Advice appreciated on new build

[SupaT]

Hello all,

I'm about to attempt my first home-built Pc and have been feverishly scouring the internet for reviews and guidance on the various components needed.

So far I have settled on:

E8400 Core2 Duo S775 3.0GHz 1333MHz FSB 6MB Cache
GeForce 8800GTS 512MB PCIe
Seagate Barracuda 750GB SATA-II 32M 3.5" Hardrive
TruePower Trio 650W

This will be housed inside a Performance One P182 case.

I intend to use the 64-bit version of XP as I'm no Vista fan, and I'll salvage the DVD-writer from my current rig, but where I'm hoping for advice is with the motherboard and RAM.

As I understand it, XP can only use/see 3Gb of RAM, so is it worth me getting 4Gb of cheaper DDR2 RAM and not getting the benefit from all of it, or would I be better off splashing out on (probably) only 2Gb or DDR3 RAM.

I'm also toying with the idea of getting 2 500Gb hardrives and setting them up in a RAID configuration (the DVD writer I'm using will need an IDE connection, so all hardrives will be SATA/SATA II), but if I don't could I drop to a 550W PSU?

I use my rig mainly for gaming, web-surfing and the occasional video conversion. I'm not someone who needs to run games at eye-watering resolutions, and I'm certainly not bothered about an SLi configuration.

I also have never overclocked anything, although during my research for this rig I must say I've become intrigued by the possibilities, so although not a requirement, feel free to recommend anything with the potential.

Thanks in advance, any and all advice greatfully received.

Edit: Sorry, forgot to mention my budget for the motherboard and RAM is about £150, but I don't want to spend it for the sake of it, so if I don't need to, I won't

[Will404]

For the RAM I would go for two sets of DDR2 PC2-6400 RAM, either Corsair TwinX XMS2 (2*1GB, 800MHz, and 4-4-4-12 latency @ £34.83), or another version of Corsair TwinX XMS2 with the same specs but latency's of 5-5-5-18, but only £30.13/set.

They are good and quick, and both have unlimited warranties - good if your not going to overclock them, and I would go for 4 gigs as RAM is sooo cheep at the moment, and Window's website says that it can handle up to "Windows XP Professional x64 Edition supports up to 128 gigabytes (GB) of RAM"!! Who needs that much I don't know.

For the Mobo, I would use one with an intel chipset, as you don't want SLI, something like, Abit IP-35, Dark Raider as it has PCI-e 16x for your GPU, and a 1333MHz FSB, so should be fully compatible. It has 1 IDE for your DVD drive, 6*SATA, and loads of PCI , PCI-e ect. It is compatible with SATA RAID, so you could go with 2*500GB HDD's, and is an ATX board so will fit into the P182 case.
Also it is only £67.79, so presuming you go for the better RAM, at 2*£34.83, thats £137.75, leaving about £12 for to put towards the 2*500GB HDDs, if you decide thats what you want.

Hope that it helps

[SupaT]

Wow, thanks Will, that really does help a lot

I'm going with that motherboard and RAM combination, but, as is always the way, having settled on components I then made the mistake of 'talking tech' with a friend, who just happens to be in the market for a new GPU and has decided on a 'Sapphire' ATI Radeon HD 3870 XT "Toxic Edition" 512MB GDDR4:

Chipset : ATI Radeon HD 3870 GPU @ 800MHz
Memory : 512MB GDDR4 Memory @ 2300MHz

Now, I had intended to buy a 'Zotac' GeForce 8800GTS 512MB PCIe

Chipset : nVidia GeForce 8800GTS (650MHz) ,
Memory : 512MB DDR3 (970MHz x2)

But I notice the Radeon card has higher clock speeds, and I can get it for only £1.50 more, the question is, should I?

[McClane]

Just thought I'd point out that a 64bit OS allows more memory to be addressed. The limitation of a 32bit OS is 4GB and that includes your graphics card memory. 64bit XP allows 128GB to be addressed so if you get 4GB you'll get to use all of it (providing the motherboard supports that much which it will). For more info check here:
CAD Forum - Maximum addressable memory in the individual Windows versions.

[staffsMike]

Better to go for 2x2GB of RAM if you want 4GB. It's both cheaper and easier to overclock and easier on the motherboard.

I would change most of those components to be brutally honest.

You certainly don't need the 650W so 550w would be fine but I would get teh corsair 520W HX. Great PSU and works very well in the P182.

Motherboard wise, the Abit Ip-35 dark raider is very good. Normally around £65 and it's perfect for a decent mid range system. Has all the overclocking features you might want to play with on your first time out to

As for the graphics card, Pretty sure they are EOL (end of line) now so there is little point getting one with the iminent release of the new nvidia and ATi hard, so hold off on that purchase for a week or so.

Also I'd consider the intel Q6600 over the E8400. The quad core is almost as good in games and better at multitasking and most other apps. The difference between them will only grow as more and more programs begin to utilise 4 cores.

[Will404]

You could go with the Radeon graphics card, as it does have higher clock and memory speeds.

