New PC need help choosing mobo and video card...

J

jikim78

New Member
I'm getting a new PC, and this time, I would like to experience the process of building my own. I've done a good share of researching through the internet and reading magazines. I still have a lot to learn, but I'm getting there =). So below is the list of parts I want for my new rig. My criteria for choosing these parts were that first, I wanted to get Core 2 Duo processor and second, I wanted to use nvidea video cards rather than ATI.

Casing: Antec Performance One P150 Silver Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case 430-Watt ATX12V v2.2 Power Supply

Processor: Intel Core 2 Duo E6600 Conroe 2.4GHz 4M sharing L2 Cache LGA 775 Processor

Mobo: ASUS P5NSLI Socket T (LGA 775) NVIDIA nForce 570 SLI Intel Edition ATX Intel Motherboard
or
ASUS P5N32-SLI SE Deluxe Socket T (LGA 775) NVIDIA nForce4 SLI X16 ATX Intel Motherboard
**The price difference between these 2 is huge. I dunno what makes P5N32-SLI SE Deluxe so special that it costs $100 more. I was hoping you guys can point me in the right direction as to which of these mobos would be better for me**

Memory: CORSAIR XMS2 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory

HD: Western Digital Caviar SE16 WD2500KS 250GB 7200 RPM 16MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive

Keyboard: Saitek PZ30AU Black 104 Normal Keys 4 Function Keys USB Wired Standard Eclipse Keyboard

Video Card: ???? Need help... = =

As for the rest, I was hoping to use the ones I'm using on my ol' PC.
Sound Card: Turtle Beach Santa Cruz
Speakers: Altec Lansing
OD: NEC-DV 5800A & Sony DVD RW DRU-500A
Mouse: Logitech MX Laser Wireless Mouse
Monitor: SyncMaster 204B LCD
Floppy Drive: standard floppy drive

The only compatibility issue I worry about is the sound card... as for the rest, I don't see why they will have any issues working properly on a new PC.

So here's my question or rather my attempt to get some help choosing the right one...
I listed 2 mobos, and the price difference is rather noticeable. Which one should I go with? What makes ASUS P5N32-SLI SE Deluxe so much better that it would cost $100 more than ASUS P5NSLI.

As for video card, I'm completely lost... so many variations... GTX, GT, GS, and etc. Should I get 2 mediocre videocards and use them in SLI configuration or just 1 oustanding videocard? I just don't have any answers to these questions... But one thing is for sure. I wanna be able to play WoW w/o the low FPS that I suffer from currently (nVidea GeForce FX 5900XT, P4 1.3 gh, 768 RDRAM) I want to be able to play WoW with max settings with high FPS =)

So there it is, any recommendations and suggestions will be greatly appreciated. I just want to pick the right mobo and video card(s) so that I can start placing orders. I'm eager to build my own pc for the first time. Any help will be appreciated.
 
IMO i think you should get P180 and a little larger power supply with solid 12 volt rails. Also you could get away with a slightly slower C2D since they are so easy to OC and there is little performace difference for most peoples useage.

Otherwise it looks good. I would recommend a Creative Sound Card however.

As far as video card you will need an Nvidia if you plan on utililzing the SLI someday.

How much do you want to spend on a video card?
 
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thx for your reply ETSA.
I'll look into your recommendations of P180 and slower C2D.
As for the sound card, I was hoping I don't have to get a new one. Any particular reason for recommending a new one?
For video card, yes, I wanted to get Nvidea card(s) with a budget around $200 and max I would go up to is $300. Prolly want to end up getting a video card for $250 or so...
 
GPU

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16814130065

I would recommend creative because I like the cards and they support the latest and greatest as far as sound and sound effects, like EAX 4.0, the card I have is 70.00 dollars or so, if you can squeeze it in your budget. I feel it is a must for a gaming rig. You pay the money and buy good stuff for the expierence, not just so it will look pretty, why deprive yourself of one of the main elements in gaming. Same goes for controls an keyboards.

