first intel build, please help a student verify choices

[bigsur]

hey guys, been reading here for a while. and seeing neweggs deal on the 900, i might have to order on monday.

this is for college student doing lots of adoble cs3 work, some gaming and etc.

i plant to oc the 21xx, it will be my first oc, i plan to go right around 3.0, maybe higher, do i really need the tuniq tower. i hear 3.0 on stock hs

heres the list -

e2160 - (but maybe 2180 as that has 10x multiplier, 2160 only 9x??)
gigabyte ga p35 ds3l
evga g92 8800gts
(2) 2gb corsair pc26400
tuniq tower t120
(2) seagate 7200.11 500gig
antec 900 case
some sata dvd burner - need help here too
power supply gonna get the corsair 550w from buy.com
some as grese - is as5 ok? or as7? overrrated??

please review and let me know.

thanks for the input, you guys always have great advice

 

[random1283]

Looks good, the corsair psu will be fine for that build and you should be able to get 3ghz easy overclock Just remember to do it in small steps
Good luck.

 

[bigsur]

i know the e21xx is kinda a weak link to this system, but i just cant afford an e84xx. i really need this soon to do some big projects on it. bummed i missed that 24" soyo for 280.

do you have any ram recommendations? im kinda unsure with my choice. i like corsiar from past (and of course their indestructable flash drives) but will this ram handle the oc well?? thanks

 

[geofelt]

Looks good.

Keep the tuniq for overclocking. It will keep things cooler, and be quieter.

For a dvd burner look at the samsung 203 for about $30. It's sata, quiet, and works well. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827151153

Do you need two 500gb drives to start? They are easy to add later, and prices keep getting lower.

As a student, look for an academic price on vista.

---good luck---

 

[bigsur]

good point about the 2 500gigs

do you have a recommended hard drive setup. im not too concerned with raid or not. just would like to have the os partioned by itself obviously. then everything else im not sure. ive read some stuff about a pagefile partion, is that relevant here? thanks

 

[geofelt]

My advice is to keep it simple. Use just one partition. There are plusses and minuses on various schemes of partitioning. Which one to use depends very highly on how you use your computer, and the assumption that the pattern will not change over time.

 

[amd_fanboi]

good build... you must have sved a lot to afford the 8800GTS

 

[bigsur]

yes been saving for a while. its a miracle what staying away from the bars does.

i chose the 8800gts b/c i want this setup to be somewhat decent for a while, my last build has kept me happy for a few years

tho i do agree that it is a high end part going into a mid range overall setup

 

[bigsur]

what wireless cards do you guys run with this board? i had a dlink card while back, but that thing (mostly its drivers/install) was garbage.

really need a good wireless card that performs fast

 

[amd_fanboi]

can't you just get USB wiereless???

i is noob when it comes to wireless, so don't shoot me

 

[unatommer]

what wireless cards do you guys run with this board? i had a dlink card while back, but that thing (mostly its drivers/install) was garbage.

really need a good wireless card that performs fast

I've dealt with a lot of brands and types of wireless cards... stay away from dlink and netgear PCI cards, they have lots of issues. I usually recommend going with a USB wireless card since they get better reception since the antennas aren't down on the floor by all that interfering electronic equipment inside your computer!

Do you want 802.11N compatibility? I would look into possibly a linksys or netgear usb wireless adapter (both have been solid from multiple installations I have done using both brands, just don't install the utility.) Oh and use the extension cable so you can put the receiver up by your monitor.

Cheers!
-Tom

 

[bigsur]

cool. thanks for the input. i kinda figured that usb wireless will be the way to go. prolly just pick up the linksys one, it worked fine for me in past networks. does anybody even use pci wireless cards anymore??

 

[zenmaster]

Stock Cooling is all you need for 3.0 to 3.2Ghz on that CPU.
Even the the expensive Tower, you will only get to 3.4 or 3.6(if lucky)

I would stick with stock.
You can always get the tower later, but not really needed.

 

[bigsur]

well im not gonna push this chip that much. (3.4 and up) i guess ill just stick with stock for now. thanks!!!

 

[amd_fanboi]

lol... funny how you say 'that much' when it's an almost 100% OC

 

[bigsur]

haha, well im going to stick around 3.0-3.2 max (for now)