Critique my first time build ($1500 budget)

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AndeeG

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Oct 22, 2006
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Recently I've been looking at components to put into my first computer build. It feels like I'm getting pretty close but there are still things a few things that I can't decide on, most notably the motherboard. All the parts have to add up to $1500 or less after shipping, tax, and rebates. This includes only the actual computer, no monitor, speakers etc. As this is my first time building a new computer, I'll probably avoid overclocking initially but I definitely want to keep that option available for later. So far I've come up with the following (Prices are listed before shipping and after rebates):

Case: Antec SOLO ($90)
CPU: Intel e6600 ($315)
HDD: WD3200KS 320g ($100)
GPU: HIS x1900xt 256mb IceQ3 ($276)
CD/DVD: 1 DVD burner, 1 DVD-ROM player (about $50)

PSU: Either Antec NeoHE or Seasonic S12 (Is 430 watts enough or will I need 500?) ($80 - $120)

RAM: Corsair XMS2 2gb DDR2 675 (PC2 5400) I'm really just guessing here. DDR2 667 should be fast enough for mild overclocking, right? ($220)

MOBO: Once again I'm really not sure. The three top ones I've been reccomended are probably the Gigabyte DS3, Asus P5B Deluxe, and the Asus P5B-E. Apparently the DS3 has no firewire support. Does this just mean that it has no firewire port or that it is incapable of taking advantage of firewire cards? If it's the latter, I'll have to pass on this one. Basically, I want a MOBO with firewire and RAID capability and one that is EASY to overclock MILDLY. I don't want the one that has the highest capability, but rather ease of use and reliability for slight increases. ($160 ish)

How does it look?

(This was copy/pasted from my post on the Tom's Hardware Forumz, Anandtech, and SPCR)
 
I owned a GA-965P-S3 for about 2 weeks but upgraded to the DQ6 since I want to use SLi.. Both great boards although the DQ6 will run you 200$+ and the S3 will only be about <150$ if you want I can sell you my S3 for 100$ shipped in retail box.
 
dVeLoPe said:
I owned a GA-965P-S3 for about 2 weeks but upgraded to the DQ6 since I want to use SLi.. Both great boards although the DQ6 will run you 200$+ and the S3 will only be about <150$ if you want I can sell you my S3 for 100$ shipped in retail box.
Click to expand...

What is the difference between the S3 and DS3?
 
Exactly.. But who cares about 'EXTRA DURABLE CAPACITORS' when this board will be crap in the next 3 years (not totally but to most it's going to be OUTDATED) ..
 
AndeeG said:
Apparently the DS3 has no firewire support. Does this just mean that it has no firewire port or that it is incapable of taking advantage of firewire cards?
Click to expand...
While the DS3 wont let you plug firewire into it, you can still have Firewire through an add-in card. Heck, my old PC (circa 2000), it had a Soundblaster card that had a Firewire port even though the mobo on that PC only had USB 1.0.
 
AndeeG said:
Recently I've been looking at components to put into my first computer build. It feels like I'm getting pretty close but there are still things a few things that I can't decide on, most notably the motherboard. All the parts have to add up to $1500 or less after shipping, tax, and rebates. This includes only the actual computer, no monitor, speakers etc. As this is my first time building a new computer, I'll probably avoid overclocking initially but I definitely want to keep that option available for later. So far I've come up with the following (Prices are listed before shipping and after rebates):

Case: Antec SOLO ($90)
CPU: Intel e6600 ($315)
HDD: WD3200KS 320g ($100)
GPU: HIS x1900xt 256mb IceQ3 ($276)
CD/DVD: 1 DVD burner, 1 DVD-ROM player (about $50)

PSU: Either Antec NeoHE or Seasonic S12 (Is 430 watts enough or will I need 500?) ($80 - $120)

RAM: Corsair XMS2 2gb DDR2 675 (PC2 5400) I'm really just guessing here. DDR2 667 should be fast enough for mild overclocking, right? ($220)

MOBO: Once again I'm really not sure. The three top ones I've been reccomended are probably the Gigabyte DS3, Asus P5B Deluxe, and the Asus P5B-E. Apparently the DS3 has no firewire support. Does this just mean that it has no firewire port or that it is incapable of taking advantage of firewire cards? If it's the latter, I'll have to pass on this one. Basically, I want a MOBO with firewire and RAID capability and one that is EASY to overclock MILDLY. I don't want the one that has the highest capability, but rather ease of use and reliability for slight increases. ($160 ish)

How does it look?

(This was copy/pasted from my post on the Tom's Hardware Forumz, Anandtech, and SPCR)
Click to expand...

Yes DDR2 667Mhz is good enough for mild, even good overclocking with the 9x multiplier.
 
blade52x said:
Yes DDR2 667Mhz is good enough for mild, even good overclocking with the 9x multiplier.
Click to expand...

Do you know if the RAM I listed would be a good choice?
 
AndeeG said:
Do you know if the RAM I listed would be a good choice?
Click to expand...
Most people will tell you that you can't go wrong with corsair. While they are the best, I think they're overpriced. Then again, all ram is overpriced right now, lol.

This ram would be cheapest:
$220-40 - pqi TURBO 2GB (2x1GB) DDR2-667 PQI25400-2GDB ($40 MIR)
CPU Ratio // Memory Speed // Best Memory Timings // Voltage
4:3 // DDR2 400 // 3-2-2-5 // 2.0V ..... 1:1 // DDR2 533 // 3-2-2-7 // 2.0V
4:5 // DDR2 667 // 3-2-3-9 // 2.2V ..... 2:3 // DDR2 800 // 4-3-3-9 // 2.2V
 
Does anyone else have suggestions for a motherboard? I want to gather as many opinions as possible because they seem to vary widely between forums and individuals.
 
AndeeG said:
Does anyone else have suggestions for a motherboard? I want to gather as many opinions as possible because they seem to vary widely between forums and individuals.
Click to expand...
It really depends on the feature set you want. You cant really go wrong with any of those 3 boards. Most, if not ALL, motherboards will accept a PCI firewire card. Here's an egg hunt for all P965 Express and i975X mobos that have built-in firewire support: click here
 
Arghh!!!

I was almost ready to buy (though I'm still undecided on RAM) until Newegg discontinued the HIS x1900xt 256mb IceQ3. Then I looked online and found one other retailer but they discontinued it the next day! What should i do?
 
I would buy down in the video card, something like a geforce 7600 just to survive 6 weeks or so when you can buy dx10.
 
Right now I'm looking at a x1950 pro to tide me over till next year. That gives me the following components:

PSU: 500w Seasonic S12 (I might downgrade)
GPU: Sapphire x1950 pro
CPU: C2D e6600
HDD: Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 320gb
Optical: Sony IDE DvD drive
MOBO: Asus P5B-E

All this from Newegg adds up to $982.56

+ Antec SOLO from zipzoomfly
+ OCZ DDR2-800 from Fry's

Grand total after rebates, tax, shipping, all that is about $1277.56. This should give me plenty of extra money to buy a new graphics card next year. What do you think?
 
if u cant get that PSU , hihgly recommended OCZ GameXstream PSU's, and OCZ Ram good.
 
Corsair HX520W for sure, modular, same quality, same manufactuer. etc. Can hold up current SLi/CF, and can support a single DX10 card.
 
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