finally upgrading/new build - advice?

H

homIcIde

Limp Gawd
Joined
Dec 16, 2002
Messages
395
My old computer (in sig) is on its last legs and I'm finally breaking down for a (mostly) new build. However, I've been out of the loop for a while and am not sure what my best options are. Heres what I'm thinking

Reuse:
HDDs (600GB of mixed IDE and SATA)
Opticals (DVD drive and DVD burner)
Keyboard, mouse, monitor (2407WFP @ 1920/1200)
Audigy 2ZS

New: (All prices from newegg)
C2D E6320 ($165.50)
Asus P5K ($150)
2GB Gskill DDR2 800 ($90)
Antec P180B ($130)
XClio Goodpower 500W ($50)

Where I'm stuck:
8800GTS 320, 8600GTS, or something older?
other fans, HSF, etc that i might want/need?

This computer will be used primarily as a dorm room entertainment type system. I'm on a tight budget and don't really want to spend more than $800. Gaming isn't that important, but I do play a bit of CS:S, AOE3, HL2 - older stuff like that - which I would like to be able to run at 1920x1200. How much vid card power do I need to do that? I will be overclocking and wont be doing anything but minor upgrades (HDD, sound card type stuff, maybe vid card) until after I graduate in 2010. I'm not set on any of the components I've suggested so please offer any ideas. I will be overclocking the CPU.

Thanks in advance
 
You'll need an 8800GTS to run even those games at that res, comfortably. Or a 7950GX2.. which would likely be /more/ expensive. In fact, at that res, with high AA/AF, even the 320MB 8800GTS may not be enough. It will become VRAM limited.

Wait for the July 22nd price break on C2D's, and look around for a better deal on the P180B. They regularly run $40 rebates that bring it down to a much more reasonable $80. I'd also suggest getting some 120mm Yate Loon fans (at $4-5 a piece), 3 or 4, to replace the Antec TriCools that come with the P180B. TriCools move almost no air on low and are loud on high. The Yate Loons move about as much air as the TriCools on high but are almost as quiet as the TriCools on low. If noise doesn't bother you I guess this is a non-issue.

If you intend to OC get a Scythe Ninja Rev B or Sunbeam Tuniq Tower, whichever budget will allow. If you can't afford those an Arctic Cooling Freezer 7 Pro is still much better than the stock HSF.
 
Not being able to use high AA/AF isn't a deal breaker for me - gaming really isn't a huge factor anymore. How much money can I expect to save after the price cuts? Also, where should I be looking out for P180 deals? I will swap out those fans because noise is definitely a concern.

Also, will the xclio be adequate?
 
Another thing - Is the P5K worth an extra $30 over the P5B? Keep in mind I wont upgrade the CPU in the next year.
 
homIcIde said:
Another thing - Is the P5K worth an extra $30 over the P5B? Keep in mind I wont upgrade the CPU in the next year.
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Will you be upgrading in 2 years? Would you be building again (buying a new motherboard at least) when you do? The P5K will allow you to use the 45nm 1333FSB CPUs coming out soon, the P5B will not... I think. Not all that familiar with ASUS boards, but I believe the P5B is 965 based, where as the P5K is P35 based.

The XClio should be enough, but if you get worried there are a lot of definitely better options for $100 or less. The Corsair 520HX is probably the most popular supply in that range right now, but really, unless you get an 8800GTX and a quad core I wouldn't worry too much.

I'm not sure exactly how much you'd save at the price breaks, but you'd certainly be able to get a better chip for that price, so I'd say it's worthwhile.

Get a 640MB GTS if you can find one within budget -- they're coming down, /very/ slowly. I've seen deals for $330 or so in the last few weeks. It's a decision you really /will not/ regret running that high a resolution. Ideal at that res is SLI'd 8800GTX's, so... don't skimp, or I think you'll just end up unhappy.
 
From what I've read so far, the Intel Price cuts only affect the quad core CPUs. So unless you want a quad core CPU for $266, then don't wait for the price cuts. Since you're planning to upgrade your CPU next year, the E6320 is fine for now. But if you want to overclock, then drop down to the E4300 or up to the E6420 since they're both pretty easy to overclock.

I also recommend getting the Gigabyte GA-P35C-DS3R since the motherboard comes with both DDR2 and DDR3 slots. This allows you to upgrade to DDR3 RAM when they become cheaper and significantly faster than DDR2 RAM:
GIGABYTE GA-P35C-DS3R Intel P35 Motherboard - $155

The XClio should be more than adequate for your needs.
 
so the E4300 or E4400 should be about as fast after OC, but cheaper?

also, is the arctic cooling freezer 7 adequate or should i stretch for the tuniq or scythe. i'm poking around looking for P180B deals and hoping to ping this down soon
 
also, what is a good, cheap SATA drive to use for just OS and apps. my files are stored on other drives so it doesn't have to be very large at all
 
homIcIde said:
also, what is a good, cheap SATA drive to use for just OS and apps. my files are stored on other drives so it doesn't have to be very large at all
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Samsung Spinpoint 7200rpm. Quiet, reasonably fast, cheap. I wouldn't suggest buying anything smaller than 250GB from any manufacturer though. Below the 250/320GB mark price per GB goes up fast. Better to spend another $20 and get 320 rather than 80 GB.
 
homIcIde said:
so the E4300 or E4400 should be about as fast after OC, but cheaper?

also, is the arctic cooling freezer 7 adequate or should i stretch for the tuniq or scythe. i'm poking around looking for P180B deals and hoping to ping this down soon
Click to expand...

