My first build. Please comment and advise!

[Grey2522]

Hello all. This will be my first build. I'm picking parts using Saphalline's list. ( Big thanks to Saph! The list was very helpful. )

CPU
AMD Athlon 64 X2 3800+ 1GHz HT Socket 939 Dual Core Processor - Retail (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16819103562) $295.00

M/B
ASUS A8N-SLI Premium ATX AMD Motherboard - Retail (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16813131540) $156.99
I want this mainly for its (supposely) great cooling feature. Else I might choose a lower end card. Is it worth paying for?

RAM
CORSAIR ValueSelect 2GB (2 x 1GB) 184-Pin DDR SDRAM System Memory - Retail (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16820145579) $136.00

Video Card
Not sure if I should go for ATI or NVIDIA. Suggestions, please. Probably something that would fit in best for the Mobo/CPU.

Case
Thermaltake Tsunami VA3000BWA Black Computer Case With Side Panel Window - Retail (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16811133132) $108
I want a good cooling case with lot of space. I picked this one out of the reviews on newegg. Is it good and compatible?

PSU
SeaSonic S12-500 500W Power Supply - Retail (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16817151024) $124.99

Hard drive
Western Digital Raptor 74GB 3.5" Serial ATA150 Hard Drive - OEM (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16822144160) $160

DVD Burner
NEC 16X DVD±R DVD Burner Beige IDE Model ND-3550A - OEM (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16827152059) $37.99

Monitor, mouse, keyboard - already have.

Right now, the total price is about $1020. Still need a video card. I'm aiming around $1200 budget. I use my pc for my work and entertainment, and it will be running day and night. So I want something that will not break so soon.

Looks good? Any incompatibilty? My old pc just died, and I have no other pc. So I need a new one up as soon as possible. This is going to be my first build from scratch. Suggestions/comments are really really appreciated. Please help a newbie. Thanks a lot. :)

[Deagle]

Get this (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16820145574) instead of Corsair value, $155 after rebates. The raptor you picked is fast but for storage wise I would go with something newer like this (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16822148105) only $83 each, buy 2 and RAID them for best performance. As for video card, I see that your budget is $180(1200-1020). The best card in that price range is the 7600GT. Although I'd still advise getting the 7900GT($120 more) as it's the best for the money currently.

[Grey2522]

Deagle, thanks a lot for the reply! Great advice.

Updated list;

CPU
AMD Athlon 64 X2 3800+ 1GHz HT Socket 939 Dual Core Processor - Retail (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16819103562) $295.00

M/B
ASUS A8N-SLI Premium ATX AMD Motherboard - Retail (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16813131540) $156.99
I want this mainly for its (supposely) great cooling feature. Else I might choose a lower end card. Is it worth paying for?

RAM
CORSAIR XMS 2GB (2 x 1GB) 184-Pin DDR SDRAM Dual Channel Kit System Memory - Retail (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16820145574) ($155.00 after $40.00 Mail-In Rebate)

Video Card
Still not sure. Considering 7900GT. ( around $320 )

Case
Not sure.

PSU
SeaSonic S12-500 500W Power Supply - Retail (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16817151024) $124.99
Or
Antec TRUEPOWERII TPII-550 550W Power Supply - Retail (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16817103931) $83.99 with free shipping

Hard drive
2 of Seagate Barracuda 7200.9 SATA NCQ 3Gb/s 160GB 3.5" SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16822148105) $166

DVD Burner
NEC 16X DVD±R DVD Burner Beige IDE Model ND-3550A - OEM (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16827152059) $37.99

Monitor, mouse, keyboard - already have.


I have a new problem. I'm considering 7900GT card. ( I can extend my budget a bit if I REALLY have to. Or I may drop something else. ) Isn't it an SLI card? I don't know much about such cards but I heard that they are HUGE. The Tsunami case I first picked has a problem with SLI card. The card will (almost) get into HD bay and make it hard to install multiple HDs, which I need. ( I'm gonna have at least 3 HDs. )

Could anyone recommend a good case that fits the needs? Thanks guys.

[Deagle]

I have a new problem. I'm considering 7900GT card. ( I can extend my budget a bit if I REALLY have to. Or I may drop something else. ) Isn't it an SLI card?
I think all of the PCI-E cards make by Nvidia are able to be use in SLi mode or at least the majority of them. Also don't be concern about the 7900GT size because Nvidia has made it very small. Take a look at this here pic (http://www.firingsquad.com/media/hirez.asp?file=/hardware/nvidia_geforce_7900_gt_gtx_performance/images/03.jpg), the 7900GT is the smallest card in there yet it outperforms the other two.http://www.pcguide.com/ubb/tongue.gif

[saphalline]

I use my pc for my work and entertainmentWhat kind of work do you do on your PC, and what kind of entertainment? If all you do is work in Photoshop and watch movies, then any $60-80 PCIe vid card will be more than enough. If you plan to play a lot of games, then yes, a 7600 GT would be really awesome actually (because of the proliferation of shader units). If you work with CAD software, then a completely different vid card will be needed (workstation-class rendering).

