Building 1st PC, Opinion Needed from Experts!

[D3lta]

Hey guys, first post here!

Soon, I'll be putting together a new computer and I'd like some opinions!

I currently have...

- 1.5GHz CPU
- Intel Pentium 4
- 768MB RAM
- Nvidia GeForce2
- 120GB HDD

I'll be upgrading to...

- Case: Antec 900
[http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811129021&Tpk=antec+900]
- CPU: Intel Core 2 Quad(2.4GHz), hopefully NewEgg will send me the G0 stepping
[http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115017]
- Heatsink: Thermalright Ultra 120 Extreme (I'll most likely overclock the Core 2 Quad to around 3.0GHz-3.2GHz, so I need the extra cooling!)
[http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835109140&Tpk=Thermalright+Ultra-120+Extreme]
- Motherboard: Asus/Intel P35 ATX
[http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131182]
- Power Supply: PC Power & Cooling Silencer 750 Quad
[http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817703009]
- RAM: Patriot Extreme Performance 4GB(2 x 2GB)
[http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820220227]
- Video Card: EVGA GeForce 8800GTX
[http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130072]
- HDD: WD 320GB
[http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136074]
- DVD Drive: Samsung 20x SH-203B
[http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827151153]

What do you guys think? Anything I should change, add, remove, etc...?

Thanks for all help.

 

[OrbitzXT]

I literally finished putting my new system together a couple hours ago and have some similar parts as you. NewEgg shipped me a G0 which I was pleased about, and you can't go wrong with the 8800GTX. Overall very nice choices

 

[D3lta]

Thanks for the quick reply. My main concern is the RAM. In another forum a few people said that the RAM I chose isn't a good choice for overclocking, and the reviews on NewEgg say that also, and since I plan on overclocking, how much could this affect me? Should I be looking at another set(I'd like to have 2 x 2GB so I can still upgrade in the future...)?

 

[kwchang007]

Thanks for the quick reply. My main concern is the RAM. In another forum a few people said that the RAM I chose isn't a good choice for overclocking, and the reviews on NewEgg say that also, and since I plan on overclocking, how much could this affect me? Should I be looking at another set(I'd like to have 2 x 2GB so I can still upgrade in the future...)?

If your planning on overclocking past the rating of the ram....you'd be better off getting 1gb sticks, something like the crucial ballistixs. At any rate, you do know you have to have a 64 bit os to fully utilize 4gb of system ram?

 

[D3lta]

.

 

[DrunkenMafia]

ver y nice specs mate... you will have no probs there.

The only think I suggest is to make sure you get the sata model of dvd burner so you don't have to have ide cables in your case.....

Also that psu comes in 2 designs, a black one for sli and a red for crossfire... they are exactly the same just diff colours... your choice..

Another thing... Have you thought about getting a raptor hdd for your gaming etc.... Might be worth while since you have the best of everything else....

And you will need to buy a good 120mm fan for your cpu heatsink... I don't think they come with one from memory...

You are going from a 1.5gig & geforce 2....... to a quad 3 gig with 8800GTX....

haahahahaaa you will be blown outa the water....

Good luck with the build mate

 

[kwchang007]

So is it better to get 4 x 1GB sticks, and overclock with those?

Yeah, I've heard of that. I'll be getting a 64 bit Vista Ultimate/XP Pro, anyways.

Uhh if you're only going to go for 3.2 ghz....don't worry about it. 9x400=3600 mhz. So if you get ddr2 800 mhz memory, it would be fine cause you'd be running at our slightly above or below the rated speed.

 

[D3lta]

ver y nice specs mate... you will have no probs there.

The only think I suggest is to make sure you get the sata model of dvd burner so you don't have to have ide cables in your case.....

Also that psu comes in 2 designs, a black one for sli and a red for crossfire... they are exactly the same just diff colours... your choice..

Another thing... Have you thought about getting a raptor hdd for your gaming etc.... Might be worth while since you have the best of everything else....

And you will need to buy a good 120mm fan for your cpu heatsink... I don't think they come with one from memory...

You are going from a 1.5gig & geforce 2....... to a quad 3 gig with 8800GTX....

haahahahaaa you will be blown outa the water....

Good luck with the build mate

The DVD Burner/Drive is SATA-only.

Yeah, a lot of people recommended to get a 120mm fan for the heatsink, I'll probably get one of those too. Any specific one you recommend, that would fit on the heatsink I'm getting?

I've been thinking about getting a Raptor, could you explain to me the performance differences between a non-Rapture HDD. I'll be buying Crysis, Flight Sim X and a couple other games.

And yeah, you have no idea how tired I am with my current computer... takes about 15-20 seconds to open up IE, 10 minutes to open up PhotoShop... just a pain in the ass.

Thanks for all the help everyone!

 

[D3lta]

Uhh if you're only going to go for 3.2 ghz....don't worry about it. 9x400=3600 mhz. So if you get ddr2 800 mhz memory, it would be fine cause you'd be running at our slightly above or below the rated speed.

