Critique my new system part list please!

[mokus]

It's been years since I have built a new system for myself from the ground up. Done a few for friends, but they involved the older standards like ATA and such. I am aiming to build a modest gaming rig for around $600. I have some questions about some parts, and any other advice or suggestions you could give would be greatly appreciated. I'd like a system that I could upgrade instead of having to replace over the next 2-4 years. Am I missing anything? Thanks in advance!


MB- GIGABYTE GA-EP45-UD3R LGA 775 Intel P45 ATX Intel Motherboard
$108.99

RAM- G.SKILL 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 1066 (PC2 8500) Dual Channel Kit
$34.99

CPU- Intel Core 2 Duo E7200 Wolfdale 2.53GHz LGA 775 65W Dual-Core Processor Model BX80571E7200
$119.99 (is this really that much better than the E5200?)

HDD- Western Digital Caviar Black WD5001AALS 500GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive
$69.99

Video- MSI R4670-2D512 Radeon HD 4670 512MB 128-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFire Supported Video Card
$79.99

DVD- LITE-ON 20X DVD±R DVD Burner Black SATA Model iHAS120-04
$23.99

PSU- Rosewill RP550V2-D-SL 550W ATX12V v2.01 SLI Ready CrossFire Ready Power Supply
$39.99 (never used a rosewill, good brand? atx12v proper for above mb?)

Case- COOLER MASTER Centurion 5 CAC-T05-UW Black Aluminum Bezel , SECC Chassis ATX Mid Tower Computer Case
$49.99

TOTAL = $527.92

 

[kubes]

You will need a 64 bit OS. Not sure if you already have this covered or not?

Tough call on the CPU. Probally wouldn't notice to much of a difference between the two if you wanted to go with the 5200? save 30 bucks.

If you are looking for a gaming rig the 4670 series is not really tailored for that. Might want to look at 3850 from ati.

Rosewill is not the best quality psu, but i'm not sure if you have the budget to get something much better.

 

[greenbrucelee]

I have heard bad things about Rosewill PSUs, your always best not to skimp on a PSU after all you don't want it to break your new system.

 

[zodiacfml]

i get a dual channel 4GB dual kit or a single channel 2GB ram.
get the e5200 if you can overclock.

 

[johnyeah]

First off, barely any budget system aimed at modest gaming can last for 2-4 years even with upgrades along the road (it will last a long time if you just need it for regular desk jobs later on). One thing is when I build my own system that I intend for it to last a while, I usually don't overclock.

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/cpu-graphics-overclocking,2082.html
Is something I think you might want to look at. I'd choose a couple different components since I don't overclock.

1. PSU: I honestly have not tried any Rosewill PSU's, but "rumor" has it they're not reliable. I personally use a SteathXStream 600W PSU, it's reliable and all the rails output power at a stable and within specified range.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817341010
or http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817341012 are ones that I have used and can safely recommend for any budget build (downside is that you don't get much SATA connectors, but it's not like you "need" it anyways).

2. RAM: if you ever intend on using VISTA 64-BIT, 4GB instead of 2GB will enhance your experience by a noticeable amount.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231122 is the cheapest one I can find (I would recommend the corsair with their rebate, but it's out of stock currently).

3. HDD: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136218 is the same price and offers bigger capacity and you won't notice the performance difference despite a smaller cache (surprise, surprise).

4. Video Card: Many modest gamers will tell you to spend 20-30 bucks extra for a 8800GT or a HD4830. Fact is, HD4670 is not a bad card, but it's not a great card either.
Here's for your reference:
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/best-graphics-card,2064.html

5. CPU: The E7200 is a solid budget CPU, however, the E5200 is almost as good.

http://ixbtlabs.com/articles3/cpu/intel-pentium-e5200-p2.html

Anyways, just some things to help you out with your budget build. It's your choices in the end that matter anyways.

 

[mokus]

kubes - No, I was not expecting to use a 64-bit OS. Can I turn off the support or should I look for another CPU?

johnyeah - Thanks for the links to the recommendations. I understand it's not going to be an amazing system 4 years from now, but thats where I see the mb allowing for upgraded to quad core and for doubling or quadrupling RAM later. And video cards are just that much easier to switch out when the time comes.

I'm currently running an Athlon 2600+, so you can see the performance jump with about any new configuration will be instantly noticeable! And it is well noted that Rosewill should be avoided.

 

[kubes]

The 64 bit OS doesn't really deal with the cpu. It deals with the ammount of ram/vidoe ram you can support. Currently a 32 bit OS can support a max of 4gbs of Ram+vidoe Ram. I appoglize that i missed this before but i thought you were getting 4gbs (not 2gbs) of ram + .5gb of vidoe ram. Your OS would then only see ~3gb's of ram. Its just a limitation of the 32 bit OS and addressing spaces.