I originally selected the same c2d as you did and later lowered it to squeeze in a better sound card and controls in my gaming setup and I don't regret it one bit. It OC'ed like a champ and now I am getting more performance out of it anyways. (see sig)

You can also save money with a different mobo if you won't be using SLI.

Hope I helped.
 
From your input, I made many changes to my original parts. Hopefully for the better. =)

Processor: Intel Core 2 Duo E6400 Conroe 2.13GHz 2M sharing L2 Cache LGA 775 Processor
I changed my mind from E6600 to E6400 since u said there was little performance difference between the two, thus freeing up $100 to spend else where.

Mobo:
I've also changed my mind about getting SLI ready mobo. I didn't plan on getting 2 cards from the start, and I was thinking more in the lines of adding second one in the future, but now I'm convinced that upgrading the video card to a newer series is probably more efficient choice rather than adding another old card in SLI configuration. This decision opened up many choices for mobos, and I've narrowed my choices to 2 again.

GIGABYTE GA-965P-DS3 Socket T (LGA 775) Intel P965 Express ATX Intel Motherboard
or
ASUS P5B Socket T (LGA 775) Intel P965 Express ATX Intel Motherboard

Similar prices. I was hoping u can help me pick one. =)

Video Card: eVGA 512-P2-N573-AR Geforce 7900GTO 512MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express x16 Video Card
Seems like it's better than 7900GTs and on par with 7950GTs. Price is just about right for me.

Sound Card: Creative Sound Blaster Audigy2 ZS SB0350 7.1 Channels 24-bit 192KHz PCI Interface Sound Card
Took your advice about the sound card, and invested $75 of $100 to sound card that I freed up from downgrading CPU.

Everything else is pretty much the same: HD, Keyboard, RAM, and the casing with PSU. You recommended P180 casing, but that costs $120 w/o a PSU, which means I have to spend another $50-100 for a seperate PSU. The reason I chose P150 was not only because of it's quality, but I thought it was a bargain to get a casing and a PSU for around $160. From what I understand, I thought C2D don't draw much power from PSU, and that was one of it's advantage, power efficient. So wouldn't 430W PSU included with P150 be sufficient enough? I'm not trying to argue here, just trying to understand ur reasoning for picking a different casing with a seperate PSU. If I do pick P180, which PSU should I get, and for how much can I get it?

BTW, I really appreciate your help, ETSA. Even though you are the only one replying, your opinions did make me think in many different aspects. So I thank you.
 
I picked up a case and PSU together for 32 bucks, but i'm only running P4 3.4 ghz, no issues....was never clear on why to spend all this money on expensive case, i rather spend the money on the internals...but..who am i to judge.
 
With the processors lately dropping power consumption (X2 and C2D), that is partially true. Buuuttt....look at the graphics cards. They are quickly taking the place of the processors as literally being the "heater" of your room.
 
Well, I don't like to spend too much on casing and PSU either. =/
After reading the PSU 101 and Casing 101 threads, I felt the need to get an adequate PSU, but I could prolly save more by getting cheaper casing. In addition, 7900 GTO requires minimum of 450W with +12 Volt current rating of 22 Amp Amps for a single card setup. I was attracted to P150 casing cuz my friend has one, and he was telling me how quiet it is.

This is another option I can go with:
COOLER MASTER Centurion 5 CAC-T05-UW Black Aluminum Bezel, SECC ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - $45
XClio 450BL ATX 450W Power Supply 115/230 V UL, CUL, TUV, CB - $45

I dunno how long that PSU will last me though... Like Saurian said, the video cards are becoming more power consuming as time passes. I'm hoping the new gen of GPUs become more power efficient, and hopefully, I don't have to switch my PSU anytime soon. =/

Oh btw, any suggestions or recommendations as to which of 2 mobos I listed is better suited for me?
 
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