Intel Computer setup

[dragonsm]

Hey everyone-

I sat down this evening with a co-worker of mine and we laid out an initial build setup for him. I did some searching and think we are looking at a decent solid build, however there are a few items that we'd like to get some input on.

Located here in the states, he'd like to stick with intel, pc will be used for some game play (COD series, Battlefield, and whatever else strikes his interest) Only other thing, rather than trying to get the components from different companies to maybe save a buck or two, they'll be purchased in one big order.

The buget amount we initially set for the case and everything inside was around $1000.00

Case- Cooler Master Elite 330
$44.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16811119115
He isn't into the flashy cases, something more simple/functionality that won't be an eyesore when friends/family come to visit.

Power Supply - Cooler Master Igreen Power 500 watt continuous
$99.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16817171010

Motherboard - Gigabyte GA-P35-DS3L
$89.99
I believe most of us know what board this is. I recently built a pc for my brother and had nothing but a positive experience with it. However, one question we have is in regards to the Gigabyte GA-EP35C-DS3R motherboard and whether this would be a better choice. Right now I am leaning more towards the DS3L.

CPU - C2D E8400 Wolfdale
$209.99
It'd probably either be this or a Q6600. Leaning towards the E8400.

Heatsink - Arctic Freezer 7
$31.99

Video Card - EVGA GeForce 8800GTS
249.99 (with a $30.00 rebate)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16814130337

Hard Drive - Seagate Barracuda 500GB 16MB cache SATA drive
$99.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16822148136

DVD Drives - 2 Samsung 20X DVD+R
29.99 x 2
http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16827151153

RAM- (Here is where we might also need some input)
4 gigs definately
One option was the Corsair 4GB DDR2 800
76.00
http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16820145184
or
G.Skill 2gb (2x1) DDR2 1066
$120.00 for 4 gigs
http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16820231144

Wondering if the difference in RAM will make a difference. This pc will not be overclocked and also will probably not be constantly upgraded. He's more looking to build one solid pc for both work and play. Hopefully I didn't forget anything.

With the above parts, he is roughly at his target price. He'd just like confirmation that what components he chooses will play nice together and he is also picking components that will give him a good solid system that will last for a few years without an upgrade.

Monitor, keyboard, mouse, OS he already has.

A big thanks in advance!

Steve

 

[chinaman1472]

Most of the parts are pretty solid. Here are some alternatives.

Power Supply: Antec Earthwatts 500w for $50 AR
http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16817371007

Heatsink: Xigmatek HDT-S1283 for $37
http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16835233003
The advantage is that it's much better at doing it's job. The disadvantage is the assembly (and +$6). I think the AF7P is push pin while the Xigmatek is a bolt-thru kit. Since you're not overclocking though, an aftermarket cooler isn't necessary unless you want less noise/heat.

Hard Drive: Western Digital 640GB for $120
http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16822136218
More space per dollar, better performance. Not really necessary if you don't need the space or the minor performance increase though, but it is a better HD.

RAM: G.Skill 4GB for $75
http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16820231122
Definitely get 4GB of DDR2-800 if you're not overclocking. The Corsair set you picked out is also good, but G.Skill has been known to use high quality parts in their assembly.

Remember to get 64-bit Vista (or 64-bit XP which has really bad support) to utilize all 4gigs of memory.

 

[MarcVenice]

Chinaman, the Xigmatek is ALSO pushpin, I'd also get the xigmatek though, it's better then ac7 pro and only 5$ more. The ac7 pro is nice, but only if it costs 20-25$ tops.

The PSU is a good alternative, 100$ is a bit much for the coolermaster i-green. You could buy a 520hx for that money, which is modular and pretty quiet.

Here's another alternative for the HDD: http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16822152100 it's roughly equally fast as the WD, and has another 110gb extra.

The g.skill or corsair will both be fine, and yes, get 2x2gb of ddr2 800mhz, ddr2 1066 is not necesary and won't give ANY extra performance at all, since at auto it won't even run at 1066mhz

Last but not least, consider a different case. Like this one: http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16811129024 it comes with the antec earthwatts 500w, so in the end you pay 40$ for the case, which is pretty good, not flashy and should look pretty good in a livingroom. I love the antec p182 myself, because it's easy on the eyes, is very quiet and still provides enough airflow. I can't find it on newegg: http://www.google.com/products...q=antec+p182&lnk=qsugt it's more expensive though.

There's other options too, like this one: http://www.newegg.com/Product/...l+PC-K7B+Computer+Case it's basicaly a black box if you ask me, but it's not hard on the eyes, and lian li cases are high qaulity.

 

[dragonsm]

I really appreciate the heads up advice!

Thanks!
Steve

 

[DSF]

Welcome to AT. Nice to see a post where some homework has been done ahead of time.

Another case option by Coolermaster that's a little bit more expensive but also a little bit better:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16811119047

I would second the Corsair 520HX over the Coolermaster PSU. The modular cabling is nice to have, and it's not just pretty quiet, it's near silent. I know you want to order all in one place, so I've included the Newegg link, but it's less expensive at buy.com so I'm just throwing that out there too.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/...E16817139001&Tpk=520HX
http://www.buy.com/prod/corsai...loc/101/203270716.html

The Corsair RAM is fine, and so is the G.Skill that chinaman linked. If you're not overclocking it doesn't matter too much, and there's certainly no reason to pay for DDR2-1066, especially if it means losing 2GB of memory.

As far as hard drives, the Seagate you picked out is a generation old. For a nice quiet but decent performance drive check out the Samsung Spinpoint 500GB drive. The other recommendations in this thread are good as well.

Also, since you're not overclocking I would just point out that you don't necessarily need an aftermarket heatsink.

 

[dragonsm]

With some of the suggestions, it may free up another 100 - 200. One other area of "question" is in regards to the CPU. The E8400 looks to be an impressive CPU. Are there any other choices out there within the 100 - 200 dollar range of the E8400 that would be a better choice? Quad Core CPU better choice? (q9300?)

 

[MarcVenice]

If he will only be gaming and no major video-encoding will be done or other really CPU intensive tasks that support quadcores, then the e8400 is you're best option in that range. There's also the E7200 that should be just fine for gaming and could save you some money. If you are still in budget I'd stick with the e8400 though, it offers pretty good bang for buck.