New build review - and don't be kind!

R

Rocco

n00b
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Feb 13, 2007
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This is my first build and it is probably coming at a horrible time as it seems the choices are more expansive than they were 4 years ago when I bought my current Dell. The current machine while adequate for home office applications, ain't cutting it in the gaming department and the "what is that sound and what does it mean" department. I have cobbled ideas across multiple sites (including here) and was hoping for a tad of guidance.

My theory is strong mobo (but upgradable - lesson drom my current dell), one step down on video and then read lots of reviews on other parts:

Cooler Master Centurion 534 (RC-534-KKN2-GP)

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16811119106

Seagate 320GB SATA 3.0Gbps 7200RPM 16MB (Barracuda 7200.10) (may bump up to bigger, but this is a nice place holder right now - need room for DV editing)

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16822148140

Intel Core 2 Duo E6400 Dual Core Processor (2.13GHz, 2MB, 1066MHz FSB, LGA775 - MPN: BX80557E6400) - Value may be a reach term here, but on a $/GHz, this is a nice spot right now)

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16819115004

ASUS P5N-E SLI LGA 775 NVIDIA nForce 650i SLI ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail - really unsure as this may be overkill

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16813131142

CORSAIR XMS2 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory - Retail

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16820145034

SeaSonic S12-600 ATX12V 600W Power Supply 100 - 240 V UL, CE, CB, FCC - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16817151025

SAPPHIRE 100186L Radeon X1950XT 256MB 256-bit GDDR3 VIVO PCI Express x16 VIVO HDCP Video Card - Retail - see no reason for the 8800 series right now. Value? not sure, but figure it will give me room to run (fact that i can't play a game on my current system - first time ever - and cannot upgrade card b/c of intergrated AGP really has me bothered)

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16814102067

O/S Windows XP pack 2 (let vista sort itself out)

Sound card and speaker - will see

Keyboard and gaming mouse - Logitech most likely

Monitor - this has ben a real struggle. Almost every monitor i read has issues. I will most likely budget $200- $250. Obviously want a nice one, but don't need mega wide screen. Good gaming response and good picture / video editing would be nice.

"drizzt81 [H]ardForum Junkie

You are spending more money on your CPU and GFX card than on the monitor. What do you think you will keep longer: the monitor or the CPU? "

I saw this comment on another build question and got me to think maybe shift money to monitor or even better, a recommendation would be appreciated.


Appreciate the input.
 
Cooler Master Centurion 534 (RC-534-KKN2-GP)

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E168111191 06
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This should be a good case if you are not needing anything fancy. I actually like this style of Hard Drive cage more than the other style. Makes it easy to get those drives out if you need to change or add space.


Seagate 320GB SATA 3.0Gbps 7200RPM 16MB (Barracuda 7200.10) (may bump up to bigger, but this is a nice place holder right now - need room for DV editing)

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E168221481 40
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I've had mixed results with Seagate. I myself go with Western Digital but it's up to you really. You may want to do a Raid 1 so you at least have a backup. I will be honest. I hate large hard drives. There is nothing on the consumer market that can backup all that data and keep it safe without spending a ton of money. I just bought a Ultirum 448 Tape Drive(for work) for $2,000 and it can only backup 400Gig(Compressed) on certain tapes. I really wish the price of Blu-Ray would drop.


Intel Core 2 Duo E6400 Dual Core Processor (2.13GHz, 2MB, 1066MHz FSB, LGA775 - MPN: BX80557E6400) - Value may be a reach term here, but on a $/GHz, this is a nice spot right now)

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E168191150 04
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Good choice. I was going to go for this as well but decided to get something a little faster. If you aren't planning on changing processors any time soon, you may want to look at the E6600. One thing I can say, at least you didn't go with AMD :D

ASUS P5N-E SLI LGA 775 NVIDIA nForce 650i SLI ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail - really unsure as this may be overkill

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E168131311 42
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From the looks of it, should be a good motherboard, but if you aren't planning on going SLI, you may want to look at the PB5 from Asus. For $124 you get a motherboard that supports Quad Core stuff fairly well.


