[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:

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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:

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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.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by lgbpop

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.

---

Thanks for the reply. Please suggest me a better card than the one I have listed but not as expensive as the one you have recommended. SOmething that's in the middle considering the fact that I don't play resource intensive games.

This: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814150185

Or in the ATI camp: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814161086


Liam

An even better ATI card (specs-wise, at least) for not too much more. Better imaging and faster core clock.

How about this one

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814130062

its a 12 pixel pipelines though

I also agree with the others on your choice of video card, I would go for a more performance oriented card to compliment the rest of the system. Also I like Corsair XMS, Crucial, OCZ, Mushkin or Kingston memory, they all make very good ram for sweet running systems. A good running computer is the sum of all the components used to build it.

If it were me, I'd spend the extra $10 for the extra performance ("bang-for-the-buck" factor) and get the X1650 (I can't believe I'm saying this, I swear by nVidia:) ). That card should retail in the $150 range with those specs.

I'd wait for Liam to toss in his 2¢ worth, though. He knows video.

I agree, comparing 7600 to X16.xx the ATI card is the better bang for the buck based on spec, and the Connect3D X1650XT is a great card for just under $100.

The next peg up would be 7900 GS/GT(Starting at about $150), and beyond that DX10 goodness of 8600 GS/GT.

Just out of interest what OS are you throwing on this system?


Liam

Quote:

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Originally Posted by liam858

I agree, comparing 7600 to X16.xx the ATI card is the better bang for the buck based on spec, and the Connect3D X1650XT is a great card for just under $100.

The next peg up would be 7900 GS/GT(Starting at about $150), and beyond that DX10 goodness of 8600 GS/GT.

Just out of interest what OS are you throwing on this system?


Liam

---

XP Pro for now but Vista later.

If you are planning on installing Vista later, you will want a card that supports DirectX 10 at that time. You could get an El Cheapo card now, and plan to get an 8600 when you upgrade to Vista (price might be lower then, but you will already have spent money on the cheapo card), or get the 8600 now.

I just placed my order with newegg. Thanks for all the help... I ended up with Radeon X1650XT for the video card.

MOBO
ASUS P5B LGA 775 Intel P965 Express ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail --- $119.99


Processor
Intel Core 2 Duo E6420 Conroe 2.13GHz LGA 775 Processor Model BX80557E6420 - Retail --- $189.00

Computer Case
XION Hydraulic XON-566TB Black with Blue LED Light Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - Retail --- $79.99

Memory
WINTEC AMPX 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model 3AXT6400C5-2048K - Retail ---$89.99

Hard Drive
Western Digital Caviar SE16 WD2500KS 250GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM --- $69.99

DVDRW
Sony NEC Optiarc 18X DVD±R DVD Burner with 12X DVD-RAM Write Black SATA Model AD-7170S-0B - OEM --- $32.99

Video Card
connect3D 3070 Radeon X1650XT 256MB GDDR3 PCI Express x16 Video Card - Retail --- $99.99

Total Price = 691.94 +shipping

Those components should build a very nice, fast, capable computer. I hope the PSU is a good brand and has plenty of wattage for reserve. That's the most-overlooked component, yet one of the most critical.

Now if he gets this xion ps
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817190012
he is doing just fine!

As nice as the modular idea is, you can't beat this one's output numbers if you want XION. I bought six more from MWave last Friday, before they sell out at this price. I can't resist a good deal, and the computers I've sold with this one in them get raves from the customers.

OK, so that is the one I am using. :D

Quote:

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Originally Posted by lgbpop

As nice as the modular idea is, you can't beat this one's output numbers if you want XION. I bought six more from MWave last Friday, before they sell out at this price. I can't resist a good deal, and the computers I've sold with this one in them get raves from the customers.

---

I was planning to use my 500W PS from my existing system but having second thoughts.

This PS that you have mentioned here only have two SATA connectors. Does this mean I can only have two SATA devices with this PSU?

You can buy what are known as "Y Splitter cables" to add more SATA power connectors if needed.


Liam

^ I just looked and the mobo that I have ordered comes with two 4-pin molex to SATA connectors which gives me capability of 4 extra SATA devices to plug in. Is this what you are talking about though?

Also, the PSU being recommended here (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817190007) has a fan and LED on its top. The case that I have ordered doesn't have see-thru panel on top and parts of the side. Would I be paying too much by getting this PSU or is this a good price regardless?

Having those fans with LEDs in them makes no difference to the overall price, or if it does it's only a matter of a few cents. It's not a bad price at all for a top quality 600W PSU :)

This is my personal favourite brand:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...cription=tagan

Quote:

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Originally Posted by masif

^ I just looked and the mobo that I have ordered comes with two 4-pin molex to SATA connectors which gives me capability of 4 extra SATA devices to plug in. Is this what you are talking about though?

Also, the PSU being recommended here (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817190007) has a fan and LED on its top. The case that I have ordered doesn't have see-thru panel on top and parts of the side. Would I be paying too much by getting this PSU or is this a good price regardless?

