Please assess my new system!

[Flatulenzia]

This will be my first self-assembled computer. Intended use--gaming, surfing, schoolwork.

Parts:

Case:
Antec Nine Hundred Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811129021

HD:
Western Digital Caviar SE16 WD5000AAKS 500GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136073

DVD:
SAMSUNG 22X DVD±R DVD Burner with LightScribe Black SATA Model SH-S223Q/BEBN - OEM
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827151173

PSU:
OCZ GameXStream OCZ600GXSSLI 600W ATX12V Power Supply - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817341001

MOBO:
ASUS P5Q-E LGA 775 Intel P45 ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131296

RAM:
CORSAIR 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model TWIN2X4096-6400C5 - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820145184

CPU:
Intel Core 2 Duo E8400 Wolfdale 3.0GHz LGA 775 65W Dual-Core Processor Model BX80570E8400
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115037

GPU:
VisionTek 900244 Radeon HD 4870 512MB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFire Supported Video Card - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814129113

OS:
Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium SP1 32-bit English 1pk for System Builders DSP OEI DVD - OEM
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16832116485

So what are your thoughts? The total with shipping (and sales tax, because I'm in New York and it blows) is $1229, and $1159 after mail-ins.

Is Vista 32 the best option? I've heard about driver problems with 64.

Any recommendations for what I should replace? What do you think of the motherboard?

 

[omicron_15]

If your using all new hardware there shouldnt be any driver issues with vista 64. The biggest problem would be possibly older printers / scanners and camera software but you can still download your pictures from your camera using vista's built in camera software.

The advantage of vista 64 would be that you could expand to 8 gig of ram in the future and that you would be able to use all 4 gigs of your current ram aposed to 3.6 or watever with vista 32.

looks like a pretty solid build. Not sure if you want to OC, if you do I would sugest an after market HS.

 

[bpogdowz]

No, the driver thing is a myth really. You will be utilizing 3GB with a 32-bit and all 4GB with the 64-bit. Also punk buster on Crysis doesn't work with 64-bit is the only issue worth mentioning.

 

[1haplo]

+1 Vista X64, With the price of RAM now it cheap to upgrade to 8 Gig. Plus the P5Q will handle up to 16 Gig of DDR2.

IF you are thinking of Crossfire get the X48 Chipset The P5E Deluxe For about $60 more, Its worth it in Crossfire mode 16X/16X(X48) vs 8X/8X(P45)

1Haplo

 

[pbrigido]

I agree with Vista 64bit. Once you hit 8GB of RAM, you will be able to turn off your virtual drive...your swap file. When your computer doesn't use your HD for temporary storage and uses your RAM instead, you will notice an increase in speed.

 

[Flatulenzia]

All right, Vista 64 it is then. Same price, anyway.

I don't really plan to either OC or Crossfire. That case has monster fans, do you think I'll be okay with all stock cooling if I don't OC?

Thanks for the help.

 

[nss000]

A terrible over-priced, egg_boiling, under-performing unmatched jumble of slyly hyped dead-ends. Nothing , but trouble and sounds like a NASA rocket!

Better FEDEX that kit to me before you are rudely disappointed. In return ... I've got some P4/WinME kit that will provide years of reliable service.

Oh yeah, x64_HH-8.04.1 will stomp Riska, er Vista anyday. You DO have a green terminal ....eh ?

 

[pbrigido]

One thing I will mention. When you are installing Vista 64bit, make sure you have 2GB total of RAM installed. Some computers have issues using a 32bit installer when addressing a 64bit OS. After it is Vista is installed and updated with SP1, install the remaining 6GB of RAM.

If you don't plan on OCing, the stock cooling should suffice.

 

[omicron_15]

Stock coolers are perfectly fine if you do not overlock, you should have no issues with heat.

 

[bdollar]

Western Digital Caviar SE16 WD6400AAKS
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6822136218

10 bucks more is all. probably worth it.

 

[shadowthor]

+1 wd 640

 

[Flatulenzia]

Do I need to buy a sound card as well, or is it integrated into something?

 

[aevm]

Western Digital Caviar SE16 WD6400AAKS
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6822136218

10 bucks more is all. probably worth it.

TOTALLY worth it. The 640GB has PMR and it makes a big difference.

 

[aevm]

P5Q Pro is cheaper than P5Q-E.

Also, get a 750TX PSU, it will allow Crossfire later.

Don't bother with a sound card for now, you can add it later if you're not satisfied with onboard audio. Give onboard audio a try first.

Edit: oops, you said you don't want Crossfire. You might change your mind later though, when the HD 4870 is only $200 or less. The 750TX is probably worth the extra $40 anyway because it's one of the best PSUs available.

 

[undevelopedst0ry]

Look into the P5E deluxe if you plan on upgrading in the future you could do a crossfire with 2 4870s when they become cheaper and it will give you a big gain. Also the P5E deluxe comes with (kinda) a offboard sound card which is a lot better than onboard in my opinion. I have that CPU and video card and i love them and i went from a Pentium 4 3GHz with a X850XT and the performance increase is huge!

 

[Flatulenzia]

Thanks so much for all the advice. I will go for the WD 640--can't say no to $10--and I switched the OS up to 64-bit.

