FIRST NEW BUILD got Advice?

[DieTheVillian]

Ok guys heres the deal, I am building a new system, I am not a wealthy person, I am using my 401(k) money towards a new PC instead of my future... Smart right? ok i have to stay at or very close too $1000, this will need to include tower keyboard mouse and monitor, this is what i have so far [newegg.com]

Feel free to offer any suggestions, i need it



1 Western Digital Caviar Black WD5001AALS 500GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive $74.99

2 G.SKILL 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model F2-6400CL5D-4GBPQ $91.98

1 GIGABYTE GA-EP45-UD3P LGA 775 Intel P45 ATX Intel Motherboard $134.99

1 Rosewill RD600N-2DC-SL-SLV 600W ATX Form Factor 12V V2.2 / SSI standard EPS 12V SLI Ready Active PFC Active PFC Power Supply - SLI Ready $64.99

1 Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium SP1 32-bit for System Builders $99.99

1 SAPPHIRE 100265L Radeon HD 4830 512MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFire Supported Video Card $89.99

1 LG 22X DVD±R DVD Burner with LightScribe Black SATA Model GH22LS30 $23.99

1 Antec Three Hundred Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case $59.95

1 ASUS VH226H Black 21.5" 2ms(GTG) HDMI Widescreen LCD Monitor $189.99

1 Intel Core 2 Quad Q8200 2.33GHz LGA 775 95W Quad-Core Processor Model BX80580Q8200 $169.99

1 Sunbeam CR-CCTF 120mm "Core Contact Freezer" CPU Cooler $39.99

 

[battlemarz]

Upgrade the hard drive to the newer WD Caviar Black 640GB. Its Bigger and faster for only 5 more dollars.

Ditch that PSU and find a Corsair, PC Power & Cooling, Antec(Not Basiq) one. Rosewill PSUs are subpar.

 

[drippyfausett]

It would help us to state the use for the computer ex gaming, encoding, surfing net.
I would stay away from Rosewill I would instead suggest this antec http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817371007

Also if you get 8gb of ram you will need 64bit OS or it will only recognize 3-3.5 gb. so change to this http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16832116488

 

[DieTheVillian]

Ok i have heard that 64bit vista isnt a very good OS, low software compatibility and other things, so would you recommend downgrading ram or upgrading OS, this will be a multipurpose PC, some gaming, some media centering, some surfing, some programming, some web and graphic designing

 

[ahslan]

go with 64 bit os...i personally dont use one (still use XP), but almost everyone here will tell you that most of the problems have been fixed since SP1 came out...

 

[toram]

+1 to the different PS the ones said are good. i would say the balance of CPU to GPU is good for the use of the computer (this is from my reading)

if you are going to OC im not sure about the cooler you have.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835233003

XIGMATEK HDT-S1283 120mm
this cooler is recomended highly by the posters here and its cheaper than the one you have

 

[DieTheVillian]

This cooler i have is rated #2 in the top 10 of the coldest by Frostytech

 

[DieTheVillian]

ref: http://www.frostytech.com/top5heatsinks.cfm

 

[DieTheVillian]

Actually yours runs cooler at a low speed so i'll switch

 

[toram]

i stand corrected. #2 beats #4

 

[toram]

its a toss-up...

 

[shortstuff_mt]

Ok i have heard that 64bit vista isnt a very good OS, low software compatibility and other things, so would you recommend downgrading ram or upgrading OS, this will be a multipurpose PC, some gaming, some media centering, some surfing, some programming, some web and graphic designing

64-bit Vista is a very stable, fast OS. I use 64-bit Vista on my main computer and it's rock solid. The only BSOD I've ever seen was caused by pushing an overclock a little too far. Don't avoid 64-bit Vista because you "heard" it isn't very good. There are still a ton of people out there who have never used Vista, but spread FUD because of it's early reputation. Check out this site: http://www.mojaveexperiment.com

I'd highly recommend 4GB and 64-bit Vista for any new build.

 

[DieTheVillian]

Shortstuff, my problem with Vista 64 wasnt BSOD related, i have read that alot of software isnt 64 bit compatible, Aslo you recommend 4gb instead of 8gb?

 

[shortstuff_mt]

I haven't had any software related issues with 64-bit Vista. Unless you run ancient 16-bit software, you shouldn't have any problems at all. You don't need 64-bit software with 64-bit Vista. The OS has two installation directories, one for 32-bit software and the other for 64-bit software. The OS recognizes 32-bit software and installs it in the corresponding folder. The only thing that has to be 64-bit are the drivers. You might want to check the websites of all your hardware (printer, scanner, etc...) to make sure there are 64-bit drivers available. My four year old printer works fine in 64-bit Vista.

8GB is overkill, but RAM prices are very low right now so I guess you could get 8GB before DDR2 prices go up. You'll absolutely NEED a 64-bit OS if you go over 4GB of RAM since a 32-bit OS can't even fully use 4GB of RAM.