Help for my first build

T

Tom H

Geek Trainee
Hello everybody @ HF. :D

After many years of buying my pc's from big retailers I have now decided to build 1 my self........... for the first time:swt: So I need your help regarding campatebility and quality. My budget is £800 or as close as possible. I do a little bit of gaming but nothing to hard core......... got to work:blahha: but most of the work on the pc is photo editing, word, excel etc. So this is what I have come up with. Please tell what you think:

Case: Antec P180
Mobo: MSI 975X Platinum
PSU: Antec Smartpower 2.0 SP-500 PGB (500w)
Cool: Akasa AK-961
CPU: Intel Core 2 Duo E6600
HD: WD Caviar SE16 320Gb S300 16MB
Ram: Corsair TWINx2x2048-6400 (2Gb)
GC: Sapphire Tech. Radeon x1950pro 512Mb
SC: Creative SB Audigy 7.1 (OEM)
DVD-rom: Sony 1622
DVD-RW: Sony AW-G170AB2

As I'm on a budget I have compomised on the graphics card ........ would like to run crossfire eventually, and I might have to limit my self to 1 Gig to start with and add on a later date.

Looking forward to hear from you all. :beer: Cheers

Tom
 
Looks good. If you want to save a little extra, you might go with some of Corsair's Value Select or Kingstons ValueRAM stuff instead of that XMS2, especially if you'll be leaving things at stock speeds.
 
Personally, It all looks good to me as far as choice of components go. However, I cannot comment on compatability....

The case looks tight as far as space for the mobo in concerned but with so many fans, this muva should move galons of air! It seems to be very big on tooless installation.

Ahhhh, I wish I was on this sort of budget..... :eek:

Try not to cut corners if you can.... I am still paying for that mistake.
If you are not a serious gamer, I would stick with 1G RAM if it helps you get better graphics. Will this sort of PSU future proof you?

You see, at the moment you are not a heavy gamer. But maybe if you had the right tech you might become one? Point to think about....
 
Big B said:
Looks good. If you want to save a little extra, you might go with some of Corsair's Value Select or Kingstons ValueRAM stuff instead of that XMS2, especially if you'll be leaving things at stock speeds.
Click to expand...

I'm all new to this so for starters I'll keep it simple i.e. no messing with standards till I know more:D . Will it not limit the speed of the machine if I go for lower quality bits??
 
sabashuali said:
If you are not a serious gamer, I would stick with 1G RAM if it helps you get better graphics. Will this sort of PSU future proof you?
Click to expand...

So would I be better of with a better graphics card and less ram? So what you are saying is that the PSU is just enough, but if I wanted to expand then I might have to upgrade it?
 
I think Big B is trying to say that corsair are manufacturers of extra ordiner RAM and that if OCing is not hapening and your system is of no danger of being overloaded (from your description this is very unlikely - overloading that is....) you should be fine with OCZ's value memory which is like the BMW 3 class rather than 7. If I got the drift.

The idea of a powerfull graphics card is that it gives you better graphics without burdening the rest of your computer. Or burdening the rest of the system less. The way I see it, and I could be completely wrong, having a better graphics card in your instance, will benefit you more than another GB of RAM.

PSU is one of the items which might not have to be replaced as often as, lets say a motherboard or CPU. You could very well power a completely different rig in a year or two with the same PSU. For that reason, you might want to attempt to read the futuer to see whether you are safe with an average 500W PSU or spend a bit more and get something which will serve you a bit longer. Again from experience. I bought a value 400W which 'blew up' my mobo after a few weeks. Now I am using an Enermax noise taker, for nearly two years. I know for a fact that this one will serve me for a long time. So it was worth the £60 I payed (eBay). It is to date, the second most expensive components in my PC.
 
Tom H said:
I'm all new to this so for starters I'll keep it simple i.e. no messing with standards till I know more:D . Will it not limit the speed of the machine if I go for lower quality bits??
Click to expand...