Let us know your exact needs and software and we can help you better with the vid card.

[Grey2522]

Hello, Saphalline!

Work - programming. The vid card has little to do with my work.
Entertainment - games and movies. I don't want the latest card but I want a card that can hold itself with the current and upcoming games for awhile.

On another note, Saphalline, could you recommend me new Mobo? After reading about ASUS A8N-SLI some more. I'm not sure if I have time to study/handle it. It doesn't seem like newbie-friendly.

Thanks a lot!

[saphalline]

You mean in terms of SLI mobo's? You do know how SLI works, right? Also, I would only recommend SLI if you know you'll have the money for a second vid card within the next 6 months. If not, you're better off buying single vid cards, because vid card technology has been moving way too fast lately.

$108 - DFI nF4 SLI Infinity (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16813136164)
$135 - Abit AN8 SLI (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16813127207)

Those two should get you started. Also, I'd recommend getting the retail version of that DVD burner. Just a few bucks more gets you the full retail package, and optical drives are one of the few products where the full retail package is well worth the investment. The Seasonic PSU is a darn good PSU, but the Antec is also excellent for the money. If you feel like being more budget-friendly, get the Antec. My friend has that Thermaltake Tsunami case and there's plenty of room. Nice case, too. Very light, which is important anytime you have to move it (like yesterday when we went to a LAN party - my friend was able to carry his case plus a crate of all our peripherals while I was only able to carry my case!).

[Grey2522]

You mean in terms of SLI mobo's? You do know how SLI works, right? Also, I would only recommend SLI if you know you'll have the money for a second vid card within the next 6 months. If not, you're better off buying single vid cards, because vid card technology has been moving way too fast lately.

Big thanks for the reply, Saph.

I've been thinking. And I've come to a conclusion that I want only one really good card, and not two. If I go for single vid card, what card and Mobo would you recommend? With $450 budget for card+mobo.

Thanks again for your patience and help!


Updated list;

CPU
AMD Athlon 64 X2 3800+ 1GHz HT Socket 939 Dual Core Processor - Retail (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16819103562) $295.00

RAM
CORSAIR XMS 2GB (2 x 1GB) 184-Pin DDR SDRAM Dual Channel Kit System Memory - Retail (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16820145574) ($155.00 after $40.00 Mail-In Rebate)

Case
Thermaltake Tsunami VA3000BWA Black Computer Case With Side Panel Window - Retail (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16811133132) $108

PSU
Antec TRUEPOWERII TPII-550 550W Power Supply - Retail (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16817103931) $83.99 with free shipping

Hard drive
2 of Seagate Barracuda 7200.9 SATA NCQ 3Gb/s 160GB 3.5" SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16822148105) $166

Video Card - unsure
Mobo - unsure

[saphalline]

Mobo's:

$88 - DFI nF4 Ultra-Infinity (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16813136163)
$90 - Abit KN8 Ultra (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16813127222)
$93 - Asus A8N-E (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16813131530)

Don't forget about your optical drive, too! That needs to be thrown in there.

Vid card - The recommendations we give for SLI are going to be very similar to the recommendations we give for a single vid card. The only difference now is that you can pick ATI vid cards, too. If we assume roughly $100 for a mobo, then we're left with $350 for the vid card, correct? In that price range, the 7900 GT is the best deal. ATI doesn't have any compelling products in this price range to compare against NVidia's newest offerings, but I have no doubt that they will very soon. Push 'n pull, all the time. But keep in mind that the 7600 GT is a much cheaper vid card (around $190-200 street price) that will still offer tremendous performance for modern games. I just want you to understand that you don't necessarily have to spend $350 on your vid card to be happy. I mean, really, what do you have now? :p

[Grey2522]

Mobo's:

$88 - DFI nF4 Ultra-Infinity (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16813136163)
$90 - Abit KN8 Ultra (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16813127222)
$93 - Asus A8N-E (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16813131530)

Don't forget about your optical drive, too! That needs to be thrown in there.

Vid card - The recommendations we give for SLI are going to be very similar to the recommendations we give for a single vid card. The only difference now is that you can pick ATI vid cards, too. If we assume roughly $100 for a mobo, then we're left with $350 for the vid card, correct? In that price range, the 7900 GT is the best deal. ATI doesn't have any compelling products in this price range to compare against NVidia's newest offerings, but I have no doubt that they will very soon. Push 'n pull, all the time. But keep in mind that the 7600 GT is a much cheaper vid card (around $190-200 street price) that will still offer tremendous performance for modern games. I just want you to understand that you don't necessarily have to spend $350 on your vid card to be happy. I mean, really, what do you have now? :p
Rofl. The last statements were truly words of wisdom, Saph. :D
I got ATI 9600XT on my old pc. That was the best thing I could afford at the time of purchasing. I'm gonna do the same thing here. Get the best I can afford, and stick with it for next 3 years.

