Building a new PC. Any comments on these parts?

It's time for a new build, and I'd like to keep costs under $400 or
$500. I've made a few selections from NewEgg, and I'll be glad to hear
any comments or suggestions anyone has.

I'll start off by listing what I currently have:
Motherboard: MS-7093 (v1.X) M-ATX Mainboard
It's a micro-ATX socket 939 with DDR1.
CPU: AMD Athlon(tm) 64 Processor 3500+ @ 2200MHz
RAM: 3 GBs, DDR1, dual-channel
GPU: GeForce 9600 GT, PCI-E

I'll rob the GPU, hard drives and optical drives from this old rig, so
all I need to get is a case, motherboard, CPU, RAM, and power supply.

Here's what I'm thinking about getting from NewEgg. All the choices
where made while trying to balance cost vs performance, while trying to
aim for as much future upgradability as possbile.

Case: ENERMAX Uber Chakra ECA5001B Black Aluminum / Steel Trim
w/250mm Intake/Exhaust LED Monster Fan ATX Full Tower Case w/Front I/O 1
eSATA,4 USB2.0, Audio I/O - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16811124121

Motherboard: GIGABYTE GA-EP45C-UD3R LGA 775 Intel P45 ATX Intel
Motherboard - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813128364

CPU: Intel Pentium Dual-Core E6500 Wolfdale 2.93GHz 2MB L2 Cache
LGA 775 65W Dual-Core Processor - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16819116093

RAM: WINTEC AMPX 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2
6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model 3AXT6400C5-4096K - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820161183

Power Supply: OCZ StealthXStream OCZ700SXS 700W ATX12V / EPS12V
SLI Ready CrossFire Ready Active PFC Power Supply - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817341019

I like that the motherboard can handle a large variety of CPUs, *and*
the fact that it can handle 4 GBs of DDR3 as well. That should give me
a few options down the road when prices drop.

All of this adds up to about $530, but I'll have about $95 in mail-in
rebates.

If anybody can suggest better choices without driving up the price, I'd
be glad to hear it.

Also, I'll be using this with Linux operating systems, so I'd like to
steer clear of any known driver conflicts, etc..

On Thu, 24 Sep 2009 20:41:42 +0000, ShadowTek wrote:

It's time for a new build, and I'd like to keep costs under $400 or
$500. I've made a few selections from NewEgg, and I'll be glad to hear
any comments or suggestions anyone has.

I'll start off by listing what I currently have:
Motherboard: MS-7093 (v1.X) M-ATX Mainboard
It's a micro-ATX socket 939 with DDR1.
CPU: AMD Athlon(tm) 64 Processor 3500+ @ 2200MHz RAM: 3 GBs, DDR1,
dual-channel
GPU: GeForce 9600 GT, PCI-E

I'll rob the GPU, hard drives and optical drives from this old rig, so
all I need to get is a case, motherboard, CPU, RAM, and power supply.

Here's what I'm thinking about getting from NewEgg. All the choices
where made while trying to balance cost vs performance, while trying to
aim for as much future upgradability as possbile.

Case: ENERMAX Uber Chakra ECA5001B Black Aluminum / Steel Trim
w/250mm
Intake/Exhaust LED Monster Fan ATX Full Tower Case w/Front I/O 1
eSATA,4 USB2.0, Audio I/O - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16811124121

Motherboard: GIGABYTE GA-EP45C-UD3R LGA 775 Intel P45 ATX Intel
Motherboard - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813128364

CPU: Intel Pentium Dual-Core E6500 Wolfdale 2.93GHz 2MB L2 Cache
LGA
775 65W Dual-Core Processor - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16819116093

RAM: WINTEC AMPX 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2
6400)
Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model 3AXT6400C5-4096K - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820161183

Power Supply: OCZ StealthXStream OCZ700SXS 700W ATX12V / EPS12V
SLI
Ready CrossFire Ready Active PFC Power Supply - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817341019

I like that the motherboard can handle a large variety of CPUs, *and*
the fact that it can handle 4 GBs of DDR3 as well. That should give me a
few options down the road when prices drop.