I agree with zodiacfml that you will see a noticable increase in preformance with 4gbs of ram, but this will require you to upgrade to a 64 bit OS for your system to see all the ram.

I have not personaly used the 4670 card, but its ati's enterprise/bussiness vidoe card. Just wanted to bring this to your attention. Its not really a meant as a gaming card but I'm sure it can handle current vidoe games. Maybe just not on the highest of settings.

 

[mokus]

Here is my 2nd draft. Some *changes were for performance or dependability sake, others were for economic reasons.


*CPU- Intel Pentium E5200 Wolfdale 2.5GHz LGA 775 65W Dual-Core Processor Model BX80571E5200
$82.99

*HDD- Western Digital Caviar SE16 WD6400AAKS 640GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive
$69.99

*Video- XFX PVT98GYDLU GeForce 9800 GT 512MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card
$129.99

*PSU- OCZ StealthXStream OCZ600SXS 600W ATX12V / EPS12V SLI Ready Active PFC Power Supply
$64.99

Case- COOLER MASTER Centurion 5 CAC-T05-UW Black Aluminum Bezel , SECC Chassis ATX Mid Tower
$49.99

DVD- LITE-ON 20X DVD±R DVD Burner Black SATA Model iHAS120-04
$23.99

RAM- G.SKILL 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 1066 (PC2 8500) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model F2-8500CL5D-2GBPK
$34.99 (I might go 4GB instead...maybe)

MB- GIGABYTE GA-EP45-UD3R LGA 775 Intel P45 ATX Intel Motherboard
$108.99

TOTAL- $565.92

 

[johnyeah]

Your current choices look pretty solid for a budget build. If you just plan on using XP then 2GB is more than enough (you can always add more RAM later).

GL with building your comp, hope you don't get DOA parts.

 

[kubes]

Ya this looks like a very good budget build from my end. If your running xp Johnyyeah is right saying 2Gb's will be plenty. If your running vista I would recommend 4gbs but this is not needed. It'll still run vista fine. Just remember though that if you go with 4gb's, you'll need a 64 bit os for your system to see all the ram.

 

[slomo4sho]

Go with 4 gigs of ram. Its pretty easy to get a good set of 4gb ram for under $50 these days. DDR2 800 is all you need, don't bother with DDR2 1066 ram.

 

[kubes]

I agree with you Slomo but if he goes with the 4gbs then he'll need a 64 bit OS to even see it all, which adds ~$100 to the build. This puts him overbudget.

 

[slomo4sho]

Not necessarily, you can go with 4gb of ram and use Windows XP. Its true that you will not take advantage of the full 4gb but you will be able to utilize most of your ram. The extra 1.5gb of ram you will get by using a 4gb kit in XP is still worth the extra $15. He will eventually upgrade to Vista 64 or Windows 7 as Microsoft will no longer support XP. It is a worthwhile upgrade.

 

[asphalizo]

Thats true about the RAM, however seeing only 3 gigz for now is ok. Besides when windows 7 comes out he might want to upgrade. Having to buy just the OS then would be easier then buying both the OS and RAM. 3gigz > 2gigz

 

[kubes]

Ya, I guess your guys are right. I would agree to go with the 4gbs of ram instead of just 2 and spend an extra 15 bucks and only not utilize all 4gbs. Makes the system more adaptable to future OS's. This keeps him underbudget which is good.

 

[mokus]

Good points made about the RAM. So if I decided to go with 4GB instead of 2GB, would it matter resource-wise, neglecting price, if I went with 1 stick of 4GB, or 4 sticks of 1GB each?

 

[kubes]

4 sticks of 1gb is harder on your motherboard and for stability.
1 stick of 4gbs does not ultize dual channel (bad).
2 sticks 2gbs is best option.

 

[slomo4sho]

As Kubes points out, 2 sticks of 2gb each would be the best. Make sure to drop the DDR2 1066 and go with the DDR2 800!

 

[mokus]

Slomo4shO - Going with 800 I could save $20. But, why would I not want the 1066 that matches the mobo fsb? I thought I would want to maximize compatibility of parts for maximum performance.

 

[slomo4sho]

As a rule of thumb for DDR2 ram, you would like the ram speed to be 2x the CPU frequency(FSB). The E5200 has a stock FSB of 200MHz and a multiplier of 12.5 resulting in a clock speed of 2.5GHz. DDR2 800 gives plenty of room for overclocking. The only reason you would want to consider DDR2 1066 is if you plan on overclocking past 4GHz by setting a lower multiplier. Since this is not the case(as this type of overclocking will require water cooling), DDR2 800 is all you will need.

 

[mokus]

Good to know! Thanks all, I think I am ready to make my move!