What's your opinion on taking the RAM up to DDR2 1066 over 800? I heard from a few people that that was The Thing To Do. I'm looking at some Mushkins: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820146785 for about $35 more than what I had before.

As for the PSU, I'll see where I stand with the money and then decide. I'm not a cutting-edge gamer or anything--probably won't do anything more demanding than Age of Conan for a while--so I don't anticipate a burning need for Crossfire within this machine's lifetime. And I have plenty of friends to buy the 600W off me if I start hankering for an upgrade.

aevm, would it be worth the $20 savings to switch to P5Q Pro?

 

[omicron_15]

I would say no to the 1066 the 800 will be fine unless you plan on OC over 3.6 GHZ but you stated you werent planning on overlocking so you would see very little if any benifet.

 

[aevm]

Between P5Q Pro and P5Q-E: I don't know. It really depends on whether you need any of the additional features. I don't, but you might.

The P5Q-E has a third PCI-E x16 slot (running at x4). Useful if you run Crossfire and have a third video card serving monitors #2 and #3. I doubt it will be your case.

The P5Q-E supports 16GB of RAM instead of 8 GB (but needs 4GB sticks for that which cost several times more than the same quantity of RAM in 2GB sticks). Again, not likely to be useful.

The P5Q-E has a second LAN chipset (useful if the PC will be a server, I guess) and a S/PDIF In (not quite sure when that is useful - if you're a musician, maybe?).

If any of those interest you, by all means pay the $20 and get the P5Q-E.

 

[futurelic]

Reminds me of T-Rex bang a gong
Built like a car or tank as the case may be
To keep it in one location and or prevent theft the antec should be fine
it is truly heavy

 

[Flatulenzia]

Hmm, well, looking at the P5Q Pro vs. P5Q-E specs, the only meaningful thing that seems to jump out is that the -E has three case fan connectors and the Pro only has two. Now I don't know how that works--do all the case fans have to go through the motherboard for their power? If they do, it looks like I'll have to go for the -E since this case has three fans.

 

[omicron_15]

Most of the time case fans are just connected directly to your power supply. The one fan that has traditionally always gone through the motherboard is the CPU fan, if your fan is going through the Mobo you can usually controll it through software, thats the main advantage.

 

[Flatulenzia]

All right, good to know that about the fan thing. I'll definitely save the $20 and go for the Pro then, and in return I'll trade up to the Corsair 750TX PSU, since that'll be a nice part to cannibalize in the future.

One more thing that I noticed was that newegg has a discount deal on the Nzxt Tempest: if you combine it with the WD 640, you save $25, plus the case is already $20 less than the Antec 900. However, I did a little googling and the Tempest has mixed reviews. What are your good folks' opinion on it vis a vis cooling and quality and such?

 

[joelg88]

Looks like a good Build on thing is that your getting 4gb of RAM and not getting Vista 64bit. Get 64bit or you wont be able to take advantage of all 4gb

 

[aevm]

Oh yeah, I love that Tempest case. So nice to see two good things in a combo too - most of the time they make combos to get rid of some junk

 

[Flatulenzia]

Unfortunately, the shipping for the Tempest is ungodly (as you would expect for a case, I suppose) while it's free on the Antecs, so that deal actually doesn't end up saving any money. I've decided to go for the Antec 300 over the 900, and simply buy two 120mm fans. Should have comparable airflow, and for quite a bit less money. The 300 also has a good combo option with the Antec Neopower 650, and I figure that PSU is more than enough for what I've got, so I'll take it over the 750TX and save some money.

Also switched the RAM to G.Skill based on some forum research (same price), and took the P5Q-E down to a Pro.

Now, what about CPU cooling? I don't plan on overclocking, like I said, but I'm still worried about it running hot. Newegg has the Xigmatek HDT-S1283 for $27 after MIR. Should I spring for that, or will the stock cooling on the E8400 carry me through?

Here's what I'm looking at now after all the changes.

Case:
Antec Three Hundred Black ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811129042

Extra case fans:
APEVIA CF12SL-UBL 120mm Blue LED Case Fan - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811998121

PSU:
Antec NeoPower 650 650W ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817371011

HD:
Western Digital Caviar SE16 WD6400AAKS 640GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136218

Motherboard:
ASUS P5Q Pro LGA 775 Intel P45 ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131299

CPU:
Intel Core 2 Duo E8400 Wolfdale 3.0GHz LGA 775 65W Dual-Core Processor Model BX80570E8400
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115037

CPU Cooling:
XIGMATEK HDT-S1283 120mm Rifle CPU Cooler - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835233003

RAM:
G.SKILL 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model F2-6400CL4D-4GBPK - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231148

GPU:
VisionTek 900244 Radeon HD 4870 512MB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFire Supported Video Card - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814129113

DVD:
SAMSUNG 22X DVD±R DVD Burner with LightScribe Black SATA Model SH-S223Q/BEBN - OEM
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827151173

OS:
Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium SP1 64-bit English for System Builders 1pk DSP OEI DVD - OEM
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16832116488

$1140 with shipping.

Final thoughts? You've all been incredibly helpful so far, thanks so much.