Please review build decision -- approx $850

[boonality]

Hi all, thanks for looking. So my old rig is as follows:

P4 2.4 533 FSB/2GB DDR400/X800GT

I am really wanting to be able to play the following games better:

Flight Sim 2004/Nascar Racing 2003/FEAR/HL2/CSS/and (don't flame) MS train sim

So I have been thinking seriously hard about this and so far I have come up with the following:

COOLER MASTER Centurion 5 CAC-T05-UW Black Aluminum Bezel , SECC Chassis ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - Retail ($50)

GIGABYTE GA-P35-DS3L LGA 775 Intel P35 ATX All Solid Capacitor Intel Motherboard - Retail ($90)

EVGA 512-P3-N861-AR GeForce 9600GT 512MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card - Retail ($170)

Antec earthwatts EA500 ATX12V v2.0 500W Power Supply - Retail ($65)

Intel Core 2 Duo E6750 Conroe 2.66GHz LGA 775 65W Dual-Core Processor Model BX80557E6750 - Retail
($190) *ouch*

Patriot Viper 4GB(2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model PVS24G6400LLK - Retail ($95)

Seagate Barracuda ES.2 ST3250310NS 250GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM
($81)

Logitech 967740-0403 Black USB Standard Internet 350 USB Keyboard - OEM
($10)

LITE-ON 20X DVD±R DVD Burner With 12X DVD-RAM Write Black SATA Model LH-20A1S - Retail
($30)

Microsoft Windows Vista 64-Bit Home Premium for System Builders Single Pack DVD - OEM
($100)

It comes to $880, is there anything that you all would swap out based on your personal preference? Also do any of you see where I can improve performance anywhere for about the same $ amount.

My ultimate goal is to make this computer last many years, to the tune of 5 or more... but I have an old Athlon 939 computer that will be getting replaced in a year or 2 so "future proofing" is not as high on my priority list as my budget, but it is definately a consideration!

Thank you all for your input.

 

[umich2010]

I would recommend swapping the Antec psu for a corsair vx550 available for the same price at buy.com with free shipping. I have read raving reviews for the vx550 and some not such great things about Antec, and if you want your system to last a while, the psu is a good place to start.

http://www.buy.com/prod/corsair-vx-550w-atx-power-supply/q/loc/101/205852646.html

 

[SuicideSilence]

Umich is right about the PSU consideration. Go with the vx550. Also, do you mind overcloking a little bit?
Go with this memory,
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231122

 

[Shadow703793]

^Agree on the PSU. Every thing else looks good. Check out:
http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/forum2.php?config=tomshardwareus.inc&cat=29&post=245679&page=1&p=1&sondage=0&owntopic=3&trash=0&trash_post=0&print=0&numreponse=0&quote_only=0&new=0&nojs=0
for P35-DS3L OCing help and recomended settings.

 

[boonality]

Thanks for the info. I went ahead and swapped out the PSU for the Corsair

CORSAIR CMPSU-550VX ATX12V V2.2 550W Power Supply - Retail

I'm considering switching cases though. I have heard many people as of recent complaining of shorting with the CM centurion series cases... Hmm.

 

[Shadow703793]

^The shorts are most likely caused by user error (ie. not including the spacers between motherboard and case)

 

[resonance451]

Go for 32-bit OS.

/wrists

 

[Shadow703793]

^Why? With the price of DDR2 RAM being so low you can easily run 4GB and a x64 OS. Unless of course you have software that don't work with x64. Even then you can dual boot.

 

[SuicideSilence]

Yes I agree, one the thing I regret the most about the build I did about 4 months ago was not going with a 64 bit OS.

 

[chuckm]

I'd wait until the end of the week. Newegg is supposed to have E8400's back in stock.

 

[boonality]

i am looking at the CM 590 case, it seems nice for the price.

chuckm... that does not fit my budget, the E6750 is almost $100 less.

 

[SuicideSilence]

The DM 590 is very nice. Its new, but it seems to be like a CM690 withought some unneeded feutures, and different looks

 

[gahleon]

I agree with everyone about the PSU, I just recently put that corsair in for another build I did for a friend and I was extremely pleased. Where do you live and do you have a microcenter in the area? If you do then you can get some stuff at a good price. I tell you you can get vista basic for 50 bucks there oem. Great deal! Also they have a quad for 199. If you are going to overclock go quad over e6750, however if you are using the stock Heatsink fan then stick with the e6750. Now, on that note they also have the e8400 for 199 which is better than the rest of the online retailers.

There is a stock speed increase over the e6750 of almost 400 mhz and about 7% performance increase watt for watt. Graphics choice will work even though I am partial to ATI (got to help AMD someone, otherwise these cheap builds will be a thing of the past). Make sure that the ram you get has 4-4-4-12 timings. No reason for it not to have those timings for a cheap price. Go with whatever case has 120 mm fans. THat way if you get ballsy you can OC that machine. I love the cm690 and I got her for 50 bucks when I did. My build is acrylic but for everyone else I did premanu cases.

Now, don't waste your time with 64 bit os. You may experience incompatibility with some games and annoying problems. Don't play with it, you don't need it with that system. You will really hate yourself when you have problems and can't play some of your games. Big pain in the butt.

 

[fueled_by_ramen]

In case you don't want to risk going for that Corsair PSU rebate (since rebates are hit or miss) the Antec Earthwatts is an excellent PSU. Sure it doesn't look as fancy and it's cables aren't sleeved (which is really the only downside to it) it's fantastic, especially for $65 on NewEgg right now even without rebates. And I've read quite a few glowing reviews of the Earthwatts but I'm having trouble finding them right now, will post later if I can dig them up. Yes, the corsair is great, but the antec is perfectly fine as well.

