check this spec

[zoomg7]

hi

I'm just about to build my first pc and there is a few issues where I'm not sure what to do

mobo: asus p5e3 premium wifi-ap
memory: ocz 2gb kit (2 * 1gb) ddr3 1333MHz reaper series
cpu: intel core 2 duo e8400 3GHz s775
gpu: 512mb gigabyte radeon hd4870
hdd: 500gb seagate st3500320as
optical drive: pioneer dvd-215bk
psu: 620w corsair hx series
case: sharkoon rebel 9 value

Is that look ok?
I'm also consider to buy a scythe mugen (infinity) and I'm worry if this cooler will fit to to this case with thier 200mm width and 250mm side panel fan stick out into the case.

Thanks for any help. Cheers

[staffsMike]

Although I do hear good things about the sharkoon as a budget case the antec 300 will probably serve you better. It's a stal at £35 really.

Or spend a bit more on the Coolermaster MC-690 which is my current pick of the bunch. It did represent amazing value at £45 but now at £60ish it's still a good case

I wouldn't buy seagate drives personally but everyone is different. The western digital AAKS is what get's my money and the samsung F1's are very good to.

Scythe Infinity is nice but I would take the ninja in preference. Same sort of performance but works better with low speed fans. This weekends today only at scan has this, http://www.scan.co.uk/product.aspx?ProductId=22841 for £17 which is also a great deal

Personally I would take either the Q6600 over the E8400, solid overclocker and great multitasking grunt which will come into play more and more as time goes on (assuming you wish to keep this setup for a while). If you want dual I would save money and get the E7200 which is also a good solid overclocker by most of it's reviews and easier to overclock too with it's lower FSB.

Lastly and most importantly, don't buy that board or DDR3 RAM, total waste of time really, unless you are planning on insane overclocking (water cooling or more) then there is no point in it.
Stick with a decent DDR2 based board and get 4GB of DDR2 which is about £60 -£80 depending on which speed you get. PC6400 would be my choice but you may want PC8500 for overclocking that E8400. Motherboard wise, the Abit IP-35 PRO is a great overclocker The new P45 boards also represent good value.

[ezri]

I'd swich the hard drive for a Samsung F1 Spinpoint 500, it's cheaper, faster and quieter. I'd agree with staffsMike on the case, I'd rather just get an Antec 300. Also on the DDR3 + board, DDR3 is still not worth it so I wouldn't bother and just get some nice DDR2 and a nice DDR2 board and save yourself a packet.

[zoomg7]

As I said this is my first attempt to build pc so thank you for constructive criticism. I plan to keep this hardware configuration for maybe 2 yers and then change only e8400 to q9550 and add extra gpu in crossfire or swap for new better single car. This is the reason why I choose mobo with x48 and ddr3.

[staffsMike]

Well you could get an X38 which uses DDR2 (abit iX38) or the new P45 motherboards (I think give you PCIe 8x in xfire). That said single GPU is always the better way to go to ensure bangs for bucks

If you think you are going to upgrade this to quad core, you might as well just buy a Q6600 now. They can easily be overclocked to 3.4GHz and above usually and as we have been saying in a couple of other threads recently, 2.4GHz is all you really need for games right now anyway.

[zoomg7]

Maybe you have right. Maybe q6600 is better choice. Obviously I thinking about overclocking cpu so which chipset do yuo recommend for me? x48,x38 or p45. I like gigabytes mobos. Are they any good for oc?

[staffsMike]

They are supposed to be good but I'm not a fan so not exactly sure what to recommend to you. The Abit IP-35 PRO is a great board but also the ASUS P5Q (p45) or P5K -E or -C (P35) will be great to.

I wouldn't read too much into 1600MHz FSB or PCIe 2.0 tbh, the only other advantage over the P35 the other boards have is crossfire but single GPU solutions are widely accepted as the best setup's for midrange gaming

[Zhaoman]

ddr3 provides next to no performance benefits, not until nehalem gets pushed to the limit.

if you want a fully future proofed system then you're gonna have to wait at least till christmas. anything you buy now cannot be upgraded with the CPUs of next year since they will use a different socket.

But that's not to say anything you buy will not last, an overclocked q6600 is likely to last for a long while, and P35 mobos are the best overclocking motherboards money can buy at the moment. or you can just get an e8400, which will be plenty of power and overclocking, and wait a year or two and upgrade the whole lot for an 8 core nehalem.

[zoomg7]

I've just check and really I don't need fsb1600 even for Q9550 so I don't need any x38 or x48 at all. That will save me a few quids for a better case. Asus P5Q Deluxe look really good + OCZ 4GB Kit (2x2GB) DDR2 1066MHz/PC2-8500 Reaper Memory HPC Edition look even better

[Blitzen]

P35 mobos are the best overclocking motherboards money can buy at the moment.

Thats not strictly correct is it?

An X38 or X48 will clock just aswell.
Although not a massive OC, i can hit 3.4ghz without a volt increase and 3.6ghz with a tiny increase.

[staffsMike]

It's not necessarily true no, the fact of the matter is it doesn't matter which one you buy (as long as it's half decent) as they will all overclocking beyond the CPU and the RAM on air cooling so it really doesn't matter. You should just buy the one with the features (including oc features) which you think suits you.

[zoomg7]

Ok. I think this is the right answer for my problem with the mobo, cpu and RAM. Last scythe ninja will fit to 200mm wide case or I need something wider?

[staffsMike]

That's plenty for the ninja.

[zoomg7]

Ok. Thanks for a help