First build since Athlon XP ruled the world

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IveBeenBad

[H]F Junkie
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Jul 4, 2001
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Alright I am on the edge of clicking the submit order button on newegg, and want some feedback on all this stuff. Usage is general web, office, cd/dvd burning, light gaming (I have all 3 next gen systems on a 50" screen). It doesnt have to be blazing fast, but I wont settle for junk either. This is what I have in my cart:

ABit IP35-E Motherboard. I have heard a lot of good things about P35 chipset and especially this board. Any weird issues I should know about?

Intel C2D E6550. I saw this was the cheapest C2D with 4MB cache. Is this chip a decent OC'er?

2 x 1GB Crucial Ballistix DDR2 800 4-4-4-12 timings. Crucial is what I've always used, Is it still good stuff?

EVGA 8600GT 256MB 128-bit. I've heard the 8800GT was a bad ass, but the reviews I've read all show me that at the 1280*1024 I run my monitor at, the 8600GT should be suitable. Does EVGA still have that trade up program?

Cooler Master eXtreme 550W PSU. Ummm they used to be good for PSU's and its $30 after MIR. ANy suggestions on any other good inexpensive PSU's?

Western Digital SE16 250GB Hard Drive. Western digital still any good? I used a Seagate in my last project, but that was an XBOX with a modchip.

Samsung 20x SATA DVD Burner. A DVD burner is a DVD burner anymore correct?

Cooler Master Centurion 5 Case. Cheap looks good... any known issues?

I would really appreciate any suggestions or comments on these parts... I really need to upgrade my current system as it can barely play UT2K3 lol.
 
the only upgrade i would recommend is either an 8800GT or the new 8800GTS i just dont think you will be happy with that 8600 even if you only game lightly
 
If you have a 400fsb XP processor, I'll gladly take it off your hands.
 
Mobo: A lot of P35 motherboards have a double boot issue where the PC would turn off just seconds after you power it up and then boot up again. It's not a major problem. Just an annoyance really. Usually a BIOs update fixes this issue though.

CPU: The E6550 can OC pretty high. However it's pretty hard to do so since the E6550 only has a 7x multiplier. I recommend going with the E6750 instead. It's only ~$20 more and you'll have a much easier time OCing with it since it has a 8x multiplier.

With C2D CPUs, you want to keep the FSB and RAM at a 1:1 Ratio:
E6550:
Multi x FSB, RAM Speed = Clock Speed
7 × 333Mhz = 2.3Ghz, DDR2-667 << Stock speeds
7 × 400Mhz = 2.8Ghz, DDR2-800 << Easy OC
7 × 465Mhz = 3.2Ghz, DDR2-930 << Good OC
7 × 500Mhz = 3.5Ghz, DDR2-1000 << Great OC

E6750:
Multi x FSB, RAM Speed = Clock Speed
8 × 333Mhz = 2.6Ghz, DDR2-667 << Stock speeds
8 × 400Mhz = 3.2Ghz, DDR2-800 << Easy OC
8 × 450Mhz = 3.6Ghz, DDR2-900 << Good OC
8 × 500Mhz = 4.0Ghz, DDR2-1000 << Great OC

RAM: Good choice. There's a great sale on this set right now. Better order now:
Crucial Ballistix BL2KIT12864AA804 2 x 1GB DDR2 800 RAM - $50

Video Card: Yes eVGA still has it's step-up program. Go search for it on the eVGA site for more details. In shader heavy games (Crysis, Bioshock, UT3, Oblivion), the 8600GT does do remarkably well. Better than the 7900GS in fact. However, for just a few dollars more, you can have a card that absolutely demolishes the 8600GT:
GeCube HV195XTG3-E3 Radeon X1950XT 512MB PCI-E Video Card - $120

PSU: Ditch it. It's not a good quality PSU. A good alternative would be this PSU:
XClio Goodpower 500W PSU - $50

HDD: Yes Western Digital Drives are good. But for the same price as that Western Digital 250GB drive, you can get a 320GB Seagate drive:
Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 320GB 7200RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - $70

DVD Burner: you are correct

Case: It has an 80mm fan thats a bit loud for my tastes. I recommend this cheap case instead. It's pretty good actually:
Cooler Master Elite 330 RC-330-KKN1-GP ATX Case - $25
 
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