Building a New PC, looking for your input!

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So I have finally decided to build myself a new pc. I know some of the components I'd like to incorporate and there are some parts I'd like your input to make my decision.

CPU: Intel Quad Core 2.4ghz 1066fsb 8mb l2 cache
Motherboard: NEED YOUR INPUT. I would like to get a gigabyte board, nothing serious, I don't overlock.
RAM: I'll probably be getting 2gbs, I don't think the brand even matters.
PSU:NEED INPUT. I'm leaning towards Antec PSU just based on experience
Case:NEED INPUT

Thanks for reading and your input!
 
I have always had good luck with Antec PSU's. I was actually just about to order a new one:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817371002

550 Watt Antec on sale for $60 with free shipping.

Edit: I just noticed your "brand doesn't matter" opinion on RAM. Quality RAM is barely more expensive than some of the value crap out there and I would say that it is worth it. Bad RAM is one of the most difficult and irritating things you could have to diagnose if you ever have problems. Personally I almost always buy from Micron/Crucial. Other brands I hear good things about and seem to be popular are Kingston and Corsair.
 
Depending on the type of video card you wish to buy and the number of hard drives in your computer, a 550watt PSU will likely not be enough. If you wish to go all out (which you are by the looks of the CPU you are buying) I wouldn't go anything less then 750watts.

Corsair dominater ram is great for gaming, look into that.
 
What are you going to do in regards to a DVD-RW? I have an IDE Lite-On that works great. Let me know if you want it.
 
I've got this PSU... it's a beast.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139002

Have had it for 6 months now to replace my OCZ PowerStream and I'm glad I made the move. It looks great, silent, highly efficient, plenty of juice, and it's modular. The only problem is that it's pretty damn expensive.

But having used it, all I can say is I love the little features: wire fitted connectors, easy release, and easy to hide.

As for the case, I'd look at some of the Antec ones. They're pretty well built I hear (though I use an Ultra Aluminus myself).
 
[quote name='Splunker']Depending on the type of video card you wish to buy and the number of hard drives in your computer, a 550watt PSU will likely not be enough. If you wish to go all out (which you are by the looks of the CPU you are buying) I wouldn't go anything less then 750watts.

Corsair dominater ram is great for gaming, look into that.[/QUOTE]

I think 550 is plenty, judging by THG builds. They often use 450w PSUs with an 8800GTS, E6750, 4 sticks of RAM and two HDs...
 
Thanks for the input so far guys.

I currently have a x800xl which i am sitting on until crysis comes out(expecting a price drop)

With regards to the PSU, I was thinking 450-460 would be sufficent?
I run 4hd's minimum, 2-4 will be internal.

I'd like to keep the case relatively quiet but well ventilated, i'm sick of hearing my computer fans.
For the case, I feel like I'd want to see them in person before I'd buy it online or whatever as it is something I will be looking at for years to come. I'm open to your reccomendations.

For the motherboard I'm stuck on Gigabyte so if anyone has time and would help me narrow down the options i'd appreciate it.
When it comes to RAM i wouldn't think that kingston value ram would be any worse then their regular kingston brand for example.
 
Get a p35 chipset on the mobo. Also, might as well get 4 gigs ram, since its so cheap right now. Ive seen OCZ platnum 800mhz ram for $55 after rebates for 2 gigs at mwave and clubIT. As far as a PS, Theres better than alot of the Antecs for the same money. Seasonic, OCZ, and PC Power and Cooling come to mind. Personally, Ive never had a problem with Ultra PS (The V series are crap, the X series are decent). Plus, if you are patient, ever 2 or 3 months Frys or TD does a X series for free or close to it after rebate.
 
For the power supply, remember, it's not all about the wattage - read about the rails and all that.
I have an Enermax Whisper - 535W running an overclocked e6420, 8800GTS 640, a 74GB raptor, a 320GB HD, sound card, two optical drives, etc with no problem.

www.jonnyguru.com

That guy is legit
 
[quote name='Vinny']I've got this PSU... it's a beast.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139002

Have had it for 6 months now to replace my OCZ PowerStream and I'm glad I made the move. It looks great, silent, highly efficient, plenty of juice, and it's modular. The only problem is that it's pretty damn expensive.

But having used it, all I can say is I love the little features: wire fitted connectors, easy release, and easy to hide.

As for the case, I'd look at some of the Antec ones. They're pretty well built I hear (though I use an Ultra Aluminus myself).[/QUOTE]
I second the Corsair 620W PSU - although its $20 cheaper at ZipZoomFly

I recently put together my first PC in August...

I got the Gigabyte GA-P35-DS3P because I wanted firewire... if you don't need that then get the GA-P35-DS3R.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128050

Patriot Extreme memory:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820220144

Antec P180B Case:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811129017

I bought most of my parts at ZipZoomFly because NewEgg charges tax to NJ and shipping. ZZF has free shipping on everything.
 
Here are 3 gigabyte boards....Looking at the specs, I'm not sure of what the difference is except costing more.

Gigabyte GA-P35-DS3L
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128059

Gigabyte GA-P35-DS3R
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128050

Gigabyte GA-P35C-DS3R
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128048

And with Ram setting (mhz)DDR2 800, DDR2 1066 or DDR3. I'm not sure which ram, to buy. I'd just go with the cheaper architeture as I'm not sure of the difference.

