Here is my budget build, there is $60 in MIR's
https://secure.newegg.com/WishList/ [...] ID=8840286

Hi, I've done some searching but I'm still I bit confused about what would be overkill. I haven't built a PC in a while so I have no idea what the new stuff is really capable of. I don't play any games and this is mainly a media server (formally a XMBC server) I watch H.264 vids on my 37" LG 37LC7D, my PC monitor is a LG 19" windscreen W1952TQ

So the PC in the $500 gamer looks like a winner for my needs atm but I don't want to buy another pc in a few more years, I'm coming from a AMD 64 2800, 1.5 ram, Rage Fury Pro, w/ 1030gb storage. So I've been looking at stepping up the cpu, MB, and ram. I'd use the E7200, EP45, and 1066 ram. The EP45 is so I can run the native 1066 ram.

I want to run new hdd as well so I was looking at 2 640gb satas in raid0, I'd like the keep the 250gb drive as well. I also have a older 7200.8 40gb I'd use for the OS.

So would the extra $100 be worth the upgrade over the e2200/EP35/ram?
Would I be better off oc'n the memory and staying with the cheaper board if I run the e7200?
Will I see any real improvement with raid 0, is the risk too much since I don't play games?
My psu is 450w but a couple years old, how do I know its good to go?
Would even the e2200 setup smoke my current rig and I'm fussing over nothing,LOL?

Thanks

Heres a link to the $500 budget gamer I'm using as the model http://www.tomshardware.com/review [...] ,1907.html

Oh and I'm using a BFG 7300GT agp 8X I bought from BB (returnable), the graphics are great to me so this or above is what I was shooting for.

I plan to OC the PCU not to the max but..... close, LOL

The 500W PSU that comes with that case is very probably the same one identified in another thread here as sparking and smoking when loaded to a mere 75% of its capacity. You mention having another PSU already; what brand and model is it?

What? Screw that, thanks! I was realllly liking that case too. It has killer reviews too maybe it was just a bogus one??

My current PSU has to be junk, I think so anyway. I have an Okia lc-b450e I couldn't find out anything about it when I did a search, did notice it has the same part number another brand I saw. This is the closet I could find to it, it looks exactly the same but has different specs http://www.pcpsinc.com/osc/eshop/p [...] cts_id=915

Mine says

115/230 10/5a 60/50hz
3.3 5a +12 -12a -5v +5vsb
28 50a 18 1.0a 0.8 2.5a

The fan has a 3" vent in the back so I'm guessing it's a 80mm, the fan is made by foxconn

Updated the PSU and the case.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6811119157

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6817190012

idk if Xion is a good PSU brand. anyone have any input n this?

Get this PSU;
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] ry%2c+Inc.

You should just get the regular RC-690, since it's cheaper unless you like the Nvidia one. I'd recommend Antec and Corsair PSU's.

We can't see your wishlist.

Here are my thoughts............

Since it's a Media Server, Heat and Noise are gonna be very important.

Therefore, get the E7200.

However, there is likely very little need to OC or at least anything close to a max OC for what you are going to do.

Therefore, there is no need for 1066 RAM.
DDR2-800 is perfectly fine. Especially with the E7200 which only needs DDR2-533 for Stock speeds so DDR2-800 will allow for a very high OC before you even begin to OC. Don't waste money on RAM faster than DDR2-800.

Most likely the EP45 board will use about 5-10 watts less power which is nice, but likely not that important for the likely extra cost. If you can grab a board for only a few dollars more I would do it.

In regard to the P45 Boards, The Chipset uses 55nm instead of 65nm process to build the boards which is supposed to reduce power. I have found reviews on 3 other sites that indicate a 5-10w power reduction in the new chipset. Tom's review has the opposite result.

My Inclination is to believe the other reviews since they match logical expectations and Tom's power portion of the review did not appear to be something they added quickly as a 2nd thought. (They reviewed multiple boards and showed details about different performance tests broken out by each board. For power, they simply listed "P45" w/o specifying which single board it was or if it was an average. Most likely they compared a fully loaded P45 with extra stuff like IEEE, extra LAN port, WIFI, etc... vs a simple P35 board.)

I'd reccomend this case over the one you chose: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6811119137

Also, this cooler, and buy the retention bracket that fits it: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6835233003
you get a $10 rebate

hmm I'm sharing the wishlist. It was pretty late when I put that together maybe I messed up something.



COOLER MASTER NV 690 NV-690C-KWN1-GP Black SECC/ ABS ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - Retail $109.99

GIGABYTE GA-EP35-DS3L LGA 775 Intel P35 ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail $84.99

ASUS EN8600GTTOP/HTDP/256 GeForce 8600 GT 256MB 128-bit GDDR3 PCI Express x16 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card - Retail $75.99

XION Supernova XON-600F14R-201 ATX12V 600W Power Supply - Retail $89.99

Intel Pentium E2200 Allendale 2.2GHz LGA 775 65W Dual-Core Processor Model BX80557E2200 - Retail $79.99

CORSAIR 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model TWIN2X4096-6400C5 - Retail $86.50

Western Digital Caviar SE16 WD6400AAKS 640GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM X2 $179.98

Arctic Silver 5 Thermal Compound - OEM $5.99

ARCTIC COOLING Freezer 7 Pro 92mm CPU Cooler - Retail $31.99
Subtotal: $745.41



I can pick up this I guess http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6817139003

Are the Coolmaster PSU's any good? There is the same case I'm looking at with a 550w PSU , I don't need all the rails but I guess it leaves room for expansion.

Does the E7200 run cooler? If my PSU and cooling are suffeicent then I'd like to save on the $70 upgrade.

Is the Xigmatek a better choice for OC'n, that thing must be huge, I'm not sure it will fit.

Thanks for the replies!

What about the raid array? Is that something I shouldn't bother with since it's mostly a server?

Can't wait for the new space btw, I'm tired of "making room"

Here is the case with the PSU http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6811119142

It's about hte same price as using the case alone with the 450w corsair but has more rails and watts. Here is the link to the psu http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6817171025

Okay, this looks like what I'm going to buy now, I changed the ram, case, and graphics card. The temporary card I'm using is doing great and it's the same thing basically. I have absolutely no plans to ever play games.

Antec Sonata III 500 Black 0.8mm cold rolled steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case 500W Power Supply - Retail

OCZ S.O.E 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model OCZ2SOE8002GK - Retail

ASUS EN7300GT SILENT/HTD/512M GeForce 7300GT 512MB 128-bit GDDR2 PCI Express x16 SLI Supported Video Card - Retail


This dropped my price quite a bit too. Unless there is a problem with my HSF or the CPU I'm going to stick with this.