[cyberspacegenie]

I'm planning to build a new system (this will be the first time). I'm based in Tokyo, where it gets hot and humid in the summer. Currently the parts parts I'm looking at:

Case: Antec P150
MoBO: P5B Deluxe or p5B
RAM: Corsair Twin2x2048-6400 (XMS2)
HDD: Samsung HD321KJ (SATA)
Video: Asus EN8500GT Silent HTD/256M (Passive)
Processor: Core 2 Duo E6600
DVD Drive: Asus DRW-1814BLT (SATA)

I'm trying to build a quiet system but I'm on a budget. The system is mainly for design stuff (photoshop, quark), office functions, music and to a limited extent games.

I know Corsair RAM comes highly recommended but I have come across a couple of alternatives that work out significantly cheaper.

PQI ddr2-800 1gb cl5 240pin (QD2800-1GB) x 2
Transcend JetRam DDR2-800 Dual Channel Kit (PC2-6400/1GB x 2)

Has anyone any experience with these. Someone said to me that PQI has got some very good reviews, but I haven't managed to find any. Is it any good?

Also I'm trying to decide between the P5B and P5B Deluxe motherboards. I heard that the cooling, RAID, and sound on the P5B deluxe is better. And also it has firewire, which is useful for me but not essential. I'm not planning a RAID set-up at the mo, but not sure about the future. I have no plans to overclock, as I"m not a big gamer so I'm not sure how much benefit there is for me doing this - any advice in that respect is also appreciated.

Many thanks.

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You won't need the p5b deluxe unless you were to overclock. Most of the people around here have been advising against Asus boards recently. Apparently they have been having a higher rate of DOA in comparsion to other big companies. I usually suggest Gigabyte boards and James usually recommends Evga.

I have never heard of those brands of RAM. I always find it's best to stick with what you know is good to keep from kicking yourself in the [bleep] later if it dies. Corsair tends to be the cheapest of what I know to be quality RAM. Also if you don't plan to overclock you will be fine with DDR2 667 RAM.

I don't have much experience with RAID setups other than what I have read on here. I think that RAID will need to be set up before the Windows installation. But again, this is a grey area for me and I'm sure someone else will be able to explain that better. To me it seems like more trouble then it is worth.

Also I have not read anything about passive cooling on GPUs but if you don't play graphic intensive games I doubt there will be any issues. The mainstream version the geforce 8 series fell short of expectations so you may want to wait until ATI releases their mainstream DX10 model.

The PSU that comes with that case is a quality one but may not be enough power. I'm not sure on the 8500 but I think that is recommended to have atleast 500w for the 8800.

Edited by Titan8990, 17 May 2007 - 01:41 PM.

[Titan8990]

You won't need the p5b deluxe unless you were to overclock. Most of the people around here have been advising against Asus boards recently. Apparently they have been having a higher rate of DOA in comparsion to other big companies. I usually suggest Gigabyte boards and James usually recommends Evga.

I have never heard of those brands of RAM. I always find it's best to stick with what you know is good to keep from kicking yourself in the [bleep] later if it dies. Corsair tends to be the cheapest of what I know to be quality RAM. Also if you don't plan to overclock you will be fine with DDR2 667 RAM.

I don't have much experience with RAID setups other than what I have read on here. I think that RAID will need to be set up before the Windows installation. But again, this is a grey area for me and I'm sure someone else will be able to explain that better. To me it seems like more trouble then it is worth.

Also I have not read anything about passive cooling on GPUs but if you don't play graphic intensive games I doubt there will be any issues. The mainstream version the geforce 8 series fell short of expectations so you may want to wait until ATI releases their mainstream DX10 model.

The PSU that comes with that case is a quality one but may not be enough power. I'm not sure on the 8500 but I think that is recommended to have atleast 500w for the 8800.

Edited by Titan8990, 17 May 2007 - 01:41 PM.