I'd recommend this psu or maybe its more powerful version. Its parts are top notch and its really underrated.

PSU

i only plan to have 1 internal HDD, but i've got 5 USB devices i keep plugged in regularly now:

wireless keyboard/mouse
external hard drive
wireless network adapter
extention for USB ports on Dell monitor
connection to UPS for managed shutdown (in case of blackouts)

my cell phone also has a USB interface i use occasionally.

i want to replace the keyboard/mouse with something that has a charging station (the AA batteries in my current mouse die every couple of months), so i could look for a PS/2 connection for that. but yeah, other than that i do use a fair number of USB ports.



hmm good to know. i'm not picky about sound in a game at all -- i usually disable it, actually. but i've got a huge media library and a 500W speaker system, and the walls in my house are sound-proofed. you do the math  



i wouldn't say serious overclocking, but some is a possibility. so bigger question - can i safely remove the stock heatsink if i decide later that i want something a little more flashy?



right now this is the one i'm pretty sure i'll get: Thermaltake W0106RU. it's $100 after mail-in rebate, has a very high customer satisfaction rate, it's from a well-respected company, and it's 700W! should the deal expire before i make the purchase, i've got a couple backup options, and i'm adding your suggestion to my list.

while i realize 700W is way more than i'll need, i might, might do some case modding down the line, and i'm sure it won't hurt to have some extra power (case modding or not). my initial attraction to the XPS 200 i have now was its subtle, low profile design, but i've come to realize that low profile systems just require too many hardware compromises for me -- so instead i'm thinking about turning my computer into an art project  

The Thermaltake is a nice PSU, modular cables are a big plus especially if you're into modding. And don't worry, you can always replace the stock HSF whenever you want.

Don't worry about not having enough USB ports--powered hubs are easy enough to come by.



Generally, but you may need to be careful. I'm not sure what Intel is using on theirs, but AMD's HSFs use thermal transfer pads that can be rather sticky, so trying to yank them off can result in ripping the CPU right out of the socket (ruining it). If you pop the clips then carefully wiggle it until it breaks loose though, it's no problem (I had to do that for my last build, as the mobo died after 24 hours).



That's the one I'm planning to use in my new machine. Not sure how 90% 5 egg rating counts as underrated, though

Yea, with that many devices, you may need the extra USB ports the P35 provides.


You can pretty much consider PS/2 ports as obsolete these days. The current generation of boards will probably be the last that have them. It's rough for me because I have a PS/2 KVM setup to share my keyboard/mouse/monitor with my personal server. That one is not going to get upgraded any time soon. I did find an adapter that converts a PS/2 connection to USB. It was inexpensive so I picked up a couple and have them on-hand for that inevitable circumstance.


The stock HSF can handle moderate overclocking. I don't normally run overclocked, but I do run up the clocking to test system stability after a new build. You can rest assured your system is stable at stock speeds when it can run solid with a margin of overclocking.

As far as removing and replacing the CPU/HSF, most people remove the gum that comes on the stock HSF and install it with thermal grease. Arctic Silver is probably most popular. This makes removing and replacing the HSF a less precarious task. Cleanup can be achieved with a few kleenex and some 99% Isopropyl alchohol. I've been using Arctic Silver thermal grease for a long time and have been happy with it.


Hehe, no such thing as too much power

Intel's new cpu retention system is beefy enough that you'd probably pull the socket loose from the board before you pulled the cpu from the socket

i'd been meaning to ask about that - and pretty much planning on using it.

---

i just got a really cool piece of news. i need to talk to the IT support dept. to make sure, but one of my coworkers told me today that i can get XP pro and Office 2007 installed for free by bringing my new system into work.

i've also got a friend who's built a couple systems already, and she said she'd help me out to make sure i don't make any bone-headed mistakes and help with software and BIOS configuration.

i get paid Friday! i'm really excited.

I'm excited for you, nothing better than getting a fast new computer

I was finally able to link to my wishlist. Here's what I'm looking at WWW Link.

