Building a new rig, need some feedback plz

[rus]

Hey all, I am building a new rig and I was wondering if the pc gurus in here could give me some feedback and suggestions. This is a huge upgrade for me since I will be moving from a socket A Athlon 2100XP/1GB Ram/Radeon 90600pro system to C2D system.

My main concern, seeing how Intel will be releasing new line of C2Ds July/August, should I wait for the 1333 line or the extra 266mhz wont make that much difference? Will the prices drop on the older C2D models when new line arrives?

I am on the budget, so I’d like to stay around $700-$900

Here is what I’ve come up with so far.


New Hardware:

Motherboard – EVGA 980i A1 $250

CPU - C2D E6420 $186

RAM – G. SKILL 2GB HK $110

Video Card – Still debating whether I should shell out $300 for the low end 8800 card or not.


Old Hardware (what I have left from my old PC)

Power Supply - Antec TPII-550

Seagate 500GB & 120GB (both IDE)

Antec P180W Case


One thing I know is the evga motherboard only has 1 IDE connector, so most likely I will have to dump 2 of my IDE DVD-RW Drives and get a SATA DVD-RW Drive.

Thanks for reading!

 

[White_Pawn]

i'd prolly save on the motherboard before crapping out on the videocard?

There are some nice decent and cheaper motherboards out there that will still get the job done, and you can save it towards the videocard. I think you would want something like a 8800GTS 640mb.

For mobos, the one you chose is real nice but i'd go and choose a P35 or X38 chipset mobo. You can get a slightly cheaper one and it has an upgrade path, since it supports penryn.

 

[rus]

i see, i really like this motherboard though both for its good reviews and lots of features. After i build this rig, i wont be upgrading any main components for atleast 2-3 years.

if not 8800 card, i might consider 7950GT ($250) or a 7600gt (cheaper). The only games i play are UT2004 and the upcoming UT3.

Thanks for the quick reply!

 

[rus]

bump, still need some suggestions if anyone has any plz

 

[inkfx]

I agree with Pawn on a different motherboard choice. You could even go with a P965 chipset which is even cheaper. Those nVidia boards are only good if you want to do SLI.

 

[rus]

after some consideration, the chances are i wont be running a SLi anyway, so how does this board sound?

ASUS P5W DH DELUXE/WIFI-AP LGA 775 Intel 975X

I has 2 IDE connectos and bunch of SATA, this would be good for me seeing how i got 2 IDE Drives and 2 DVD-RW Drives. Its about $50 cheaper than my first choise. I still want to have a quality mobo with lots of options. CPU/RAM/Mobo are the ones that I dont want to cheap out on since i'd like to keep them for atleast 2-3 years. But i can always yank out my video card, for the new one in a year or so.

 

[batboy]

The Asus P5W DH is a good mobo, very stable with nice performance and features... but it is a little FSB limited. Guess it depends on your O/C goals. If you will be happy with about 3.4 gig max from an E6420, then go for it. If you are hoping for a little higher O/C, then consider stepping up to the E6600 or getting the Asus P5B Deluxe instead.

 

[Evilsizer]

imo your better off with a abit aw9d-max if going with 975x based mobo. now though with p35 on the street, i would suggest one of those over p965. that is if you can spend the money which it seems since you were considering a 680i mobo. the abit IP35-Pro seems to fit the bill here pack with lots of features and no tweaking needed to hit 400fsb. i mean NONE, well maybe the cpu depending on which on you get.

 

[ryanmartini]

i would go with this motherboard:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128050

it has the p35, meaning you could upgrade to the new upcoming 45nm cpu's if you wish and has good circuit board quality, great overclocking options, and runs some very high fsb numbers.

as far as the video card goes, its a toss up to buy right now. nvidia will be releasing their new generation of cards in a few months, and ati is releasing a die shrink of the x2900-series. It might be a good idea to get a placeholder now and buy a good video card later.

about your ide problem, just get a pci ide controller card.

 

[rus]

wow, thank you for all the replies, you've certanly given me alot to think about ill have to go back do some more homework!

a quick follow up question, what are the advanatages/disadvantages of a p965 vs p975 chipsests?

 

[OnDborder]

a quick follow up question, what are the advanatages/disadvantages of a p965 vs p975 chipsests?

What Batboy said.. The 975 chipset is fsb limited.. It'd be better to have a cpu with a higher multiplier with the 975's..
But if you decide to go 965, think about going p35 instead.

 

[Evilsizer]

in that case then he is going to want P35 over p965/p975.