The stuff I mentioned is quality as well. The difference is that the stuff you have is geared for overclocking, and will generally be able to be pushed to much higher speeds. However, if you're going to be sitting at stock speeds, then it's kinda useless to have some XMS2 in there. Actually PC2-6400 is even faster than what you'll use at stock. PC2-5300/5400 is plenty, and any solid brand, like Corsair, Crucial, Kingston, Patriot, G.Skill...to name a few, will do just as good of job as the higher-end stuff.

It won't limit the speed, because you'd be using something that's much faster than what will be used at stock speeds. Memory is like a tire speed rating: if a tire says it's good for 150MPH, it will run fine at 40MPH. Same with RAM: that PC2-6400 will run fine at slower speeds (not to mention that it will, as the CPU bus---or FSB: Front Side Bus---uses a common frequency that's much slower than the RAM's top speed), so you are, in a sense wasting money on a ceiling you're not going to come close to hitting.
 
Big B said:
Actually PC2-6400 is even faster than what you'll use at stock. PC2-5300/5400 is plenty, and any solid brand, like Corsair, Crucial, Kingston, Patriot, G.Skill...to name a few, will do just as good of job as the higher-end stuff.
Click to expand...

Thanks for all the fantastic advice so far. It has been very informative and helpfull especially for a novice like me. :good:

Because I'm the novice I still have som questions ............ and yes some of them might be a little stubid. But if I dont ask I wont know.:doh:

Now regarding the PC-6400 vs. PC-5300/5400. I've been told that paying the exstra money for the 5300/5400 vs. 4200/4300 RAM is not a good idea as the "slower" ram actually will be faster then the "faster" RAM because of the prosessers speed. That is why I opted for the 6400 RAM.

Quote from other forum: The FSB of a Core 2 is 266 MHz (1066 MHz effective), which makes DDRII533/PC2-4200 with its 266 MHz DRAM Clock the perfect match. DDRII667/PC2-5300 will actually throw the memory subsystem out of synch with the processor, and you stand to lose performance. You need to step up to DDRII800/PC2-6400 before making any significant ground.

What do you guys think?????????????

For the build it self what tools will I need and is there any thing I specially should be looking out for???
 
I think you'll understand this better if I pull a time machine and give a quick history lesson on processor advancement.

When the Pentium 4 was introduced, it used a quad-pumped FSB, which rendered a 400MHz FSB, compared to the 100 and 133MHz available with it's Pentium 3 line. It took a common (or base) frequency and multiplied by 4.

(base freq) x 4 = FSB

This also applies to the Core 2 processors.

Now, traditionally, the CPU's clock speed has been determined with a multiplier and the FSB. However, instead of the FSB, the base frequency was used. Therefore,

the traditional way:

(multiplier) x (FSB) = CPU clock speed

The Pentium 4 did it like this:

(multiplier) x (base freq) = CPU clock speed.

Now, you'll find that if you divide the Core 2 Duo's 1066MHz by 4, you end up with 266.5MHz. However, for this purpose, we round up to 267MHz (although you can still get the picture if you round down to 266MHz).

To finish this, we need to look at DDR/DDR2 math. DDR= Double Data Rate. Older RAM, like SDR (Single Data Rate) operated at the rise of the clock (which in binary would be 1, or 'on' vs the fall--0, or 'off'). DDR operates at both the rise and fall of the clock. Therefore, at the same clock speed, DDR moves data at twice the speed of it's predecessor.

Guess what you get when you divide 533MHz in half? 266.5MHz, PC2-4200 speeds. Table here.

Now, on that basis, yeah, there's no point in getting anything faster. However, PC2-5400/5300 prices aren't that much more, whereas PC2-6400 does have a noticeable jump in price.

As far as the faster RAM slowing things out of sync with the CPU, that's not true. By default, the motherboard will go with a common frequency between them all, which typically will set the stock speed anyway. Remember, the speeds indicated on the RAM are the maximum guaranteed speeds, so it will function fine below that speed. The reverse, cannot be guaranteed, as that constitutes overclocking and there are no guarantees there.
 
