The (new) Official PC building thread!

Hope I'm not butting in here but need a little advice!Just ordered this case & wanting to build a Dual core as close to 3GHz as possible.I D/L & Do video conversions mostly.Not interested in Gaming
Also need a Video Card W/Dual Monitor support[1 is really a 37"LCD TV]
A sound card W/5. or 6.,& speakers to match
If their is something better & more reasonably priced Please inform me.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811117084
Eagle Tech ET-CAV2-RD-WOP Red 1.0mm Aluminum Aluminum Mid-Tower Multi-Function Viper LCD Display Tool less function chassis ATX Mid Tower Computer Case
$90.00 free after Rebate,shipping only $16.00
I'm hoping it will be adaquate to my needs,as I can't really find a spec sheet on it.But it looks like it's got about 10 bays internal & external.I pretty much intend utilizing all the bays

This is the Power Supply I'm considering
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817151028
SeaSonic S12 Energy Plus SS-650HT ATX12V / EPS12V 650W Power Supply 100 - 240 V UL, CE, CB, TUV, FCC
$159.99

What ever Brd & Pros. I go with this is the Memory I'm considering
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16820145034
CORSAIR XMS2 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory
($109.00 after $50.00 Mail-In Rebate)
Now any help from here on would be appreciated
Last Question! Is their an adapter to use Sata cables frm Power Supply to 4Pin Molex Female..All I can find is 4Pin Male.Don't even really know if the power is the same W/SATA as IDE
Many thanks to all at AFTERDAWN for all the help over the years,this site has really become an asset to me

 

@eparker89
you're not going to be dissapointed with the E6600, they are fantastic CPUs.
Even at stock speed they perform great especially with the 4MB cache.

@Mort81
I have got my new E6600 in the P5B which is in my new case.
I haven't pushed it yet as it is using the stock retail cooler until the phase turns up.
All I've done so far is up the FSB to 410, but the multiplier is down at x6.
The phase cooler was supposed to ship Thurs/Fri but I didn't get the email confirming it, so not sure if it will turn up Tuesday or not.
So far the water cooling keeps the chipset nice and cool, thats running at 24`c, and the GPU even OC'd is still in the mid 30's.
I'm reasonably confident I've got another good chip but will post the results as soon as I get them (hopefully soon)
I managed to sell the E4300 for £3 less than a brand new one, so I did all right there, at least the guy who bought it has got a good overclocker for his money.

@greensman
Thanks for the feedback on the fridge.
It's been quite a lot of work getting it to where it is now I was determined to get things right first time with it.
Its a bit of a beast, most people are quite speachless when they see it in front of them.

 

@BigDK: thanks for your help.

@All: I am looking at the HIS X850XT PE but am wondering if I could get better performance out of two HIS X850 crossfires? Does anyone have any experience with dual gpus or would you recommend staying with the PE?

Thanks.

 

oh poop. i hate wireless, as its way to easy to bypass the security with a little knowledge. i only wanted it for my psp!

 

wait, couldnt u bridge the LAN connection with the wifi adapter? sorry, im a noob to wifi.

 

I posted this in the wrong section.
Any ideas ?

Hi Guys.
I'm in the market for a brand new Desktop.
I'm looking for something that is future proof for Blu Ray burners and a nice gaming machine.
I want something i can upgrade myself and it needs to be compatible with CAP DVHS and Nero....as those 2 programs get used each day along with
HDDVDTOMPEG.
Im told Vista might have issues with the above software.
Im looking for a machine that will give me the best speed and power for under 2 grand
Also is it possible to get a low energy pc so it doesn't use massive amounts of electricity ?
I do a huge amount of video editing of HI DEF video capped from Local Channels.
I also need the machine to play x264 PAL HD
What do you guys think.?
First off should i be looking at AMD 64 OR INTEL CORE DUO ?
And do i want ATI DX10 card or NVIDIA ?
I asked this question 5 months ago and someone said i should wait until the summer for some new graphic cards that are coming out.

 

£2000 UK I presume as you're using PAL.

Unfortunately the ATI cards are still to be released, so if buying now, then Nvidia is the way to go.
Apart from price drops as a result of the ATI cards coming out, there won't be any major performance differences in the two makes of cards.
You way as well go with a DX10 card, but don't expect there to be many apps/games that use it for quite a while.

Vista is crap IMO it is a software designed so tight, its almost impossible to work with unless you just switch on and run what MS have given you to use.
Its also very over heavy on system use.

£2K will get you loads for your money.

