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post #21 of 50
8/25/06 at 12:37am
Thread Starter 
There are some Corsair RAM modules I could get for only a few dollars more.

Is PNY really that bad, because that is an awesome deal, and it was rated 5 eggs on average with 73 reviews. Of those, the vast majority (79.45% gave it a 5). I can try to find a better brand, but I don't need huge graphics capability, and I certainly don't want to pay an arm and a leg.

As for why nvidia, its because I don't plan on using crossfire, and I have had problems with ATI drivers not supporting all the features of the card.

The DVD burner I have listed is only $30.99, and has a rating 0f 5 eggs with over 200 reviews.

I like the Asus mobo too, but its almost $100 more than the DFI, and I can't afford DDR2 800 RAM at the moment to take full advantage of its capabilities. Guess I can wait a little for the price to come down. After all, I am going to wait for the Core 2 Duo price to drop a little ($357 for a single component...jeez).

I am planning on buying the boxed CPU, so it should come with a fan. I am not going to overclock it either, but I have read on newegg several people having problems with the stock fan, so I was just trying to find out which brand is good.

Thanks for your input. I really appreciate it.
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post #22 of 50
8/25/06 at 1:18am
Thread Starter 
Alright, here is an updated system design, taking into account everyone's suggestions. It's still a little pricey for me, but it has definitely gotten better, and as Core 2 Duo prices drop, and the price of the motherboard drops, it will be good to go.

One quick question: will the current high end graphics card (like the one below) beable to run DirectX 10, or does that require a completely different chip set-up? Does anyone know?

CPU: Intel Core 2 Duo e6600, boxed

Mobo: Asus P5W DH Deluxe

GPU: Sapphire X1800XT 256-bit GDDR3, 256 MB

Memory: Corsair XMS2 DDR2 675, 2 GB

Hard Drive: Western Digital 250 GB 7200 rpm (WD2500KS)

Optical: Samsung 16x DVD Multi Drive

Case: AeroCool AeroEngineII Mid-Tower Case (has spot for a 120 mm fan to blow right on the graphics card to help keep it cool. Needs a power supply, any suggestions for a 500W power supply with 24 pin connectors?)

Extra Fan: Antec TriCool 120mm Blue LED fan

How does that look now? Any more suggestions?

Thanks.
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post #23 of 50
8/25/06 at 3:10am
I picked up a Antec Neo HE 500W for $79 over the weekend on sale at Fry's. How much are you paying for the X1800XT as I got My X1900GT Retail for $199 Free Shipping. If you are concern with te Stock CPU fan, then pre-order the CPU at Outpost .com for $319 and then get a Golden Orb for under $35. works out to about the same.

Also, None of the current cards (including the new X1950XT) support DX10 in hardware. So any DX10 requirement later on will have to be rendered in software. But DX10 software is a bit away. I figure I can run my current card for 12-18 months and then switch to a DX10 card then.
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post #24 of 50
8/25/06 at 4:35am
Thread Starter 
The X1800XT costs 199.99 from newegg. As for the CPU fan, I really have no idea. Some people have had problems (but they are hardcore gamers overclocking the CPU) while others have been fine with the stock fan. I'm not going to overclock it, and for $20 I can buy a second 120mm fan that can be mounted on the side of the case, pointed directly at the CPU (right above the one that will be pointed directly at the GPU).

My only concern then would be power. I will need a connector for the mobo, the GPU, the hard drive (right?), the big front fan, and at least one side fan. Does the Antec psu have enough connectors for that? And the DVD drive doesn't require a power connector does it?

And thanks for the tips on the DX stuff. I am not a huge gamer, so as long as the GPU can run Aero in Vista and my mid-range games (which I know it can) I am happy.

Thanks for all the help!
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post #25 of 50
8/25/06 at 11:15am
The mobo should have at least a couple fan controllers, so the fans will plug into them.. not to mention, I've never ran out of power connectors personally, but I'm sure it's possible..
BTW, 500W sounds good, but I'd go higher, especially if you'd like to one day get into SLI..

I see you went over to the dark side with the GPU, I was tempted to quote your post about having problems with ati drivers...
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post #26 of 50
8/25/06 at 11:36am
Thread Starter 
Yes, but only on one card which I am sure you have heard of-->Xpress 200M. It has OpenGL capability, but the drivers don't allow it for some reason. All other ATI cards I have used have worked fine. It was just that all nVidia cards I have ever used have always worked perfectly.

Besides, as Wiz33 pointed out, the mobo is set-up for crossfire, and its the perfect mobo for my needs. I don't know that I will ever need 2 videocards working together, but if I do, I don't want to have to buy a new motherboard in addition to a second nVidia card.

And since I don't plan on using Crossfire right away, I think I am going to save a little money and just go with the 500W power supply. Will the DVD drive need its own power connector from the psu, or does it get power from the motherboard?

Thanks for all your feedback.
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post #27 of 50
8/25/06 at 12:26pm
all drives get power from the PSU
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post #28 of 50
8/25/06 at 12:31pm
Thread Starter 
Ok, thanks.

