Ready to buy...last thoughts?

[philip]

Hello again everyone, I'm about to buy the components (next few days). I thought I'd drop by and ask if you would be kind enough to cast your experienced eyes over the build one more time and suggest any areas where/if you think significant money could be saved. To clarify, I don't plan to upgrade it once built, I want it to be fast and hassle free (and as quiet as possible). I will use it a lot for writing code, excel, word, internet, movies and would like to try some games in the future. I don't intend to overclock. Thanks to all.

Intel Core 2 Duo E8400 LGA775 'Wolfdale' 3.00GHz (1333FSB)
Asus P5Q Intel P45
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
Antec 300 Three Hundred Ultimate Gaming Case
Sapphire ATI Radeon HD 4870 1024MB
Microsoft Office Home and Student 2007 (3 User)
Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium SP1 64-Bit
Dell UltraSharp 2209WA 22" Widescreen LCD Monitor

 

[Why_Me]

Nice build, and you got some bargains on there I see.

 

[xthekidx]

It looks pretty good. I might add a cooler, but its not necessary if you won't OC. If you thought you might in a year or two though, it might be worth it. Otherwise very good build.

 

[gkay09]

Well you dont intend to overclock and you wont be upgrading or adding another 4870 later in crossfire, then I would sugggest you to go with Corsair 550W
Actually the 450VX would be enough for that setup...
So you could save some money there...
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CA-006-CS&groupid=701&catid=123&subcat=1084

or

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CA-014-CS&groupid=701&catid=123&subcat=1084

 

[Pyruzan]

I really advise u to take a look at new AMD Phenom II X3 720 BE (140$) @ 2.8GHz with 3x512KB L2 cache, and 6MB of L3 cache and ASUS M4A78T-E (140$). Phenom II X3 720 Black Edition is the best bang for the buck out there and it has lots of OCing Potentials, it would be easily OCed to about 3.9GHz on air cooling. Although you may not intend to OC your system you may be tempt to someday, because it is easy and almost safe nowadays. Even if u don't OC at all it is still a powerful triple core processor with latest instructions. The Asus mobo is one of the bests u can get, but u can go for cheaper solutions also.

I also suggest u to get at least a 1TB WD Caviar because the hard drive performance is almost the most important factor of your system performance when u are doing daily and common tasks like what u mentioned.

I apologize for my english if it has any mistake, I'm Persian.

 

[Fortunex]

Hello again everyone, I'm about to buy the components (next few days). I thought I'd drop by and ask if you would be kind enough to cast your experienced eyes over the build one more time and suggest any areas where/if you think significant money could be saved. To clarify, I don't plan to upgrade it once built, I want it to be fast and hassle free (and as quiet as possible). I will use it a lot for writing code, excel, word, internet, movies and would like to try some games in the future. I don't intend to overclock. Thanks to all.

Intel Core 2 Duo E8400 LGA775 'Wolfdale' 3.00GHz (1333FSB)
Asus P5Q Intel P45
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
Antec 300 Three Hundred Ultimate Gaming Case
Sapphire ATI Radeon HD 4870 1024MB
Microsoft Office Home and Student 2007 (3 User)
Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium SP1 64-Bit
Dell UltraSharp 2209WA 22" Widescreen LCD Monitor

Looks like a solid build. However, you should definitely overclock that processor. With the E8400, all you have to do is go into the BIOS and up the Front Side Bus to 400MHz and you're done. 3.0GHz to 3.6GHz with a couple of key presses. I'd say 95%+ of E8400s can handle that overclock on the stock cooler no sweat.

 

[aevm]

Well you dont intend to overclock and you wont be upgrading or adding another 4870 later in crossfire, then I would sugggest you to go with Corsair 550W
Actually the 450VX would be enough for that setup...
So you could save some money there...
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CA-006-CS&groupid=701&catid=123&subcat=1084

or

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CA-014-CS&groupid=701&catid=123&subcat=1084

Well, maybe not the 450VX, because it only has one PCI-E connector and the HD 4870 needs two. However, the idea is good and you could save 25 pounds with this Seasonic PSU:
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CA-010-SS

Same price and same 33A as the 450VX, but it has 2 connectors. BTW, Seasonic is known for making quiet PSUs. They designed the 650TX too.

Not much opportunity to save money elsewhere. Really nice build, great bang for the buck.

You don't need to overclock for writing code, writing e-mail, watching movies, etc. The actual compilation of code is probably les sthan 2% of your time, and even that is bottlenecked by the hard disk, so overclocking is pointless in your case. In fact, if it impacts stability, then it's a really bad idea. I'm all in favor of doing it on gaming machines, but not on the machine where you work.

 

[aevm]

Looks like a solid build. However, you should definitely overclock that processor. With the E8400, all you have to do is go into the BIOS and up the Front Side Bus to 400MHz and you're done. 3.0GHz to 3.6GHz with a couple of key presses. I'd say 95%+ of E8400s can handle that overclock on the stock cooler no sweat.

Just because it's easy doesn't mean it's smart or necessary. Jumping off a bridge is easy too, you know, but that doesn't mean people should definitely do it. OK, some should, but that's a different story

@OP: maybe if you start playing FSX or other CPu-bound games, then yes, overclocking would make a difference. But in that case you should get a quad CPU or at least a tri-core, not an E8400.

