Building a Computer (tips?)

[IMY]

CPU: Core Duo E8600 (6mb L2 1333mhz FSB) 3.3Ghz
Motherboard: GA EP45T - UD3P
Monitor: BenQ 24" G2411HD
Case: CoolerMaster Elite 334 (420W)
Ram: DDR3 - 2200 RAM (you have no ram listed on your website)
Video: Gigabyte ATI Radeon HD 5870 - "GV-R587D5-1GD-B"
HDD: Seagate 1.5TB SATA HDD (ST31500341AS, 7200RPM, 32mb Buffer)
Standard white or black USB Keyboard ~$10-$15
Microsoft Optical Mouse Standard ~$20-$30
Generic Left/Right Stereo Speaker ~$20
Windows 7 or Vista Home Basic

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Thats what im currently getting quoted. I can put two of those video cards on that motherboard, just depends on its price. A nice expensive stick of corsair ram might be the go, but kingstone is cheap and reliable.

I definitely want Radeon ATI over nVidia, just from the reliabiliy and the fact that i still have a working Ati radeon 9000 128mb frm 10 years ago still working. That and crossfire was the first ability on a motherboard (SLI wasn't out on a motherboard till after crossfire).

I have a Audigy 2 external sound card that will come over. So my sound setup is already done. $20 speakers are for her.

[Genesis]

I dont think a 420W will be sufficient for that system. Especially if you considering another GPU. How much ram you thinking.

[Lothlar]

Rofl no on the psu - I'm running a 4870 and had to upgrade to a 650W - you'd be looking at least at a 700W, prob closer to 1000W if you intend to go crossfire. The 420W with the case won't even have enough power outputs to power up a 5870 (learned all this the hard way).

Also consider having a look at Windows7 Home VS Pro. Its much like windows xp home and pro - differences in the details but its probably worth checking to make sure your system can do what you want it to do (I think pro has an emulator to run all xp stuff while home doesn't or something important like that).

Also with the CPU you may wish to consider looking into a quad core (or an 8x lol) if you don't want to upgrade it for the duration of the box as multi threading is going to be a big push with Windows 7 and more cores means you can spread the load better. I've run a duel core happily for years now but that's because software just isn't optimised to multi thread bar a minority of things like video editing.

RAM you're prob looking at 4gigs to start with that system. Make sure you get the fastest your mobo can take, not the fastest on the market, and make sure its all the same speed.

[IMY]

I considered Quad Core CPU but i am thinking of going with dual Core for price VS capacity. Its only like $320 for a 3.3Ghz CPU if i go with dual core.

Casing power... that was just a rough guess at what ill need. I wont be using the crossfire straight away. ill buy a second video card when the price drops but i do want to set up the power suply unit from the start. Electricity bill is an issue though.

windows 7... vista... i dont mind. Be nice if windows 7 would run my old school beast of a sound card though. There are no drivers for it on vista which shits me hard...

Audigy 2 Platinum ex with 6 satalite speakers and a woofer. Vista/creative wont give me a driver.

What cases are good for price that comes with a sufficient PSU?

[Lothlar]

Get a case you like the look of and get a seperate psu :D. Most cases come with shonky psu's anyway that don't perform to their label. A bigger psu doesn't necessarily mean more electricity either its just capacity. A bigger psu vs a smaller psu running same setup means the bigger one will end up costing you less on the elec bill as less power is wasted through heat and transmission loss as the bigger one is more effcient overall. Also with cross fire be warned for it to work you need 2 of exactly the same card so the idea is you buy 2 at once as the chances of you picking up an exact replica of your current card is much lower in the long run.

Forget crossfire unless you wanna splash a lot of money. You're much better off getting a single good card now and waiting like 3 years and spending similar money for the next big thing at that time.

[XT²]

I'd got an i5 tbh. Also, you sure that motherboard takes ddr3 ram? dont think p45's took ddr, not 100% on that though. forget a generic psu. Also, if you want an E8600, just get a E8400 and oc to 3.3 (easy on a stock cooler).

[|D!| Puddingfork]

Yeh for CPU I'd say i5, or maybe even an AMD Phenom II
For PSU yeah I would say go atleast 700W, and for Case look into some of the Antecs, HAFs, Thermaltakes, etc and see what you like the most, I find cases are much more personal preferance than any other parts of a computer with some people liking different sizes, some liking lots of fans others liking it to be quiet, some liking it to be easy to carry to lans others not so much etc.

[IMY]

the Core i5 for 2.9Ghz is $720...

Ide much rather the core due which is 3.3Ghz for $320

Quad core is $400 for 3Ghz

And yeah, that motherboard has the highest socket 775 specs. It handles DDR3 2200+

Ill buy a seperate PSU and Case. Thats what i have done in the past, i was juts lazy. And with crossfire, i have a video card that supports crossfire at the moment, and the way i got two, was i built a computer for my mum and put the card in there, so the option of linking them was there, but i never did it cos i was happy with the video card.

ill just buy 1 video card, and if i can get the exact same card a little later, then ill pick it up and have the PSU ready for it.

[XT²]

Ghz don't mean any tbh. The core i5 750 @ 2.66ghz is a beast. That's one of the best value cpu's, you can overclock it to 3.3ghz if you really want a 3.3ghz cpu but the core i5 750 @ 2.66ghz will beat your dual core @ 3.3ghz.

Also if anyone wants to debate whether the i5's will outdate soon or not, hes looking at purchasing socket 775 equiptment, allready EOL.

The best thing to do is to look at your price range, go onto whirlpool wiki, have a look, then post up on whirlpool if your not sure. But the way I see it, your puffin muffins to buy a cpu any other way (anyone get the quote?).

[Genesis]

I have e8500 and i bought a after market cooler and got it to a stable 4.0gHz. So if your looking for a cheap CPU thats around 3gHz just buy one of the cheap quad cores and a good after market cooler (i think mine was like $80~) and OC that shit ;D