[Gambl3r]

Hey everyone, recently my pc died, and I think I am about ready to build a new one, but this time go all out. I would like to spend about $1600 for everything NOT including a monitor, I don't need a new monitor. I am looking at conroe and think thats the road I want to go down, especially since I want this pc to last a while, unlike my other pcs that seem to have 1 year life spans.

Cpu: E6600
Mobo: Not many choices out there yet, but the Asus looks good.
Ram: I have no idea about this. 2 gigs though
HDD: suggestions wanted.
Case: Have no idea either.

GFX: I was thinking an 7900GT, but I have herd about some problems with them especially the KO versions, I am looking for a problem free pc, I dont want the card to give me problems. So Perhaps a x1800XT?

PSU: I really need suggestions for this.

and a dvd burner of some sort, perhaps even a floppy drive.


So for around 1600 dollars, what would you recommend? I want a stable pc that wont give me any problems like my previous two builds.

[Gambl3r]

any suggestions?

[maxio098ui]

i think you whould want some ocz ram
and i only trust western digital drives (cause of my 10 seagate faliures)
also id suggest a lian li or antec case.
i am also thinking about getting a 7900gt but i dont know anythin about it
psu is not my thing so...

good luck

[Gambl3r]

Thanks, so ocz for the ram, I was leaning towards that anyway. What speed DDR2 ram would Conroe use anyway? I only have use Pc3200 on my AMD systems.

I have had seagate fail on me also, not very happy.

Case, I am still torn

And the 7900Gt seems like a great card, but I have read to many horror stories. But it seems EVGA is handling the situation.

And the psu, I am guessing 500+ watts.

[maxio098ui]

well id ook at the antec p180 case its a good case
and i think it dosent really matter what speed your ram is till you overclockbut ocz is very decent ram so i dont predict probs wit that kind of ram

[Gambl3r]

I like that case very much, I think thats the one for me.

[johan851]

The P180 is sort of expensive...I personally would recommend the Antec SLK3000B - it's a fantastic case, very quiet, with an excellent airflow pattern. The drive cage has rubber mounting gaskets, which quiet down drives, and the size is just perfect. It's also inexpensive, which lets you spend a little more on the rest of your system.

For a power supply I would recommend Seasonic if you're looking for very, very quiet operation. If silence isn't a big concern, take a look at supplies from Fortron or check out the OCZ PowerStream 520w. Anything at about 500w or so should be able to handle a Conroe system without a lot of trouble.

Western Digital is my preferred HD manufacturer, but that's really just preference. Seagate drives have the advantage of a 5-year warranty, but aren't quite as reliable and quiet as they used to be. They used to set the standard in those departments, and they run about average now. Hitachi drives tend to be very quick, and they're pretty popular around here. Samsung Spinpoint drives really aren't bad either. I would avoid anything from Maxtor. It's not that they're particularly bad, they just aren't particularly good. Do some reading over at StorageReview.com to get a feel for hard drives. Hard drive performance really does make a big difference, and people have had good and bad luck with every manufacturer. I haven't had a single drive fail on me, and I'd chalk that up to good hard drive airflow. There's another big plus for the SLK3000B, by the way.

I like ATi, but that's personal preference. I don't think you can go wrong with either nVidia or ATi as long as you make sure you're not paying too much for the performance you're getting. TomsHardware, evil as they might be, have good performance roundups of current video cards.

[jmt391]

get the OCZ powerstream 520w PSU

get an x1900xt it's a great card. The ATI cards can run HDR and AA at the same time, but i hear unless you spend some time with drivers and fine-tuning you'll get probems. I've only used Nvidia cards, but If i were buying a PC now i would go x1900xt.

for a case, i would go with that mid-tower lian-li that isn't inverted ATX. you could also go with the antec p180. I like the lian-li better. Coolermaster makes great cases also.

i would buy some DDR2 800 - corsair and OCZ are very good.

btw, a lot of your PC lifespan issues could be because of tepurature

[Gambl3r]

The SLK3000B seems like a good case also, espically for the prices, under 50 dollars at amazon.com

Now the psu, I found a 600 watt ocz psu for about the same price, would that be betterm or is there something great about the 520 watt version?

I was thinking about the x1900xt or x1800xt 512 megs. Mainly because the 7900 series seems to give problems.

And the ram, I am glad to know the speed I need "DDR2 800"

I think I can do this for 1600, it sucks the conroe mobos are sooo pricey.

[johan851]

Yeah, Conroe motherboards aren't going to be cheap. Man, I remember when good motherboards were like...$90. I don't know what happened.

Now the psu, I found a 600 watt ocz psu for about the same price, would that be betterm or is there something great about the 520 watt version?

There actually is something special about the 520w version...I think it'll actually handle a heavier load than the 600w version. They're two different models/designs, and the 520w is the way to go.

If you want inexpensive RAM that'll get the job done, check out stuff from PQI. I've always had great results with them for the price, and you'll find that a lot of veteran overclockers who have settled down a little bit (like I have) use them a lot.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820141064

If you're running a little over budget, hunt down good deals in the classifieds. You can always save yourself money now and upgrade later. I'd recommend trying to find the best deals, even used, on your gear - you can save a bunch.

[Gambl3r]

Oh about the psu I didn't know, I will go with the 520 watt then, thanks.

And the ram, its not that much cheaper I think I will go with the ocz.

I want the best parts, because I want the pc to last along time, with zero problems.

I am thinking around the lines of this.

cpu/mobo=$550 but prob $600 as prices keep rising. E6600/mobo

case=$50 SLK3000B at amazon.com, I might want to go full tower though, still thinking.

ram=$215 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820227124

hdd=$XXX Do I go ATA? SATA? SATA2? but I am sold on WD

gfx=$350 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814102025

psu=$140 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817711002

How does that sound?

BTW I can go a bit over 1600 if necessary, so that gives me room to play with like with dvd drives, and cooling(air)

[sno.lcn]

I have this ram and it's awesome!
I also have some corsair xms2 and some pqi in another rig and I have no complaints about those either.
As far as the video card goes, I personally prefer nvidia, but I don't really have any problems with ati.

And even though I feel it would be a good idea to wait a few months to buy a conroe(a lesson I learned when the intel dc chips first came out) I'll probably end up picking one up too so I guess if you've got the cheese to drop, go for it!

[Gambl3r]

Well the ram I selected got good reviews off newegg.

And about the video card, I would love a 7900GT KO, but I think going with an x1900xt will be more problem free, and thats what I am looking for.

Anyone have an hdd suggestion though?

[Gambl3r]

About the HDD, does http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16822144701 sound like a good choice?

[johan851]

Yeah, that looks decent. 250GB drives are at a good price point right now.

I would really recommend that you poke around at StorageReview, though - they have updated roundups of the drives that are out, and it would be easy to pick the best performer from there.

[maxio098ui]

looks allright if 250 is enogh