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Need some advice

Forum Homebuilt Systems : New System Build - Need some advice

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_gs_   09-24-2008 at 05:20:40 PM

Hi everyone...
I'm going to have this specification on my new pc:
Processor: Intel C2D E8500
Mobo : Biostar TP-i45
250 GB Seagate SATA harddisk
Pioneer DVD-rw
I've had a 3870 vga card from my previous pc...

Now, I'm confused about the PSU, and DDR2 for this built..
And also a case with high cheap/performance ratio... <----cheap, not price :D

Anyway, is there any significant difference between SATA and SATA2 harddisk?

Thx for any advice

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evongugg   09-24-2008 at 05:29:32 PM
- 0 +

Welcome to the forums!

Certified power supplies are recommended. Refer to http://ati.amd.com/certifiedPSU for a list of Certified products.

For memory you need minimum DDR2-667, better DDR2-800. PC2-5333 or better PC2-6400.

I suggest these cases:

Antec 900 or 300

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] ntec%2b900
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6811129042

or

COOLER MASTER RC-690-KKN1-GP Black SECC/ ABS ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - Retail

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6811119137

or

NZXT Tempest

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] %2bTempest

All new hard disks should be SATA II. There isn't a big performance difference between SATA I and II.

------------------------------ Google is your friend and Bob's your uncle
 Reply to evongugg
Cranky1970   09-24-2008 at 05:29:52 PM
- 0 +

Just get some good DDR2-800 for the ram. As far as a good "cheap" case, take a look at the Antec 300 and a good 450-500 watt PS should do ya fine. As far as the hard drives go, i have seen little increase in transfer speeds and burst rates with SATA2. However if the price is a bit more that Sata1 go for it. You should see the extra speed difference depending on what controller you are using and if you decide to RAID or not.

Reply to Cranky1970
huron   09-24-2008 at 05:35:51 PM
- 0 +

In theory, SATA2 is faster and has some features, but supposedly HDDs don't utilize the full speed of SATA.

I would suggest a different HDD (WD 640 GB - only $80).

You should be able to get 2x2GB of DDR2 800 for a good price.

If you plan on just a 3870 and aren't going to upgrade, I think you ought to be OK with 500w or so. Go with a trustworthy company (Corsair, PC Power and Cooling, OCZ, etc)

------------------------------ Antec 900, MSI P7N Diamond, E8400,
4 GB (2 x 2GB) Crucial Ballistix 4-4-4-12, 8800 GTS 512 SLI
 Reply to huron
_gs_   09-25-2008 at 04:45:32 AM
- 0 +

btw, is there any significant difference between ddr2 pc-6400 and pc-8500?

thx in advance

Reply to _gs_
evongugg   09-25-2008 at 02:11:45 PM
- 0 +

With PC2-8500 you can run the memory up to 533x2 before overclocking it.
If your overclockked FSB is beyond 400 and lower than 533, PC2-8500 fits the bill.

------------------------------ Google is your friend and Bob's your uncle
 Reply to evongugg
_gs_   09-25-2008 at 04:14:39 PM
- 0 +

ok, thx for the answer...
Anyway, does anyone knows will the upcoming games for the next 1 year maximize the uses of quad core or not, so that it will worth buying a c2d processor... beacause I'm just using this pc for playing game and some uni project... no any multimedia...
thx in advance..

Reply to _gs_
johnyeah   09-25-2008 at 04:37:59 PM
- 1 +

For the next year, I believe so far most gaming titles aren't optimized for multithreading (much less quad core). Dual core should serve most of your purposes mighty well (unless you plan to use the new Photoshop and other multithreaded video rendering applications for your university).

Some people would buy the Q6600 and overclock it to a safe 3GHZ range (you could overclock the E8500 even further). However, if you're going to get a C2D, I'd say you won't feel the difference between an E8400 and the E8500 and it's at least $10 cheaper.

Antec 300 and Raidmax Smilodon are probably two cases you want to look into. Well built and fairly cheap cases.

In addition, for the money you spend on the 250GB HDD, just get a 640GB Western Digital (it's 30 bucks more, but it performs noticeably better and it's bigger, too).

Also I've never used Biostar boards, but I would recommend the Gigabyte EP45-DS3R or Asus P5Q Pro.

------------------------------ "If you don't plan on listening, why ask?"
 Reply to johnyeah
_gs_   09-25-2008 at 05:53:29 PM
- 0 +

ok, thx for the answer...

Well, I've tried to look around for any WD 640 GB around my country, but I can't find any with the price around $80, most of the HDD are all around $100+...

I've never used any Biostar board before, but I found some nice reviews about this board on pc-stats.com (I've forgotten the link) and some other site i've forgotten..

Besides, the price of Gigabyte and Asus mobo is so high in my country, I don't know why... Most of the P45 board of Gigabyte and Asus are all around $200+ and even $300... It leaves me no choice, and fortunately I found that the TPower I45 from Biostar (which the price is still around $160 here)...

I'm currently in Indonesia...
I'd like to shop in newegg, but I'm afraid that it will cost a lot of $$$ on the shipping fee, and it will give some serious problem when the arrived stuff is unused... Has anyone who lived thousand miles from newegg ever experienced this? May be you can help me now...

Besides, are all the items from newegg tax free? :D

Thx again for any reply...

Reply to _gs_
johnyeah   09-25-2008 at 07:38:58 PM
- 0 +

Don't bother with Newegg if you're in Indonesia. It's just too far and the shipping with cost probably as much as what you order.

------------------------------ "If you don't plan on listening, why ask?"
 Reply to johnyeah
_gs_   09-26-2008 at 06:36:54 AM
- 0 +

Ok, last question...
Is there any significant difference if I used the dual pack memory (which have heatspreadder) and if I used the memory without this heatspreadder?
Thx in advance..

Reply to _gs_
johnyeah   09-26-2008 at 10:16:10 AM
- 0 +

Heatspreaders usually allow better overclocking on the memory (a lot better heat dissipation).

------------------------------ "If you don't plan on listening, why ask?"
 Reply to johnyeah
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