[xp] New Computer Specs

I am in the market for new computer parts as I need to build a new machine. Here is what I need:

Mobo
CPU
RAM (2 gig)
Video Card PCIe

I need some good/proven specs for the parts. I have been out of the loop from the PC building business and I am really too busy to do a lot of research. If you have built a machine recently and if you are happy with it and if it didn't cost you a fortune, please tell me about it. All I need is a combination that works and that is not very expensive.

I will settle with E4300 CPUs becuase the price goes sky rocketting anything beyond that. Regarding the rest of the stuff, I need a mobo, a new case, at least 2 gigs of RAM and a video card PCIe that is at least 256 MB RAM. I already have all the rest of the stuff (HDs, PSU, DVDRW, etc).

Thanks in advance

Well I don't know if you looked lately but u can get an E6600 for $227 american, and theres also the E6320 and E6420 with a 4M shared L2 chache which are about $50-$70 dollars more than the E4300.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16819115015
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16819115016

Also for the C2D I suggest getting after market cooling cuz with the stock heatsink fan unit the temps get a little bit too close for confort

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16835118020
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16835118223
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16835118019

As for video card do you want Direct X10 cuz here is the 8800GTS (320MB)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814121061

Here is the motherboards I would go for.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813128037
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813131074

For RAM it depends on how crazy you wanna go.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820145168
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820145589
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820145590

Motherboard: MSI 945P Neo3-F LGA 775 Intel 945P ATX Intel - $77
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813130059

CPU: Intel Core 2 Duo E6300 Conroe 1.86GHz - $167
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16819115005

Memory: 1-GB (2x512-MB) CORSAIR ValueSelect 240-Pin SDRAM DDR2 533 (PC2 4200) - $50
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820145529

Video Card: GeForce 7900GS 256MB (PCIe) - $170 ($150 after rebate)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814150183

Total: $464 ($444 after rebate)

^ Thanks for the replies guys!! I have few more questions...

I have the following non-sata drives

- DVDRW
- Floppy Disk Drive
- 300 GB HD
- 320 GB HD

Most of the motherboards I am looking at only have one PATA controller which means that I can only connect two devices. Do they not make any motherboards with more IDE support?

The latest Intel chipsets are usually the reason for only one PATA channel.

The motherboards below has two channels:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813131162
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813131142
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813131025

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813128044
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813138043
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813127018

Note: The floppy drive needs a floppy channel connector, not an IDE connector. You can also get decent SATA CD/DVD drives for a reasonable price.

If you need to fit more than 2 IDE drives, I would add a PCI IDE controller - they don't cost much. That way you are much less restricted on the choice of mobo, and you'll have provision built in to add SATA drives later on if you wish.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...IDE+controller

Actually, what I am thinking is to just get a SATA DVDRW (instead of using the current IDE DVDRW) so that the two IDE HDs I have can fit in any mobo with just one PATA (IDE) controller. I am planning to get a new SATA HD anyway to use as my primary (boot-up) hard drive. There aren't any issues with SATA drive being the primary one are there?

I will list all the parts in a couple of days in this same thread for a sanity check. I really appreciate all the help!!

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by masif

There aren't any issues with SATA drive being the primary one are there?

---

None whatsoever :)

Here is the list that I have come up with. Please take a look at see if this is all ok. THANK in advance!!

Mobo --- $119.99

ASUS P5B LGA 775 Intel P965 Express ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail
Newegg Link

Processor --- $189.00

Intel Core 2 Duo E6420 Conroe 2.13GHz 4M shared L2 Cache LGA 775 Processor - Retail
Newegg Link

Computer Case ---- $79.99 (with $40.00 Mail in Rebate)

XION Hydraulic XON-566TB Black with Blue LED Light Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - Retail
Newegg Link

Memory --- $89.99

G.SKILL 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory - Retail
Newegg Link

Video Card --- $47.99 (with $10.00 mail in rebate)

SAPPHIRE 100192L Radeon X1050 256MB 128-bit DDR PCI Express x16 Video Card - Retail
Newegg Link

SATA Hard Drive --- $67.99

Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 (Perpendicular Recording) ST3250820AS 250GB 7200 RPM 8MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM
Newegg Link

SATA DVDRW --- $31.99

SONY Black 18X DVD+R 6X DVD+RW 8X DVD+R DL 18X DVD-R 6X DVD-RW 12X DVD-RAM 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-R 32X CD-RW 48X CD-ROM 2MB Cache SATA 18X DVD±R DVD Burner, OEM Version - OEM
Newegg Link

TOTAL = $626.94
Less Mail in Rebate = $50.00
Grant Total = $576.94

I hope you don't play to use this for games based on that graphics card.


Liam

Buying that vidcard is like throwing money out the window.:) The rest of that system is built for speed (nice choices even if I am an AMD fan) and that card will be a bad bottleneck. This 8600GT by nVidia is 32 pixel pipelines of DirectX 10-capable enjoyment. It's a good brand, priced lower than the 7900 posted above.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by liam858

I hope you don't play to use this for games based on that graphics card.


Liam

---

^ I am not a gamer. I just need something decent enough to do some Adobe Photoshop stuf. Other than that, its basically a major development (hard core programming) machine with a bunch of VMs running.

Well I don't know if they made any improvements to the C2D, because my E6600 with the stock HS/F unit runs a lil hot it usually ran around 125F idle 140F underload with Articsilver 5.

With my Zalman CNPS-9500 it never breaks 100F

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by lgbpop

...and that card will be a bad bottleneck.

---

It will be abottleneck in what sense though? Adding another $100 into the price is tough without a solid reason. Please someone tell me why I need a better card than the one I have listed if I am not a gamer. Most I ever play is arcade type games like tetris, breakout, pacman etc. and those I have been able to play with with my old 64 MB card.

A decent computer system is balanced in the sense that calculations are processed and displayed as quickly as possible. A dual-core processor and motherboard combo will process way more calculations than a single-core; having a SATA hard drive helps reduce seek time for data on the hard drive; and fast RAM allows for fast processing turnaround time. What will happen is you have all this nice, new, fast hardware trying to cram all those results thru a slow vidcard to your monitor. Four pixel pipelines (as opposed to 24 or 32 in a later-design card) will seriously slow down the computer's ability to make the results visible via your monitor, especially with gaming or graphics design.

Why pay for the C2D 6420 if you don't plan to get the most you can out of it? With that card, it will perform about as well as a Northwood P4.