Still struglling with figuring out the right wattage of power supply, I wouldn't think I'd need more the 500W topps, but I'm not sure.

After I get these last details done I will be building this PC.

Thanks for your input!
 
I'm iffy on DDR3 - it's really expensive at this point and the performance boost you get is negligible right now. I'd really wait on that.

I'd go with 550-600W, but again, check jonnyguru for recommendations - he breaks down the power ratings per rail, overall, yadda yadda. Don't go with cheap power supplies or the bare minimum in terms of wattage - it's way too important.
 
Yea, i'm trying to get a OCZ power supply I really like their cable management system.

I'd still love to hear some input on the motherboards if anyone has an idea.
 
[quote name='UndyingForce']What do you guys think of this case?

http://www.ultraproducts.com/product_details.php?cPath=13&pPath=549&productID=550

frys has it for 25 after rebate:
http://shop3.outpost.com/{TblbbUmIn...H03fSAiUg**.node2?site=sr:SEARCH:MAIN_RSLT_PG

i never see anyone recommend a Nvidia chipset for a mother board...opinions?


Also...were do you guys go for reviews and discussion about PC components besides CAG?[/QUOTE]


That case looks fine. I have a cheapie Ultra and get got the job done. I would recommend investing in a nice case. That way when you upgrade you won't have to upgrade that component. For me, the p180 is the hotness. I love the cable management.
 
Newegg.com has a lot of reader reviews.
Tomshardware.com will sometimes do a rundown of a certain component (cases, memory, etc.)

That case looks good. I had an Ultra Wizard that was nice, a little thin but I liked it. The only reason I got a new one was because my Tuniq Tower CPU cooler was too big for the case. I now have a Cooler Master Centurion 5 and it's great.
 
umm as for motherboards that Abit one mentioned early on is nice. The question you have to ask yourself is if you plan on taking advantage of sli/crossfire. Motherboards, you'd want to use Abit > Gigabyte/Asus by my personal pref... Um, since you're not overclocking you really just need to focus on features.

Ram does matter, I actually use OCZ platinums, but Corsairs are like best in the business.. keep in mind you do have a 1066 fsb, so get ram to match. don't worry about DDR3. nothing you will ever do will require it to be THAT Fast.

If you're not running SLI, you don't really need anything over 450watts. Save yourself some green on your energy bill. but you're running a lot of hard drives 500 should be a good number.

Case is really a personal pref. I prefer cases that are more wide open, mainly cause gfx cards are becoming really long and mid towers can't actually accomodate hardcore gfx cards. but yeah i mean it really doesn't matter cause intels produce like no heat.... I swear my c2d fan barely has to spin and it's like 32c.

Of course if price is no object, you should not even have "cheaper method" in mind. I mean if you're going to build a computer, build it right the first time and you never have to change anything.

yeah sorry not a lot of reccommendations. I haven't looked through the 60 new boards that were released this year... But like a lot of things in life, Brand does matter when it comes to computers.
 
Taking my thread back, thanks again for everyones input.

I have now purchased:

Core 2 Quad

DDR 3
G Skill 2GB

Gigabyte GA-P35C

DVD/RW

5 Sata Drives

will install a 8800 in the future

Final Question

Can I get away installing a 450W psu and get the ample power I need. I ask because my current dell has that much and seems fine.
 
i'm gonna get a ocz, i would think 520 would be more then plenty, i'm trying to conserve power not waste it...
 
hmm 5 satas and an 8800. Umm you're gonna want 500+ definitely. the gfx card is gonna want at least 450 and we never play the minimum game
 
Try Gigabyte>Asus>Abit>MSI>ETC

Gigabytes are one of the best boards from my experience. A great board maker and good for OC'ers, something I don't even do.

Also the board you are looking at only supports a slow ddr2 chipset and for $10 you can get the same board as I, which supports DDR3!!! Along with that for $199 you can get 2gb's of G.Skill, if you want your pc to be cutting edge.
 
dragonsho, all that cash for no ddr3 support?? Are you planning on OC'ing that board a bunch, looks like it has a bunch of heatsinks for maximum cooling. I guess you pay a lot for the crossfire/sli function.
 
[quote name='seen']dragonsho, all that cash for no ddr3 support?? Are you planning on OC'ing that board a bunch, looks like it has a bunch of heatsinks for maximum cooling. I guess you pay a lot for the crossfire/sli function.[/quote] I'm not going to OC right now but most likely will down the line.
What board would you suggest that's similar to this?

Edit:
The intel wiki says that the x38 chipset supports DDR3 1333. I'm not too knowledgeable on hardware so if someone could clear this up that would be great.
 
Thanks. Not sure if I want to grab that mobo or the other one. Hmmm... What it is all coming down to is money.

Is crossfire the name of ATI's SLI? If so, would SLI'ing 2x nVidia cards work?
 
I'm pretty sure you need crossfire for ATI and SLI for Nvidia.

But don't bother with two cards. Single card setups are much cheaper and you won't get mad whenever a game has only a small increase in performance over a single card.
 
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