Any real computer people out there? HELP

[HugeCock]

So I finally got around to ordering my new work PC and I have a question. Is there anything I should worry about when buying these monitors? I am getting 2 of them for Dual Screen use. They seem cheap at 350 a peice...they are that price at my local Best Buy as well so I am going today to get them.....any reason I shouldn't?

2 20.1 Inch Samsung LCD monitors

Also here is what I am about to order from New Egg...

Well I won't Link Everything but

1 X Western Digital Caviar SE WD800JD 80GB 7200 RPM 8MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive (For my OS)
2 X Western Digital Caviar SE16 WD5000KS 500GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive (Which Will be in a raid Stripped)
(I already have a 250 Gig Sata (non 3.0 which I will use as my sandbox)

1 X Intel Core 2 Duo E6600 Conroe 2.4GHz 4M sharing L2 Cache LGA 775 Processor - Retail
1 X ASUS P5B Deluxe/WiFi-AP Socket T (LGA 775) Intel P965 Express ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail
1 X CORSAIR XMS2 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model TWIN2X2048-6400C4PRO - Retail

(My concern here is is this the right memory? I mean I want Corsair but is the 6400 the right speed for me?)

The case I am getting

Mainly for the Hard Drive set up

CORSAIR HX520w ATX12V v2.2 and EPS12V 2.91 520W Power Supply - Retail
LITE-ON 16X DVD±R DVD Burner W/ LightScribe and 5X DVD-RAM Write Black ATAPI/E-IDE Model SHM-165H6S - (Actually getting at Sams Club)
Black Multimedia Reader so I can read my Micro SD card without and adapter (WOOT)
2 X HIS Hightech H195CF512-R Radeon X1950 CrossFire Edition 512MB GDDR4 PCI Express x16 Video Card - Retail

I'm thinking of using onboard sound...why not...I use headphones anyway?

Oh can anybody recommend a good Cooling Fan preferably quiet for my CPU?

Oh and I am getting this.

Logitech 967562-0403 2-Tone USB Bluetooth Wireless Slim diNovo Media Desktop Laser Mouse Included - Retail

Anyway I'd like to process my order today so if anyone has any input let me hear it please!

 

[miniCooperS]

Looking over it right now...

 

[HugeCock]

Thanks! And can I run Crossfire on dual monitors? This will be my first time setting up Crossfire.....

*Edit
Thinking of getting this heatsink.....
ZALMAN CNPS9500 AT 2 Ball CPU Cooling Fan/Heatsink - Retail
LINK

 

[miniCooperS]

I'm not real familiar with Crossfire, but I've used dual monitors for about 2 years now (working at university library = 2 23" widescreen monitors). You should be able to set that up pretty easily.

Those are great monitors for the price. Everything that you picked out looks just fine. (And, yes that is the right RAM) I personally would have gone with an AMD X2 processor, but that is just personal preference and not based on any real reason.

Lol, I had to look real close at the motherboard...I missed the second PCIexpress slot because it was black, so I didnt think it had a place for the second graphics card.

Also, I agree about the onboard sound being fine. I have a home theater in the next room over, so I dont really need anything special attached to my computer.

 

[Strag0]

Sadly, you have sparked a want to rebuild a computer of mine. The case alone makes me want to do that. I'm using an old Antec P160... it's a decent case, but that one seems pretty sweet.

 

[nintendofreak]

I think your making a really smart move by buying the Zalman fan and the E6600 Processor. The E6600 Processor can easily be overclocked (well im not saying its easy, but its capable of it

) to up to 3.0 ghz and possibly higher with the proper cooling ( in this case zalman!)

Building a budget PC for my brother with my friends here too, waiting for the parts till monday though

EDIT:
I would definetly buy the Zalman fan though- its worth it (just be careful, cause its sharp!!)

 

[tama_mog]

Not too keen on the newer dual processing and pci express stuff as I'm still on a gen before. But memory wise 2 gig is a good # but I would really expend on the fastest memory possible for your ddr2 setup that you can afford (you can visit corsair.com and enter your motherboard and they'll tell you what they recommend, and pending on your oc needs). Silent fans I can think of A LOT....cooling has gone real far these days....here's a site to start your research: http://www.silentpcreview.com/.....If you want a real nice case that keeps things nice and cool and sleek as hell, there is no competition there.....get Lian Li.....this is my Lian Li case (in black as well):

http://www.lian-li.com/Product/Chassis/Ser...V2100plus_2.htm

The dual monitor should definitely be fine, been running that way for as long as I can remember. Happy building.

