The (new) Official PC building thread!

You wanna know what looks awesome? Having Blue LED fans and green cold cathodes. The kind that go on and off to the beat of your music. I'm getting some of those in my new build, it's gonna be so awesome!

As for the E8400, Intel always priced their BETTER, and FASTER CPUs at lower prices. The E6750 is a prime example of that. While the crappier E6600 chip is more expensive the better, faster, and cooler running chip is cheaper.

 

Haha yeah you can.

 

lmao
come on ddp you dont want to take out any of these fella's????

lmao

or do you mean take us out, as to. out to dinner,beer,ballgame,....???

 

I know we've gone a little astray here but didn't you mean to say "BELOW me" ddp?? You don't normally use that kinda language.

Rob the E8400 is a good one, don't worry about Intel they are GREAT!!!

I'm having serious issues not pushing the BUY button right now on a NEW GPU. lol. When are the "online" stores gonna "set" these things out for sale?? HD3600 series in particular....

...gm

ADD:
come on ddp, I know you're laughing at that one. hehehe.

 

I've tried the combo of blue LED fans and green cold cathodes. It looks superb, but very bright. Green LED fans would be pretty slick but slightly less obtrusive.

 

Good grief sam you're up late!!! I like the idea of ALL GREEN....imagine that?? heheehe. ;P

I should buy that CM-631 but I need a new gpu first!!

Rob you buy anything yet? OR are you just teasing us?? lol.

...gm

 

hey guys, im looking to get rid of my POS dell and invest in a real system. throught the last few days i have compiled two systems:: an amd based and an intel based.

i would like to get your guys opinions as well as any recommended tweaks. i havent decided which one i want because i am split, i love the expandability of the intel system and that it benchmarks higher, but it also exceeds my budget slightly by like $200, which is liveable. The amd system doesnt perform as well but it is withen my budget, my big con against amd is the heat issue, and i am super anal about low case temps
I plan on using my system for basically everything from gaming to rendering even cad and graphic design. so go ahead and let me know what you think.

INTEL BUILD

Intel Core 2 Duo E6850 Conroe 3.0GHz $280
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115028

ZALMAN CNPS9700 LED 110mm 2 Ball CPU Cooler $60
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835118019

Foxconn X38A LGA 775 Intel X38 $230 (i like the memory options as well as support for crossfire for later add on as well as support for a quad core.)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813186134

OCZ SLI-Ready Edition 4GB(2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 $110
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820227269
OR
OCZ Gold 4GB(2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 $104
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820227199
IDK which is better and are they compatible or even ideal for this build?

RAIDMAX Sagitta 2 ATX-928WB $80 i like the fans and overall case design
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811156090

GIGABYTE GV-RX387512H Radeon HD 3870 512MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 $230 I really like the fact that this has a zalman fan
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814125086

OCZ GameXStream OCZ700GXSSLI ATX12V 700W Power Supply $135 is this enough power?
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817341002

subtotal: $1125


AMD BUILD:

AMD Athlon 64 X2 6400+ Windsor 3.2GHz $160
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103191

ZALMAN 9500A 92mm 2 Ball CPU Cooler $49
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835118223

ASUS M2R32-MVP AM2 AMD 580X CrossFire ATX AMD Motherboard $117
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131095

X2 OCZ ATI CrossFire 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 $122 Newegg reccommended this?
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820227169
OR
OCZ SLI-Ready Edition 4GB(2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 $110
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820227269
OR
OCZ Gold 4GB(2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 $104
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820227199
IDK which is better and are they compatible or even ideal for this build?

RAIDMAX QUANTUM RX-700 ATX12V 700W Power Supply $150 enough power?
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817152033

RAIDMAX Sagitta 2 ATX-928WB $80 i like the fans and overall case design
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811156090

GIGABYTE GV-RX387512H Radeon HD 3870 512MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 HDCP Ready CrossFire Supported Video Card $230 if i go with this buil i could maybe upgrade this card to something better but i like the zalman fans
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814125086

subtotal: $908

oh by the way my budget was 1000 give or take a little bit, im just wondering if im spending any excess or not getting the best bang for my buck or even if i may have overlooked something.

thanks for any contributions you guys make.

