Sorry to post again (Last time I swear!)

[philip]

Hi everyone,
I was this close to pulling the triggering and ordering the parts for my build when I got hit again by the thought that I should save some money. I just need confirmation that Build 1 below would smoke build 2 on everything, not just gaming....and also that it wouldn't be loud the whole time ( i.e. when coding and using word)

Build 1
Intel Core 2 Duo E8500 LGA775 'Wolfdale' 3.16GHz (1333FSB)
Asus P5Q Pro Intel P45 (Socket 775)
Corsair XMS2 4GB DDR2 PC2-6400C5 TwinX
Western Digital Caviar Black 640GB
Samsung SH-S223F/BEBE 22x DVD±RW SATA Dual Layer ReWriter
Corsair TX 650W ATX SLi Compliant
Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium SP1 64-Bit
Antec 300 Three Hundred Ultimate Gaming Case
Sapphire ATI Radeon HD 4870 "Toxic" 512MB


Build 2
Intel Pentium Dual-Core E5200 "LGA775 Core 2" 2.50GHz (800FSB)
Asus P5Q Intel P45
Corsair XMS2 4GB DDR2 PC2-6400C5 TwinX
Western Digital Caviar Green 640GB SATA-II 16MB Cache
Samsung SH-S223F/BEBE 22x DVD±RW SATA Dual Layer ReWriter
Corsair VX 450W ATX Power Supply
Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium SP1 64-Bit
Antec 300 Three Hundred Ultimate Gaming Case
Gainward ATI Radeon HD 4650 512MB DDR2


I'd pay the extra ~200 if I knew that my new PC experience would be smooth, sweet and fast.

 

[sid_nag17]

get build 1

 

[outlw6669]

+1 Build 1

 

[kubes]

build 1 is more of a universal build.
build 2 is more of a business orientated build.

So +1 to build 1.

 

[shortstuff_mt]

Well, if you're looking to clear your conscience, you could get the E8400 and save $15 if that makes you feel any better. The E8400 and E8500 both overclock to almost the exact same speed. Yes, build #1 is far superior to build #2.

 

[philip]

Is build 1 going to be worth it even if I don't end up gaming much? If I do end up gaming will Build 1 play games brilliantly on a 20" or maybe 22" monitor? (apart from crysis which seems to cripple nearly everything). If I'm not gaming will the GPU still be audible? Thanks again guys

 

[aevm]

I'd get build 1 too.

You can always underclock the video card when you're not playing. That will make it consume less and allow the fan to spin slower and stay quiet. I do that often with my nVidia card in nTune (it is silly after all to use a factory overclocked 8800GTX for surfing, isn't it )

For an ATI card you use Catalyst or RivaTuner or similar tools.

 

[knotknut]

Build 1 and quit swearing. HA!

 

[Winly]

Build 1 is better than Build 2

 

[philip]

thanks everyone, the only games I might play would be Call of Duty, maybe Assassins Creed, Build 1 would handle both of those well I take it? Also, when I have everything assembled my next step is switch on and I should get a screen asking me to insert an OS disk??Do I need to alter settings for the individual components etc.?

 

[philip]

In general use would the two builds differ much do you think?

 

[xthekidx]

For general use the two builds would be pretty similar. I would however change build 1 just a little bit if you are interested in saving some money, Get the E8400 and go with this GPU:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102802
That will be fine for the games you want to play at 16x10 resolution. If you decide later you want to game more or play more demanding games, then you can add a second one in xfire on that 650tx no problem.

 

[philip]

thanks xthekidx, the thing about the GPU is that for the price of a 4850 I could get a 4870 for a small bit more, which I would be happy to do. But then I think will I have a loud GPU? It would play games great though yeah? I will use the PC a lot for reports and coding and so I just don't want it to be too loud.

 

[rav3n]

there is no question about it build 1 kicks build 2's ass any day

 

[aevm]

thanks xthekidx, the thing about the GPU is that for the price of a 4850 I could get a 4870 for a small bit more, which I would be happy to do. But then I think will I have a loud GPU? It would play games great though yeah? I will use the PC a lot for reports and coding and so I just don't want it to be too loud.

Consider a case with sound dampening, like the Antec P182. It costs more ($70 more at Newegg in the USA for example) but it's worth it since you care about noise more than the average guy.

Edit: between HD 4850 and HD 4870, the HD 4850 may actually be noisier. It's hard to generalize because there are so many models of either card. There are some single-slot versions of HD 4850 in particular that you should avoid.

