FIRST BUILD: E6600 on Asus PW5

[gee3000]

Hey everyone, I'm new to this forum and also to system building. I was in high hopes you guys would be able to guide me on parts.

So far I have:

CPU: Intel Core 2 Duo E6600 2.4ghz
MOTHERBOARD: Asus P5W-DH I975X LGA775
RAM: Corsair XMS2 Pro 6400 ----- UNDECIDED!
GFX: nVidia BFG GeForce 7900 GS ----- UNDECIDED!
PSU: Tagan TG500-U25
HDD1: (for system files) Western Digital WD740ADFD Raptor 74GB S150 16MB 10000RPM
HDD2: Western Digital WD5000KS Caviar 500GB S300 16mb 7200rpm
CASE: Thermaltake VA3000BWA Black
OPTICAL: LiteOn SHM-165H6S DVD-RW

Any suggestions on the RAM and GPU? Thanks! ;D

 

[Van Diemen]

The Asus P5W has a lot of features that most people do not use. The wireless adapter & the Remote for example. If you dont need these features then go for the Abit AW9D-MAX Intel 975X, it is a lot newer than the Asus

 

[Trigger]

The Asus P5W has a lot of features that most people do not use. The wireless adapter & the Remote for example. If you dont need these features then go for the Abit AW9D-MAX Intel 975X, it is a lot newer than the Asus

I always have trouble with Abit boards and think that Intel boards are way over priced for what you get. I'd go for either the Gigabyte DS3 or the Asus P5B PSU wise, throw the Tagan as far as possible and get a Corsair. For the RAM, what you have seems okay , GeIL have also been pretty good in my experience. Finally, ditch the second WD HDD and get a Seagate 7200.10 drive Not sure on graphics- depends how much you want to spend but don't go for the 7900, for that price get an X1950.

EDIT: Get rid of the LiteOn DVDRW- get an NEC

 

[steve258]

Nothing wrong with the setup mate, if you prefer corsair ram then you may want to go for the dominator PC6400C4 for just a few £ extra.

As for GFX, depends what screen you have and what resolution you play your games at, but a 1950pro / 7900GS is good enough for 1280*1024 gaming on 17" / 19" screens.

 

[Trigger]

Nothing wrong with the setup mate, if you prefer corsair ram then you may want to go for the dominator PC6400C4 for just a few £ extra.

Fair enough, there's nothing actually wrong with it but it could easily be improved upon as I have pointed out above

 

[gee3000]

Thanks a lot for your advice guys!

The Asus P5W has a lot of features that most people do not use. The wireless adapter & the Remote for example. If you dont need these features then go for the Abit AW9D-MAX Intel 975X, it is a lot newer than the Asus

I have a wireless network at home so on-board WiFi would be great, saves the hassle of having an extra card :] I'm also quite looking forward to the remote control as I'd like to shuffle my music while laying in my bed
I think I'll stick with the P5W unless I'm just being stupid ;$

I always have trouble with Abit boards and think that Intel boards are way over priced for what you get. I'd go for either the Gigabyte DS3 or the Asus P5B PSU wise, throw the Tagan as far as possible and get a Corsair. For the RAM, what you have seems okay , GeIL have also been pretty good in my experience. Finally, ditch the second WD HDD and get a Seagate 7200.10 drive Not sure on graphics- depends how much you want to spend but don't go for the 7900, for that price get an X1950.

EDIT: Get rid of the LiteOn DVDRW- get an NEC

Which NEC DVDRW would be best to get?
Can you also recommend a power supply? I'm a complete noob when it comes to hardware, not too aware which are the good brands and which to avoid :]
Also, the memory I have chosen is actually a little expensive. Is there anything I can get which is cheaper but will give me the same performance?

As for Graphics Card - someone mentioned the PW5 is Crossfire compatible, does this mean I'd be better off getting an ATi card? To be honest my 19" LG M1910A only goes max 1280x1024, so anything higher would be a waste. Even my current 6600GT is giving me smooth gameplay :] but not smooth enough when my heads getting blown to bits -.-' So a decent graphics card but no more than £120 would be perfect.

Thanks again for your input!

 

[Trigger]

Get an X1950 Pro for your graphics. PSU wise, either one of the Corsair PSU's will be fine- get the 600W if you plan to upgrade anytime soon. This DVD-RW should be fine Some GeIL RAM should be fine for your needs however people have reported that the OcUK value DDR2 RAM overclocks very well so you may do well to look at that The motherboard you have chosen is fine BTW

 

[steve258]

As for Graphics Card - someone mentioned the PW5 is Crossfire compatible, does this mean I'd be better off getting an ATi card? To be honest my 19" LG M1910A only goes max 1280x1024, so anything higher would be a waste. Even my current 6600GT is giving me smooth gameplay :] but not smooth enough when my heads getting blown to bits -.-' So a decent graphics card but no more than £120 would be perfect.

1950pro it is then Plus you can always add another one to juice it up in the future.

 

[FrankJH]

I have personally had major problems with reliability on the PW5 ever since getting it (usb hubs failing, read/write errros occuring with sata ports etc)

Ive seen a few others on here having similar problems

I would stay away if I were you especially with your first built. a lot of people swear by DS3 or DS4's though so go with those as there will be plenty of help on here if you need it

 

[Domo]

I have personally had major problems with reliability on the PW5 ever since getting it (usb hubs failing, read/write errros occuring with sata ports etc)

Ive seen a few others on here having similar problems

Seems I'm on my own then when I say it's a great board which hasn't given me any problems to date - touch wood!

 

[Van Diemen]

Seems I'm on my own then when I say it's a great board which hasn't given me any problems to date - touch wood!

Im with you there, I love the P5W, never had any problems with it & Iv had mine from the day it was released. (before C2D) & its always been great.

 

[gee3000]

Hey guys! Thanks a lot for your responses! I've had a few minutes to re-do my list to reflect the changes you suggested, and now have it down to the following:

CPU - Intel Core 2 Duo E6600 2.4ghz
MOBO - Asustek P5W-DH Deluxe Intel I975X LGA775 *
RAM - Corsair XMS2 Dominator 2GB DDR2 PC2-6400C4 TwinX (2x1GB) *
GFX - ATi Radeon X1950Pro 256MB DDR3 PCIE Dual DVI TVO
PSU - Corsair 620HXUK 620 Watts
HDD1 - Western Digital Raptor WD740ADFD 74GB S150 16MB 10000RPM
HDD2 - Seagate Barracuda ST3500630AS 500GB 7200.10 S300
CASE - Thermaltake Tsunami Dream VA3000BWA Black
OPTICL - NEC 18X LabelFlash Back Bare 18X DVD+/+RW/12X RAM IDE

* - The parts I'm still not sure about, willing to change if you guys say.

Overall this system is costing me a whopping £1021.70 (inc. vat) + delivery. So if you can get get it any cheaper do let me know

Your comments are kindly appreciated - thanks again!

 

[Domo]

Very similar setup to me

E6600
P5W-DH Deluxe
X1950 Pro (512)
74GB Raptor
Corsair 2GB DDR2 XMS2-6400C4 TwinX

My advice to you would be to get the BFG GeForce 8800 GTS OC 320MB GDDR3. You get a DX10 card which will wipe the floor with the x1950 for little more. If only I'd got one!

 

[gee3000]

Thanks for the suggestion, Domo! Maybe I'll consider the 8800 a little later on as an upgrade, and stick to my 6600GT for a few months, cos the 8800 is about £80 more expensive than the X1950 So perhaps forget the X1950 then by 8800 (or a better card) in summer Thanks mate.