 

[philip]

thanks for your input everyone. Would this 520W be enough for my system? I like the idea of a neat case. Also, is there a likelihood of new GPUs anytime soon that might drop the price of existing ones? Thanks again

 

[Why_Me]

thanks for your input everyone. Would this 520W be enough for my system? I like the idea of a neat case. Also, is there a likelihood of new GPUs anytime soon that might drop the price of existing ones? Thanks again

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CA-035-OC&groupid=701&catid=123&subcat=1098 <--- This psu is modular, cheaper than the Corsair, and it is more than enough to run your build. It's the new OCZ Fatal1ty series, and it runs two 12v rails @ 25A each.

 

[Gedoe_]

If you care about a silent system:
buy a golden orb / blue orb type cooler and unplug the fan from it. With one 120mm case fan running on lowest setting this will not overheat your CPU. I do it myself it gets 55C under stress. This makes for a quiet system. (if you make your GPU run slow fan speeds it will be pretty quiet, i use a passive GPU myself)

 

[aevm]

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CA-035-OC&groupid=701&catid=123&subcat=1098 <--- This psu is modular, cheaper than the Corsair, and it is more than enough to run your build. It's the new OCZ Fatal1ty series, and it runs two 12v rails @ 25A each.

Good choice. OK, it's only 37.5A combined, not really 2*25, but still nice.

I LOLd when I read the marketing garbage they wrote there:

These high-performance power supplies were co-developed with the expertise of Johnathan “Fatal1ty” Wendel, 12-time World champion, to meet the specific needs of fellow gamers.

The guy plays StarCraft better than anybody on the planet, true. Does that mean I want a PSU (or sound card) designed by him? Not so much... But it is a good PSU anyway.

 

[Why_Me]

Good choice. OK, it's only 37.5A combined, not really 2*25, but still nice.

I LOLd when I read the marketing garbage they wrote there:

These high-performance power supplies were co-developed with the expertise of Johnathan “Fatal1ty” Wendel, 12-time World champion, to meet the specific needs of fellow gamers.

The guy plays StarCraft better than anybody on the planet, true. Does that mean I want a PSU (or sound card) designed by him? Not so much... But it is a good PSU anyway.

lol...it reminds me a bit of a sports star drinking Gatoraide. It's like ..."so and and so drinks it, so should you."

 

[philip]

thanks guys, yeah that marketing blurb is a gem. :lol: I have my suspicions over his input in the design. How about this Corsair? Would 450W be a bit touch and go for my build? Thanks for the OCZ suggestion, seems great but I don't really like the red LED look.

 

[aevm]

450W is under Sapphire's recommendation for the HD 4870 (500W). Also, you'd need to buy a molex-to PCI adapter (at least for Corsair's 450W).

Seriously, get the Seasonic I found or the OCZ Fatal1ty.

Or remove the Antec 300 and the PSU and get this Antec Sonata III + Earthwatts 500W for 115 pounds.
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CA-073-AN

For a gaming box, I think the Seasonic + Antec 300 (109 pounds total) is a better idea than the Earthwatts +Sonata (115 pounds) because it has better cooling and costs a bit less. Still, the Sonata is a nice quiet case so I thought I'd mention it. The Earthwatts 500W has 2 connectors and enough power for your setup.

 

[philip]

Thanks for your input aevm (and everyone else). The Sonata doesn't quite do it for me, I like the simple aesthetics of the Antec 300 and the reviews are all glowing so will stick with that. I think I will also go for the 520W modular Corsair, the reviews, again, do nothing but praise it. Think I have it now

Intel Core 2 Duo E8400 LGA775 'Wolfdale' 3.00GHz (1333FSB)
Asus P5Q Intel P45
Corsair XMS2 4GB DDR2 PC2-6400C5 TwinX
Western Digital Caviar Black 640GB
Samsung SH-S223F/BEBE 22x DVD±RW SATA Dual Layer ReWriter
Corsair HX 520W ATX Modular SLi Compliant
Antec 300 Three Hundred Ultimate Gaming Case
Sapphire ATI Radeon HD 4870 1024MB
Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium SP1 64-Bit

Still unsure about monitor but will probably go with the Dell. I originally thought 6ms response wasn't good for gaming but I've read a lot of people saying it's not an issue. I guess it's time to do a final shop around and see if any prices can be beaten. Thanks again folks.

 

[aevm]

It looks good.

6 ms is OK, if it's real. The problem is that lots of monitors claim response times (and/or viewing angles) that they don't actually deliver. Try to buy the monitor locally, after you see it yourself. Ideally you'd also check it for dead pixels before you buy it.

 

[philip]

Checking locally is a problem for me. The local PC World stocks only a few monitors and vastly overcharges on each of them. They have this Samsung but they charge about €80 more than overclockers . I have read good things about this Dell but nowhere locally stocks it. Dell charge more for it than overclockers but they offer a zero dead pixel warranty, i.e. if you encounter even a single problem pixel on the Ultrasharp models they will replace it. If I'm buying it online I'd probably pay more for that assurance.

 

[aevm]

That's a very good warranty. Other retailers have fine print that says 6 dead pixels are still not good cause for a return. It's probably worth it.

 

[philip]

yeah I heard that. It looks like I'll have to buy online and if so I think I'd pay the premium to get that warranty...you know if you decided to take the risk you'd open the box and notice a group of dead pixels giving you the finger .|.