CORSAIR XMS2 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory - Retail

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E168201450 34
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I'm not so sure of the quality of Corsair these days, I have been reading through too many forums seeing posts that begin with My Machine won't post and somewhere in the title they mention that brand of memory. You may want to look at Crucial or at least Kingston. My preferred brand is Kingston.

SeaSonic S12-600 ATX12V 600W Power Supply 100 - 240 V UL, CE, CB, FCC - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E168171510 25
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SeaSonic has been rated as a good power supply maker so you should be fine here. If you are not planning on going SLI, this will at least be powerful enough for you to throw just about anything and everything at it.

SAPPHIRE 100186L Radeon X1950XT 256MB 256-bit GDDR3 VIVO PCI Express x16 VIVO HDCP Video Card - Retail - see no reason for the 8800 series right now. Value? not sure, but figure it will give me room to run (fact that i can't play a game on my current system - first time ever - and cannot upgrade card b/c of intergrated AGP really has me bothered)

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E168141020 67
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Since you have chosen a Nvidia Motherboard, you may want to look at the Nvidia cards and save a little. A very good card that will run just about everything is the 7900GS. It's a smart move to wait for the second or third generation Direct X10 cards and for the games to come out.

O/S Windows XP pack 2 (let vista sort itself out)
Click to expand...
I wouldn't pass on Vista when building a new machine. The reason I say that is if you buy Windows XP SP2 right now you get an upgrade coupon for Vista but it's just the upgrade copy and not the full blown version. Vista Home Prim Full Version is going for $119.99 on New Egg and comes with some nice programs out of the box for doing stuff on DVD's, Photos, Video(Which is sounds like you will be doing) If you opt to skip out on the upgrade version of Vista(Which I recommend) you would end up having to pay for the full version down the road, so that's $119. If you have the money now for it, I would spend it on Vista.

Sound card and speaker - will see
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At least get an X-Fi sound card or Audigy. The Onboard Sound on most of the motherboards is terrible.

Keyboard and gaming mouse - Logitech most likely
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Always a good choice

Monitor - this has ben a real struggle. Almost every monitor i read has issues. I will most likely budget $200- $250. Obviously want a nice one, but don't need mega wide screen. Good gaming response and good picture / video editing would be nice
Click to expand...
I recommend Samsung if you have a budget for that much. Should be able to get a 20.1 inch or at least a 19inch widescreen. Make sure to get an LCD with DVI. They still make LCD's without DVI and my father purchased one for my mother. I made them take it back and get one with DVI. I put a 9800Pro Videocard on her machine and it looks awesome. The monitor is just as important. You don't want to skimp on it too much because while you may have the CPU for a while, you will be looking at that Monitor, every day. Response time should be at least 10ms or lower.

SoulMan901
 
I agree with soulman on almost all accounts.

Specifically the motherboard. The board you chose, while being a nice board (I just built my brothers system with it) is obviously not necessary for you. By your videocard choice we can see you don't plan on going SLI. If you don't plan on it now or in the near future, I agree that you should look at other boards more suited to your needs.

The P5B he mentioned is a very nice alternative. They come in several different flavors to suit your needs.

As far as your RAM choice, Personally I like Corsair and think it's a fine choice.
An alternative to this, if you are inclined to change your mind, would be this G.Skill kit: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16820231065
Very nice memory.

I agree that you should put alittle more emphasis on your monitor, in the price range you mentioned, there are many great choices. Take your time, go to stores and look at them, and chose the one that will be right for you. If you spend alittle more on a monitor now, it will serve you well into the future. I can recommend different models or quote reviews until the cows come home, but those are all opinions, mine and others based on our viewing habits, likes and dislikes. You need to see them and chose for yourself.

Good luck, and congrats on what I hope is a very enjoyable need system.
 
Nothing better (or worse) than being iced in from work - end up compulsively watching these boards!

thanks for the inputs, particularly for the mobo. It was an interesting comment that you made about the NVidia board and suggesting going with the card. Also the recommendation of downsizing the board.

Part of my thought is that i do like to future proof a bit, so IF I go dual card I can (btw - sli board but assume i can go dual crossfire at some point) and i like the firewire support - or can i just drop a card into the lower board. I fugured for $25 pre-MIR may be worth it.

As for the cards themselves, I think if it was GeForce, it would be the 7900GS - Tom's hardware has a nice comparison in terms of power and good buys. That is one of them.