Sorry I havent replyed sooner. Been busy at work and with my flu:danger:

Thanks for the history lesson Big B -------- very informative :good:
I've looked at prices for 4200, 5300 & 6400 RAM There is a price difference of £15 to 30 between each speed of ram depending on brand so if I can strike a deal with the shop i'll go for the 6400 if not i'll get the 5400.

So this is how the system looks (on papir):

Case: Antec P180
Mobo: MSI 975X Platinum
PSU: Antec Smartpower 2.0 SP-500 PGB (500w)
Cool: Akasa AK-961
CPU: Intel Core 2 Duo E6600
HD: WD Caviar SE16 320Gb S300 16MB
Ram: Corsair Memory TWIN2x2048-6400C4 or TWIN2x2048-5400C4PRO(2Gb)
GC: Sapphire Tech. Radeon x1950pro 512Mb
SC: Creative SB Audigy 7.1 (OEM)
DVD-rom: Sony 1622
DVD-RW: Sony AW-G170AB2

If any of you at HF have any does and dont's on the building proces please let me know.

Thanks again for all the help:D :good:
 
Use a screwdriver! The amount of people who use kitchen utensils.....

Go slowly and systematically and dont try to force anything in. Things only go into one slot

Make sure you are neat with the Wires in the case so that you dont get a stray cable stoping your cpu fan while youre not around
 
What about static electricity?? I've heard thats something to look out for i.e. touching radiators before starting to work on the system etc.

Can I upgrade to Vista with this spec:

Case: Antec P180
Mobo: MSI 975X Platinum
PSU: Antec Smartpower 2.0 SP-500 PGB (500w)
Cool: Akasa AK-961
CPU: Intel Core 2 Duo E6600
HD: WD Caviar SE16 320Gb S300 16MB
Ram: Corsair Memory TWIN2x2048-6400C4 or TWIN2x2048-5400C4PRO(2Gb)
GC: Sapphire Tech. Radeon x1950pro 512Mb
SC: Creative SB Audigy 7.1 (OEM)
DVD-rom: Sony 1622
DVD-RW: Sony AW-G170AB2

I know that there will be quite a few problems with Vista for some time to come, but unless I find the time and passion to learn Linux I'm sure that upgrading to Vista is as surtain as amen in the church.

Thanks again for all the help you guys & girls haven given. And what a great forum.

Tom

P.S I'll let you know about the progress.
 
Tom said:
What about static electricity?? I've heard thats something to look out for i.e. touching radiators before starting to work on the system etc.
Click to expand...
Yup thats true..U have to make sure that u dnt have static electricity in ur body..You can buy antistatic band to get rid of it or also if u touch the metal part of your case from time to time, that will do the job for u as well in transfering ur static energy..

Tom said:
Can I upgrade to Vista with this spec:
Click to expand...
Yup! but u wont be able to run DirectX 10, other than that Vista will run smoothly on ur computer... However u might need to increase the RAM if u plan to play heavy graphics games....:ohah:

Tom said:
P.S I'll let you know about the progress.
Click to expand...
Would love to hear that... :good:
Tom said:
Thanks again for all the help you guys & girls haven given. And what a great forum.
Click to expand...
:beer:
 
Hi, if your looking at price then the core 2 duo E6300 delivers very close results to that of the E6600 in testing and gives the most performance for yr money. It also can be easily clocked from 1.86Ghz to 2.8Ghz without the need for much in the way of advance cooling. At just over 100 quid its a very viable option.

Although the mobo you have chosen is ok, there are at least 2 better mobo's out on the market for around the same money. The one i am looking at Asus P5W DH Deluxe i975X Socket 775 - Aria Technology for my own upgrade.

Also this Custom PC

On the Psu front i'd probably up the power a touch. Maybe look at 550 - 600w

The rest of it seems fine.
 
I agree with yorkkev. The Asus P5W DH is a better mobo. I would buy it from Scan.co.uk, it is £8 cheaper than aria. I would also get two DVD+/- RW for less than £20 rather than a DVD-ROM for the same price. NEC 18x18 DVD+/- RW dual layer around £20 from overclockers.co.uk. Like Sabashuali said, the Enermax noise taker is a good PSU there is a 535W at overclockers for about £65
 
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