---

Anything $70 or less is a great price for it. I don't have see-thru panels, it makes no difference.

The XION PSU cited mounts in a standard case with the fan facing downward toward the mobo, pulling warm air out of the case and exhausting it out the back. Here's what it looks like in my case, above the 120mm rear fan and the HSF (sorry for the blurry pic):

https://discussions.virtualdr.com/

Regarding the Molex/SATA question, some HDDs (usually the older ones) have both power ports. If so, use one OR the other, NOT BOTH. This other pic shows my HDD bay, note I only have two SATA connectors but I just used a Molex for the top HDD. The newer XIONs supposedly are coming out with six SATA connectors, but I haven't seen that yet.

http://img518.imageshack.us/img518/9378/dscf0385hl0.jpg

BTW, Tagan is a really good PSU as well, as Nick notes. It may be easier to find over your way than the XION.

^ thanks for taking the time to post these pictures. From looking at the PSU unit picture on newegg.com, I was under the impression that PSU fan faces upwards in the case. That is why it made no sense whatsoever. The pcitures you posted, cleared it all up. I place the order for this power supply by the way. The tagan brand suggested by Nick was very expensive, the ones they had left on newegg.com were expensive anway. The less espensive ones were out. The one you recommended seemed reasonable so I went with it.

Thanks again!!!

Yeah, Tagan is expensive here. It's way more competitive in Europe where it's made (Germany, I think). Be that as it may, if the XIONs weren't available I'd buy Tagan instead. I understand they're worth it.

I completed building my PC yeserday. I am very happy with the outcome. There were a few set backs but not a big deal. All in all, it was a great, rewarding experience. I haven't overclocked the processor or the video card yet but I may be doing this in a few days.

Here are the issues I ran into:

- The case has two 3.5 drive bays. The holes in upper one didn't match the holes in the hard drives so I cannot screw my HDs in there. The upper bay that carries 3 hard drives is useless for me. The bottom bay that has 4-hd capacity was the way to go anyway becasue thats where the front panel fans are blowing lotsa air. So I ended up using that bay. That bay is a removable bay with thumb screwes. Makes it very easy to handle. I like!!!

- The Case doesn't have a slot for floppies. I was planning to use a floppy disk but there isn't any slot for it. I dropped the idea of putting the floppy. You can put one in the 5.25 bay with some tools but than you will see dark holes on the both sides of the floppy drive in your front panel. No biggie but still.

- The SATA power cable that came with the PSU was one cable split into two and could only go so far apart. The SATA DVDRW that I bought was placed on top inside the machine and the SATA HD was at the bottom. The sata power wire couldn't reach both of them. Still no biggi. Fortunately the SATA drive had the standard power pins too.

- The motherboard only had one IDE connector but I knew that up front. So it wasn't really a setback. Most IDE hard drives you can have on it would be two unles you buy a PCI IDE Controller card or use a SATA to IDE adapter or something.

- No Serial port on the mobo. I knew this up front too so no biggie here.

- The Case has USB ports and audio outputs on top of the case in (instead of on the front). These are in addition tot he ones in the rear panel. I have to slide the whole case out of my work desk to be able to use it.

- The case is slightly bigger and heavier than normal mid tower.

- The side air duck is giant. It was pushing one of the wires to get in the way of the CPU heatsink fan. I had to tie some of the wires to avoid that.

Here are the good things...

I love the hydraulic door and the LED lights, especially the front lights. I love how easy it was to put all the pieces together. A lot of space inside the case. Very good ariflow. Hard drive access is extremely fast. DDR2 800 SDRAM worked like a charm. The ASUS mobo is rock solid. The utilities it comes with are superb, espeically the one for BIOS update from within Windows. Everything powered up with the very first try without a glitch. The picture is very crisp and clear.

I haven't updated the BIOS yet. I don't know if I should.

I haven't updated the Catalyst drivers yet so I don't think I am using the Video Card to its fullest. How can I tell? Again, I don't know if I should update the drivers. Are there good video card testing utilities? Maybe some high graphics FREE games that someone could recommend?

Also, what are the normal CPU/System tempratures?

Floppy Drive adapters:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16811993003
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16811993007

^ yeah I figured there must be something out there but I don't really need a floppy. I originally planned to put one in but dropped the idea later.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by masif

The case has two 3.5 drive bays. The holes in upper one didn't match the holes in the hard drives so I cannot screw my HDs in there. The upper bay that carries 3 hard drives is useless for me.

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Those upper bays are typically for 3½" drives (floppy, ZIP, etc.), not hard drives, but XION says they're internal bays?! Interesting. Try removing the front panel and see if there are knock-out plates to open them up for exterior use. If not, you could always mount the floppy for internal (occasional) use.

Sounds like a normal assembly (in other words, there's always something!), glad to hear it went OK. The Intel afficionados here can give you the temp range to expect.

If you want to make use of the front-panel USB ports, get one of these PCI cards with the internal header in place of a port. You can plug your front panel connector to it.