If you want extreme cooling and have $$ get phase change cooling and if not go with water cooling. Quietest and yet coolest solutions out there....but right now my Ninja fan is coolin my p4 prescott just fine overclocked to 3.8 and it's still quiet....quiet fans providing good cfm has gone a long way.

 

[Mehdi]

amd is close to bringing out a new cpu with 4 cores.. maybe u should wait a tiny bit.

 

[HugeCock]

I have been waiting a long time and the time is TODAY to get my new PC. Thanks for all the replies and fantastic find at Corsair...unfortunatly the best RAM is not available at New Egg but at least they tell me the speeds.

I've done water cooling in the past...too lazy to monitor and change my fluids. This is mainly a work PC so I'd like a PC I can just forget about mainence wise besides and occasional dusting

*Edit
Damn I hate ASUS but this motherboard looks bad ass! HEHE Can't wait to try the remote...damn I'm lazy lol

*Double Edit,
I'd actually love 4 Gigs for what I do but from my experiences low timing ram...loses its low latency ability if Its not run in sinlge pairs. In other wards by 4.4.4 timing would go up if I were to pop in 4 1Gig Sticks

*Tripple Edit...hey where did Qrauzie go?

 

[Lily]

Yes, there are some real computer people here.

First of all, I would not recommend those Samsung monitors. I would recommend the 20'' Widescreen model from Dell at only $246USD apiece or its non-widescreen older brother the 20.1'' regular model @ $359USD. The reason it's more expensive is because of the included USB upstream/downstream ports, as well as the ability to connect HDMI, VGA, Composite and S-Video directly to the monitor and switch between them at the press of a front-mounted button. Not only that, but the panels they use are some of the best in the industry - generally BenQ panels. They are great for any purpose, whether you're working or gaming. I myself still use a Dell 2001FP 20.1 monitor (a little older now) and it simply rocks the socks off of everything because of the quality panels they use. Don't fool yourself, the LCD monitors from Dell are simply branded with the Dell logo with the great Dell pricing - nothing more. The reason I would not recommend the Samsung to you is because you need to sit dead-centre and not move to enjoy the monitor - viewing it from an angle or from a different side gives a VERY poor picture, which is unacceptable with todays LCD panels. You will not be happy with them if you purchase them.

For your hard drives..YMMV with hard drive brands - but I wouldn't recommend the lower-quality Western Digital drives either. If the objective is to save a few bucks, it's not worth it. Grab the higher-quality Maxtor S-ATA drives (which are also available up to 500GB in size) and make sure you grab one with 16MB of cache, not 8MB. You WILL notice the difference, especially if you play games, edit large graphics in Photoshop or simply transfer a lot of files around. In fact, it's criminal that they still sell the 8MB cache versions. If you don't like Maxtor, get the Seagate drives with 16MB cache & NCQ (Native Command Queing). (Also available up to 500GB.) I would vouch for either brand, but would likely give Seagate the edge because of how QUIET their drives are. Even when simultaneously reading and writing at maximum speed, you could swear they weren't even on. If keeping the computer quiet is important to you, the Seagate drives are a MUST.

I can't fault your CPU/Motherboard choice, they're good. I currently have an Asus P5WD2-E Premium board in my computer, and it is quite possibly the best motherboard I've ever owned. Asus high-end boards are rock solid, and always include more features than you deserve for the price. As for your memory, you can achieve the same (or better) results with non-branded memory, but if the money is not important stick with your Corsair choice for the low latency timings. All Corsair memory conforms to very exacting performance standards. 2GB is more than enough, if you can afford it, get more. The more memory you have, the better your system will perform, especially if you use Windows XP, and even more especially if you will be using Windows Vista. The RTM of Vista was already leaked to the 'net, and let me tell you how HAPPY it is with lots and lots of memory to feed off of.

For your power supply, if you will be running with all of that AND desiring Crossfire, you should beef it up. I have an ATI X1900XT 512MB PCI-E card, and just with it ALONE my 550W power supply gets stretched. I would also recommend a better quality power supply that supplys clean power, such as the Antec TruPower series - which is available now up to 650W at the consumer level, and is ESSENTIAL if you're going to run a Core 2 Duo and Crossfire. Don't invest in all the good stuff if you're not going to invest in a quality power supply!