Thanks again, Saphalline. Hopefully I can get my final list this time. :)

[Grey2522]

Quick question, please.

The HDs and floppy drive I'm buying are OEM. I'm sure they will come without the cables. Will I get necessary cables from the mobo set? Or I need to buy cables separately for my OEM drives?

Thank you!

[Deagle]

As long as you buy a retail motherboard, it will come with all the necessary cables for your drives.

[saphalline]

You can see for yourself what the retail packages of the mobo's come with - Newegg has a slew of pics for each product they sell. The DFI comes with about half the cables you'll need for connecting all the available drives, the Abit comes with most of them, and the more expensive Asus comes with all the cables you'll ever need for that mobo.

As a general rule, retail mobo's come with enough cables to get a basic system completed (1 IDE drive, 2 SATA drives) and as they get more expensive you get more cables added. I try to aim for the mobo's that come with all the cables, but these can sometimes be cost-prohibitive and cables are cheap enough if you find yourself really needing them later.

[Grey2522]

Thank you, Deagle and Saphalline. You guys are wonderful. :)

I was looking at these cables (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Showimage.asp?Mode=&Type=&Image=13-131-530-01.jpg%2C13-131-530-02.jpg%2C13-131-530-06.jpg%2C13-131-530-04.jpg%2C13-131-530-05.jpg&CurImage=13-131-530-06.jpg&Description=ASUS+A8N-E+Socket+939+NVIDIA+nForce4+Ultra+ATX+AMD+Motherbo ard+-+Retail) , and they do not look like anything in my old pc. ( Where' are the usual big, flat cables? :eek: ) But now I'm sure there should be the necessary cables I need for my drives.

Thanks!

[saphalline]

Yes, the red ones on the far right are SATA cables. Those plug into SATA hard drives. They replace the old IDE ribbon cables (the big flat ones) for SATA devices.

The black ones in the middle are IDE cables. They're just folded up so you can't tell.

Underneath the black IDE cables are the SATA power adapters. These plug into a normal 4-pin molex power connector from a PSU and turn it into a SATA power cable. Most new SATA hard drives require (or at least have) a new SATA power connector on them, but some older SATA hard drives have the standard 4-pin molex that IDE drives use. Either way, you won't need the adapters because the PSU you picked out (like any good ATX 3.0 PSU) already has SATA power connectors. Don't use adapters if you don't have to!

[Grey2522]

I got my new system up and running. Cheers! :D I'm using it right now.

I got every part arrived on Friday, and spent a whole Saturday night assemble the system. Got pretty frustrated a number of times. But, it's done! *phew* The only things left now are to do the rebates, and RMA one of the HD. ( I bought 2, got one good, and one bad. ) The new case looks so awesome. The system seems to be working great and stable.

All is thanks to the pcguide's website and forums. Especially Deagle and Saph, thank you very much! Did I mention that you guys are wonderful? :)

[Deagle]

Just curious, what vid card did you decide to go with? Congrats by the way.http://www.pcguide.com/ubb/smile.gif

[saphalline]

Awesome! The first time is always the most frustrating and best experience. ;)

Now, about the drivers and updates... :p

[Grey2522]

Just curious, what vid card did you decide to go with? Congrats by the way.http://www.pcguide.com/ubb/smile.gif
7900GT. And now they are sold out everywhere. ( Hey, thanks again for telling me about the card. ) I have only tried it with my old Vampire: BloodLines game. Everything is smooth. It runs and idles at around 55C.

Awesome! The first time is always the most frustrating and best experience.
Now, about the drivers and updates...
Yeah... but at least I don't have to open my case for that. :D When I was done assemble everything on Saturday, it was like a big jungle inside with all the cables. The CPU and Mobo were also running quite hot. So I tried to rearrange the cables again, and I got the temperature down. So I am quite happy now. ( Not that it's much better to look at. But at least the cables are not resting on the mobo anymore. :p )

Oh, one last thing, I love my PSU! I got a 500W Seasonic in the end from Zipzoomfly. ( I should have checked them out earlier. They have some good deals there. ) Powerful and very quiet! Also give out very consistent voltages. All in all, I am satisfied with most, or all, of the parts I bought. Thanks to you guys.

[paul_]

I just built my first computer, similar to yours (see the sig). Although are systems are alike, I envy the 7900GT :D

I went with an Asus A8N-SLI and yes, it is not n00b oriented, but you could've dealt with it. The BIOS is very satisfying. It even offers an option to do the OC'ing for you (like I'd ever do that:D). Good luck with your computer, I need a little at the moment too, my Logisys remote panel ain't giving up easy...