First time pc builder?

Question

Got some items off newegg and tigerdirect

processor e6600 c2d
motherboard is asus p5n32-e
1g ddr2 800 ram
evga 8600gt 256 mb video card

250 hd at 7200 rpm sata II (you think this is enough? any dif between 8mb or 16 mb cache?)

not sure but i'm getting 500watt powersupply (you think its enough or will it be safer to get more?)

windows xp, vista is still kinda buggy for me.

i got my eye on a nice case with 2 or 3 fans

you think this is a good desktop? how long ya think it will last me?

Answer 1

the supply is fine for the parts u have ... u dont need to worry about sata3gb/s it wont make a hill of beans difference ... and a 16gb cache is better than an 8 ... it will be a fine desktop .. maybe add more ram later if u get more into gaming or heavy apps like photoshop ...

Answer 2

The SATA II hard drive looks rather nice; the SATA II will ensure your PC will remain state-of-the-art longer. The 16 MB cache will give you better performance since the hard drive can store more information in its cache instead of having to retrieve it from the platter when the computer calls for it; personally I don't think you will see too much of a difference. Most machines have 8 MB cache.

500 W of power seems to be a pretty good amount of juice. You probably won't have to worry about using all of that. Make sure it has a 24 pin power connector (PCs are currently crossing over from 20 pin connectors, so some power supplies will have them).

The video card is a monster. It should play any game you throw at it without a problem.

A heatsink and fan are a MUST for your Core 2 Duo; Intel processors have always run notoriously hot, let alone two cores in the same chip. The stock one would work okay; just make sure that the product description doesn't say "Heatsink sold seperately" or any bogus like that.

The mother board is also a pretty nice runner too, being that its equipped with an nForce chipset instead of the cheap no-name ones from SiS (can't remember the company's name, that might not be the one). Also, you mobo is SLI capable, meaning you could possibly put two video cards in it and use the combined horsepower of both for games. It's a very good move since it gives you a lot of leg room for expansion.

Lastly, good call on XP. The most stable, tried and true drivers are for XP; developers still haven't hammered out the kinks with Vista yet. Word on the street is Vista has HORRIBLE OpenGL support... I can testify to that. Any game I've thrown at it that runs on OpenGL completely crashes the comp.

Answer 3

Great set up.
1. 16Mb cache plus NCQ could speed things a bit.
2. 500 watt PSU (preferably with dual +12V rails) is more than enough for now but may restrict your upgrade decisions in the future (esp. if you want to extend the life of your desktop). Higher rated PSU runs cooler and lasts longer.
3. There are a lot more mature drivers for Win XP. Let's wait for Vista SP1 and better drivers. Just look at the big enterprises. They are still on XP SP2.
4. A case with 120mm intake and exhaust fans would be enough. The E6600 and 8600GT are NOT space heaters, so your set up should run pretty cool.

Take note that the E6600 is great overclocker. You've got plenty of performance reserve in that thing.

Answer 4

If your mother board has SLI or crossfire capability, and youre gaming, that would allow you a few years because you can stack your video cards.

Did you forget the thermal compound (for the cpu)?

500 watts, should be okay, for this video card.
If youre not going to stack them, then it should be okay.

All in all, Id say its a decent machine, that would probably need to be upgraded component by component, which is how it usually is anyways.

But Id say you wont have to do anythign with it, maybe add another GB of Ram when you up to VISTA!!!

Answer 5

If you wanna be set for a good while I'd bump it up to 2 gigs of ram and i'd up the power supply to like and 800 that should do it for a long time.

Answer 6

looks good, why are you going with sata ii ???? go with sATA 3gb/s

it should last you a while, but you will be upgrading the ram in a few years, and you might have to do a video card upgrade if you want to play direct x 10 games\\\\\\\\


the PSU should be ok, inless it comes with the case, they are total crap, I had one last 20 days!!!

get a ocz gamexstreem 600 its like 100 and its great

Answer 7

Great parts, give it a shot. Tons of great web sites with full photos to show you how to do it right. Plan for bugs. I've had bad ramm and bad video cards right out of the box. I've built about 20 PCs. Its a blast.

Answer 8

Don't spend all that money on learning how to build a PC. Do it on old used hardware that way if you screw it up it's ok. Buy parts for a new PC AFTER you know what to do with the parts.

Answer 9

it should run fine and last 2 years or so im guessing. im building a computer from newegg aswell.