First Comp Build in several years - would appreciate any comments

[Sickboy32]

Building my first new computer in several years and would like to hear the boards comments on the various parts - looking to buy later this week.

Things I already have :
Mouse - Logitech G5
Keyboard - Logitech G15
Speakers - Logitech Z2300's
Monitor - Dell UltraSharp 2007WFP

Things I intend to buy (updated - 2007-09-08):
CPU: Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 - GO Stepping- $299.00
Memory: 2 x OCZ 2GB (2x 1GB) DDR2 PC2-6400 Platinum Revision 2 Dual Channel (OCZ2P800R22GK) - $218.00
(4GB RAM with another $80.00 in MIRs)
Motherboard: ASUS P5K-SE - $120.00
Case: Antec Sonata III - $119.00
PSU: Antec EarthWatts EA-500 - $0.00
Video Card: Sapphire ATI Radeon X1950 Pro 512MB GDDR3 PCI-Express - $162.00
Hard Drive: Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 SATA 500GB - $121.00
Optical: LG GSA-H62L (Black) SATA LightScribe DVD-Writer 18x - $40.00

I will be running WIN XP SP2 - and test driving VISTA 64.
I hope to play some BioShock, Crysis and will definitely want Starcraft 2 and Spore when they eventually are released.

 

[g-paw]

Looks good If you're not using SLI or need onboard firewire, could save on the mobo
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128059

 

[Sickboy32]

Great suggestion - I think I will amend my build to reflect the Gigabyte GA-P35-DS3L

 

[roadrunner197069]

Cysis. Smart man. I myself am building a system just for Crysis I can't wait til it comes out. Haven't decided on all the specs but it is gonna be Q6600 Home theatre PC with a 47"LCD.

 

[Zorg]

Make sure you get Q6600 G0 SLACR, not the B3.

Also check your OCZ ram against the compatible RAM list for that board on Gigabytes web site.

http://www.gigabyte.com.tw/FileList/MemorySupport/motherboard_memory_ga-p35-ds3l_1.0.pdf

I have heard some people complaining about OCZ not working too well on some mobos, unfortunately I don't remember which.

I built 3 systems with Q6600 and Ga-P35-DQ6 and Ballistix ram and they are running at a mild 3G/1666 with a 4:5 memory divider.

Crucial Ballistix 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400)

I'm not saying to not use OCZ just check it.

 

[Sickboy32]

I couldn't find the listed OCZ ram in the sample compatiblility list, but I couldn't find the Ballistix ram sticks either.

Has anyone had any problems with OCZ ram and the Gigabyte board in question?

 

[srhadden]

Just make sure the RAM you buy is listed in the motherboard compatbility list. Don't risk introducing instability in a new system, becauwe you'll be wondering which part is failing if you get a bad component.

I built a new system recently and had to return the RAM because I was not 100% sure about it. Ended up being either a hardware issue with the graphics card (returned) or windows vista/combination of both.

Definately stay away from Vista if you don't want to be spending hours debugging problems. Vista was a nightmare because I could not tell if I had a bad component or bad drivers.

 

[Zorg]

I don't have the model number of the OCZ or I would have checked it for you. In order to check the model number you need to cut off the first few digits/letters for example:
Model number on Newegg:BL2KIT12864AA804
GA-P35-DS3l memory comp sheet:1GB Crucial BL12864AA804

So you need to remove the "2KIT" because it is a 2 stick kit.

Now go do the same thing with the OCZ model and you will know if it is compatible.

If it isn't, then you should choose other RAM.

 

[Zorg]

Definately stay away from Vista if you don't want to be spending hours debugging problems. Vista was a nightmare because I could not tell if I had a bad component or bad drivers.

I don't know why more people aren't aware of this. Vista bites the big one. I will use XP until MS kills the updates so they can sell the boat anchor known as Vista.

 

[Sickboy32]

Just checked the model number for the OCZ ram - it didn't fall into the motherboard's compatibility list. The Ballistix ram does, but unfortunately the newegg rebate does not apply to Canadian addresses. The one time being Canadian sucks lol

 

[Zorg]

I don't put much faith in those rebates anyway. Aren't there some good Canadian sites? I'll look around.
Edit: I can't find it any cheaper. If you can't get it cheaper in Canada you might as well just bite the bullet. If it's any consolation, I recently bought some and never bothered to jump through the hoops required to get the rebate.

 

[Sickboy32]

I'm leaning towards just bitting the bullet and buying the non-rebate Ballistix ram. Just two days till purchase...

 

[sharp910sh]

errrm dont go with a psu with the case, they are very crap and cheap. the psu is the most important part in your pc. i would go for the corsair 520 hx watt power supply!

 

[Zorg]

errrm dont go with a psu with the case, they are very crap and cheap. the psu is the most important part in your pc. i would go for the corsair 520 hx watt power supply!

I checked the PSU that supposedly comes with that case earlier, it is an Antec EarthWatts EA 500. Certainly not my first choice but it reviewed well by junnyGURU.

jonnyGURU - EarthWatts EA-500

 

[Sickboy32]

Interesting PSU review site (jonnyGURU). I did consider buying an Antec P182, but then my build price would jump at least another $100 as the P182 is about 143 bucks and then I would have to buy a decent power supply on top of that (e.g. The EarthWatts EA-500 is $84 dollars by itself).

 

[Sickboy32]

I updated the build to reflect what I'll likely be buying...only thing I'm still swaying on is the case. I'd love to have the 182, but I'm just not sure if it's worth it for the added price. Either way, I found a great store in my area to buy from - I was even able to upgrade the ram and the vid card to a 512MB without any additional cost to my original build. Awesome!