I am building my first PC this summer and have some questions:
1. Is it worth to pay ~$200 more to get Conroe 2.66GHz instead of 2.40 GHz? I assume the difference is very little and not worth the price.
2. If I am going to try to overclock, letÂ’s say up to 3.00 GHz (as long as simple air cooling is enough), which RAM should I get? From what I read it should be: DDR2, 2GBs, 2.0V, CL 5, and frequency 667 Hz. Is this combo good enough or must I go higher? Is the brand very important ( for now, Buffalo is the cheapest one: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16820150050 )?
3. Hard drive: IÂ’m going with WD 10,000 RPM, 16 Cache: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E16822136033
4. PSU: The only thing I know in this area is that I need something with 500W output. What is the cheapest yet the reliable PSU I can get? Here are two:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E16822136033
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E16817148027
One of them costs $35 the other $155 yet I canÂ’t tell what the difference is.
5. Heatsink/Fan: I have no idea what I should get. I just need the cheapest one that can get the job done. Fancy styles not important.
6. SoundCard: Either E-MU 0404 or E-MU 1212. I hope I donÂ’t have to worry about its compatibility with my system.
7. Case: Again, something that looks stylish and is sturdy. If possible for around $30. I found these two:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16811180044
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16811138069
But IÂ’m not sure about them. What is a reliable brand?
I have to skip the motherboard for now because it will evolve by the time Conroe comes out. I donÂ’t need a video card because I donÂ’t play any games.
Total, including shipping, will come out to about
Case 40 + 15
CPU 530 + 5
E-MU 120
Hard – 170 + 6
PSU – 60
FAN – 40
RAM – 140
Motherboard – 160
$1285, if my price assumptions about fan, psu, mobo, and case are correct. My intial budget was $1000. If I drop conroe to 2.4 GHz, it will still work out by knocking out another $200 from the total, but if 2.66 GHz is really worth it, I guess I could go with it.
1. Is it worth to pay ~$200 more to get Conroe 2.66GHz instead of 2.40 GHz? I assume the difference is very little and not worth the price.
2. If I am going to try to overclock, letÂ’s say up to 3.00 GHz (as long as simple air cooling is enough), which RAM should I get? From what I read it should be: DDR2, 2GBs, 2.0V, CL 5, and frequency 667 Hz. Is this combo good enough or must I go higher? Is the brand very important ( for now, Buffalo is the cheapest one: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16820150050 )?
3. Hard drive: IÂ’m going with WD 10,000 RPM, 16 Cache: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E16822136033
4. PSU: The only thing I know in this area is that I need something with 500W output. What is the cheapest yet the reliable PSU I can get? Here are two:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E16822136033
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E16817148027
One of them costs $35 the other $155 yet I canÂ’t tell what the difference is.
5. Heatsink/Fan: I have no idea what I should get. I just need the cheapest one that can get the job done. Fancy styles not important.
6. SoundCard: Either E-MU 0404 or E-MU 1212. I hope I donÂ’t have to worry about its compatibility with my system.
7. Case: Again, something that looks stylish and is sturdy. If possible for around $30. I found these two:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16811180044
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16811138069
But IÂ’m not sure about them. What is a reliable brand?
I have to skip the motherboard for now because it will evolve by the time Conroe comes out. I donÂ’t need a video card because I donÂ’t play any games.
Total, including shipping, will come out to about
Case 40 + 15
CPU 530 + 5
E-MU 120
Hard – 170 + 6
PSU – 60
FAN – 40
RAM – 140
Motherboard – 160
$1285, if my price assumptions about fan, psu, mobo, and case are correct. My intial budget was $1000. If I drop conroe to 2.4 GHz, it will still work out by knocking out another $200 from the total, but if 2.66 GHz is really worth it, I guess I could go with it.