If I were to buy a 550W version of the Antec psu, it wont overload any of my components right? It only delivers the power needed by each part, correct? I know in some electronics applications, too much power=very bad. In fact, the payload team on a systems engineering team I worked on hooked an expensive Sony camera up to 12.3 Volts when it was only rated for 12 volts, and they fried it completely in 5 minutes. I just want to make sure I won't do that to all the expensive hardware I would be buying for this PC.
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post #29 of 50
8/25/06 at 1:35pm
Yep, Don't worry about too much power from the PSU.
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post #30 of 50
8/25/06 at 1:47pm
HI Have to chime in a little here. The core duo e6600 is a rock solid cpu Asus makes the best motherbaords hands down. Third check out the nvidia version of that motherboard. Crossfire is crap. If you check my previous posts you will see that iv been buying every high end videocard since the 6800 ultras sli and this includes the recent 7950 x2's. While ati makes great gpu's (i have couple) i would still go with nvidia. For your heatsink go with zalman preferrably the 120 mm fan. Its huge but damn quiet. Most of the zalman lines are great Arctic cooling makes the pro series fans. These are also quiet ( I have used about three of them and love them).

Ram. Baiscally if using an Asus motherbaord go with corsair. Rock solid in them and stable. Remember when buying ram The performance ratio of MGH to latency is in favor of Mghz so get the highest and ignore latency. Third and lastly Get the highest voltage power supply you can get. Pc power and cooling makes hands down the best and they have a new serious called the silencer 750 (or something like that) which gives you a quiet and a powerful power supply that should tidy you over for the next five years.

Any other questions just ask. I apologize that i cant give you the actual model numbers but im working and have little time to look them up.
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post #31 of 50
8/25/06 at 2:40pm
Yup I thought so i just checked Asus website and they finally came out with the P5N32-SLI Premium/WiFi-AP which supports the core duo and the extreme as well as being sli ready. You should check it out.
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post #32 of 50
8/25/06 at 5:15pm
so a systems engineering team hooked something up to the wrong voltage?? that's beyond funny... good thing those pieces of paper are a reflection of intelligence, NOT

for PSU's there's no such thing as too much power like Wiz said. It'll regulate the voltages just fine and won't require a degree in engineering to do it...
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post #33 of 50
8/25/06 at 9:00pm
Thread Starter 
Let me just say I wasn't on that team. I built the airframe and helped calibrate the autopilot, and those two things worked great:-p

I will check out the P5N32, but if it is the one I am thinking of, the P5W has been getting much better reviews, and that's why I was going for it. Especially because it is only 10 bucks more on newegg. I don't know that I will ever use crossfire; I'm not an intensive gamer. I just want the option there for later. By the time I do use it, I'm sure ATI will have fixed the bugs. I will check out the mobo nonetheless. Thanks for the input guys.
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post #34 of 50
8/26/06 at 9:21am
I know someone that just built a system with a P5W and an E6700. He's VERY happy with the system, especially how cool the CPU runs (idles around 22C).
You can't go wrong with Asus, plus they just released a BIOS update to unlock the multiplier in the P5B and said they'll probably release one for the P5W soon..
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post #35 of 50
8/27/06 at 4:10pm
Thread Starter 
So taking a quick poll.

I have designed two systems. The major differences are the motherboard, GPU, and memory. So...

System 1:

-Asus P5W DH Deluxe Motherboard (crossfire)
-Sapphire X1900GT Vivo 256-bit GDDR3, 256 MB (by the way, what the heck is Vivo??)
-Corsair XMS2 2 GB 240-pin DDR2 675 Dual Channel Kit

System 2:

-Asus P5N32-SLI DE Deluxe mobo (SLI)
-PNY GeForce 7600GT 128-bit GDDR3, 256MB
-Corsair XMS2 2 GB 240-pin DDR2 800 Dual Channel Kit


The second system is about $10 more than the first when bought outright, but after rebates and such it is about $30 cheaper (each system is around $1500 for EVERYTHING, meaning keyboard, mouse, display, etc. too). The first system has a mobo with better reviews, a better graphics card, but not as good memory whereas the second system has a mobo and GPU that fit my needs and some very fast memory. What do you guys suggest?
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post #36 of 50
8/27/06 at 4:14pm
vivo is video in video out. And i used it allot when i was using my 7800gtx. It is cool because it basically allows you to use your pc as a dvr where you can run your tv cable box straight off the video card and either just play your tv from your monitor or record the shows on your harddrive and watch them later.
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post #37 of 50
8/27/06 at 4:45pm
Thread Starter 
So VIVO is a built-in tv tuner then?
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post #38 of 50
8/27/06 at 4:48pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by AeroEng2
So VIVO is a built-in tv tuner then?

No all it does is allow video to be both read outside the pc and inside the pc. So basically where most video cards have only video out (playing vidoe to an external display. Vivo allows the pc to also play video from another source(like an external cable tuner) into the pc. Vivo does not have a tv tuner nor does it have any external coding. You basically use software to decode the source.
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post #39 of 50
8/27/06 at 5:04pm
Thread Starter 
But you can still watch tv on your computer monitor correct? Or record tv shows straight to your hard drive?
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post #40 of 50
8/27/06 at 5:06pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by AeroEng2
But you can still watch tv on your computer monitor correct? Or record tv shows straight to your hard drive?

Of course. I used it for both. I recorded shows and watched shows while surfing the net or working on my pc.
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