Excellent choice on the case. For the money, I don't think you can find a better one, and one that looks as nice. The 80mm fan it comes with in front is a tad loud, but 80mm fans are usually a little noisier anyway, and it's not that bad in my opinion. The 120mm in back is nice though, no problems with it.

Good HDD. I'm going to pickup that ES.2 soon. With 32mb cache and a fairly small size (250gb) it will fly.

Everything else looks good except you might consider going for a cheaper CPU and OC'ing instead, to save some money. Maybe an E2160, since that DS3L MoBo OC's great. And I also wouldn't bother with Vista yet. It'll just cause more headaches than it's worth me thinks. But if you're feeling brave then go for it.

 

[boonality]

Unfortunately the closest microcenter to me is 5 hours away! I still have a little time to decide. I plan to order all these parts around the 10th of May so they will have just arrived at the house when I get back in the US from being overseas.

 

[boonality]

Just an update, I have been messing with the build and gathered a different perspectve. For $902.14 which is about $30 more I came up with this...

COOLER MASTER Centurion 590 RC-590-KKN1-GP Black SECC / ABS ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - Retail *Better Case*

BIOSTAR A770 A2+ AM2+/AM2 AMD 770 ATX AMD Motherboard - Retail
*Really cheap but supports AMD Quads so I can upgrade as this socket ages and the processors come down in price in a couple years*

EVGA 512-P3-N861-AR GeForce 9600GT 512MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card - Retail
*Same video card*

CORSAIR CMPSU-450VX ATX12V V2.2 450W Power Supply - Retail
*Should I just go for the 550? I might which will bring the price up about another $30*

AMD Athlon 64 X2 5000+ Brisbane 2.6GHz Socket AM2 65W Dual-Core Black Edition Processor Model ADO5000DSWOF - Retail
*Cheap and performs on par with the E4xxx series though not quite as well as the E6xxx series*

A-DATA 4GB(2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model ADQVE1B16K - Retail
*has great reviews and is on sale at the moment for $69 but regular price it's more than corsair so if the sale goes away I'll just switch to corsair*

SAMSUNG SpinPoint T Series HD321KJ 320GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM
*can't beat it for $69 regular price*

LITE-ON 20X DVD±R DVD Burner With 12X DVD-RAM Write Black SATA Model LH-20A1S - Retail

LITE-ON Black SATA DVD-ROM Drive Model DH-16D2S-04 - OEM

Creative 70SB046A00000 7.1 Channels PCI Interface Sound Blaster X-Fi XtremeGamer Fatal1ty Professional Series - Retail
*this brings the price up alot as this is sold at a premium at $135 but this may give me just enough frames to play FSX on low with this rig*

Microsoft Windows Vista 64-Bit Home Premium for System Builders Single Pack DVD - OEM

ARCTIC COOLING MX-2 Thermal Compound - Retail
*the least I can do since i'll be using the stock HSF*

All in all it's a little more but includes an AM2+ motherboard and a sound card that I might not even buy which will put this build into the $775 range

 

[Shadow703793]

Go with the Intel. I agree that the AM2 socket is more future proof than the LGA775. But if the manufacture do not allow BIOS updates you are sunk. And BIOSTAR is not the best of brands. Had BIOSTAR and MSI boards die on me and since then I have switched to ASUS and Gigabyte and still don't have a dead Gigabyte/ASUS board. If you find the E6750 more expensive get a E2180 and OC it. The OCed E2180 WILL beat the X2 any day. Btw, sound card DO NOT have an high effect on framerates, it would reduce your FPS only about .5fps.

 

[paranoidmage]

I'd wait until the end of the week. Newegg is supposed to have E8400's back in stock.

I agree. The 8400 wont cost you too much more, but will offer a lot more OC ptential. If you aren't getting a 45nm CPU, then you might as well just get a pentium dual core and OC to your desired speed.

 

[Zenthar]

I would go with an E8400/E3110 if you can get your hands on one, I got my E3110 for like 215$ + ship. + tx wich isn't much more than your E6750. It has more cache and better manufacturing process (45 nm) so it will produce less heat and let you overclock it more (even if only in a year to prolong the system's life).

 

[boonality]

Not much more? $40 is like 20% more expensive. I understand your point but i guess my point is that I can always get a better processor for a little more, then to compliment it i need a little better video for more money, then to compliment that i need a little better power supply for more money, then to compliment all of it i need a little better motherboard for more money. Then crap the only thing left is memory i might as well go a little more there too. Next thing i know my $900 computer is $1200 or more.

 

[Zenthar]

If you plan on buying at NewEgg, go with OCZ 4GB DDR2-800, you can save a bit more, there is a 25$ MIR until monday and a 5$ combo discount with the DS3L. There is also a E6750+Vista combo with a 20$ discount. My total on NewEgg is 844.16$ - 45$ MIR = 800$

 

[chuckm]

You can get the 550 watt power supply for $5 more than the 450 at buy.com;

http://www.buy.com/prod/Corsair-VX-550W-Power-Supply/q/loc/101/205852646.html

 

[boonality]

chuckm, ya I already swapped it out in my wish list

Also, for everyone. I'm going to swap some things around and throw on a GA-P35 and either an E21xx or an E4xxx and see what shakes up. I can't do this till tomorrow though as I won't be near a computer today at work and won't be back in the US for another 6 weeks or so.