Intel Core 2 Duo System

[CuriousComputer]

I am about to build this new system. I am upgrading my old tower case which has a recently installed 430w Antec EarthWatts Power supply. The only things from the old system I will be keeping are the case, power supply, wireless lan, and two IDE hard drives.

I am trying to build a 2.8ghz Core 2 Duo with 4gb G.Skill Ram, GeForce 9500 GT, 80 gig SATA drive for OS and applications, and a DVD Burner.

I am planning on getting a Gigabyte motherboard. I have read a lot of reviews it sounds like they offer the best combination of quality and affordability. (GIGABYTE GA-X48-DS5 LGA 775 Intel X48 ATX Intel Motherboard)

I have a question about the video card I am looking to put into this system.
The PSU supplies 17amps on the two 12v rails. Will this be enough to power a GeForce 9500 GT? The requirements are listed at 18 amps on the 12v rail.

Newegg Shopping cart. (I will probably place the order in the next week or two if everything looks good/compatible). I had a problem the first time I built a computer with ordering incompatible RAM. I would really appreciate it if someone could double check this and make sure that everything I am buying will work properly together.

Let me know what you think.
---------------------------------

Qty. Product Description Savings Total Price
1

HP 22X DVD Burner Black IDE Model 1135i

HP 22X DVD Burner Black IDE Model 1135i - Retail
Item #: N82E16827140035
Return Policy: Standard Return Policy

$21.00

1

HP DVD Burner

HP SimpleSavePhoto - OEM
Item #: N82E16800990003
Return Policy: Standard Return Policy

1

Western Digital Caviar SE WD800JB 80GB 7200 RPM IDE Ultra ATA100 3.5" Hard Drive

Western Digital Caviar SE WD800JB 80GB 7200 RPM IDE Ultra ATA100 3.5" Hard Drive - OEM
Item #: N82E16822144122
Return Policy: 30 Day Return Policy




$37.99

1

EVGA 512-P3-N954-TR GeForce 9500 GT 512MB 128-bit GDDR2 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card

EVGA 512-P3-N954-TR GeForce 9500 GT 512MB 128-bit GDDR2 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card - Retail
Item #: N82E16814130378
Return Policy: 30 Day Return Policy

$69.99

1

G.SKILL 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model F2-6400CL5D-4GBPQ

G.SKILL 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model F2-6400CL5D-4GBPQ - Retail
Item #: N82E16820231122
Return Policy: Limited Non-Refundable 30-Day Return Policy

$42.99

1

GIGABYTE GA-X48-DS5 LGA 775 Intel X48 ATX Intel Motherboard

GIGABYTE GA-X48-DS5 LGA 775 Intel X48 ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail
Item #: N82E16813128332
Return Policy: Limited Non-Refundable 30-Day Return Policy

$179.99

1

Intel Core 2 Duo E7400 Wolfdale 2.8GHz LGA 775 65W Dual-Core Processor Model BX80571E7400

Intel Core 2 Duo E7400 Wolfdale 2.8GHz LGA 775 65W Dual-Core Processor Model BX80571E7400 - Retail
Item #: N82E16819115206
Return Policy: Processors (CPUs) Return Policy

$119.99

Subtotal: $476.94
Calculate Shipping
Shipping: $16.53

[RickyTick]

I would go with a less expensive motherboard like this
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128359
Use the money saved to buy a better power supply like this
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817341001
You would also be able to use better ram for basically the same price, like this
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231226

I'm not sure you can have both IDE hard drives and SATA hard drives all working together. Maybe someone else can offer some clarification here. Personally I would rather have just one big hard drive.

[CuriousComputer]

I would go with a less expensive motherboard like this
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128359
Use the money saved to buy a better power supply like this
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817341001
You would also be able to use better ram for basically the same price, like this
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231226

Thank you very much for the advice, that motherboard does look very nice for the price. I did not want to skimp on the motherboard, but the specs of that one look almost the same as the one I was looking at, but $80 dollars less.

Also, thanks for the advice on the RAM.

I would really like to keep the power supply I have, but if I really need a more powerful one to run this system and the GeForce 9500 GT I could pick one up. I am inclined to try it with the EarthWatts 430w first, and then upgrade to a more powerful PSU if that does not work properly.


