Final stages of my build, please help me apply the polish

[williamsc47]

Hi all,

OK, this is what I have so far:

Case: Coolermaster Wavemaster (Black)
Mobo: ASUS P5N32-E
CPU: INTEL Core 2 Duo E6600
HDD: 400GB Seagate ST3400620A (may go with a smaller drive not sure yet)
Graphics: Albatron GeForce 7900GS 256MB PCI-E (???????)
RAM: (????????)
Optical Drive: LG GSA-H12NBAL (Black)
Floppy/Card reader: Mitsumi Floppy and card reader (Black)
PSU: Hiper Modular 530W True Power PSU (Black) (????????)
CPU Fan: Zalman CNP59700 Super Aero Flower cooler
OS: Microsoft Windows XP pro (considering 64-bit edition)

OK, well thats the basic layout of it, but as you can see by the question marks, I am unsure of some areas.

Graphics card: I want a capable graphics card, but nothing more expensive than £120 ( more or less top line), would love to be able to afford more, but think that gonna be it, so any suggestion here would be great.

RAM: Not sure what to go with here, been trying to find the QVL list but cant seem to find it...I hear ASUS boards can be a bit fussy? Help and advice wpuld be great here...I want a minimum of 1GB depending on price, but would love to go for 2GB

PSU: Not sure what to look for here, took a wild stab in the dark and went for this one...any suggestions, could i safely cut costs here? Consider the fact that I would (ideally) like to update to Quad core and better GFX a little down the track.

Mobo: Finally, what do you think of this board, any good, any better suggestions, I hear there are some problem if you go over the 2GB memory mark, any other issues?

Other than that I think the rest of the build is more or less sorted, but any other comments or suggestions are welcome with open arms :)

Please help me guys, I really wanna get this right

Cheers, Craig

[djdaface]

Budget 2gb: http://www.aria.co.uk/ProductInfoComm.asp?ID=24347

Not so budget: http://www.aria.co.uk/ProductInfoComm.asp?ID=24500

[williamsc47]

OK, thanks...are they on the QVL list do you know?

Also what advantages would I have from the faster RAM, would it really be that useful considering the price difference?

Any ideas on the rest anyone and everyone?

Cheers, Craig

[mac124]

GFX the 7900gs should be fine and you probably wont get better for the price unless you buy 2nd hand.

Memory, well assuming its a gaming rig going by the gfx card so i would recommend 2gb. if your not overclocking (at the moment anyway) go for some cheaper stuff like Elixir.

Psu, the one you have chosen should be ok its a reasonable make / power. Persoanlly i wouldn't go for a modular psu but thats just my choice.

Mobo, don't know much about that particular board but have an asus p5b and its a great board. Unless you intend sli-ing is there any particular reason you went for it?? and tbh there is no real reason why you would need more than 2gb of mem in normal use.

[williamsc47]

[quote:3af4e3a18a=\"mac124\"]GFX the 7900gs should be fine and you probably wont get better for the price unless you buy 2nd hand.

Memory, well assuming its a gaming rig going by the gfx card so i would recommend 2gb. if your not overclocking (at the moment anyway) go for some cheaper stuff like Elixir.

Psu, the one you have chosen should be ok its a reasonable make / power. Persoanlly i wouldn't go for a modular psu but thats just my choice.

Mobo, don't know much about that particular board but have an asus p5b and its a great board. Unless you intend sli-ing is there any particular reason you went for it?? and tbh there is no real reason why you would need more than 2gb of mem in normal use.[/quote:3af4e3a18a]

Hi,

Thanks for your adivise/opinions. First of all, I don't really know all that much about PSU's so what the difference between a modular PSU and others?

Yeah I went for that motherboard primarily for Quad core support at a later date, and also for the potential for SLI use at a later date. The only thing I don't like is the lack of standard PCI slots but that seems to be more or less standard anyway. Anymore thoughts?

Still thinking about the memory, find that to be one of the most difficult things to decide on, so keep the recomendations coming :)

Cheers, Craig

[Aaron]

As far as memory goes, it really comes down to 2 questions.. Are you planning to overclock, and whats your memory budget!

If you are planning on overclocking, i'd get the fastest and best quality (Corsair! :D ) you can for your budget.