 

[aevm]

Here's an example: at idle, the HD 4850 is quieter than the HD 4870 (37 dB vs 40.5 dB), but under load the HD 4870 is quieter (51.5 dB vs 53 dB). Either way, the difference is so small that you can't notice it without measuring instruments.
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/radeon-hd-4870,1964-16.html

 

[philip]

thanks aevm. Maybe I do seem overtly fussy when it comes to noise. I think it is a direct result of watching various clips of builds on youtube and hearing ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ in the background.
Have you any direct experience of the P182 or 300? If I go 4870 it will probably be http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=GX-188-SP&groupid=701&catid=56&subcat=939 Thanks again for your input.

 

[aevm]

Hey, don't get me wrong, I'm VERY fussy about noise myself. I bought expensive speakers and I prefer not to hear noisy fans with my music.

Yes, with the P182. It's fantastic. The only problems with it are:
- it needs a PSU with extra long cables (the 650TX is OK, for example)
- it is limited to 3 hard drives if you stick a huge GPU in there (8800GTX, GTX 260, HD 4870 X2, etc.)

 

[kubes]

I run my rig in the Antec 182p. I can agree with aevm that its a great case.

My only complaints about the case are the ones noted above and the fact that the bottom fan can be troublesome when installing certain psu's. I had to remove that fan due to the psu being to long.

Some other things to comment on is that it is very easy to hide wires in the case. You can run many of your wires behind the motherboard tray. Another thing which is nice is they seperate high heat components from each other. For example PSU is in a different compartment than the Motheboard. It also comes with many sound damping features such as fan speed controlled fans and rubber washers.

 

[aevm]

OK, one more thing. It's a fingerprint magnet. At some point a Canadian retailer (NCIX) was including a "special" cloth with this case.

BTW, I should have said 4 hard drives above, not 3. Anyway, for me it was a problem because I have 5. If you get the HD 4870 you don't have this problem. That's a relatively short card (9" and a bit) and won't need you to remove the top hard drive cage. My 8800GTX did have the problem (it's almost 11" long).

Oh yes, another one: the case has a door. This helps with the sound-proofing and protects the parts inside, but can be annoying if you insert DVDs a lot.

 

[philip]

thanks for the input guys. The first case I really like was the Lian-Li PC-B25B but was going to go with the Antec 300 because it is so much cheaper. The P182 looks great too but it adds quite a bit more money onto my build. Would it be worth it considering my build, i.e. I hope my build wont be that noisy so would a much more expensive quieter case be necessary? On a side-note I went into PC World (a chain in Ireland) today to look at their machines to see if picking one up there would be easier, but they seemed so expensive and the parts didn't look great. Re-affirmed my choice to self-build.

 

[Why_Me]

Hi everyone,
I was this close to pulling the triggering and ordering the parts for my build when I got hit again by the thought that I should save some money. I just need confirmation that Build 1 below would smoke build 2 on everything, not just gaming....and also that it wouldn't be loud the whole time ( i.e. when coding and using word)

Build 1
Intel Core 2 Duo E8500 LGA775 'Wolfdale' 3.16GHz (1333FSB)
Asus P5Q Pro Intel P45 (Socket 775)
Corsair XMS2 4GB DDR2 PC2-6400C5 TwinX
Western Digital Caviar Black 640GB
Samsung SH-S223F/BEBE 22x DVD±RW SATA Dual Layer ReWriter
Corsair TX 650W ATX SLi Compliant
Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium SP1 64-Bit
Antec 300 Three Hundred Ultimate Gaming Case
Sapphire ATI Radeon HD 4870 "Toxic" 512MB


Build 2
Intel Pentium Dual-Core E5200 "LGA775 Core 2" 2.50GHz (800FSB)
Asus P5Q Intel P45
Corsair XMS2 4GB DDR2 PC2-6400C5 TwinX
Western Digital Caviar Green 640GB SATA-II 16MB Cache
Samsung SH-S223F/BEBE 22x DVD±RW SATA Dual Layer ReWriter
Corsair VX 450W ATX Power Supply
Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium SP1 64-Bit
Antec 300 Three Hundred Ultimate Gaming Case
Gainward ATI Radeon HD 4650 512MB DDR2


I'd pay the extra ~200 if I knew that my new PC experience would be smooth, sweet and fast.

Here's two other alternatives....

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115206 $114.99 Free Shipping*
Intel Core 2 Duo E7400 Wolfdale 2.8GHz 3MB L2 Cache LGA 775 65W Dual-Core Processor - Retail

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115037 $164.99 Free Shipping*
Intel Core 2 Duo E8400 Wolfdale 3.0GHz 6MB L2 Cache LGA 775 65W Dual-Core Processor - Retail