I was looking at the new Spider platform from AMD. It looks pretty interesting. However, at this point, parts are still too expensive considering performance isn't a whole lot better than a Q6600 Core 2 Quad platform. Definitely be keeping on eye on it though. When the non-Crossfire motherboards come out (AMD 770 chipset), I think it may be a good performance/value option. Only the Crossfire motherboards are available right now and they're expensive (AMD 790FX and 790X chipsets). ATI's Radeon 3800 series GPU is part of the Spider, I think that GPU was mentioned earlier in the thread.

yeah we were. after looking over the specs and doing a bit of reflection, i think i might go for the Radeon for at least a few months. they're going for $180 on newegg, and compared to the $300 price tag on 8800s, it makes more sense for me financially at least for now. i will probably adopt your idea of re-selling it in a few months and trading up for something i like better.

i checked out the RAM on your wish list; it seems identical to the corsair RAM i'm planning, but after rebate the deal i found comes out to $47 - might be worth a look-see.

here's my wish list (i decided to name this system "The Borg Cube" because i think i'm going to opt for lots of green lighting a few months down the line).

i left a VGA off my wish list for now because i'll probably buy one in person at Fry's. i asked about getting Windows for free through work and found out i can't, but my IT guy did suggest checking out Fry's. apperantly if you buy even one tiny hardware product (even just thumb screws), they can offer an out-of-box copy of Windows for $99 (about $80 less than retail).

on a note we touched previously, i started browsing sound cards. i was surprised to see customer satisfaction rates for mose of Creative's cards only at 4 eggs. some of the off brands seem to have solid 5-egg approval and a fairly high rate of purchase (well, technically, customer review).

this looks like the best card for my speakers and money, the HT Omega Striker. seems like it'll offer full performance for my speakers without being overkill.

Change "not a whole lot better" to "not quite as good" and it would be more accurate. Phenom is, on average, just a little slower clock-for-clock than the Core2 quads . . . and AMDs clock speed tops out where Intel's begins. Then consider that the Q6600 is soon to be eclipsed by the cheap 2.66ghz Q9450 Yorkdale which is faster than Phenom clock-for-clock and things aren't looking good for Phenom.

That's probably a good way to go. You get better value with Radeon. I don't think there's good value in a mid-range GeForce card. Their high-end cards are great though.


That particular memory is actually on the approved memory list for the Gigabyte motherboard. The Corsair memory is not. I like to use approved memory whenever possible. I've rarely had compatibility problems, but it does happen sometimes. Corsair is high quality and I've used it before so I'm sure it would be fine. Crucial is also a popular and respected brand. I'll go with it just because it's on the list, even if it's a bit more.


That sounds like a good deal. I think I paid $150 for the copy of XP Pro I'm running on my desktop system. My laptop runs XP Home which is cheaper and does pretty much everything XP Pro does. The ony real difference is that XP Pro has advanced file sharing and if you have a Domain server, it supports Domain logins.


AMD isn't often at the top of the heap when it comes to performance. Though generally, they've been the value leader. Intel stuff has traditionally been more expensive for an equivalent level of performance. However, prices have been dropping on the Intel stuff and going up on the AMD stuff. The Spider platform does score marginally better than the Q6600, but gets its butt kicked by the expensive Core 2 Extreme. There are a few more Phenom iterations yet to be released so we'll just have to wait and see how prices work out. AMD still may be able come back and do what they do with this one. I'll be keeping an eye on it.

i just ordered all the components. the BillMeLater financing with newegg was really, really easy.

Congrats!

The wife gave me the go-ahead on my order. I don't think I'm going to order right away though. I have to wait until stock arrives on the video card anyway. Also, I'd rather wait till after the Holidays. Things are going to be a bit hectic with travel and guests. One thing about working on a computer, you want to do it when you have a) no rush, and b) no distractions.

Most online retailers, newegg included will sell OEM copies of windows (XP home for $89). OEM copies can only be sold with some sort of hardware, but especially on ebay and such people will just send you an old broken memory module or something with it just to fulfill that obligation.

One thing that deserves mention is an important difference in Windows Product Activation for the OEM and retail versions. Mainly, it has to do with how upgrades are handled. The OEM version ties itself to the motherboard and will fail to activate if the motherboard is changed or possibly, the motherboard BIOS updated. You have to call Microsoft to get a new activation. That's generally not a problem and it's not like you have to buy a new copy of Windows everytime you change the motherboard, but it is some extra hassle to contact Microsoft and explain your situation. The advantage of the OEM version, it doesn't really care about anything else in the system so you can change all the other components more freely.

