Another new build advice thread

Lol, as for the RAM, it depends on what you're using the PC for. If you're never going to need more than 2GB (most people) then get top stuff, if you do 3d modelling or high-end gaming, get more RAM, but realistically, I think 2 gigs will do for you.

 

sam got you on the RAm!! NO need for extra stuff when YOU won't use it.

Did you see my post on the Corsair PSU in the PC thread?? GREAT deal on that psu but it's not modular..

Can't wait for your NEW build rob.

......gm

 

Heh, not modular, but at that price do you really care? Man, I wish those things were that cheap over here, not that I need a TX of course, my 750W Toughpower isn't any louder than those at high loads.

 

@GM
yea i seen that post. go read the second review on it. that is the PSU i was looking for when i was asking about the length of the cords on it. the guy has our RC-690 and says the 4/8 pin is 3 inches to short for that case... i sent corsair a email asking about it. havent heard back yet.

YEA I CANT WAIT FOR MY NEW BUILD OF THE NEW BUILD...lol

 

At the end of this post if you like.

check this deal out by ZZF!! (deals actually) link to mobos (high end of course!!!)

I'm batting 1000 as well but my experience is VERY limited, 1 Striker Extreme and a mid-end A8N5X.

Gigabyte is running 1000 as well but only one of them... lol. GA-P35-DS3P

I believe it depends on experience, GOOD or BAD, with anything we use or deal with in our lives. In this conversation we're on the subject of mobos and similar items. Humans as a general rule will NOT use something if it fails them more than once, as Sam and Russ have pointed out their experiences with ASUS have been LESS than stellar. I can understand that and might even agree on some of ASUS's products but we all have dislikes and likes. I like Gigabyte mobos, but my experience is only one, I like ASUS mobos too and only 2 of them. lol. My next mobo will more than likely be either an ASUS or DFI, high end goody fo sho. Of course that's at least a year down the road according to my better half. hehehe.

sammy that Corsair 650 is one heck of a deal, ain't it??

rob you already order your psu?? If not order that Corsair 650 and let Buy.com send it for FREE!!!

....gm

 

the 650 or the 620??? buy.com has both. but im worried about that 650 cable length... i havent ordered yet. im hopeing to before the sale is over..kinda hard right now with the wife jobless....waiting to see if/when my state refund comes in

 

rob some possible solutions for you.

4-pin extension

24-pin extension

kit with both
i like this one... /me knows the name!!!

hth.....

....gm

 

dang the shipping is as much as the parts..lol
i think microcenter would have something like that

 

They're quite interesting, I never even realised you could buy those.

 

Cincy
I got here late this evening. I'm with Greensman on the RAM. Normally 2GB is plenty, unless you're using Vista or plan on moving up to it later. CAD programs and the like demand more as mentioned. You've already heard that though, except for newer OS demands (didn't see that mentioned). I was just adding agreement for whatever it's worth. Pull up a usage utility, Task Manager or one of the OC tools, and see what your current level of RAM usage is and do some projections on your future use. Will you be multitasking more, running more programs while surfing and the like? If you're like me, if the PC will allow it, you'll want to give it a try. I'm running encoding software, leaving multiple tabs open while browsing, and sending emails, all at the same time. Start off with the 2 GB and if you need more it's no big deal to add on. I use 1GB cards as they usually leave slots open for expansion. On older hyperthreading CPUs it was necessary to keep the RAM matched, 2 slots, 4 slots ... Not a big deal with newer CPUs that don't support the technology. Still I like to keep the RAM matched.

Do you need better quality RAM? That depends on whether the mobo/CPU combo can utilize it. Lower timings give better performance results, usually more noticable when OCing a system. It usually costs a bit more, but worth it if the application warrants it. Corsair and OCZ are a couple of favorites, but not the only game in town.

Thank you, but is calling me an "ass" on the public forum appropriate? I was trying to be helpful by adding input on hardware used in successful builds by my friends and me. I have other activities to keep me occupied. So, if I'm of no help here, I'll move on. I don't mind not being on the forum as much as in the past. Also, in the past I didn't mind moving over and letting others do the posting. Which I did and will continue to do so. I wasn't holding on to anything to let go of. There's a real world out here. LOL Believe it or not, I was rooting for a good outcome with your initial build.

