[ak03]

So I have decided to build my first computer. This machine is going to be for home use. I probably will not do any gaming on here.
Here my are my goals:
*Have this pc last at least 4 years
*Have a fast motherboard and CPU that wont give me slow downs
*Have plenty of RAM
*Have enough storage
*Have great sound and good display
*Not Noisy

Here is what I have decided to go with:

Case: Ultra Black Aluminus ATX Mid-Tower Case
I like this case because of the cord organization system plus the way you can open it from the front to put in all of the stuff that you need. The only downside that I have about this case is it's size. The place i'm looking to put it isn't big enough.

Motherboard: Gigebyte P35 DS3L
This motherboard got pretty good reviews from what I can see. Also I liked the 2 PCI Express x16 slots. I'll admit that I wasn't really sure what to get here.

CPU: Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 Processor
This looked like a pretty good cpu. I heard that you could overclock it up to 3.2 GHz. Plus it was quad core, so it should last me in the long run.

CPU Fan:Thermalright Ultra-120
I eventually found this cpu fan through another forum. It looks great and preforms great. It also looks good in the reviews. I take it even though it's $30 more

Power Supply: Corsair VX550W
This power supply did great in the reviews. I doesn't really have an ripple. Overall I am satisfied with this product.

Hard Drive: Western Digital Caviar SE16 500GB Hard Drive
I really didn't need much space on my system. Plus the disk spins at 7200 rpm so that was good.

Memory: Patriot Extreme Performance 2GB
2GB memory did seem like plenty to me. I mainly just get on to music browse and play music. Occasionally I fire up my graphics program or play a game. The speed also looks good.

DVD Drive: Samsung SH-S203B
This looks like enough to burn my dvd's or cd's. Has good read/ write speeds.

Cooling: Ultra120mm Case Fan
This fan looks decent. I am concerned with the amount of air flow that it will provide. I don't want my pc frying, but I really don't want a loud PC

Sound Card: Creative Labs Sound Blaster X-Fi XtremeGamer PCI Sound Card
This sound card seemed like it would give me the True X-FI that I was looking for.

Video Card: XFX GeForce 8600 GT
I guess after a numbe rof people telling me that this card would be better, I decided to get this one.

Monitor: ASUS VW222U
This monitor looks really sharp in it's display. Love the 2 ms.

Memory Card Reader: Ultra Card Reader
Looked like a very solid memory card reader. It even adds 4 more USB 2.0 ports to the front! I was debating with this product however

Speakers:Logitech Z- 2300
These speakers got very nice reviews and fit my price budget
Things I already have:
*Keyboard and Mouse
*External drive and flash drive

So what do you think that I need to switch or change? I know someone out there has some sort of suggestion. Any help is MUCH appreciated!

Edited by ak03, 20 April 2008 - 03:08 PM.

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Anyone got any suggestions?

[ak03]

Anyone got any suggestions?

[reconman]

Hello ak03,

Your current case has two 120mm fan ports but doesn't come with any fans so I would defenintly buy another 120mm fan.

The motherboard you selected is way above the specs you really need it for. Since you're not going to be doing a lot of gaming, you're not going to need the two PCI-E x16 slots since you'll never need to SLI or crossfire. This motherboard is plenty for what you want to do and is a fraction of the cost:

http://www.newegg.co...N82E16813128059

Your current CPU cooling system isn't compatible with the CPU you picked out (quad core.) Here's a heatsink that's compatible but I would wait for a techie to give you a recommendation on a good heatsink:

http://www.newegg.co...N82E16835185046

500GB is still a lot of HD space and 7200RPM is the average speed at which most HDs run today. I don't really think the 10,000RPM hard drives are really worth the price compared to performance increase, so the HD you picked out is just fine.

I'd recommend this Corsair RAM:

http://www.newegg.co...N82E16820145590

I would go with the 8600GT over the 8500. Even though you said you occasionally play games, four years from now the 8500 is going to be lower than low as well as the 8600. So I personally would go with the HD3500 for $130 if you can spare the price. If not, go with the 8600GT:

http://www.newegg.co...N82E16814161211


Just remember to wait for more feedback, especially from the techies since they know much more about this stuff than I do

Edited by reconman, 19 April 2008 - 10:03 PM.

[ak03]

I have two questions for you before I change my decision of the ram and the Heatsink.
1) How much of a performance increase will I get from a PC8500 compared to a PC6400?
2) I have heard that people can cool their quad core's with this heatsink. So do you have evidence that it doesn't cool a quad core?

Edited by ak03, 20 April 2008 - 02:02 PM.

[stettybet0]

1) How much of a performance increase will I get from a PC8500 compared to a PC6400?

Little to none. It may make some synthetic benchmark scores better, but you won't really notice it in your everyday computing. I recommend this RAM over the RAM reconman suggested due to its tighter timings. If you are a Crucial guy, then this Crucial RAM is very similar, just a bit more expensive.

2) I have heard that people can cool their quad core's with this heatsink. So do you have evidence that it doesn't cool a quad core?

This heatsink will work fine with the Q6600. In fact, it is probably one of the best choices for cooling it. Just keep in mind that you will want to buy a 120mm fan to mount on it. The Scythe S-Flex SFF21F seems to be a fairly popular choice.

Also, if you are looking for the computer to be silent, you may want to look at a different case. The one you selected has a window (doesn't insulate sound as well as metal), and a mesh opening in that window for a fan.

[ak03]

What kind of case would you recommend that has similar features, but keeps everything quiet? Also, in the reviews about my heatsink, they said that as long as my power supply had a fan that sucked air from the bottom of it, the heatsink should be fine without a fan on it. Would you go this route or just get a fan with the heatsink? Thanks for your comments on the ram

[reconman]

See, this is why I told told you to wait for a techie to reply lol. The core 2 quad processor wasn't listed as compatible in the newegg specifications, that's why I stated that but heatsink fans are probably where I'm least knowledgeable when it comes to general computer hardware.

[ak03]

bump. Like to see me case and heatsink question answerd

[stettybet0]

Sorry, I only noticed reconman's post and missed that one.

As for the case, pretty much any one without a side window and mesh holes would be quieter than the one you have selected.

As for the heatsink, if you will be overclocking (and you seemed to suggest so in your first post), I'd recommend a fan. Since you are going for a quiet PC, you might want to get the Scythe S-FLEX SFF21D as it is quieter than the SFF21F I previously mentioned. This also means it doesn't cool as effectively though, so it's a bit of a trade-off.