The monitor - yeah, probably upgrade, and a big fan of the Samsungs - may look at the HannGs as well.

Not sure, and these are the questions I do not seem to get an answer elsewhere, so thanks.
 
soulman901 said:
I've had mixed results with Seagate. I myself go with Western Digital but it's up to you really. You may want to do a Raid 1 so you at least have a backup.
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Are you serious? Seagate are one of the best drive makers out there no questions asked. They run great, perform great, and they have a incredible warranty with no hassles.


soulman901 said:
Good choice. I was going to go for this as well but decided to get something a little faster. If you aren't planning on changing processors any time soon, you may want to look at the E6600. One thing I can say, at least you didn't go with AMD :D
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Whats wrong with AMD? Also, the 6300 is very capable of OC'ing so if you want to spend a little extra on the monitor go with the 6300 and OC it up.

soulman901 said:
From the looks of it, should be a good motherboard, but if you aren't planning on going SLI, you may want to look at the PB5 from Asus. For $124 you get a motherboard that supports Quad Core stuff fairly well.
Click to expand...

And this one doesn't support quad? A P5B can't even hold a candle to this board.


soulman901 said:
I'm not so sure of the quality of Corsair these days, I have been reading through too many forums seeing posts that begin with My Machine won't post and somewhere in the title they mention that brand of memory. You may want to look at Crucial or at least Kingston. My preferred brand is Kingston.
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You have got to be kidding me? First you say that seagates are not great and now you say corsair isn't either? lol.


soulman901 said:
SeaSonic has been rated as a good power supply maker so you should be fine here. If you are not planning on going SLI, this will at least be powerful enough for you to throw just about anything and everything at it.
Click to expand...

A Seasonic 600w S12 will power even the most demanding systems, including SLI. And it's one of the top rated PSU's out there.


soulman901 said:
Since you have chosen a Nvidia Motherboard, you may want to look at the Nvidia cards and save a little. A very good card that will run just about everything is the 7900GS. It's a smart move to wait for the second or third generation Direct X10 cards and for the games to come out.
Click to expand...

I wouldn't agree with this either. A 7900GS can't even hold a candle to a X1950XT.

soulman901 said:
I wouldn't pass on Vista when building a new machine. The reason I say that is if you buy Windows XP SP2 right now you get an upgrade coupon for Vista but it's just the upgrade copy and not the full blown version. Vista Home Prim Full Version is going for $119.99 on New Egg and comes with some nice programs out of the box for doing stuff on DVD's, Photos, Video(Which is sounds like you will be doing) If you opt to skip out on the upgrade version of Vista(Which I recommend) you would end up having to pay for the full version down the road, so that's $119. If you have the money now for it, I would spend it on Vista.
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What are you talking about "just the upgrade" copy and not a full blown vista? It's full blown... the only requirement is that you have to launch it from a OS thats installed.... heck you can even install itself without a key and then launch it upon itself and do your full install. It's a full legit Vista version.

Also, with your recommendation of Vista and Nvidia, you should know that the drivers are absolutely horrible right now, especially nvidia. If you want to go nvidia I would recommend XP no questions asked. If you want to go ATI, then vista should be more of a sound choice. I recommend Vista to everyone so I would strongly suggest the ATI card to go with it as well.

soulman901 said:
At least get an X-Fi sound card or Audigy. The Onboard Sound on most of the motherboards is terrible.
Click to expand...

This is also very conflicting when you are trying to work on a budget, it's also hard to deal with in vista with the beta drivers.

I would recomend that if you are going vista to stay away from any extra things that could add up to problems, stick with on board for the time being untill support comes better.


soulman901 said:
I recommend Samsung if you have a budget for that much. Should be able to get a 20.1 inch or at least a 19inch widescreen. Make sure to get an LCD with DVI. They still make LCD's without DVI and my father purchased one for my mother. I made them take it back and get one with DVI. I put a 9800Pro Videocard on her machine and it looks awesome. The monitor is just as important. You don't want to skimp on it too much because while you may have the CPU for a while, you will be looking at that Monitor, every day. Response time should be at least 10ms or lower.
Click to expand...