As for my way or the highway, I don't see it. I'm not the one coming off hot under the collar here or crying foul and saying people are attacking my intelligence. I didn't say you were being asinine or anything about Sam's intelligence. He brought that up and acted upset. If not upset, why mention it? I realize several companies make good PSUs besides Corsair, and there's more than ASUS and Gigabyte that make good boards (or bad boards whatever the case may be). I'm not saying anyone has to follow my lead. I was just pointing out what has worked excellent for me and some of my friends. Seems there's others here now talking about the same PSUs I was earlier and if I remember correctly, even you agreed on that item.

I'm not the only one that disagrees with Sam and Russ's take on mobos, but that's from my experience. I can see where he might not be happy with what he bought. That's his preference. I suspect Sam and Russ have stated many more times that ASUS boards are the bain of the hobby than my saying they're good. It's most often in response to their complaints. People aren't going to take my word for components anyway. Like yourself, most people smart enough to build a PC and get it working will do the research and then buy what's best and fits their budget. The forum is here to supply suggestions, not coerce a person into doing something against their will. As Russ or somebody has a habit of sayin. Happy 'putin.

Before I depart, a question for Sammorris:

How many PCs have you built that have worked the way they were supposed to and didn't meet an untimely demise? I mean order all the parts and then put all of them together on your own and then set up the drives, OS, and get the system completely functional. I'm not trying to act the know it all either by asking. I want to know where you gained the experience you bring to the forum to make "experienced" comments on PC hardware and building. As I mentioned, I'm a novice to building like some of the others here. However, I'm very lucky to have a decent track record on what I've built. Also, I have friends in the real world I can call if need be, not just factory techs or forum info (though forums can be a good source of info). It's nice to have resources.

Greensman
On the Tootsie Roll Pop, one good bite. Not enough patience to slurp on one of those all day.

 

Sam - I know both ebuyer and scan do the 24pin extender - ebuyers is about £13 and scans is about £6 and Scans looks a lot better.


Rob - I know the HX520 power cables are long enough for the RC690 with the GA-P35 board as thats what i have. The 24 pin even goes behind the motherboard mount and round the back.

 

Cincy
With the PSUs I've used, I've not seen a lot of difference in the length of the different cables. Modular makes for a neater application. One of the reasons I go with that type. Usually the neater the cable routing, the better the air flow. I've got an oversized case and everything on the Corsair easily reaches. For that matter so would OCZ or Antec (and others that aren't modular). By the way, the Egg has a good supply of wiring extensions and adapter cables.
Here's the link for the 24 pin extension if you happen to need it.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16812200121
Egg also has a bunch of adapters that come in handy sometimes. For harnesses with loose wires, I've found the spiral cable wrap sold at Advance does a neat job.

 

13 quid for any power cable is a joke, £6 is more realistic but even so, they look like the sort of thing you'd expect to pay £3.99 for in PC world. All I can add to the PSU cable length debate is that in an Antec 900 (PSU at bottom) the HX 520's CPU connector reaches, just.

As for the now frankly ridiculous motherboard debate, I'll repeat my point yet again as you still don't seem to have grasped it. High end Asus boards = very good. Cheaper Asus boards = not so good. Very cheap Asus boards = surprisingly good. It's the ones in the middle that seem to cause problems, the £50-£70 area, which isn't where many people shop for motherboards. Your P5N32 comes in the better high end category, as do the Strikers, Rampage and Maximus. Remember what your board is underneath. The P5N-E SLI is built from the outset to be what it is, and it's crap, even the Asus fans acknowledge that. Gigabyte aren't perfect either, but right now they're doing better than Asus, IN THAT BUDGET SECTOR.
Criticising a moderator on his comment though is just downright ignorant.
How many PCs have I built that haven't fallen to pieces? I haven't built many PCs so I'm not really fair game for this attack of ego-building, but my first build failed due to a cheap PSU (it's since been resurrected and is now in working order again), the second PC's motherboard failed without me touching it, I didn't even build it originally, but it was assembled properly, I studied it closely. The only major fault it ever had with it afterwards was the second Asus board going bad. Since going gigabyte my PC's been doing fine. My server is only currently down because I changed my network settings and forgot how to change them back, I'm still learning with its Linux OS. I built a PC for my cousin a while back using a very cheap Gigabyte mobo, the P31-DS3L and that's still gaming fine.

Now as far as I can see, there isn't anything to build a rebuttal on for this post, so if you can it, I will.

