I need advice on a new system

[elephant789]

I want to builld a new system with nothing recycled. This system will be for gaming and will not be overclocked. I am pretty sure I want the E6600 so I will build around this cpu.
I am thinking about the GA-965P-DS3 mobo. Ram would be Kingston ValueRAM 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 533. And graphics card might be Radeon X1950PRO.
What do you think on these three choices.

Please excuse me as I'm a newbie and this is my first system that I built.

And if everything looks fine so far, what else might everyone suggest such as power, etc.

Thanks

 

[sprite]

Good build, however if you don't want to overclock you could drop that DS3 motherboard, doesn't have too many special features compared to, say, the AB9. You might also want to get 667MHz RAM just for the sake of it, or stick with the 533 and run it in 1:1.

For the rest:

Case: Coolermaster Centurion 5
PSU: XClio GoodPower 500W (or similar - just look at the PSU sticky)
HDD: 250GB Seagate
CPU Fan: Arctic Cooling Freezer 7 Pro
DVD RW: Any 18x

 

[vipmohaned]

It sounds like a good build but since you won't overclock then go with GA-965P-S3 or Abit AB9 cheaper and not much of a difference , also you might want to get a 8800GTS it's now for 345$ after rebate , way better than x1950 , or go with a cheap card for now and wait tell the R600 from AMD\ATI is out .

 

[Cerro]

If you have no intention of overclocking then you might as well stick with the stock heatsink - intel one's aren't that bad.

AB9 or MSI P965 Platnium since both are good steady boards with no OCing. Also the S3 as others suggested. Might want to get a E6'X'20 Intel, since they will be similar price but with more cache.

For PSU's stick with good brands, you get what you pay for, so a good low wattage PSU will cost more than a poor high wattage PSU but at least you know you will be getting the rated wattage and it will be a steady supply.

Cases, avoid cheap ones, they tend to have nasty sharp edges which cut. A case that is screwless is always nice but not essential. It comes into play more if you intend on upgrading later on.

I don't know low(er) end ram tbh. I always buy the expensive stuff, Raid 0 and fast quality RAM cuts down on load times and (to me) there is nothing worse that sitting waiting for games to load. - Since you are not overclocking that is.

Gfx wise, are you willing to wait for DX10? If so, buy a cheaper card now and upgrade later. If you don't really care about it, stick with what you are going for. Personally I prefer Nvidia because ATi drivers seem to go pear shaped with me and make me sad... but thats just my perference.

 

[elephant789]

Well, thanks for the advice everyone. Now I'm not sure if I should wait to build this system when the DX10 cards come out. When will they come out by the way?

 

[Cerro]

the only DX10 ready cards are the Geforce 8800GTS/GTX at the moment and its fairly pricey, which is why I am going to wait a little bit before getting one.

 

[PC_Side_Line]

and DX 10 is not compatible with a lot of games right now, but check with ur vid manuf 1st b4hand to see if their cards are compat with dx10.

MOst vid card makers are also waiting on some dx10 issues cause its not in the mainstream yet. They are still trying to make quick sales with their dx9c offerings.

 

[sillywabbit]

I just ordered my build 2 days ago and was in the same dilemma as you. I opted to go with the $99 7600 gt for now then upgrade after i see how the DX10 battle plays out.

 

[sillywabbit]

OP does not want to O/C.

 

[PC_Side_Line]

you down with op p? ya u know me

hehe ur op reminded me of that song