Not recommending piracy at all, but if you'd like hassle free use of the software you've paid for, Windows Genuine Advantage is trivially easy to disable without compromising access to updates.

Beware of buying XP on eBay, as 60 percent are pirated. You also have to beware of buying Adobe Photoshop there as well, for the same reason.

If you need OpenGL, go with nVidia since they have complete support for it.

I use XP Pro 64 due to needing it for Vue 6.5 Infinite 64 bit and the lack of RAM constraints in 64 bit apps. In order to make better RAM use, you do need more than 4 GB installed.

I haven't had any problems with software bought on eBay myself, but if you want pirate software, it's very easy to find and get, no need to pay for it. I'm running a genuine copy of Windows XP on my normal system, but I do have a pirate version I use on an old test box I have laying around. Microsoft is pretty thorough about checking for valid keys in their products so you will likely run into problems getting updates with an illegitimate copy of Windows or Office. Personally, I've found claims of defeating Microsoft Genuine Advantage fairly exaggerated. The WGA/MGA cracks out there are quite obvious and Microsoft regularly updates the tests. Plus, with pirate software, there's the risk of corruption, viruses, trojans, and the like. Though, with the cost of software these days, the temptation is there.

Don't advocate piracy here.

the first parts arrived today. my friend and i are putting the thing together on Thursday. i can't wait to unleash this baby on GC2.

and i think the only piece of software i'll need to pay for is Windows, which i got OEM from newegg. i can get office 2007, acrobat professional, and sophos antivirus for free from work.

Nice, hope everything goes well!

I went ahead and ordered my parts a few days ago. Don't know exactly when I'll get to building the system, but I'll have the parts on-hand anyway. That NewEgg is so fast, they just showed up at my door.

Did you open your Core 2 Duo box yet? Man, that HSF is monsterous. I can't imagine needing anything more than that. It comes with a solid grease on it, not gum so I don't think there's any issue with using it. That giant thing look's like it's going to be highly precarious to install with the motherboard mounted in the chassis. I might be assembling as much as I can on the bench. If I ever have to change the CPU, I may consider pulling the motherboard assembly from the chassis first.

I have to say, I like the AMD mounting system a lot better. Barring the sticky gum, AMD HSF's and CPU's are pretty easy to remove and replace. Also, AMD puts pins on the processor and receptacles in the socket. Intel puts pins on the socket and contacts on the CPU. I like the AMD way better, more idiot proof and the CPU is easier to handle. Plus, there's just one big lever on the HSF instead of 4 lame pins.

Well, hope things go smoothly for you.

Better sooner than later, in case something's bad and you have to RMA it. I'm holding off until I can get all my parts at once (case and video card are out of stock) because I don't have a spare PCIE video card to test it with, for that reason.

Heh, the Core2 heatsink is montstrous? It's very small compared a decent aftermarket HSF. It might seem large compared to older generation heatsinks, but that's not really relevent. It's just barely adequate for a non-overclocked quad, not to mention having a poor noise/performance ratio even with its poor performance. The stock socket 939 cooler with the heatpipes looks like a much better unit. I also hate Intel's stock heatsink retention mechanism with those spring loaded plastic pins. I don't trust them at all.

I think having the pins in the socket instead of the cpu is more idiot proof. It's very easy to bend a pin while handling the cpu, especially since each generation seems to have more/thinner pins. Pins in the socket are safely out of the way.

Yea, I know what you mean. There's always a certain amount of pressure to get things tested and working because of the time constrains on RMA, can't let things sit around too long. Fortunately, I have an extra chassis w/power supply and drives, so I just build from that and can take my time migrating the new system in. I did buy an el cheapo GeForce 8400GS to build with, but I'll swap out the video card as a last step, not a big deal.


Well, it's much larger than my AMD heatsink and the AMD CPU uses about the same wattage as the Core 2 Duo. My AMD processor runs very cool. Seems big to me.

BTW, I really don't like that Intel mounting system. It seriously flexes the board. AMD uses a backing plate that takes all the stress. With Intel, the motherboard has too, with no reinforcement, don't like that at all.


Yea, you may be right about that.