 

for $96.99 shipped to me im gonna have to go with the TX650. gonna order it today from buy.com
650w

now wait for a rebate. or anything else..

 

rob reconsider the TX650 at the EGG.... link to post in PC thread.

I just checked and it's OUT OF STOCK. lol. With the promo code it's about the same price and after MIR it's $74.99.

.....gm

 

Cheapest I can find it for outside newegg is here:
http://www.mwave.com/mwave/skusearch.hmx?SCriteria=BA24312&CartID=done&nextloc=
Given the free shipping from buy.com though, may as well use them.

 

I agree, the discussion on mobos did turn out to be ridiculous. Frankly though, I don't remember criticizing LOCO. I just asked the appropriateness of calling someone an "ass" on a public forum. The same as your saying I'm ignorant. Possibly foolhardy on my part, but not ignorance. Seems what I was accused of has shown up elsewhere. But since you do it in honor of a mod, I'd say it'll probably be okay.

On the matter of ego building, I don't see where that comes in. I didn't see where anyone including myself was trying to flatter their ego. I was the first to admit I'm a novice builder and basically going on what little I've experienced and that of some friends. Seems more of the novice builders here agree with ASUS being good, when using them in the right applications. You were the one to bring a technical discussion down to a personal level.

I see you came to agree about PSUs. We'll just have to learn to agree to disagree in a mannerly fashion on ASUS boards. Besides enthusiast boards, they've manufactured factory boards and you don't get much cheaper than those. I've not seen the links for all those bad boards yet. That's why I asked about your build experience, I wanted to know where you're getting your info when you say "from my experience" and start discussing faulty hardware. It didn't have anything to do with your intelligence, just experience and credibility (which more than one of us is lacking, LOL). In the future I'll just ask for the links so I can look the info and source over. If I start stating things that don't sound right, feel free to ask my sources.

 

Cincy
Did you run your setup through the Configurator at buy.com? That gives the fit; and the 650 has the longer cables so they'll work in the large tower applications. You should be good to go. Check out that Configurator for peace of mind.

Buy.com is about the best price I've seen in the US. PC Connection is about the same, if you don't mind waiting for a rebate. Did you notice the $10 off for using Google checkout at Buy.com?

 

Well, here's an example figure. Newegg reviews have to be taken with a pinch of salt since a lot of them are down to people being idiots, but only 70% of all the 834 reviews are 4 or 5 stars. That means that a whopping 250 people have rated the board as having serious enough issues to mark it down significantly.
Sort by reviews, it's pretty yuck there.
Okay, so what if the P5N-E was just a bad egg?
The P5K SE, 10/30 below 4 stars.
The P5K, 28/103 below 4 stars.
The P5K-E however, gradually working our way into the high end zone, only 12/94 below 4 stars.
With the P5Ks, we're seeing the trend of cheap=bad and expensive=good.

The GA-P35-DS3L however, a nice and cheap board, only 107/983 below 4 stars. 30% unsatisfied with Asus' cheap stuff, 10% with gigabyte.
In fact the P35-DS3L is the highest rated Intel motherboard on newegg.
In that top chart, Gigabyte have 6 out of the 20 boards!
Intel have 3, DFI 3, Asus, only two - and look what they are - the P5K64WS, a top end board, and the P5N-MX, an ubercheap workstation board.
Gigabyte on the other hand, a G31 MicroATX, a G33 MicroATX and three P35 normal ATX boards (one of them only 80 dollars).
Let's have a look at the worst rated board on newegg, it's an Asus! the P5B-VM with a whopping 46% unsatisfied.

Newegg isn't the font of all knowledge, but it's real product use not engineering samples (and remember the p5N-E only seemed to go bad a month or so after it was released), and given the vast number of people who use it, it's the best statistical test I can come up with. Accurate or not, the figures speak for themselves. If you buy an expensive board, sure, make it an Asus, but if you haven't got lots to spend, stay away.

 

"Pinch of salt" with using Egg reviews is right. A big pinch. I've had good results with most of my parts from EGG, but I RMA(ed) a PSU. I've not done reviews good or bad. I knew it was simply a faulty item and I took my new replacement and went on. The replacement is a good PSU. The reason I mention it is I suspect a lot of customers don't do those reviews. Without a good majority of the customers filling out reviews on all items, the reviews become questionable. Now I probably wouldn't buy anything where everybody said it was junk. I'd rather read the articles on hardware in PC World, Tomshardware, and similar sites and trades.