All of this adds up to about $530, but I'll have about $95 in mail-in
rebates.

If anybody can suggest better choices without driving up the price, I'd
be glad to hear it.

Also, I'll be using this with Linux operating systems, so I'd like to
steer clear of any known driver conflicts, etc..

Spend a little more on the CPU and get an E8400. It has a 6M cache vs a
2M cache on the 6500. I have my E8400 overclocked to 4GHz using a
Thermalright Ultra 120 heatsink (not avail from Newegg, I got it from
another website). Also get DDR2 1000 RAM, it will make overclocking
easier. The Gigabyte motherboard has a limited number of clock
multipliers for the RAM so when you up the FSB you end up overlocking the
RAM even if you set it down to the lowest RAM multiplier. If you use DDR2
1000 this won't be a problem, and the price of DDR2 1000 is barely more
than DDR2 800 these days.

On 2009-09-24, General Schvantzkoph wrote:

Spend a little more on the CPU and get an E8400. It has a 6M cache vs a
2M cache on the 6500.

That looks nice, but it's $168, which is $75 more than the 6500.

On Fri, 25 Sep 2009 00:42:47 +0000, ShadowTek wrote:

On 2009-09-24, General Schvantzkoph wrote:

Spend a little more on the CPU and get an E8400. It has a 6M cache vs a
2M cache on the 6500.

That looks nice, but it's $168, which is $75 more than the 6500.

The larger cache makes a big difference on some applications, I'd get a
500W power supply instead of the 700W and spend the money on the CPU.

ShadowTek wrote:
It's time for a new build, and I'd like to keep costs under $400 or
$500. I've made a few selections from NewEgg, and I'll be glad to hear
any comments or suggestions anyone has.

I'll start off by listing what I currently have:
Motherboard: MS-7093 (v1.X) M-ATX Mainboard
It's a micro-ATX socket 939 with DDR1.
CPU: AMD Athlon(tm) 64 Processor 3500+ @ 2200MHz
RAM: 3 GBs, DDR1, dual-channel
GPU: GeForce 9600 GT, PCI-E

I'll rob the GPU, hard drives and optical drives from this old rig, so
all I need to get is a case, motherboard, CPU, RAM, and power supply.

Here's what I'm thinking about getting from NewEgg. All the choices
where made while trying to balance cost vs performance, while trying to
aim for as much future upgradability as possbile.

Case: ENERMAX Uber Chakra ECA5001B Black Aluminum / Steel Trim
w/250mm Intake/Exhaust LED Monster Fan ATX Full Tower Case w/Front I/O 1
eSATA,4 USB2.0, Audio I/O - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16811124121

Motherboard: GIGABYTE GA-EP45C-UD3R LGA 775 Intel P45 ATX Intel
Motherboard - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813128364

CPU: Intel Pentium Dual-Core E6500 Wolfdale 2.93GHz 2MB L2 Cache
LGA 775 65W Dual-Core Processor - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16819116093

RAM: WINTEC AMPX 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2
6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model 3AXT6400C5-4096K - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820161183

Power Supply: OCZ StealthXStream OCZ700SXS 700W ATX12V / EPS12V
SLI Ready CrossFire Ready Active PFC Power Supply - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817341019

I like that the motherboard can handle a large variety of CPUs, *and*
the fact that it can handle 4 GBs of DDR3 as well. That should give me
a few options down the road when prices drop.

All of this adds up to about $530, but I'll have about $95 in mail-in
rebates.

If anybody can suggest better choices without driving up the price, I'd
be glad to hear it.

Also, I'll be using this with Linux operating systems, so I'd like to
steer clear of any known driver conflicts, etc..

You're spending a good amount on a crossfire-ready power supply to power
a board that only has one graphics card slot. Hopefully someone will
correct me if I'm wrong, but it seems like you're buying more than
you'll need.

