First Build. Any suggestions?

Hey guys, getting close to finalizing my build that I want and wanted to post here and see what everyone thought. If you have any suggestions or ideas for replacements please let me know. Currently I have a GPU and sound card that i'll be using from my previous rig to hold me over until I get some more cash. I also have no plans on overclocking at this time.

Thanks in advance to everyone!

Intel Core 2 Duo E6750 Conroe 2.66GHz 4M shared L2 Cache LGA 775 Processor$184.00

GIGABYTE GA-P35-DS3R LGA 775 Intel P35 ATX Intel Motherboard $129.99

CORSAIR XMS2 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory $102.00

Western Digital Caviar SE16 WD3200AAKS 320GB 7200 RPM 16MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive $74.99

NZXT Apollo Black $69.99

Thermaltake Purepower W0100RU ATX 12V 2.0 500W Power Supply$59.99

LITE-ON SATA DVD Burner with LightScribe $39.99

Vista 64-Bit Home Premium $114.99

Nice upgrade, great motherboard.

One thing, 64bit can be quite a hassle, unless you absolutely need it, I would stick with 32bit.

Thanks guys for the quick replies. I don't have my heart set on the 64 bit version of Vista. Mainly I've just been hearing that 64 bit is the 'future' (though I believe they said the same thing about XP 64 bit lol), and that it'll allow me to upgrade my RAM past 4 gigs in the future.

As for the X38 boards, they look nice I just worry that they'll be out of my price range since I'm trying to keep this somewhat of a 'budget' pc. For the power supplydo you have any recommendations?

Thanks again guys for all your help!

As for the X38 boards, they look nice I just worry that they'll be out of my price range since I'm trying to keep this somewhat of a 'budget' pc. For the power supplydo you have any recommendations?

Thanks again guys for all your help!

Dreyson

Trim a few corners and you should be able to fit an X38 board onto your budget - remember, the motherboard is where all your upgrades are determined - if you pick a P35 board and plan to keep it for several years, you might be dissapointed with your upgrade paths in the future. As for the power supply, I'd shoot for a Corsair unit right now. Either the HX520w or the VX550w would be great.

Trim a few corners and you should be able to fit an X38 board onto your budget - remember, the motherboard is where all your upgrades are determined - if you pick a P35 board and plan to keep it for several years, you might be dissapointed with your upgrade paths in the future. As for the power supply, I'd shoot for a Corsair unit right now. Either the HX520w or the VX550w would be great.RayvinAzn

I'll do some more looking into the X38 boards tonight when I'm at work. Try to find out the prices and release dates for them. Also those power supplies look pretty good as well. Thanks for the help.

Anyone else have any comments or suggestions? Thanks again!

good stuff, enjoy your computer.

I'll do some more looking into the X38 boards tonight when I'm at work. Try to find out the prices and release dates for them. Also those power supplies look pretty good as well. Thanks for the help.

Anyone else have any comments or suggestions? Thanks again!

Dreyson

Release date is supposed to be Sept 23rd - I'm not usually an advocate of waiting for the next big thing, but when it's a month or less off, that never hurts. Prices are probably going to be around $200+ though - fortunately, I think I know how you might be able to trim some fat. First, cut back on the RAM. You're not overclocking, therefore don't need high-speed, low latency RAM. Look for some cheaper DDR2 667MHz stuff, that will match up perfectly with your 1333MHz FSB, and probably save you a good $20. You could cut back on the hard drive as well - 250GB should be plenty, and save you another $10 or so. You could also consider another case - that's up to you, as aesthetics are one of the most important things in a case, but saving $20 or so here would be very easy, and you would still end up with a nice case like the Centurion 534. You could save yourself another $10 by dropping Litescribe off the DVD RW drive. And as a last resort, you could also cut the processor back to the E6550, but I would do that as a very last resort.

Nice upgrade, great motherboard.

One thing, 64bit can be quite a hassle, unless you absolutely need it, I would stick with 32bit.

TUnified

Just curious, do you have Vista 64 bit. Sorry if you do, but it seems most people who say 64 bit is bad or has problems don't own it themselves.

I am sure there are some issues with Vista 64 bit, but I have not encountered one yet. I have a 3 year old (somewhere around there) HP printer that I was able to get 64bit drivers for off of HP's site. I was a little concerned about the printer but was relieved they were there.

[QUOTE="TUnified"]

Nice upgrade, great motherboard.

One thing, 64bit can be quite a hassle, unless you absolutely need it, I would stick with 32bit.

opamando

Just curious, do you have Vista 64 bit. Sorry if you do, but it seems most people who say 64 bit is bad or has problems don't own it themselves.

I am sure there are some issues with Vista 64 bit, but I have not encountered one yet. I have a 3 year old (somewhere around there) HP printer that I was able to get 64bit drivers for off of HP's site. I was a little concerned about the printer but was relieved they were there.

I have tried both 64-bit XP and Vista (RC1). I could not find 64 bit drivers for my sound card in both, but in XP I had problems with my TV Tuner and my Printer. So I decided to stick with 32-bit Vista.

64-Bit is a great step in the right direction, and it's not Microsoft's fault, the OS is great. Developers are taking too long to support it. It will be a different experience for everyone, because everyone has different hardware that may or may not be supported in 64-bit.