Now this I can agree with. Right now Newegg is running a special on the Samsung 941BW and it's a pretty darn good deal. If you feel that you need something bigger than 19", check out dell's offerings as they have the 20" very competitively priced and the 22" is super cheap at samsclub.
 
I agree with Ockie.

Don't go for the P5B. If you want SLI as an upgrade path (which is only a good idea if you plan on getting a 22" or larger monitor), then the P5N-E SLI is your best choice for under $150. If you don't think you'll need SLI (no huge monitor in the future), then go for a P5B-E or DS3. Even if you do get a huge monitor but dont have SLI, you can play in window mode... it just wont take up the whole screen. SLI is only needed to push a ton of pixels, and is not great as an upgrade path because you could always sell your old card and get a better single card solution instead of paying for an identical old card.

I also wouldn't go with vista right now. There's no real reason to, actually, lol.

You've got a good build there. I, personally, think that the monitor is the best investment you can make as far as computer parts go, because they last the longest. GPUs depreciate the most, then CPUs. Monitor prices are getting cheaper, though, so it should be within reason to get a 20" or 22" widescreen monitor. Onboard sound is fine, unless you're an audiophile (you have some nice optical speakers or great headphones).
 
Are you serious? Seagate are one of the best drive makers out there no questions asked. They run great, perform great, and they have a incredible warranty with no hassles.
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I rate Western Digital to be a better maker of Hard Drives than Seagate any day. While I have had some good drives from them, I've also had some bad 320 SCSI Drives from them as well. That is why I am saying mixed results. Any case, I still recommend Raid 1 with ether brand which is what I am thinking about doing.

Whats wrong with AMD? Also, the 6300 is very capable of OC'ing so if you want to spend a little extra on the monitor go with the 6300 and OC it up.
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AMD is not priced to compete with Intel. The E6400 gives not only the +4600 a run for it's money but also the +5000 as well. It also sounds like he will not be OC'ing at all. Don't assume that everyone that comes here will be ocing their machine.

And this one doesn't support quad? A P5B can't even hold a candle to this board.
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You read too much into my statements. I'm not saying that the P5N32-E SLI doesn't support Quad. Not sure where you got that from my statement. I was saying that for $124, he can get a board that supports Quad as well. That is all.

You have got to be kidding me? First you say that seagates are not great and now you say corsair isn't either? lol.
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I've had problems in the past with that brand of Memory. While they make good stuff sometimes, it just seems a little flaky. My room mate is running that stuff right now and he's been having a few issues with his machine and that brand of memory.
Plus the board that was chosen here seems to not like Corsair stuff. If you go and read up on it, you will find what I am talking about.

A Seasonic 600w S12 will power even the most demanding systems, including SLI. And it's one of the top rated PSU's out there.
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And where did I not say that? The only thing I am concerned about here is if he wants to do SLI later on. The 600W can handle stuff in the GeForce 7 series and X1900 for SLI maybe, but I would probably say go 700 and above if you want to do SLI.

I wouldn't agree with this either. A 7900GS can't even hold a candle to a X1950XT.
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A 7900GS can handle any game you throw at it just fine. Not sure the needed requirements for an expensive video card if he will be doing some gaming and working with DV. Plus with the Direct X10 stuff right around the corner there is no need to buy the most expensive card and then turn around to buy another expensive card 6 months later. Buy something that will run all the current games fine and it will be good.



What are you talking about "just the upgrade" copy and not a full blown vista? It's full blown... the only requirement is that you have to launch it from a OS thats installed.... heck you can even install itself without a key and then launch it upon itself and do your full install. It's a full legit Vista version.

Also, with your recommendation of Vista and Nvidia, you should know that the drivers are absolutely horrible right now, especially nvidia. If you want to go nvidia I would recommend XP no questions asked. If you want to go ATI, then vista should be more of a sound choice. I recommend Vista to everyone so I would strongly suggest the ATI card to go with it as well.
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Because if he goes XP now and upgrades to Vista later on, it's going to be more painful than if he goes straight to Vista now. As for that method of installing Vista using the Upgrade Version, I honestly wouldn't recommend it. For $119, it's much cheaper to go with Vista now then to wait.


This is also very conflicting when you are trying to work on a budget, it's also hard to deal with in vista with the beta drivers.