If you dont want to overclock, get some good ram, but as long as the speed is compatible with the CPU/motherboard, then you could probably save a few quid too.

Ive always loved the corsair XMS range, and try and use it in all my builds, but the VS range is also ok if you arent overclocking!


:)

[williamsc47]

Hi,

Ok cheers Aaron, I think you may have convinced me along with djdaface to go with some Corsair memory (provisionally), did take a look at the Elixir memory as well (as Mac124 suggested), but much of it is out of stock at present, may look again before my final decision, but am currently still tempted for the Corsair, although not the \"not so budget\" option you came up with djdaface..lol..really wish I could afford that but it's just too far :( might be something I will look at when I update to Vista though :)

But as far as memory goes then guys, both Corsair and Elexir should be compatible with the board?

Cheers, Craig

[Aaron]

As long as its DDR2 and the right speed (or above), it will work.. :)

[williamsc47]

[quote:475bb064ea=\"Aaron\"]As long as its DDR2 and the right speed (or above), it will work.. :)[/quote:475bb064ea]

OK, thanks for that... :)

OK, here is my current provisional build in full:

Case: Coolermaster Wavemaster (Black)
Mobo: ASUS P5N32-E
CPU: INTEL Core 2 Duo E6600
HDD: 400GB Seagate ST3400620A (may go with a smaller drive not sure yet)
Graphics: Albatron GeForce 7900GS 256MB PCI-E (???????)
RAM: 2GB Corsair DDR2 667 PC5300(????????)
Optical Drive: LG GSA-H12NBAL (Black)
Floppy/Card reader: Mitsumi Floppy and card reader (Black)
PSU: Hiper Modular 530W True Power PSU (Black) (????????)
CPU Fan: Zalman CNP59700 Super Aero Flower cooler
OS: Microsoft Windows XP pro (considering 64-bit edition)
Monitor: ASUS VW1925 19\" TFT Widescreen

What do we think?....anymore suggestions and comments welcomed with a warm smile :twisted:

Cheers, Craig

[Aaron]

that ram should be fine and *should* allow you a little bit of headroom to overclock, should you feel the need!! ;)

[williamsc47]

[quote:83d9054065=\"Aaron\"]that ram should be fine and *should* allow you a little bit of headroom to overclock, should you feel the need!! ;)[/quote:83d9054065]

OK, that sounds cool, decent RAM with the possability of having my first play about at overclocking, all without killing myself over the cost...lol....sounds pretty good on the RAM front then so far I think?

I would like to order all this tonight so anymore help, opinions or advice is still very much welcomed.

I am especially interested to hear what people think of the Motherboard, GFX card and also what operating system to go for is it worth getting windows XP 64, or just wait and go for Vista 64 in a few months time. what with driver issues and potential software compatability problems?

Cheers, Craig

[williamsc47]

OK, well it's done, I took the plunge and ordered the PC :) hope it's as good as I hope it will be, here is my final Build:

Case: Coolermaster Wavemaster (Black)
Mobo: ASUS P5N32-E
CPU: INTEL Core 2 Duo E6600
HDD: 400GB Seagate ST3400620A
Graphics: Albatron GeForce 7900GS 256MB PCI-E
RAM: 2GB Corsair DDR2 667 PC5300
Optical Drive: LG GSA-H12NBAL (Black)
Floppy/Card reader: Mitsumi Floppy and card reader (Black)
PSU: Hiper Modular 530W True Power PSU (Black)
CPU Fan: Zalman CNP59700 Super Aero Flower cooler
OS: Microsoft Windows XP pro
Monitor: ASUS VW1925 19\" TFT Widescreen

Annoyingly the Floppy/card reader is currently out of stock, but will hopefully be back in stock soon, what do they do when an item is out of stock (I am having it built btw)? I guess they just hold off until it comes in? In which case I really hope it doesnt take too long to come back into stock :(

Anybody know how long they usually take to build and send out?

Cheers, Craig

PS: A huge thanks to everyone who helped me out with this, very much appreciated :)

[mac124]

You wont be disappointed it should fly :twisted:

If Aria are building it i would hope they will build the rest of the pc up and just slot the card reader in as soon as the come back into stock.

[williamsc47]

OK, cool thanks for letting me know :) I especially like the \"it should fly\" statmement..lol