new computer build under $1000

[chasiuso]

This is my first post and I thought I would ask for some advice on a new computer. I have read up on some of the older posts and wanted to see if this is the way to go with a new build.

Intel Core 2 Duo E8500 $209
Antec 900 $92
Asus P5Q - E - $166
Western Digital Caviar SE16 640GB $74
Thermalright ULTRA-120 Extreme 6 $49
Diamond Radeon HD 4850 512MB $180
Corsair CMPSU-620HX 620W $115
OCZ Gold XTC PC2-6400 4GB 2X2GB DDR2-800 $84
Samsung SH-S203N Black SATA DVD+RW $30
total $999

The one question I have is do I need a cooler for both my cpu and video card if I do not plan to overclock? system is for work and gaming. I was also looking at this monitor

BenQ V2400W 24IN Widescreen Black LCD Monitor 2MS $400

Anyone have any opinions on this monitor? I wanted a 24" with a hdmi input.

thanks in advance.

[torseller07]

I am assuming when you say "cooler", you meant after market cooler? The answer is, you can live with the stock cooler if you are not OCing. However, beware that quality of stock cooler varies. I believe I read a report a while ago that people noticed performance of certain stock coolers (I believe they were AMD's) tend to degrade fairly quickly after one year of use. So if this is true, you may as well get a fair after market cooler and forget about it.

I am using Arctic Cooling Pro 7 on my E8400. It's not the best cooler for S775 but it's cheap. If you are looking for a good enough solution, you may want to take a look.

For video card, you should be fine with the stock cooler. You may want to make sure you have enough air flow inside your chassis though, especially in the video card area.

[Natsuiro]

Unless noise is an issue, I wouldn't bother with an aftermarket cooler if you are not overclocking.

If you want to save money, you could go with a cheaper case and/or power supply choice. People will disagree with me, but I think your power supply is excessive. I would go for something cheaper, but if money isn't an issue, you may as well keep it.

You can also save money with a cheaper motherboard. You don't need any of the overclocking options so even the most basic motherboard that is stable would be suitable.

[aznangel]

+ 1 on psu and motherboard

might want to try to negotiate a deal at say pcv or cty.ca

since i did succesfully bargain down the price when i bought a few hundred dollars worth of stuff

[Silver Bullet]

I'd change the ram to OCZ Platinum rev 2 and the case to antec 300 (900 seems kind of big for your setup).

Otherwise looks good.

I'd check out the Dell 2408WFP ... displayport, hdmi, 2 x dvi, component & svideo.

[chasiuso]

the ocz platinum rev 2 only comes in 2 x 1 gb ?

[ASharp]

If you want OCZ, they do sell a 2x2GB set of Platinum (http://www.ocztechnology.com/products/memory/ocz_ddr2_pc2_6400_vista_performance_platinum_4gb_d ual_channel) memory. It's not "rev. 2" but, it works just as well.

[chasiuso]

is it better to run the rev 2 as 4 x 1 or get the regular platinum 2 x 2gb? tia

[Riflem@n]

is it better to run the rev 2 as 4 x 1 or get the regular platinum 2 x 2gb? tia

less quantity more capacity.

2 x 2

[Silver Bullet]

is it better to run the rev 2 as 4 x 1 or get the regular platinum 2 x 2gb? tia


less quantity more capacity.

2 x 2

In the end doesn't really matter ... but 2 x 2GB is less heat so probably best to go that route ...

Also only the 2GB kit comes with the Rev.2 subset. So you can go for the 4GB kit without worries.

[torseller07]

Beware the OCZ Platinum Ver. 2 DDR2-800 is not JEDEC compliant and it tends to run a bit hot. If you get good ventilation inside your chassis it shouldn't be an issue.

[Riflem@n]

In the end doesn't really matter ... but 2 x 2GB is less heat so probably best to go that route ...

Also only the 2GB kit comes with the Rev.2 subset. So you can go for the 4GB kit without worries.

It's also easier to overclock 2 pieces of ram instead of 4.