My first ever build - Spec Check

GTRacer

GTRacer

GTRacer

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After several years of buying Vaios and Dells, I've decided to finally go down the DIY route. Much cheaper and more VFM it seems. Anyway, I've put together a list of components for a full system. What do you guys think? Have I missed anything out? I'm trying to stick under £1200.

OS: Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium 64-Bit Edition DVD - OEM - 1Pk (66I-00788)
CPU: Intel Core 2 Duo E6750 "LGA775 Conroe" 2.66GHz (1333FSB) - Retail
Mobo: Asus P5KC Combo Intel P35 (Socket 775) PCI-Express DDR2 & DDR3
RAM: GeIL 2GB (2x1GB) PC6400C4 800MHz Ultra Low Latency DDR2 Dual Channel Kit (GX22GB6400UDC)
GPU: OcUK ATI Radeon HD 2900 XT SILENT Heatpipe 1024MB GDDR4 VIVO TV-Out/Dual DVI (PCI-Express) - Retail
HDD: Western Digital Caviar SE16 500GB 5000AAKS SATA-II 16MB Cache - OEM
Drive: Samsung SH-183LBEBN 18x18 DVD±RW Dual Layer Serial ATA Lightscribe ReWriter (Black) - OEM
Case: Antec P182 Super Midi Tower Case - No PSU (Gun Metal Black)
Sound: Creative X-Fi Xtreme Audio 7.1 Soundcard (PCI-Express) - OEM
PSU: OCZ StealthXStream 600w Silent SLI Ready ATX2 Power Supply
Mouse: Logitech Internet 1500 Laser Cordless Desktop Black - Retail
Screen: Samsung SM-206BW 20" Widescreen LCD Monitor - Glossy Black

Would I need extra cooling (and thermal paste), and how does the 1GB 2900XT compare to the 768mb 8800GTX? On paper it seems the ATi wins but drivers and whatnot may change stuff around. Or can I save the extra cash and go for a 8800GTS 640mb since my screen is at 1680x1050. I'll be using the PC for gaming, Adobe Creative Suite 3 and general everyday use. There's a strong chance of overclocking since I do like to tweak things abit. Also, (silly question) would internet guides suffice for a first time build?

EDIT: Should I download the latest drivers first before putting it all together?
 
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I'm pretty sure the 8800 GTX is faster than the 2900XT, otherwise it all looks good, if you are going to be overclocking you should at least be getting an Arctic Freezer 7 or better like a noctua or tuniq tower. You thought about going Quad core as future games and apps will make better use of multithreading.
 
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I'd highly suggest getting a decent CPU Cooler, such as the Noctua NH-U12F, Thermalright Ultra 120 or the Tuniq Tower 120. You'll be fine building from a guide, as long as you're careful and stick to it. I personally would suggest taking the 8800GTX over the 2900XT.
 
Ok, the 2900XT has been replaced by the 8800GTX and I've added a Tuniq Tower 120. I've also added some arctic Silver thermal compound for the cooler. I'm all set, right?
 
Hello I am a bit of a noob too, (first post)
And I was just about to post a question about the following kit, and then I saw this post.

CPU: Intel Core 2 Duo E6750 "LGA775 Conroe" 2.66GHz (1333FSB) - Retail
Mobo: Asus P5KC Combo Intel P35 (Socket 775) PCI-Express DDR2 & DDR3
RAM: GeIL 2GB (2x1GB) PC6400C4 800MHz Ultra Low Latency DDR2 Dual Channel Kit (GX22GB6400UDC)
I already have this
Tagan TG580-U15 580W ATX2.01 Easycon SLi Compliant Modular Silent PSU
This should be ok - shouldn’t it?

I am so glad to read that this will all work well together, you chaps have just saved a major amount of hair loss.

Thanks

Dav
 
davg said:
Hello I am a bit of a noob too, (first post)
And I was just about to post a question about the following kit, and then I saw this post.

CPU: Intel Core 2 Duo E6750 "LGA775 Conroe" 2.66GHz (1333FSB) - Retail
Mobo: Asus P5KC Combo Intel P35 (Socket 775) PCI-Express DDR2 & DDR3
RAM: GeIL 2GB (2x1GB) PC6400C4 800MHz Ultra Low Latency DDR2 Dual Channel Kit (GX22GB6400UDC)
I already have this
Tagan TG580-U15 580W ATX2.01 Easycon SLi Compliant Modular Silent PSU
This should be ok - shouldn’t it?

I am so glad to read that this will all work well together, you chaps have just saved a major amount of hair loss.

Thanks

Dav
Click to expand...
That PSU should easily power that.
 
Strange about the OCZ psu as some find them noisy and mine is very very quiet.

I can't here it unless i stick my head near it.

Nice rig btw, you will be very happy :)
 
Should be fairly "future proof" although thing change quite quickly in the PC world. Should last you a good 2 years combined with a high end GFX card.
 
davg said:
I take it that it will be fairly future proof, what with quad core and ddr3....?
Click to expand...

More importantly than that, it's a good rig to start off with. That said, I think the e6750 is expensive, and a e4300 or e2160 would almost certainly clock to the same speed that would.
 
You'll probably not be able to clock a quad core as far as you can clock a dual core due to there being more heat. Although if you can get it to 3GHz anything more than that is unnecessary, plus with quad the even at a lower clock speed it'll beat a dual core in anything that is multi threaded and will be more future proof.
 
Thanks for all the advice chaps, I am going to order my kit over the weekend.

Next i will be asking questions about putting it all together....

GTRacer I hope you don’t mind me hi-jacking you thread...

Regards

Dav
 
Hello

bit of a prob i have built the PC and it all boots and runs fine whis is cool,

But...

My 250 gig WD hard drive is showing as 127 gigs's, i have downloaded updates and done a bios up but cant sort it.

please help

Thanks

Dav
 
GTRacer said:
EDIT: Should I download the latest drivers first before putting it all together?
Click to expand...
Definatelly.
Its rare that the bundled drivers will be anywhere near the latest.:).
 
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