 

Let's start again. First I want you to throw the AMD build out the window, pour some gasoline on it, and now you must light it on fire. Now we can concentrate on building a Computer.

CPU:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115037&Tpk=e8400

Mobo:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128080

Or if you just want to get the 3870X2 card that has built in Crossfire you can save money on the motherboard.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128050

Cooler: If you're gonne spend that much money then get something good. But this should be sifficient even for high overclocks as that CPU is VERY VERY cool.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835186134&Tpk=freezer+7+pro

Also you don't need more than 2GB of RAM. Get this as this is VERY fast.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820148069


P.S. Holy shit!!! 2 GB PC-8500 RAM for 62 bucks!

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820148069

 

not yet buddy. gotta wait on the tax man. got everything in the mail today. so i got at least 3-4 weeks. but im seeing alot of the stuff i want one sale real cheap so im gonna try to get a few things before hand...

 

wow lota posts here=)

 

Get this ram!!!

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820148069

 

@Bladerz05
Go Intel if this is a gaming PC...
No...DVD Drives...or Hard Drives?..

I would not go with that P/S...
I would go with a PC Power & Cooling 610...or 750...with that particular case design...
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...N=2010320058+50009830&name=PC+Power+&+Cooling

This for memory...times (2)...if you really need more then 2gb...
Crucial Ballistix 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 1066 (PC2 8500) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory - Retail $94.99 ($69.99 after $25 Mail-In Rebate) Free 3 Business Day Shipping...
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820148069

This CPU...
Intel Core 2 Duo E8400 Wolfdale 3.0GHz 6MB L2 Cache LGA 775 65W Dual-Core Processor - Retail $224.99 with Free 3 Business Day Shipping
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115037

This Cooler...works better...and is much cheaper...
ARCTIC COOLING Freezer 64 Pro 92mm CPU Cooler - Retail $19.99 with 3 Business Day Shipping $5.84
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835185125

On the M/B...its your choice...I haven't read any reviews about it...but...I would do some research before spending that much on a foxconn...and...I am not talking about Newegg reviews...

 

what do you have against amd? lol

whats the difference between the processor i selected and the one you did, the specs appear the same.

what do you mean the 3870x2? i do plan on later on doing a corssfire thing with the graphics card i chose

artic cooling over a zalman, i always thought zalman was top of the line...umm and btw i am pretty much a complete noob when it comes to overclocking so i probly wont do it with my 1000 investment

i was also kind of set on 4 gb of ram (i wanted 8gb) since im gonna be running winblows vista and keep my current one for linux

 

@Lp53

i did a ton of research on that board i chose and the only con on it was tons and tons of menus in the bios. basically i got the conclusion of the OC'ers dream mobo

 

Lp53

oh and ill be robbing my 500gb WD 3gb/s sata out of this machine and maybe adding another later down the road and i will as well be robbing my lite on dvd burner out of this comp

 

been doing some looking around .what ya'll think of this mobo?

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131225

with this CPU

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115037&Tpk=E8400

 

dang i also forgot

whats so great about that memory you guys reccommended and what makes you think 2 gb will be sufficient

 

Bladerz05,
GO Intel!!!

Some changes that I think will save some money and still give you the performance you want.

one of these mobos-Gigabyte X38 DS4 or DQ6

this cpu cooler-AC Freezer 7 Pro

this RAM-OCZ Reaper HPC edition

this CPU-E8400

one of these P/S...PC Power & Cooling or Corsair

I like your GPU... NO change

You like your case...

The only thing that you might want to look at would be different RAM. I would go with at least DDR2 1066 RAM which will add a little bit to either "system" I'm giving you here.

If you go with more expensive dollar figures: $1113 plus S&H
If you go with less expensive dollar figures: $1004 plus S&H

There are some MIR mixed in here but nothing that significant. If you don't mind filling out some papers then you can get a couple of dollars back.

good luck with your choices and happy computing...

....gm