Your choice of burner is up to you, it depends on what you will be ripping/burning..but that's a whole different discussion. Same for your keyboard/mouse/memory card reader choice - blech. Whatever you like. For a CPU fan go with Zalman for sure, a nice quiet one too. The stock fan that you get with the Intel chips works well - but it's noisy and high-pitched.

Hightech is one of the shittier ATI licensees producing cards..if you can't get an actual ATI-branded card, so with Sapphire, PowerColor or XFX - in that order.

If onboard sound suits your purpose, so be it..soundcard choice is another lengthy topic depending on your needs, and you can always upgrade your soundcard later anyway if you choose.

 

[HugeCock]

Yea I had like 8 Maxors die so I am anti maxtor, thanks for the heads up on the 8Meg cache on my small drive...The reason I opted for a 80Gig is defragmentation issues...and the desire to use that space. I have 4 250's now and my OS is slow as dirt due to the fact that its cluttered with a crap load of 6+ gig files so I just want to resist the urge to use that space. I just bought 2 500 Gig external WD drives from Best Buy saving myself $200 very nice deal I thought so hopefully I won't run into space issues...but I doubt it. Anyway looking into Seagate now. Actually I have one OEM seagate it seems to be louder than my WD drives. Is yours an OEM?

As for the Antec POwer supply everyone has been complaining about the combo with the NEO and the Asus motherboard I am buying. Originally I was going to get the biggest Antec PSU but all the reviews on newegg from the people with the same setup seem to say a few things, 1 it's not compatible and two the power cord wont reach using my case and motherboard...luckily someone had the same PSU, MOBO and CASE I was gonna get. I do want modular cables .... not really sure what brand to trust as I have used Antec my whole life.

Currently I use a Sony Dual Layer and everyone tells me it sucks...even though it works with my GameCube and backups...I see a cheap Samsung...I got no idea...All I know is I don't like Slot Loading.

didn't realize it was HighTech on the video card....again due to NewEgg limitations that was the only Crossfire they had

I used to use only the best audio cards up until recently when my sound card died ... I went to onboard and I can't tell a difference especially since I use my wireless. headphones

Decided to keep my Wired Logitech MX518 Mouse though...now looking for a good wired keyboard.

Thanks for the heads up on the monitors as well. I don't like WideScreen....my partner has the Dell 21" and it seems as there is not enough screen space but I am looking into the 20 inch right now. Thanks again!

*Edit
SAPPHIRE 100177TWSR Radeon X1950XTX 512MB GDDR4 PCI Express x16 CrossFire TOXIC Video Card - Retail
Looks like a nice setup....If it says Crossfire the it does Crossfire right lo

 

[tama_mog]

Never had a problem with Antec Phantom (quiet as hell, I built my home pc for quietness) with nice rhoebus controllers for the fans to control noise/cooling pending on conditions. And I believe I'm runnin a bigger setup than you in terms of power consumption.....hd alone I have 8. I agree about the LCD screens, I've always used Dell's and I've seen my brother's samsung and wasn't too horribly impressed either. 2 gigs dual channeled is enough especially runnin windows xp, in fact, windows xp doesn't utilize more than 2 gigs...I came to this sad realization after running 4 gigs dual channeled and not making a difference. Vista however is a different beast, loves and loves memory and I'd suggest going past 2 gigs on that if you'd like.

 

[Lily]

Don't go for an Antec NEO series..try the SmartPower/TPII/TrueControl II etc ones. Mine uses modular cables and they're so FREAKING LONG for a mid-tower case that it actually makes cable management a real pain in the arse. If you can't it's no biggie, but you're going to need as much clean stable power as you can pump in there.

The Sapphire Crossfire setup is MUCH better. Thumbs up. The hard drives is definitely YMMV. My Seagates are all newer models, and it really is remarkable how quiet they are. However no matter what the brand, make sure you get 16MB cache models, you'll kick yourself later if you don't. Especially for your boot drive and any drive you'll be doing a lot of transfers to/from.

