First Build

[shenmueguru]

I'm planning on building my first gaming machine soon, and wanted to check to see all is well before I buy. My budget is $1600-$1635 (I have $1605 now, I can wait a month to get $20-$30 allowance in a month) and I have created a rough list of components:

CASE -
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16811146025 - 2 120mm fans, great reviews. $50 after rebate.

DVD -
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16827131014 - $24

Power Supply -
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817341001- OCZ Gamextream 600W. $112 after rebate.

HDD -
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16822144415- Western Digital 160GB SATA 7200rpm (I barely use HDD space, my current 4 year old computer has used about 25 gbs). $53

Motherboard -
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813128017- Gigabyte GA-965P-S3. $119.

Processor -
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16819115003 - E6600. $317 (why does this thing keep going up?)

RAM - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820231098 - G.Skill 2GB ddr2-800. $209.

Video Card -
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814143075- 8800GTX. $549 after rebate.

CPU Cooler - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16835186134 - $29.99

Windows XP MCE 2005 w/ upgrade coupon for Vista - $109
Edit: No tax, only ship - $30

TOTAL: $1610

Monitor, keyboard, and mouse are taken care of.

Sound good? Thanks for all the help.

EDIT: Changed video card/total to accomodate the tax exemption.

[Maical]

well, u could get raptor 10.000 rpm hdd's if u dont need lots of space
2 of those in raid 0 and u get sick speed

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if ur planning to overclock, u r gonna need pc6400 ram, not sure what number is that u wrote there :p
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if ur gonna go for the e6400 and overclock, id recomend gigabyte GA-965P-DS4 or GA-965P-DS3 mainboard

Tax (why do I have to live in New Jersey...) & ship - $120

haha, why do some europeans have to pay 600$ for 8800gts :p

[Black Hawk]

Just got done doing my first build myself, running perfectly and whisper quiet.

I would strongly recomend this case for better cooling and stealth dvd drives, and maybe order it from another place like frozen cpu to save on shipping like I did. Also I know a 8800 GTS will fit in this case (Always check to see if your hardware fits inside your case).

Power supply: Get a brand name PSU like corsair 5 year warranty

RAM: Get a better brand like Corsair

MOBO: Like Magical said get a DS3 or DS4, most of the bad reviews they get are due to RAM not being compatible so make sure to check this at GIGABYTE website.

Video Card: Get the EVGA version it has a true lifetime warranty even if you overclock it. This cards only shine whith a fast CPU and at High resolutions.( Do you really need 100FPS you might need to upgrade your eyes to get past 50FPS )

If your going to overclock get a CPU cooler and make sure it fits in your case

Hope this helps

[shenmueguru]

Will the 8800GTX fit into the Centurion 5? If not, do you know of one that does?

[Black Hawk]

I don't know if the 8800GTX will fit into the Centurion 5 case, the dimensions of both cases are quite similar, Centurion 5 ( 18.9" x 8" x 17.2" ) Enermax Chackra ( 19.3" x 7.9" x 17.9" ), but the Chackra has a removable hard drive cage if you need the extra space or better cooling and you don't wanna shove so many top performance parts in a case with insufficient cooling.

The 8800GTX is around 10.5inches long I think so any case you choose will have to clear this space.

Hope this helps

[shenmueguru]

Actually, just found this case with a 21.1" depth that was included on a list of 8800GTX compatible cases on some forum. Looks flippin' sweet too. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16811146025

Think I'll go with this one.

[Freddie]

I think the DVD drive your getting is only a reader. When I read the specs it didn't list it's DVD writing speeds which made me suspicious. It probably does but you best check this out first. Also you should get 18x speed DVD-+RW's there the same price so you might as well get the faster newer drive.

I see you plan to game a lot on your machine so I would get a bigger hard drive. I know you don’t use a lot of space but bigger hard drives tend to mean faster drives because they have the benefit of 2/3 years R&D in them. It won't be a massive increase but should be significant, also hard drives are great value at the moment, for not much more money you could easily buy a 320 gig HD.

My choice in motherboard for the E6600 is the Asus P5 P965. Fast, solid quality, best overclocking potential for that chip overall makes it the ideal choice for the E6600.

Have you also considered not getting the E6600? I know a chip for the same price that is a bit faster, and better quality same price (ish). If you want to know more let me know and I shall give you my insider knowledge. A rep point goes to the person who guesses first, as to what chip I'm on about.

BBL

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Ok it's latter. shenmueguru PM'ed me the right answer which was of course the low budget server chip; Intel Xeon 3060, which works on any LGA775 motherboard (i.e. all the decent ones from the likes of Gigabyte, Asus and MSi et al)

[shenmueguru]

I think the DVD drive your getting is only a reader. When I read the specs it didn't list it's DVD writing speeds which made me suspicious. It probably does but you best check this out first. Also you should get 18x speed DVD-+RW's there the same price so you might as well get the faster newer drive.

I was actually just going for a non-writable DVD drive, I've never had a movie on my computer and don't see much use for it in terms of my computer needs.

I see you plan to game a lot on your machine so I would get a bigger hard drive. I know you don’t use a lot of space but bigger hard drives tend to mean faster drives because they have the benefit of 2/3 years R&D in them. It won't be a massive increase but should be significant, also hard drives are great value at the moment, for not much more money you could easily buy a 320 gig HD.

Hmm, would a 160GB HDD be alright still? Saw a western digital for $53.