You need to make the following shopping list:
These are just some ideas to look at.

Motherboard:Gigabyte GA 965P-DQ6 iP965 (£125)
Processor:Intel Core 2 Duo E6600 (£140)or Intel Core 2 Quad-Core Q6600 (£335)
Memory:2GB (2x1gb) Corsair Twinx XMS2, DDR2 PC-6400 (£97)
Power Supply:600W Enermax Noisetaker (£84)
Graphics Card: Nvidia 8600 GTS (HDCP, HDTV, 2x Dual DVI output, DX10) (£130)
Case:Very personal choice (£80)
Hard Drive/s: 250 Gb Seagate ST3250620AS Barracuda (£45 each)
Keyboard/Mouse/Monitor: 30" Dell 3007WFP-HC LCD, WidescreenHDCP (£1000)Microsoft Wireless Laser Desktop 6000 Keyboard & 5000 Mouse (£32)
Operating System: Windows XP Professional 32 Bit (£80)
Optical Drives: LiteOn SH-16A7S-01C (£22)(Blue-Ray will be £350 at least)
Floppy Drive: Sony (£4)

This lot would come in on your budget and with the 30" monitor give you loads of desktop to work on your video editing.

 

Great thanks for the info.
I should have said actually.
I am a Brit but im in the USA.
So i will be buying over here in the US.
The reason i want X264 playback is that i have 2 x 1 year old laptops that wont touch x264.. Both play ts..tp files no problem but cant play x264.
So i have $2000 to spend not 2000 quid.
Cheers

 

Here is a nice custom case I ran across...just shows what can be done...





Found it browsing "case mods"...Thought it was Cool...all hand made...he sculpted the body from modelers clay...made a mold...laid it in fiberglass...13 months total...He made it as his garage computer...

http://images10.newegg.com/UploadFilesForNewegg/Promo/casemod/Contestants/0805/Winner/index.htm#

 

lp

beautiful model

 

That is a sweet case! Care to share where u found it?

 

I added Link to the Bronco case...

Here is another sweet one...This is one of my Favorites...





Here is a link to this case...
http://www.nickfalzonedesign.com/

Let me know if the pic's are to big for people...not sure of size limits in threads...

 

Pics are cool to me...

 

I have a question on building my first pc.

I am about to buy the E6600 cpu but is it ok if i use the stock fan that comes with it and then purchace a better one to overclock it later.

Also if there's a problem i could just buy the fan now, any recomendations.

 

The stock cooler works fine.
Mine is still awaiting its cooler, so is on the stock fan.
Running at 3.2Ghz 24/7 at 29'C idle mid 40's full load at 1.45V.
Not all cpus are the same, some run hotter than others, but for a stat it will be fine, the only issue is that later you'll pay another delivery charge.

as a cheap but very effective cooler the Arctic Freezer 7 pro is almost unbeatable, it retails for about £12 in the UK, very easy to install and not too loud (although not silent), as your next delivery charge is possibly half of that total, it may be worth just going for it.

 

Little help here Guys & Dolls..Ya did'nt help much yhe last time,but thats alright.I forgive U.
I'm wanting to buy some memory,& wondering which of these would be best as far as timing speed

G.SKILL 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory - $124.99

* DDR2 800 (PC2 6400)
* Timing 4-4-3-5
* Cas Latency 4



CORSAIR XMS2 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM Desktop Memory - $159.00

* DDR2 800 (PC2 6400)
* Timing 4-4-4-12
* Cas Latency 4
Which ever memory is best for this set-up
or even something tottaly different

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103773
ASUS CROSSHAIR Socket AM2 NVIDIA nForce 590 SLI MCP ATX AMD Motherboard
AMD Athlon 64 X2 6000+ Windsor 3.0GHz 2 x 1MB L2 Cache Socket AM2 Processor
$234.00
Combo Price: $453.99

 

@rick5446
I would recommend the Corsair...

 

I always go with Corsair.
It's always quality memory.
It's compatible with any system I've ever seen.
The RMA support if needed is 100% (no quibbles).
They even answer the phone (novelty these days!)

G.Skill I’ve never used.

One company I always now advise against touching is Geil.
After my sticks had a fault, I contacted them 5 times and never once got a response let alone any help, and their forum is full of similar stories.

 

is their any explanation of the different timings.I think I read somewhere,that lower was faster

 

Start here...An explanation of timing...
http://www.cooltechzone.com/index.php?option=content&task=view&id=377&Itemid=0