 

[HugeCock]

Well I run Vegas Video, Adobe Premiere, Adobe GoLive, Adobe Photoshop, WSFTP, Firefox with about 29 tabs, Outlook, 4-5 IE Pages, Adobe ImageReady, Trillian, BitComet, Movie Magic Screen Writter and Windows Media Player...oh and like 6 notepads lol all at once and I now sometimes I wont be able to save or open new apps while all thats open. I use the PRINT SCREEN command a lot to which sometimes stops working. Just bought two dell monitors for 764 Shipped WHOO HOO

*Edit
Just read Qrayzie post...I am sad...was really looking forward to modular cables....Okay I will start looking at antec non modular....SNIFF SNIFF

How HIGH in Power should I go? The 650 Antec got bad reviews...and the next step below is a 550W

 

[nintendofreak]

Id stay with the MX518 the g5 mouse is $70.00 USD

And if you can get the G11 or G15 keyboards from logitech, ive got the g11 and its great for using in the night and for games that require macros

 

[Scorpin200]

Ah my kind of people i though everyone on here was into limited consoles only

, but it seems you have a good setup already there what else could you possibly need? Besides what game nowadays actually used all of the pc's requirements...well besides cryris that doesn't exist yet.

p.S oh yeah in answer to your question you don't actually need two monitors one will do, and flat screens aren't that reliable if you have one that works go with it.

 

[HugeCock]

No actually I NEED two monitors...kind of would like 3...I don't game....buying the crossfire set up mainly to waste some cash and see what it does...I need the 2 monitors mainly so I can put Firefox and Trillian and maybe WSFTP on one and all my other apps on the other. So far I ordered the monitors...still looking into a powersupply before I finalize my newegg order.

 

[Dirtie]

First off there is NOTHING at all wrong with Samsung monitors, they are right up there with the best, and I know many people who prefer them over Dell panels. That being said, Samsung have a very nice wide variety, with some models possibly being nicer than the one you're looking at, so make sure to do a little bit of research. Just look at the ever-popular 940BW (although it is widescreen which may not suit your purposes and is already superseded by another model IIRC):

New models have nice adjustable stands and the like.

Edit: Seems I'm too late, however those DELL ones you purchased are indeed nice - I just don't like seeing people writing off a brand or something just because they've been misinformed, uninformed, or are just generally biased.

For power supply, get something like an Enermax or Antec over that Corsair thing - you're also gonna be needing one with serious juice for running what you want - if you have the cash go for 1kW, though anything 600+ would probably serve you ok as long as it's from a reputable brand (like the ones I mentioned) and has enough amperage on the right rails.

For a motherboard/graphics combo may I suggest an alternative? The just been released Nvidia 680i chipset (which has some very nice features as well as now being the best Core 2 overclocking chipset if you're that way inclined) along with dual 8800GTX's; seeing as it looks like you got the cash to play around with - it'll definitely outperform your current choice. If you were really rich you could go for this: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?...N82E16819115011

Worries about running multiple applications at once would be a thing of the past

DVD-Writer: Get a BenQ DW1655 lightscribe drive (the last of their drives to use the quality Philips chipset) - very nice quality drives and widely recommended by optical media freaks. If you can't find one since they're being replaced by inferior newer models (they were bought out by Lite-On), go for an LG.

Your RAM choice is spot on, and if you find you need more in the future just buy another kit, though I can't imagine you'd be too unhappy with 2GB of high-quality, low latency corsair stuff. As an aside, the stuff you've picked is some of the best when it comes to overclocking

Oh, last thing, I can also recommend Lian-Li cases as have already been mentioned.

 

[Mettaur]

A good power supply that I know of is the 650w version of the Antec TruePower Trio. From personal experience this is one of the most stable power supplies I have ever seen. Because it has 3 12v rails it delivers consistent power.

 

[Lily]

Hey Dirtie..Samsung monitors widely suffer from colour shifting, uneven backlighting and poor angled views across their entire line. The casual computer user who just wants a cheap flat screen won't care, but the serious computer user will notice in an instant. I don't know where they get their panels from, but their LCD TV's aren't exactly top-quality either. I'm not slagging their brand, but their choice of panels - which is very poor. Generally, "you get what you pay for" stands very true in our world!

I completely agree with your DVD choice though - I have two of that exact model in my computer now, with 2 more in a box behind me in case these ones give out! SPECTACULAR burner.