I'm not sure you can have both IDE hard drives and SATA hard drives all working together. Maybe someone else can offer some clarification here. Personally I would rather have just one big hard drive.

Yeah, I could use some clarification on this.

Most of the motherboards I have been looking have
Storage Devices
PATA 1 x ATA100 2 Dev. Max
SATA 3Gb/s 8

I thought this would mean that I could run two IDE devices and and 8 SATA devices.

I guess the 2 IDE devices would be a 500gb Western Digital and the DVD Burner. (Thinking about it, I guess I should go for a SATA DVD Burner instead of the IDE one)

I noticed there are IDE controller that do not cost much money, maybe I could just grab one of those for $20 bucks?

Thanks again for the advice,
-Curious Computer

[RickyTick]

The Antec Earthwatts power supplies are excellent products. I'm just not sure it could handle a system with 3 hard drives as well as optical drive, video card, et al. I could be wrong.

[The Wise Monkey]

You can run both IDE hard drives and SATA hard drives in the same machine, but you will need to be very clear what the boot order is. Also, make sure that the IDE hard drive is set to master and the DVD drive is set to slave, if you decide to use the IDE DVD drive.

[CuriousComputer]

Thanks for the advice. I think I am going to try it with the 430w and upgrade if necessary. When I put the PC together I will only install the Motherboard, CPU, SATA drive, RAM, and Graphics card.

Then I will add in the other components one by one and see if it can still handle having an additional 2 IDE drives, a SATA DVD burner, and a PCI wireless Lan card.

I will let you know how it goes.

Here is what I am planning on buying now, I am going to get the cheaper motherboard, and go with the faster 1066mhz G.Skill RAM, on the advice of RickyTrick.

What do you think?
-------------------------
GIGABYTE GA-EP45-UD3R LGA 775 Intel P45 ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail
Item #: N82E16813128359
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128359

Intel Core 2 Duo E7400 Wolfdale 2.8GHz LGA 775 65W Dual-Core Processor Model BX80571E7400 - Retail
Item #: N82E16819115206
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115206

G.SKILL 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 1066 (PC2 8500) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model F2-8500CL6D-4GBNQ - Retail
Item #: N82E16820231226
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231226

EVGA 512-P3-N954-TR GeForce 9500 GT 512MB 128-bit GDDR2 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card - Retail
Item #: N82E16814130378
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130378

Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 ST3250410AS 250GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Hard Drive - OEM
Item #: N82E16822148262
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822148262

LG 22X DVD±R DVD Burner Black SATA Model GH22NS30 - OEM
Item #: N82E16827136152
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827136152


----------

Should I spend the extra $20 bucks and get a slightly faster Core 2 Duo instead?
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115056

Also, it gets really hot in the summers where I live, sometimes up to 100 degrees. Should I invest in a more powerful fan and heatsink for the CPU?


Thanks for looking,
CuriousComputer

[Mikeystien]

I'm not the most knowlagble on the subject, but I saw this hard drive that has a bit more space for the same price on Newegg.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136074

The main difference I see is:
Average Seek Time - Western Digital = 8.9m.s vs Seagate = 8.5m.s
Average Write Time - Western Digital = 10.9m.s vs Seagate = 10m.s
Average Latency - Western Digital = 4.2m.s vs Seagate = 4.16m.s

Looks like the Western Digital drive is a tad slower, but I don't know if it is a big enough difference to outweigh 70GB difference.

Thought it was worth mentioning.

[CuriousComputer]

I'm not the most knowlagble on the subject, but I saw this hard drive that has a bit more space for the same price on Newegg.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136074

The main difference I see is:
Average Seek Time - Western Digital = 8.9m.s vs Seagate = 8.5m.s
Average Write Time - Western Digital = 10.9m.s vs Seagate = 10m.s
Average Latency - Western Digital = 4.2m.s vs Seagate = 4.16m.s

Looks like the Western Digital drive is a tad slower, but I don't know if it is a big enough difference to outweigh 70GB difference.

Thought it was worth mentioning.

Good find, I did not notice that. I was looking for Western Digital SATA drive, but I guess I just missed that one.

I have owned a lot of Western Digital drives, and I would rather trust my data with them than any other hard drive manufacturer.

Thanks Mikeystien