I would recomend that if you are going vista to stay away from any extra things that could add up to problems, stick with on board for the time being untill support comes better.
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If he's trying to work on Budget why did you recommend such an expensive Video Card? The Sound Quality on the Creative boards is going to be much better than onboard and you can get them at a pretty good price.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16829102002

As for Vista issues, Vista will work just fine with this Sound Card. The issue is the fancy functions of the sound card like EAX have been disabled due to the way Vista handles the audio drivers now. Creative will have this issued resolved soon.

SoulMan901
 
Looks like a great build to me, almost the same parts as my computer except the case and the graphics card. You'll be happy with the performance for sure. If you can spare the budget, get at least a Dell 20" wide screen, it's a beaut. As for mouse and keyboard, you can't beat Logitech, I love my new MX518.
 
Getting back to the mobo point that has been brought up, what would be the difference between my first post

ASUS P5N-E SLI LGA 775 NVIDIA nForce 650i SLI ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16813131142

which is dual card above all else. The point was made that if

I was not going dual - a lot of what i am reading suggest I can single card stronger than dual so not sure the need
or
intending to get the 22"+ - which again i do not see a need

I should therefore consider

ASUS P5B-E LGA 775 Intel P965 Express ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16813131070

but I do not quite see the the inherent advantage on feature or price.

Maybe this belongs in the mobo section, but appreciate the info all the same.
 
Rocco said:
but I do not quite see the the inherent advantage on feature or price.
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There are other choices for a P965 Express board with good overclocking skills and cheaper than the P5B-E. But before I get into those, the advantage of the P965 Express over the 650i SLI chipset is the fact that its an intel chipset, and is therefore rock solid stable. The 650i is new, so it'll be a while until NVIDIA works out all the issues with it.

Now, if you do want a non-SLI board, there are other options aside from the P5B-E: GA-965P-DS3, GA965P-S3, and TForce965P. Theres a nice comparison over at AT between the P965 Express boards:
http://anandtech.com/mb/showdoc.aspx?i=2914

You have to first decide whether or not you'll need SLI. If not, go for a cheaper board, like the DS3, S3, or TForce. If so, go for the P5N-E SLI or P5N32-E SLI (or any other 680i SLI board).
 
I'm avoiding the Direct X10 Stuff until a Second Generation Card comes out, probably around Q3 or Q4 of this year. Need to give them time to work out the issues and get some games out that support Direct X10. Right now, that 8800 Card for $299 is probably an awsome deal on that type of card, but come Q3/Q4 when they put out newer versions of those cards, it might have been all for nothing. That's why I am saying go with a 7900GS until they get it straight and running great.
SoulMan901
 
The X1950Pro would be a better choice over the similarly priced 7900GS.
 
I would go with this Abit motherboard. Even though you wouldn't get full x16 on it, it still is an option.

I would also listen to Ockie, check out Galaxy 3 and 4
 
I like it.

Dont know ASUS mb features, lots of knowledgable people here, your call.

Either the ATI card you first listed, but the reviews of the 8800 320MB are very impressive, some drivers issues but you are not going Vista yet (you are wise beyond your years :D ) . again your call.

I would not buy a monitor over the net, everyones eyes are different, go to a store and look at them for yourself before you decide, then buy from where ever you want. Same for keyboard mouse and speakers.
 
Man, this place is great.

Well, since i do not see an ovrly large monitor in my future - 20.1 or MAYBE 22 tops - it sounds like I can avoid SLI.

I like the board options everyone is suggesting (don't be afraid to keep them coming :) )and at the very least gives me a new set to look into.

Now i am starting to think drop to the 1950 pro, which i agree from what I read would be somewhat superior to the 7900, and maybe plow the extra $ back into the chip - maybe jump to the 6600. As has been mentioned, OC activity would be limited for now - I will be happy just to put this together and not have it blow up.

And as BillParish and others have pointed out, spend more time chasing down a monitor in person.

I am sure i will saying this again, and glad to -

Thanks for all the help.
 
for the monitor bit, go looking for a Samsung, 20.1" OR if you plan on shifting money over to the monitors go for a 24" one, it hits the sweet spot. LG is coming out with a few good budget monitors too(L204WT is what im using and its pretty good for gaming, although lacking a bit in the movie department)
 
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