Alright, thanks, than I'm just going to stick with my current RAM.

 

[V lyx]

Imo your build is good. Don't worry about getting a raptor unless you have the money to spend on 2 of them(or you could just go raid0 for less). The only regret I have with my rig is that the case is way to big .

 

[hat]

Looks all good to me.

 

[panchoman]

If your planning on overclocking past the rating of the ram....you'd be better off getting 1gb sticks, something like the crucial ballistixs. At any rate, you do know you have to have a 64 bit os to fully utilize 4gb of system ram?

nope, on a 32 bit os, many cpu's have a memory controller thing that uses all 4 g even the systme doesn't detect it. i'll c if i can find the microsoft article.

edit:
okay here we go, found a article somewhere else, imma just quote from it:

"All of the Intel x86 family processors since the Pentium Pro include a memory-mapping mode called Physical Address Extension (PAE). With the proper chipset, the PAE mode allows access to up to 64 GB of physical memory. When the x86 executes in PAE mode, the memory management unit (MMU) divides virtual addresses into four fields.

The MMU still implements page directories and page tables, but a third level, the page directory pointer table, exists above them. PAE mode can address more memory than the standard translation mode not because of the extra level of translation but because PDEs and PTEs are 64-bits wide rather than 32-bits. The system represents physical addresses internally with 24 bits, which gives the x86 the ability to support a maximum of 2^(24+12) bytes, or 64 GB, of memory.

As explained in Chapter 2 , there is a special version of the core kernel image (Ntoskrnl.exe) with support for PAE called Ntkrnlpa.exe. (The multiprocessor version is called Ntkrpamp.exe.) To select this PAE-enabled kernel, you must boot with the /PAE switch in Boot.ini. "​

so all you do is put that switch in, and you have all 4 gigs being used with no problem. ocing will be actually better with 4gb 2x2 that then 4g 4x1 because the more dimm slots in use, the more strain you put on the nb, the patriots may come with d9's. i'm not sure, but very good memory. the only thing i have an issue with is the psu. for gaming rigs. you're better off with one beefy rail, rather then 4 indivual rails, while the rails do help( if psu dies, you're whole system doesn't go,etc.) you lose some power while switching rails, etc. so i suggest a signel big beefy rail. try this psu: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817256017 silverstone psu. silverstone's got a good rep as psu company, the psu is built by enhance which is a decent psu maker. you've got your active pfc for high efficency on one nice and juicy rail and its 750 w and its 50 bucks cheaper then the psu you had orignially, which used seasonic. its sorta more reliable, but this one is very good and its got everything you need (except for modular cabling, sorry about that) ..
and also asus boards that are p5k and under(like the vanilla) are terrible boards. only get the deluxe or premium, or just get gigabyte boards. which oc better then the asus ones, as tested by toms hardware guide. as for the cooler. 3.0-3.2? people have been able to get 3.6-3.8 (depending on your case cooling) on the g0 q6600 with a thermalright ultra extreme 120.

 

[D3lta]

so all you do is put that switch in, and you have all 4 gigs being used with no problem. ocing will be actually better with 4gb 2x2 that then 4g 4x1 because the more dimm slots in use, the more strain you put on the nb, the patriots may come with d9's. i'm not sure, but very good memory. the only thing i have an issue with is the psu. for gaming rigs. you're better off with one beefy rail, rather then 4 indivual rails, while the rails do help( if psu dies, you're whole system doesn't go,etc.) you lose some power while switching rails, etc. so i suggest a signel big beefy rail. try this psu: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817256017 silverstone psu. silverstone's got a good rep as psu company, the psu is built by enhance which is a decent psu maker. you've got your active pfc for high efficency on one nice and juicy rail and its 750 w and its 50 bucks cheaper then the psu you had orignially, which used seasonic. its sorta more reliable, but this one is very good and its got everything you need (except for modular cabling, sorry about that) ..
and also asus boards that are p5k and under(like the vanilla) are terrible boards. only get the deluxe or premium, or just get gigabyte boards. which oc better then the asus ones, as tested by toms hardware guide. as for the cooler. 3.0-3.2? people have been able to get 3.6-3.8 (depending on your case cooling) on the g0 q6600 with a thermalright ultra extreme 120.

Yeah, but the Motherboard I listed is the Deluxe version, so I'm guessing it's the good one. Thanks for the suggestion of the PSU, I'll look into it.

As for the OCing, I might go even higher if I see the temprature isn't too high and everything works well. 3.0GHz-3.2GHz is more like a minimum...

 

[panchoman]

you should be able to get 3.5 easily. even though you have the deluxe version, i like gigabyte p35 boards lol, they have a higher fsb wall then asus and the cheap ones work very well too dont oc right when you get the system lol. give it a week of moding and fixing and tinkering and what not and once you have good temps, etc. try ocing lol. its like 3.6 for air, 4.2 for water, and 4.5 for tecs ithink.