Have you also considered not getting the E6600? I know a chip for the same price that is a bit faster, and better quality same price (ish). If you want to know more let me know and I shall give you my insider knowledge. A rep point goes to the person who guesses first, as to what chip I'm on about.

Interesting. I sent in my guess. Please indulge on your insider knowledge :hmmm:




In addition, it seems like a lot of people have trouble with getting the right RAM with the motherboard. I'm really not sure if this RAM will work (listed above), if it's the right voltage (does it need to be 1.8 to start up? Seems like it does for many reviewers on newegg). Thanks for all the help guys, really appreciate it.

[Freddie]

I was actually just going for a non-writable DVD drive, I've never had a movie on my computer and don't see much use for it in terms of my computer needs.



Hmm, would a 160GB HDD be alright still? Saw a western digital for $53.


Interesting. I sent in my guess. Please indulge on your insider knowledge :hmmm:




In addition, it seems like a lot of people have trouble with getting the right RAM with the motherboard. I'm really not sure if this RAM will work (listed above), if it's the right voltage (does it need to be 1.8 to start up? Seems like it does for many reviewers on newegg). Thanks for all the help guys, really appreciate it.

They say copying is the highest form of flattery. :hmmm:

If I was you I would get DDR 800 ram, that way you should be able to the Ram and FSB at a 1:! Ratio for optimum performance. So long as your ram is DDR2 (get branded ram) you should be alright.

As far as Hard drives go look at this out Hard Drive interactive charts

[DefenderofFreedom]

You got a 8800gtx, a 630W, a E6600, might be smart getting another cooler besides the stock..

[shenmueguru]

Freddie, how about this RAM? Ddr2-800 5-5-5-15, kinda loose, but it runs at 1.8v-2.0v so it should start up on the first boot -

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820231098

[Freddie]

Freddie, how about this RAM? Ddr2-800 5-5-5-15, kinda loose, but it runs at 1.8v-2.0v so it should start up on the first boot -

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820231098

Looks fine to me. remember for Core 2 Duo's ram latency isn't that important.

[__PoweradePaladin__]

Its a pretty good build, the case might be a little cramped with the 8800 GTX in there, but it should be pretty fine. What cooler are you getting for your CPU? I see you havent listed that as of yet but, If you're going to overclock I reccomend an aftermarket cooler like this:
-http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16835186134
Cheap, Good, and I have one . It should run that C2D at around 35-39 C at max load. The stock cooler runs at about 40 C idle

Overall it looks like a superb system, I hope you have fun.

I still have to upgrade from my x850 xt video card

[shenmueguru]

Its a pretty good build, the case might be a little cramped with the 8800 GTX in there, but it should be pretty fine. What cooler are you getting for your CPU? I see you havent listed that as of yet but, If you're going to overclock I reccomend an aftermarket cooler like this:
-http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16835186134
Cheap, Good, and I have one . It should run that C2D at around 35-39 C at max load. The stock cooler runs at about 40 C idle

Hmm, I've been thinking about dodging a non-stock cooler for the E6600 to save on costs. I don't plan on pushing it too far, just moderate overclocks (say, 3ghz?) Though if it really is necessary for overclocks, I'll find a way to fit it in.

I still have to upgrade from my x850 xt video card

I'm upgrading from a Radeon 9250 (pci).

[Black Hawk]

Well if you are already planning to overclock then I would defenitly recommend getting a different cooler, hell I would change mine in a heartbeat if it didn't void my warranty.

Here is a great cooler if it fits in your case.

You could also buy a E6400 and overclock it to 3ghz, here is a review from Tomshardware

[Freddie]

Well if you are already planning to overclock then I would defenitly recommend getting a different cooler, hell I would change mine in a heartbeat if it didn't void my warranty.

Here is a great cooler if it fits in your case.

You could also buy a E6400 and overclock it to 3ghz, here is a review from Tomshardware

Good call on the E6400. If you want 3ghz and want to save a very few $'s get the E6400 and overclock it. I have one and I've reached 3Ghz on stock voltage. If you do plan to go this way it's worth looking at the motherboard again.

Since you don't want to spend a lot on 3rd party HSF don;t get the one listed above. Don't get me wrong it's a great HSF but I would say this one. It's quiet, it cools well and it's half the price of the othe rleading HSF out there. And don't think just because it's cheap it's no good, just read the reviews for it, it can't be beaten on price/preformance.

[DefenderofFreedom]

Here's how I see it, you get the E6600 now, and pump it up to 3.2 without having to spend money on a cooler. However, when you eventually do need more power than that, buy a good cooler and grind it up much higher.

[shenmueguru]

Just a quick update - ordered the parts, should build sometime on saturday. I ended up going with the Apevia PSU to save on costs, and went with the Corsair XMS2 RAM instead of the G.skill. Just need to adjust the voltage to 1.9 - one quick question on this: On the first boot up, doest the computer automatically go into the bios or does one need to manually open it?

Also, do you recommend installing the drivers from the CD's (graphics, mobo, any others?) or going to the website instead?

Thanks again.

[belson]

I would strongly, strongly suggest getting a Raptor drive. Your hard drive seems to be the weakest component you have listed right now. And when I went from a 7200 to a 10,000 rpm raptor it made a HUGE difference in my machine. Especially for Rome TW and WOW, which both have big HD loads.

[shenmueguru]

Well, I think it may be too late for the raptor. Maybe later.

Alright, just wanted to check that this is the right order on first startup:

1. Change RAM voltage to 1.9v, 2t command rate
2. Install XP
3. Install drivers (which ones do I imperitavely need?)
4. Flash bios