Please review - proposed first build

Page 2 - Seeking answers? Join the Tom's Hardware community: where nearly two million members share solutions and discuss the latest tech.
Toggle sidebar Toggle sidebar

I'm with Chookman here on his build, just a few cheaper prices on a couple of parts.

ANTEC Sonata III Mini Case Retail
$100 shipped!! - $40 MIR = $60!!!!
http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/ProductDetail.jsp?ProductCode=10005323

GIGABYTE Intel P35 + ICH9 Chipset DDR2 1066 ATX GA-P35-DS3L Motherboard Retail
$80 shipped!!!!
http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/ProductDetail.jsp?ProductCode=10006307

About $77 savings, so this would put you within budget!!!
 
I liked the GIGABYTE GA-P35-DS3L LGA 775. . looks like a great motherboard, and nice price on that, lunyone.

Hey roadrunner - just a thought, I looked at that motherboard you were recommending, it looks awesome. did you have a suggestion for how I could make it work with my budget? I'd have to cut something out, but I am interested.


So, chookman. You changed my configuration around a bit, giving me less ram and a better video card. Looks pretty cool. Tell me, will that video card be able to play counterstrike multiplayer? that's the only game I really want to play. Otherwise, I'd rather go with a cheaper interim card, and buy a better one later.

I do not need firewire, so that won't be a problem.
 
I play CSS multiplayer with a 9600xt, x1400, and a x1800 w/out any issues. So a 3850 will smoke all of the ones that I listed. I bought the 9600xt 3-4 years ago and is now showing it's age. I'd go with Chookman's build, it's close to what I'd do. You could even get the $40 CM case and seperate case, but the 500w one on the Sonata III case is a good buy. I found it here for less:
http://www.buy.com/prod/Antec-Sonata-III-Super-Mini-Tower-w-Earthwatts-500w-Power-Supply/q/loc/101/204559259.html
It's $120 shipped, which I think is $10 cheaper than the one Chookman linked. You won't be sorry with the build listed above.
 
First, if this is for video/photo, you will want to make three changes:

1. Get a CPU with a larger cache. The e4500 goes for $125. It OC's well, and has double the cache of the E2180.
2. Get the 4GB of RAM. Even if you only end up with 3.5 usable, it is worth it. Video editing is VERY RAM intensive.
3. Skip the big graphics card. As long as it has 256 or 512 of memory, you don't need the pipelines/shaders. A 7600, 7900, 2600 or 8600 is plenty of power for photo/video. In fact, by saving over $100 on the GPU, you could even spring for the E6550 with 4mb of cache, which will help even more. ($179)

You might want to also consider a smaller hard drive to use for the OS and apps. You will see about a 10-20% boost by having two hard drives for video editing.

I have the Antecx Sonata III case. It is cool and quiet. It has plenty of room for expansion.
 

Just checked the details at ZZF and it says that it comes with the PSU, so I'm pretty sure that it comes with it!!
 



I can get in your budget with that mobo I think. Before I go shopping do you got and parts I can reuse?
 
Lol what do you mean before you go shopping? you don't mean actual shopping, do you? I don't know what I can re-use. I have a dell pc now, 2003. it has an 80 gb hard drive, no dvd burner.

Oh, that's good to know lunyone. I really want to play that game - looks like fun. I think I will go for that e4500, from the reviews it looks like lots of people have had success overclocking it. Then again, I am new to overclocking, so maybe it would be a better idea to start with the e2180 in case I fry it (then I won't have lost as much money). I don't know about the 4 gigs, I might start with 2 to save money, and upgrade later.
 
Qty. Product Description Unit Price Savings Total Price

Update Rosewill R220-P-BK Black 0.5mm SECC Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - Retail
Model #: R220-P-BK
Item #: N82E16811147074

Return Policy: Standard Return Policy

In Stock
$24.99 -$5.00 Instant $19.99

Update ASUS MAXIMUS FORMULA LGA 775 Intel X38 ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail
Model #: MAXIMUS FORMULA
Item #: N82E16813131227

Return Policy: Limited Non-Refundable 30-Day Return Policy

In Stock
$259.99 $259.99

Update EVGA 256-P2-N751-TR GeForce 8600GT 256MB 128-bit GDDR3 PCI Express x16 SLI Supported Video Card - Retail
Model #: 256-P2-N751-TR
Item #: N82E16814130085

Return Policy: Limited 30-Day Return Policy

In Stock
Mail-in Rebate
$109.99 $109.99

Update Thermaltake Purepower W0100RU ATX 12V 2.0 500W Power Supply - Retail
Model #: W0100RU
Item #: N82E16817153052

Return Policy: Standard Return Policy

In Stock
Mail-in Rebate
$69.99 -$20.00 Instant $49.99

Update Intel Pentium E2200 Allendale 2.2GHz LGA 775 65W Dual-Core Processor Model BX80557E2200 - Retail
Model #: BX80557E2200
Item #: N82E16819116063

Return Policy: Processors (CPUs) Return Policy

In Stock
$95.00 $95.00

Update A-DATA Value Series 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model VDQVE1A16K - Retail
Model #: VDQVE1A16K
Item #: N82E16820211165

Return Policy: Memory (Modules, USB) Return Policy

In Stock
Mail-in Rebate
$36.99 $36.99

Update LG 20X DVD±R Super Multi DVD Burner Black ATAPI / E-IDE Model GSA-H55NK - OEM
Model #: GSA-H55NK
Item #: N82E16827136117

Return Policy: Standard Return Policy

In Stock
$24.99 $24.99
Subtotal: $596.94


Youll have to use your 80G HDD for this build, but by the time its full you' ll have money for bigger one. And this board will be pimping when you get the Penryn Quad to go in it someday. Some might laugh at the ram, but that is the ram i got but I paid 1o more for mine, I'm ordering 2 more gigs tonight.