On a purely aesthetic note, I don't like the case. Obviously that's a
subject point, but it drives me to recommend:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16811129065

You get an Antec case + Antec 430W power supply for $100. Even if I
pile on a couple of high rpm sata drives, blu-ray, dvd-rw, 4 fans, 2 pci
cards and 4 usb devices, outvision's power supply calculator comes up
with 312W.

http://www.extreme.outervision.com/

I've bought half a dozen of those cases--the last three with the power
supply, and I've been very happy with the construction, appearance and
ventilation. The thing has two giant (read: quiet) fans and a
bottom-loaded power supply, so it's easy to exhaust the cpu that is
bordered on two sides by those fans.

A few warnings:

1) The case is a bit bulky so make sure you have room for it. Allow an
extra inch in each dimension for imprecise specifications.

2) If your motherboard has a cpu power connector on the far left side
(as looking from the connectors side,) your cable might be a bit of a
stretch. That does appear to be the case with your board.

3) There are no external 3.5" bays, so if you have floppy or a
floppy-sized media card reader, you'll have to work out some ugly 5.25"
adapter, or go external.

On 2009-09-24, Grinder wrote:

You're spending a good amount on a crossfire-ready power supply to power
a board that only has one graphics card slot. Hopefully someone will
correct me if I'm wrong, but it seems like you're buying more than
you'll need.

I just picked a safe range. I could probably go a little lower. I just
want to have a reasonable margin of error.

Even if I
pile on a couple of high rpm sata drives, blu-ray, dvd-rw, 4 fans, 2 pci
cards and 4 usb devices, outvision's power supply calculator comes up
with 312W.
http://www.extreme.outervision.com/

I got 483w when I selected %100 load and %50 capacitor aging, so I guess
I could setting for a 500w PS.

ShadowTek wrote:
On 2009-09-24, Grinder wrote:
You're spending a good amount on a crossfire-ready power supply to power
a board that only has one graphics card slot. Hopefully someone will
correct me if I'm wrong, but it seems like you're buying more than
you'll need.

I just picked a safe range. I could probably go a little lower. I just
want to have a reasonable margin of error.

Even if I
pile on a couple of high rpm sata drives, blu-ray, dvd-rw, 4 fans, 2 pci
cards and 4 usb devices, outvision's power supply calculator comes up
with 312W.
http://www.extreme.outervision.com/

I got 483w when I selected %100 load and %50 capacitor aging, so I guess
I could setting for a 500w PS.

Then maybe I can recommend this:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16811129024

I know I'm coming off as an Antec fanboi here, but I've had personal
experience with both of these cases and genuinely recommend them.
What's more, I'm a complete bigot on case design: I only like
well-constructed, minimalist design.

I hope you'll come back after your build with some lessons learned.

On 2009-09-26, Grinder wrote:
Then maybe I can recommend this:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16811129024

That's a good deal, but I was really wanting a full ATX, and I was also
hoping for PSU fan larger than 80mm.

I'll have to think about it.

Thanks.

ShadowTek wrote:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16811129024

That's a good deal, but I was really wanting a full ATX, and I was also
hoping for PSU fan larger than 80mm.

You may be interested in this regarding 120 mm PSU fans:
http://www.pcpower.com/technology/myths/#m6

On Sat, 26 Sep 2009 05:26:17 +0000, ShadowTek wrote:

On 2009-09-26, Grinder wrote:
Then maybe I can recommend this:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16811129024

That's a good deal, but I was really wanting a full ATX, and I was also
hoping for PSU fan larger than 80mm.

I'll have to think about it.

Take a look at Rosewill cases.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...e=&srchInDesc=

I bought one to house my current system I built two years ago. Some models
come with a 120mm fan and room for a couple more with dust filters. Some
models even have a duct to vent the CPU heat directly to the outside.
Very nice.


Stef