhardt") to screw up ur mobo.

also, the asus is more future proof, as i wont upgrade the mobo for at LEAST 3 years, to possibly 5...

so what do u guys think?

 

[akhilles]

650i overclocks cpu & ram the same way as 680i which is arguably the best o/c chipset. You can keep the ram at stock & o/c the cpu. Or you can link/synch both cpu & ram. That's freedom. P965 forces you to o/c both cpu & ram at a ratio at the same time.

650i is really great for cheap ram cuz cheap ram can't o/c much. So you can get 650i, e4300/e6300 & value ram & get a rather high o/c out of it.

Now if you don't o/c, it doesn't matter much which chipset to get.

Oh the DS3 supports quad & the revision 3.3 supports fsb 1333mhz. That's the latest. Get the 3.3 at least.

 

[Lionhardt]

yeah, idk, ive heard that i could use that second pci-e slot for a physics card in the future or w/e.

im just torn on which one to get, cause i just need a future proof one that is easy to use...but i think im gonna get the 800 mhz high quality ram, only because it seems to be a lot more future proof for only a couple bucks more.

i hgihly doubt that i will oc when i actually have the computer, because i will be afriad of possibly messing it up, and wasting all that money.

ive heard that the Asus has raid options, 2 IDE ports instead of 1 on the DS3, and since it is a newer chipset, is more future proof....

so?

 

[akhilles]

DS3 rev 3.3 would be what I get in your situation.

 

[Newbuilder1]

YAAY I put my order in for the following today and RECIEVED my Viewsonic 19 inch vx922 today! So excited and THANK YOU so much to everyone that helped me!

Western Digital Caviar SE WD3200JB 320GB 7200 RPM IDE Ultra ATA100 Hard Drive - OEM
Item #: N82E16822144392
$84.99

1 EVGA 320-P2-N811-AR GeForce 8800GTS 320MB GDDR3 PCI Express x16 HDCP Video Card - Retail
Item #: N82E16814130082
$279.99
1 GIGABYTE GA-965P-DS3 LGA 775 Intel P965 Express ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail
Item #: N82E16813128012

1 G.SKILL 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model F2-6400CL5D-2GBNQ - Retail
Item #: N82E16820231098
$109.99
1 COOLER MASTER Centurion 534 RC-534-KKN2-GP Black Aluminum & Mesh bezel / SECC Chassis ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - Retail
Item #: N82E16811119106
$49.99
1 SAMSUNG Black 1.44MB 3.5" Internal Floppy Drive Windows 98SE/ ME/ 2000/ XP - OEM
Item #: N82E16821103203
$6.99
1 SeaSonic S12 Energy Plus SS-550HT ATX12V / EPS12V 550W Power Supply - Retail
Item #: N82E16817151027
$129.99
1 LITE-ON 20X DVD±R DVD Burner included extra White bezel, with 12X DVD-RAM Write Black IDE Model LH-20A1P-186 - Retail
Item #: N82E16827106050

Intel Core 2 Duo E6600 Conroe 2.4GHz LGA 775 Processor Model BX80557E6600 -
Item #: N82E16819115003

 

[skyguy]

VERY nice build! Well done!!! You're gonna have a blast with it. Congratz.