First PC - Mid Level Build

[taylorjes]

So after doing some research and evaulating I've come up with the following rig... Bare in mind that I won't be doing a whole lot of gaming... and probably this is overkill for my needs; however, the only reason that I'm not a PC gamer is because my current build is a POS and it cannot even run vista let alone a game other than "World of Goo"... that being said, I will probably start to play more PC games if I have the resources... I also have a wife who would love to do some more photo/video editing, but as before my current build can't... I do have limited resources, but I'll explain as we go

I have bought/recieved:

Antec 300 case
Antec EarthWatt 650w
Samsung 22X DVD±R with LightScribe

(I got theses as sudo birthday presents b/c that pretty much all my family could put together without telling me)

I am looking at RIGHT NOW

GIGABYTE GA-EP45-UD3P - $135 - Newegg
- this board seems to fit everything I'll need for the new few years and probably more so

INTEL Core 2 Quad Q6600 - $195 - Newegg
- I want a quad core mostly because I just do (convincing argument)
- I have found this CPU at a better price, but I'm using newegg as refrence
- from what I've read, OCing this is easy, reliable and something I will want to do in the future as my first OC

SAPPHIRE 100245L Radeon HD 4850 512MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 - $145 - Newegg
- this came as a recommendation in the Graphic Card forum... I don't know much about graphic cards


CORSAIR 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) - $58 - Newegg
- cheap, recommended TH for OCing.... memory is memory
- easy upgrade if needed

Arctic 5 - $6
- no brainer


Total for today: $539

As you can see I would like flexibility to do some limited OC.. I've only ever done anything like this with a friend back in high school (we blew it up). I have a few other things I'm looking at:

XIGMATEK HDT-S1283 for cooling and possibly some fans...

Final thought: I am limited at the moment to about $600 not including misc. parts, let me know what you think... any good deals... recommendations

 

[Onus]

Those are all good choices except for the memory. Get DDR2-800 that will run on the JEDEC standard 1.8v. Personally, I like Mushkin, but I've seen a lot of recent comments from people happy about G.Skill. Either would be cheaper than the Corsair.
Do you have an Operating System? If not, you'll need to shell out ~$100 to Microsquishy, reducing your available budget.

 

[taylorjes]

I have access to XP Pro SP3... XP 64.. Vista Business.. and Vista 64 (of course a few Linux for good measure)

oh i forgot to mention that I'm going to be using an old 80Gb HD for the time being, but I'd like to get a high speed drive for OS/Apps and something decent for data (i have a nice 500 (2x) RAID NAS)

 

[WR2]

Arctic 5 - $6
- no brainer

Thermal compound review @ Hardware Logic Take a close look at Arctic Cooling MX-2 or OCZ Freeze. Advantages over AS-5 are non-conductive, no curing time, easier to apply and possible better cooling.

You could probably leave any thermal compound off your buy list and use what comes with your aftermarket HSF.

I'd also pass on getting any extra case fans at the moment. You can always add them later if you find your stock case fans aren't cooling up to your expectations.

What size/resolution of monitor will you be using with your HD4850?

 

[shortstuff_mt]

+1 to the MX-2 compound recommendation. I've made the switch from Arctic Silver 5 to MX-2 and have been impressed with it.

 

[taylorjes]

@jtt283

Get DDR2-800 that will run on the JEDEC standard 1.8v.

Can you explain JEDEC 1.8v a bit for me I'm getting mixed ideas.. I've heard "go for higher voltage" and "1.8v allows for better OC"... thanks

@WR2
hmmm I've used arctic 5 alot in the past... but I'll read up a bit more... I wouldn't get the case fans unless I felt i needed them, but i figured I'd open it for discussion...

I currently have a crappy 17" dell LCD, but my in-laws plan on financing (some of) a new moniter... I haven't even started on that yet.. I'll probably go for a 22" something or other

 

[shortstuff_mt]

The standard voltage for DDR2 RAM is 1.8v. Anything rated at more than that is overclocked/overvolted from the factory. If you get ram that's rated at 1.8v it will be compatible with more motherboards, will run cooler, should last longer, and will give you more overclocking headroom since it's not already overclocked.

Here's my recommendations:

G.SKILL PI Black 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231209 $54.99

or

mushkin 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820146731 $47.99

 

[Onus]

Thanks for filling that in, _mt.

 

[taylorjes]

thanks for the advice and recommendations

I'm gonna hunt for deals for the next few days... and pull the trigger in time for next weekend

 

[taylorjes]

I was just on tigerdirect and saw Q8200($169) and Q9400($229)... what are the advantages disadvatages??

I posted in the CPU thread as well