Will this be a good computer?

D

deeds281

New Member
I edited the post. My budget's about $1000 and I'm going to be using this computer for games and music.

$108
GIGABYTE GA-EP45-DS3L LGA 775 Intel P45 ATX Intel Motherboard

$190
Intel Core 2 Duo E8500 Wolfdale 3.16GHz 6MB L2 Cache LGA 775 65W Dual-Core Processor

$39
Microsoft FA6-00010 Black 103 Normal Keys 17 Function Keys USB Wired Ergonomics Keyboard Mouse Included

$80
Antec Nine Hundred Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case

$80
OCZ GameXStream OCZ700GXSSLI 700W ATX12V Power Supply 100 - 240 V

$68
Patriot Extreme Performance 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory

$85
Western Digital Caviar SE16 WD6400AAKS 640GB 7200 RPM 16MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive

$30
Pioneer Black 20X DVD+R 8X DVD+RW 10X DVD+R DL 20X DVD-R 6X DVD-RW 16X DVD-ROM 40X CD-R 32X CD-RW 40X CD-ROM 2MB Cache IDE 20X DVD±R DVD Burner - OEM

$285
VisionTek 900244 Radeon HD 4870 512MB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFire Supported Video Card

$110
Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium SP1 64-bit English for System Builders 1pk DSP OEI DVD - OEM

Would you change anything?
 
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The only thing noticed in all that is the case coming with a supply. For the most part companies often toss low enders in. That's the one item of concern since most will take a look at buying the supply separately that will meet their needs.
 
What's the price difference between 8400 and 8500? I would think going for a 8500 wouldn't be worth it as the extra clockspeed is insignificant (less than 10% which you won't even notice) and E8400 can easily OC to E8500 stock speeds and way beyond. Also, just like PC eye said, the PSUs that come with cases are low-end cheapos and probably won't be poweful enough for your rig, for a higher-end computer like yours I would recommend a decent quality-brand PSU with higher wattage&amperage.
 
The watage is high enough while the quality suffers would be the thought there. Having enough amps on the rails and the good regulation seen with reliable supply makes for a good build. With a crap supply you'll suffer every time.

Just for reference the 700w OCZ model used here as well as several others would go right in on the other hand. You might want to look over the sticky however for some ideas there. http://www.computerforum.com/90116-psu-good-bad-list.html

As far as cpu speeds I couldn't find the AMD 6400+ X2 seeing about 200mhz gain over the stock 6000+ model here. Years back however on the old builds that small amount surprisingly made a big difference. From 2ghz to 2.205ghz seemed like a giant leap between two single core models.
 
The Antec Nine Hundred does not come with a PSU, but if it did, it would come with an Antec PSU, and Antec makes pretty damn good PSUs.

The E8500 is ~5.6% faster than the E8400, and costs ~11.8% more. Whether this is worth it or not is entirely a matter of personal preference and what you're planning on using the computer for; I only provide the numbers in case anybody wants them.

No sane person with a finite budget would spend $40 on a keyboard.

4GB of DDR2-800 memory is understandable for a server or workstation, but completely ridiculous for a gaming computer. Cut it down to 1 or 2 GB and increase the speed to DDR2-1066.

Gaming computer means SATA RAID: WD Raptors if you're an enthusiast, Excelstor Jupiters if you're minding the wallet.

Do not use Vista if you plan on using the computer as anything other than a doorstop, paperweight, space heater, etc.
 
Nigouki said:
The Antec Nine Hundred does not come with a PSU, but if it did, it would come with an Antec PSU, and Antec makes pretty damn good PSUs.

The E8500 is ~5.6% faster than the E8400, and costs ~11.8% more. Whether this is worth it or not is entirely a matter of personal preference and what you're planning on using the computer for; I only provide the numbers in case anybody wants them.

No sane person with a finite budget would spend $40 on a keyboard.

4GB of DDR2-800 memory is understandable for a server or workstation, but completely ridiculous for a gaming computer. Cut it down to 1 or 2 GB and increase the speed to DDR2-1066.

Gaming computer means SATA RAID: WD Raptors if you're an enthusiast, Excelstor Jupiters if you're minding the wallet.

Do not use Vista if you plan on using the computer as anything other than a doorstop, paperweight, space heater, etc.
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4GB is certainly not ridiculous for a gaming computer, considering the prices of DDRII. And 1 GB of 1066 would not cut it.
 
Nigouki said:
The Antec Nine Hundred does not come with a PSU, but if it did, it would come with an Antec PSU, and Antec makes pretty damn good PSUs.
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Two of the last 3 Antec TruePower Trio 650s that I purchased were DOA. :mad: I was a long time Antec fan, but realize now that their QC has gone way downhill. I couldn't in good conscience recommend them anymore.

The E8500 is ~5.6% faster than the E8400, and costs ~11.8% more. Whether this is worth it or not is entirely a matter of personal preference and what you're planning on using the computer for; I only provide the numbers in case anybody wants them.
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If you're overclocking, an E8500 may allow you to clock it a bit higher. I know my E8400 does better than a lot of E8500s, and it's a little cheaper. :D

No sane person with a finite budget would spend $40 on a keyboard.
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Depends on how you use your keyboard. If you like all the pretty quick launch keys on the keyboard it may be worth the money. For me, I use an old Win98 PS2 keyboard. REALLY. :o It's not pretty, but I know exactly where all the keys are by touch, and can navigate around my BIOS even if the room is totally darkness.

4GB of DDR2-800 memory is understandable for a server or workstation, but completely ridiculous for a gaming computer. Cut it down to 1 or 2 GB and increase the speed to DDR2-1066.
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Some modern games will eat through 2 GB real quick. 4 GB seems to be the sweet spot for most newer systems. :)

Gaming computer means SATA RAID: WD Raptors if you're an enthusiast, Excelstor Jupiters if you're minding the wallet.
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Velociraptors are faster than the raptors, but demand a steep premium. I'll be the first to tell anyone that a slow HDD is the biggest bottleneck in any system, but most people have adopted the mindset that a hard drive isn't that important. For a single drive, non-raptor driven system, the 6400AAKS is about the fastest standard drive available. Nice choice! :D

Do not use Vista if you plan on using the computer as anything other than a doorstop, paperweight, space heater, etc.
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I'm certainly not a Vista fan either, but it depends on each individuals personal tastes. A lot of people really love the eye candy of Vista. When I ran Vista (before migrating back to XP) I optimized performance, and after doing so, I realized that Vista optimized looked and performed almost identical to a standard XP install. Superfectch wastes RAM, ReadyBoost didn't have any noticeable impact, and Microsoft really screwed the pooch when they moved all the GUI controls.
 
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When first getting into Vista here there were several changes in layout and certain changes made on things seen in previous versions all the way back to the 9X family. The "eye candy" was disabled along with switching off the UAC annoyance.

The current build sees 2gb of DDR2 800 performance memory and has been running games and apps no slower then seen in XP having both in a dual boot at the present time. 2gb alone covers the increase in minimum memory still leaving plenty of room for the bulk of games sold.

4gb or more sees a need when running something like CAD or some graphics design software where the demand for ram is real. The one real thing to note on Vista especially when gaming and seeing a game lock for whatever reason is the ability seen now to get back to the desktop instead of hitting the reset button due to an improved crash control method over XP. At least that's one plus going for the new version there.
 
i think it all looks decent, except i would either get the e8400(if saving the money is that important to you) or, get the q6600, you could probably clock it up past 3ghz on stock voltage, and the operating system is up to you, for whatever you want to get, I think vista is really the way to go, as XP is getting old, and change, for the most part is good
 
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