Also, have you considered any of NIDIVA's 9 series graphics cards. You could get a decent 9600GT 512MB graphics card for around the same price, such as the 512MB EVGA 9600GT, which has a 740MHz GPU, and 1950MHz GDDR3 memory clock speed, for about £137.72.

Also on the 9600 series you could get something like a 1GB 9600GT XFX card for a little more, £141.46, and this has the advantage of 1GB of memory, and a clock speed of 650MHz GPU, and 1800MHz memory.

If you are willing to stretch your budget a bit, then you could get a 9800 card, such as the 512MB XFX 9800 GTX XT, which has a 720MHz GPU, and a memory speed of 2200MHz. This card has 128bit pipelines, which is double the 9600 cards, and comes at a slightly higher price of £203.25.

It is a bit more, but I would be tempted to go for the latter of the cards

[SupaT]

staffsmike, please be as brutally honest as you like. I came here asking for advice and that's what you're giving me

As for the graphics cards, yeah they're end of line but as I said, I'm not someone who needs to run games at eyewatering levels. I just want something that can run games at higher settings than I'm capable of atm (256Mb card) and that can cope with what's being released now at playable levels.

Won't any new releases come out at silly-hundred pounds then drop over the following year? I want something now (within a month).

The reason I opted for a dual-core rather than a quad-core, was because I thought only 2 types of people went for quads:

1) Those users 'high-end' enough to actually reap the benefits and
2) Those with penises so small they have to have bleeding-edge tech just because it's there

As I am neither, I opted for the dual-core. The 2 processors have a price difference of £11 so money isn't the deciding factor here, I just want what I'll get the most benefit from. When I'm gaming (most of my Pc use) I tend to be gaming and nothing else, and when I'm not I'll be surfing, downloading and maybe watching a movie or listening to some music. I take your point that the difference will become more noticeable as more programs are designed to utilise 4 cores, but is it worth it for me now - I just don't know.

As for the graphics cards, and in case you hadn't noticed I'm rubbish at making decisions, I'm now more confused than ever.

What's more important? More RAM or a higher clock speed? Is it better to have higher memory speed or just more of it? I'm just so confused...

[SiM]

staffsMike doesn't want it for high end reasons, and trust me, his penis is huge... look how many thanks he has.... and we all know thanks is proportional to penis size
there is another reasons to get quad:
3) Hope, that one day gaming will become faster than duals

but you are correct that quad is probably overkill for about 90% of the people who have them...

[staffsMike]

lol well I'm not running quad and won't be for the foreseeable future as my dual is fine for now.

It's fair enough not to buy one if you litterally will not be using the extra multitasking grunt.

Personally I want to be able to game while my PC is encoding video. That is the one critism I have on my system right now, it's one or the other. So in you postion I would jump straight to Quad, It makes the most sense to me

If it's just gaming, then right now you won't notice the difference and in the future.. well we will see.

I don't worry too much about my size.. my gf is satisfied

[SiM]

oh crap, I thought you had a q6600 because those 5 letters usually appear with that picture in quite a lot of your posts

ok I'll stop taking the piss now

[staffsMike]

I did a build with one so had it for a little while.

It was very nice but I'm waiting for a big upgrade, and then my current system can become my HTPC (After I ditch the naff motherboard lol)

[SupaT]

Hehe, the quad-core-penis comment wasn't aimed at anyone I've seen here

Might I request your comments on this little chappie?

GeForce 9800GTX AMP! Edition
Chipset : nVidia GeForce 9800GTX (750MHz)
Memory : 512MB DDR3 (1150MHz x2)

Will cost me £173.60 less tax.

Although I'm based in England, I'm off to Canada next week (hence the "less tax" comment) and I've found a nice looking shop that can generally shave £10-30 off U.K. prices even before the tax rebate...

[staffsMike]

Great card for sure BUT again the new cards are set to be 30% or more better than the 9800GTX so it's probably better to wait.

[SupaT]

And you say they're due to be released in about a week?

Any idea of expected prices??

[staffsMike]

NVidia next week, ATi the week after apparently.

ATi will certainly be in your price range as things are going. The lower of the two new nvidia's may also be in your price range.

[CooperXS]

I'd recommend getting Vista x64 SP1. Nowadays Vista is very reliable and fully supported OS. I doubt WinXP x64 would be a good investment with all those DX10 game titles coming and software vendors prioritizing for Vista platform.

Raid array for casual home system is overkill imho.
Also getting a quad-core is not really required for your needs. 45nm dual-core would be cooler, easier to overclock and easier on the motherboard. Later this year you can upgrade it to 45nm quad-core when Intel will drop prices.

As for motherboard then decent P45 based board with 1600FSB support (not widely available yet) would be good long-term investment for easy-as-pie overclocking to at least 400FSB even for a quad-core (YMMV )
2x2GB RAM config is cheap and will leave a place for an upgrade...what ever you may need 8GB for

As for PSU then any 500W *good quality* will do just fine. Check my config

With both camps introducing new graphic cards within a month it's better to wait jusy a bit more.

So atm you could consider reading through some of the new products' reviews on sites and forums and make your decision.