If I was building this is what I would do without a doubt. I would get a coolermaster case though for $39 cause I like the way they look.


I picked the e2200 for this build and it should hit 3.7 GHZ by pushing one button. You might need a better heatsink at that speed though. Stock will be good for atleast 3.0- 3.4.
 
That Rosewill case is Tier 5, IIRC. I would get better one. I would also got for Crucial Ballistix, Geil or G-Skill RAM. BTW, if your hard drive is not SATA, it won't work. Being 3 years old, I'm not sure. I still say you should get an e4500 or e6550 for video editing. I do have extensive experience in that area.
 
The HDD wont work? Why not? This board as PATA. look at the picture.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ShowImage.aspx?CurImage=13-131-227-22.jpg&Image=13-131-227-20.jpg%2c13-131-227-21.jpg%2c13-131-227-16.jpg%2c13-131-227-22.jpg%2c13-131-227-18.jpg%2c13-131-227-19.jpg%2c13-131-227-24.jpg%2c13-131-227-25.jpg%2c13-131-227-17.jpg&S7ImageFlag=0&Depa=0&Description=ASUS+MAXIMUS+FORMULA+ATX+Intel+Motherboard.

A case is a case imo. Are there bettre ones ya. Do you need it? No. Does a case make your software faster. No. What I'm trying to accomplish is the fastest machine $600.00 can buy. Theres nothing wrong with the ram at all. It's overclocking my system to 3.4. e4500 $25.00 more for 1mb cache, worth it? Not imo. Last time I checked 1 mb isn't very big. e6500 is a total waste in this case. The multiplier on the 6550 is only 7, you would really have to kick up the FSB on that one. 7 vs 11 you be the judge.

I got bench tests that show the e2180 at 3.4 faster then a 3.0 penryn with 6mb cache. Message me your email if you want to see.
 
Hey roadrunner, I'm sorry man, I don't think that motherboard is going to work for me this time. I really wanted it to, trust me, it looks amazing, but I'm not going to have more money for quite a while, and when I finally do have more, it'll be a lot more (as In I'll end up buying the asus maximus formula anyway). I do need to be able to use this computer for at least 6-12 months before upgrading, so I want to spend some good money on the processor, hard drive, and ram to tide me over. I still definitely want to overclock, but I guess I'll just have to learn to do it the way you guys do it.

oh, and by the way, I couldn't find that p5k-e you talked about, roadrunner. It wasn't on newegg

One other thing guys - I sorta want to do raid (the kind of raid where your system automatically loads information onto two separate drives). That would save me alot of time. I'm constantly backing my photos up to a backup drive. What would my options be?
 
IMHO don't go with a $260 mobo. That is waaaay toooo expensive for what he wants to do. The Gigabyte DS3R, Abit IP35, or the Asus P5k mobo's around $130 would be more than enough. Even the DS3l, IP35-e, or p5k-se would be just fine too. I'd much rather spend the $130-160 difference on a better more roomy case and PSU combo (like the one I linked, which ends up cheaper than the one RR linked), but that is my opinion. Yes you can get by with a cheap case, but then you lend yourself to a hotter environment, especially if you start to OC much. These are just my opinions and you can take from it what you will.
 
Obviously, I did not recall the info on the case correctly, as forbdwiz notes, it's the Rosewill PSUs that you should avoid.

The only bench tests pertinent to the thread are ones on video and photo editing. The jump from 1MB to 2 MB cache DOES make a difference in those areas.

I may be incorrect in saying a PATA drive will not work. On my system, I can't set a hard drive to boot from PATA, even though I have a 1 IDE PATA channel. Regardless, the OP said he wants a larger hard drive, and I can fill an 80GB hard drive while working on a 90 minute video, and the performance difference between an old PATA drive and a WDxxxxAAKS drive is substantial. Even an 160 GB WDxxxKS or Hitachi 7k250 series hard drive will smoke an old PATA on running Photoshop/Premiere...
 
Quick question - what's an OP? several of you have called me that.

Later today I'll post my almost-finalized build. hope you guy's will take a look
 
Processor
E4500
$125
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115031&Tpk=e4500

Motherboard
GIGABYTE GA-P35-DS3L LGA 775 Intel P35 ATX Intel Motherboard
$80 with rebate (thanks lunyone)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128059

OR

P5K-SE
$100
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131189

Case
Antec Sonata III Mini-Tower w/ Earthwatts 500w Power Supply
$120
http://www.buy.com/prod/Antec-Sonat...ts-500w-Power-Supply/q/loc/101/204559259.html
Just wondering, why is it called a minicase? Looks normal sized to me…

Ram
OCZ Platinum 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2
$50
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820227089

DVD Burner
LG Black 20X DVD+R
$25
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827136117

Graphics Card
GeForce 8600GT 256MB 128-bit GDDR3 PCI Express
$110
http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16814130085

PSU
Earthwatts 500w Power Supply
(Price included with case)

Hard Drive
Western Digital Caviar 500gb 7200rpm SATA
$105
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136073

Heat Sink/Fans
I intend to overclock. Do I need any special heatsinks/fans?


Total: $610, or $666 with tax.





What do you all think? Do I finally have a system?
 
Sweet, thanks singinigo! I might/might not have an OS. I have a dell-issued windows xp sp2 disk that has never been used. Is this workeable? If not, what OS would you buy?? I looked on Newegg, and it seems like there are several variations of the same OS for different prices.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

TRENDING THREADS

Latest posts

Moderators online

Share this page

COMPANY
RESOURCES
FOLLOW
Top Bottom