Well the average OC for the E4300/E4400 is about 3.0 to 3.2Ghz. The average E6300 overclock is around 3.2Ghz. So yes the E4300 should be as fast as an E6300 but cheaper. Also, the E4300 lets you use cheaper and slower DDR2 667 RAM. So if you need to buy a CPU right now, get the E4300 for OCing purposes.

The AC7 Pro is a pretty good HSF and it's a significantly better HSF than the stock Intel HSF. I have my E6400 OC'd to 3.2Ghz with the AC7Pro with an idle temp of 48C and orthos load temp of 57C. And that's without AS5. It is a little bit on the noisy side, at least for me. So I do recommend the AC7Pro. But if you want a near silent HSF and lower temperatures, then see if you can get your hands on the Scythe Ninja.

As for a good cheap hard drive, I recommend the Seagate 320GB. It's a pretty fast drive but kinda noisy but you do get a five year warranty with the drive:
Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 320GB 7200RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - $80

Also instead of getting the P180B, why not get the P182 since it's about the same price as the P180B:
Antec P182 ATX Case - $125
 
P180/P180B/P182 are pretty much the same case anymore. Just different colors. Maybe another fan on the P182? Don't know, don't remember, don't care.

Make sure you buy a retail drive if you get the Seagate -- only the retail drives have 5 year warranties, pretty sure on that.
 
silent-circuit said:
P180/P180B/P182 are pretty much the same case anymore. Just different colors. Maybe another fan on the P182? Don't know, don't remember, don't care.

Make sure you buy a retail drive if you get the Seagate -- only the retail drives have 5 year warranties, pretty sure on that.
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Actually no. Seagate OEM drives also have 5 year warranties.

Also, the P182 basically has more holes and places to route wires through than the older P180s. Thats pretty much the major difference.
 
Danny Bui said:
Actually no. Seagate OEM drives also have 5 year warranties.

Also, the P182 basically has more holes and places to route wires through than the older P180s. Thats pretty much the major difference.
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I was referring to the revised P180's. People have been getting them from Newegg and elsewhere for well over a month now.
 
Danny Bui said:
Well the average OC for the E4300/E4400 is about 3.0 to 3.2Ghz. The average E6300 overclock is around 3.2Ghz. So yes the E4300 should be as fast as an E6300 but cheaper. Also, the E4300 lets you use cheaper and slower DDR2 667 RAM. So if you need to buy a CPU right now, get the E4300 for OCing purposes.

The AC7 Pro is a pretty good HSF and it's a significantly better HSF than the stock Intel HSF. I have my E6400 OC'd to 3.2Ghz with the AC7Pro with an idle temp of 48C and orthos load temp of 57C. And that's without AS5. It is a little bit on the noisy side, at least for me. So I do recommend the AC7Pro. But if you want a near silent HSF and lower temperatures, then see if you can get your hands on the Scythe Ninja.

As for a good cheap hard drive, I recommend the Seagate 320GB. It's a pretty fast drive but kinda noisy but you do get a five year warranty with the drive:
Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 320GB 7200RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - $80

Also instead of getting the P180B, why not get the P182 since it's about the same price as the P180B:
Antec P182 ATX Case - $125
Click to expand...


So the E4300 + DDR2 667 can yield roughly the same performance as the E6320? I think I'd prefer to go that route then because it would make more space for the scythe - sound is an issue.

WRT the P180/P180B/P182, what type of price should I be looking/waiting for before I buy one? What is the best I can expect?

I already have one Seagate 320 and like it a lot. I think I'll probably just pick up another
 
homIcIde said:
WRT the P180/P180B/P182, what type of price should I be looking/waiting for before I buy one? What is the best I can expect?
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Wait a bit and look around, you can probably pick one up for around $90. If you must have it right now, around $125. I got mine for $85 after rebate about 2 months ago.
 
silent-circuit said:
Wait a bit and look around, you can probably pick one up for around $90. If you must have it right now, around $125. I got mine for $85 after rebate about 2 months ago.
Click to expand...

I got the P180B from Fry's a couple weeks ago for $100 - $50MIR, free shipping. It was the updated version, very similar to the P182. I don't know if that deal will come around again, I just wanted to let you know how low it got.
 
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