New build! going from a Pentium 2 450!

[Maculosa]

Hi all,

This is very true, i'm still running a pentium 2 450 with 256 Mb pc100!
So now i think this is time for a new build!

I must say i'm kind of outdated about new hardware but i read forum and try to find what's today best for the buck.
And unfortunatly i'm on budget! (i'm always on budget this is why i still have my Pentium2!!! )

So lets see, i'm trying to build something around 1000 - 1200$ including monitor, keyboard, mouse etc... (but no printer and speakers)

At the moment this is where i'm going to :

- Case : Antec Nine Hundred
- Processor : Intel Core 2 duo E8500
- Motherboard : Gigabyte GA-EP45-UD3P or Asus P5Q-E.
- PSU : Corsair 750TX (already bought, thanks for the deals section!)
- Memory: I would like 4 gig PC2-8500, maybe some G-Skill or Corsair XMS2 Dominator. But i haven't read a lot about memory yet.
- Hard drives : Maybe Samsung Spinpoint F1 or Seagate Barracuda 7200.11 (maybe 2 x 500gb)
- Video Card : Not set yet but i would like Nvidia, so i want at mimimum a 9800 GT or Better. (as for brand i like Evga)
- Monitor : i would like at least a 20" but i dont know which one to get.
- Optical Drive : No idea yet.

Also i will use my new build for games and for 3d Rendering and video editing.

Thanks for any suggestions!

[Babrbarossa]

Nice choices- You can save a few bucks and get the e8400- you can just give the fsb a bump to send it well beyond the e8500 stock speed- are you planning on overclocking? a shame not to with that cpu- if you're definitely not going to oc- then you can save some more money on the RAM, PSU, mobo

[Maculosa]

I never overclocked anything in my life so i don't know anything about overclocking.
Sure i will not overclock at first but it could be something i will look into at a later time.

The only thing i do not like about overcloking is that reduce life span of components...

If i overclock of not, i want to buy durable quality component.

Since i bought my P2 (around 10 years) there is not even a small piece that broke in my computer! have used it everyday since 10 years.... thanks to quality parts.

For the PSU i already have it... This is the only part i already have atm.

Ps: i'm sorry for my bad english.

[Mr. Gruntsworthy]

If kept at reasonable temperatures, overclocking shouldn't be of any harm, especially if it's only a minor performance increase.

However, either overclocking or not, you definitely want to get an aftermarket heatsink and fan. The tiny little mofo that comes with Intel chips does fine, but if you get a nice quality heatsink and fan like an OCZ Vendetta II, then you increase the lifespan of your cpu by making it run cooler.

As well, barbarossa is right. The minor 150MHz increase from the E8400 to the E8500 is not worth the jump in price. The E8400 seems to be the sweet spot for price/performance right now, and I myself am running one. I can attest to it's awesomeness.

As far as the RAM goes, you pretty much picked two of the top tier brands. So go for them if you like.

As for the 9800 GT, i recommend not getting last-gen cards, i'd say get a nice EVGA GTX 260 instead. May cost a tad bit more, but it's worth it.

With the hard drives, I myself find Seagates to be kind of noisy. I'm not sure what Samsung drives are like (havent used one), but the Western Digital drives are nice and quiet.