New System Build - Advice Needed

[kevchris01]

I have been reading through these forums for a while now and I think that I am ready to make the jump myself and build a new system. This will be my first build, although I have dabbled a bit before and replaced/upgraded minor parts like the GPU, ram, etc. Any advice or feedback you can give me would be greatly appreciated.

The main purpose of this build is to upgrade on my 6 year old computer that just isn't cutting it anymore. I am looking to be able to play current games, do some video editing, DVD burning, multitasking, etc.

Budget: Around $1500 (excluding monitor, mouse, keyboard, etc which will be reused from current machine)

Component List:
Case: Antec P182 $139.99 ($30 MIR)
Motherboard: GIGABYTE GA-P35-DS4 Rev. 2.0 $177.99
CPU: Intel Core 2 Duo E6850 $279.99
CPU Cooler: Thermalright Ultra-120 Extreme CPU Cooler $64.99
Fans: 2 x Scythe S-FLEX SFF21E 120mm Case Fan $29.98
GPU: EVGA 512-P3-N806-A1 GeForce 8800GT 512MB $309.99 (ETA 11/9)
RAM: (4 gig) 2 x Crucial Ballistix 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) $179.98 ($80 MIR)
PSU: CORSAIR CMPSU-620HX ATX12V v2.2 $159.99 ($20 MIR)
HD (operating system): Western Digital Caviar SE WD1600AAJS 160GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s $49.99
HD (files/backup): 2 x Western Digital Caviar SE16 WD5000AAKS 500GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s $219.98
DVD: SAMSUNG 20X DVD±R DVD Burner Black SATA Model SH-S203B $31.99
CardReader: Atech Flash Xm-4U 11-in-1 USB 2.0 $19.99
Thermal compound: Arctic Silver 5 Thermal Compound $5.99

Subtotal: $1,692.84
After MIR: $1,562.84

 

[nightscope]

Get a quad core (Q6600) instead, since you're doing video editing and multitasking. That motherboard is a bit expensive...I would get the ds3l instead, unless you're going to be using raid. The case is a bit expensive...an antec 900 would do fine unless it's just personal preference. Everything else looks good. I have the same ram and Dvd/cd drive, and they're very good.

 

[kevchris01]

Thanks for the response.

I initially looked at the Q6600 vs the E6850, but was torn between the two processors. The main reason I settled on the E6850 was because I liked the gaming performance versus that of the Q6600 and I am still a bit hesitant to go full on with overclocking. I will reconsider this one as maybe overclocking the Q6600 would make sense.

I picked the DS4 for a couple reasons. I liked the 8 SATA ports, the extra USB/Firewire ports, and the option to go with RAID in the future. I was also looking at the GIGABYTE GA-P35-DS3P. Maybe that would be a more economical choice?

As for the case, I was a big fan of the P180, especially on the quiet front. Since the P182 came out with the updated cable routing system, I have always thought that would be the way I go. Plus, the price difference isn't significant ($90 for the 900 vs $110 for the P182).

 

[akhilles]

You don't need any aftermarket cooling & AS5 if you don't overclock. The stock cpu fan is ok. The 2 fans are going to the case? The P180 while high in price is much quieter than the 900. I take you like plain looking cases.

Ballistix is good for overclocking. Pick out something else. You're not overclocking. Let overclockers buy the ram. In fact, you can get any 666-675mhz ram & it'll run at 666 at stock. This is good for a stock pc.

http://www.clubit.com/product_detail.cfm?itemno=A4308301&cmp=AFC-CJ_CBIT

The DS3P would be a better choice since it meets your requirements. If it were me, I would get DS3R for even less & throw in a $10 firewire card with 3 ports to boot.

You can build an 8800gts sli/ gtx/ ultra with $1500. It looks like you picked out the expensive parts when you could get something else to do the same thing.