As many of you know I've been thinking about building my first computer. I've had my last 3 built for me but I'd like to give this a go. Actually I'll probably try to get some help form someone that knows what they're doing, but I want to be in on it! At any rate, I'm gonna throw out here what I'm thinking. I think I have all the essentials of what I'll need. Can some of you guys that know what the heck you're talking about check these out for me and tell me if it all "fits" together? Please? Make any suggestions if you have them. Remember, I'm pretty much an uneducated hack trying to put this together, so I'll need your help.

Right now I have the entire system for just under $800 after rebates and instant savings and discount codes...

CASE
MOTHERBOARD
PROCESSOR
HARD DRIVE
MEMORY
POWER SUPPLY
VIDEO CARD
CD/DVD BURNER
WINDOWS 7 (64-BIT)


Thoughts? Suggestions? Thanks in advance!

I really haven't kept up on hardware since O was born but a few things that pop to mind immeadiately. First the important stuff, I didn't see any cooling on that. STOCK COOLING SUX! Spend a few dollars and get a good aftermarket cooler for your processor and no matter what get some thermal paste even if you are going to use a stock cooler. I also noticed that one of the reviews said that the mobo did not support x16 on 2 slots simultaneously so no crossfire for you, not a biggie.

Next, the more important stuff - MY OPINION!!!!!

ATI bites. I have never successfully used an ATI card. I haven't tried in several years and honestly after the three dogs that I bought, and they didn't support, I don't intend to try again.

AMD = meh. The last I checked (when I built the current Frankenputer) Intel gave you more bang for a little more buck. I use ATI for my office boxes since they are cheap but Intel for me so I get speed.

W-D - RUN!!
Maxstor made either the crappiest drive ever or a good drive and you didn't know which until it blew up. WD bought Maxstor and kept them going and even started putting the WD name on some Maxstor drives. 'nuff said? For my coin I stick with Toshiba, Fujitsu or Seagate and I've never had a problem with one. Good move steering clear of the SSD's for now. They're still to young, too expensive and they only last about 100,000 r/w cycles.

Finally , your optical drive.
If you have the means and the monitor to support it get a blu-ray. It is AMAZING! The picture is astonishing and I only need one word to describe the audio - uncompressed. That's right kids, uncompressed audio.

I'll have a cooler for the GPU for sure. Might get one for the CPU as well.

All but one card I've had is ATI and I love them. My current is a 4850 and I have zero complaints, so I'll stick with the 4870.

I looked at the reviews on the motherboard and they are all pretty dang straight about how good this one is --- though it is not Intel. I'll have to do some more research perhaps.

I believe I will switch the HDD as I also had a WD blow on me now that I think of it. I'll look at a Seagate.

As for the optical drive, I only use it to load games and to burn CD/DVDs. With two 22" monitors I certainly have the monitor to support blu-ray, but it's not that important to me.


I'm gonna keep looking with your suggestions in mind. Thanks CFF!

Ok just my 2 cents.... thats a heck of a system for the price! Only thing I would change is the power supply. Why you ask?.... Ok it most of todays power supplies the say there 700w.. well thats peak and prolly what it could do if you only have one thing hooked to it. Also CT the 4870 card i have calls for atleast an 800w ps.. so if you have a good foundation you may wanna trun on all the lights when it gets dark!

I put a thermaltake 1200 watt in mine and i have had no issues. with power at all.Being in the sound busimess I like a lot of headroom and this things got it.

I'll have to check that out! Yowzer!

I'd go with a faster duo core rather that quad
Better performance
Games don't use the quads

my preference is

processor
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6819115054

Ive got the E8400 and have it OCKD to 4.0 Ghz
My friend has the E8600 ockd to 4.7 ghz
these processors run off the wall

but then you'd have to change mobo too

good luck & have fun
Ive built 4 comps now & luv it

My problem with that processor is it is nearly $300 on it's own! I'm building on a tight budget. I think the CPU/mobo combo I'm looking at is $325? Something like that. I have to sacrifice some performance for cost. Unfortunately...

Kewl just a thought

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDeal ... mbo.273310

this is just a few bucks more & this one kicks butt
same processor ive got
Ive got mine ockd at 4.0ghz
with a artic cooler freezer pro 7 runs at 46 degrees C under full load

Thanks fubarr! I dig it! I'm switching them out! I've taken lots of suggestions here and will be adding a new list here in the next day (still finishing up the work I have to do here). Only thing I'm unsure of is a power supply. Trying to get a good recommendation. Thanks for all the input guys! Looks like I might get it done for the mid $800's. That's my final hope anyway...

Looks like we are going to cost you money. I have a quad core AMD 9850+ and it kicks butt, but my next build will have an I7 for sure. No the game doesnt use the multi cores itself, but all the crap going on in your OS in the background does. Nice to have it offloaded from the core your game is running on. The I7's have taken a dive in price lately and are the absolute way to go in my opinion. These chips are peak. I agree with the headroom on the powersupply. I was running with a 550 which was the minimum recommended and my machine was running at boiling point. I tossed in a 750 and immediately saw a decrease in ambient temps. Im no fan of ATI either. I never get the framerate from the ATI that I get on Nvidia cards.

I have an asus board and have no trouble. Are you going to put in 4gb of memory, I was under the impression that windows 7 allowed more to be actually used. I currently have 4gb on vista and never get past 60% utilization with the memory. I have an AMD quad core, and love it, I have dual core intel on laptop, I prefer the quad core. The I7 chip is amazing though by the specs and would look very long and hard at changing to a I7 chip config. I prefer Nvidia gpu, I killed an ATI one last year with heat (the fan got caught in a cord, so it was my faullt, but it did melt down quick.)

I am looking for a new basic computer for work and will probably try out the "budget" I7 - intel is trying to actually put some financial pressure on AMD. I have no idea abou this last issue - but I had vista 64 bit and have never hated anything more. Nothing worked because it would not alow unsigned drivers. I had a useless scanner and slide converter because there were not drivers available that vista 64 would recognize, while the 32 bit could use unsigned drivers.

The 64 bit architecture does not speed up anything unless the program was written to. Most are not, but most will be in the future. 64 bit might work better on heavy use imaging programs, which you do alot of, so I can see why the 64 bit desire, but I would check your hardware that you want to plug in to make sure its compatible. Its low end stuff or smaller manufacturers that cant afford the approval process for the drivers that are the problem.

I love my build. When there is a problem I know who to blame. I dont fear opening my case *get the screws with the thumbscrews to put it together. 2.50 and you dont have to pick up a screwdriver again. *

Hey CT, I bought this case about 2 years ago and it is awesome. Major flexibility here.
Completely tool free installation of all components. Not sure about the MB tho. I didn't install that. I'm guessing that is prob the only thing that is screwed in.
If you're looking for max airflow and future hardware upgrades then this seems to be the ticket.

Cooler Master Stacker 830

The color scheme here is not what I have. Silver and Black grills. I'm sure you can get it in the color you'd like.



Model NV-830
Dimension 9.84in (W) x 21.10in (H) x 25.11in (D)
Weight 35.2 lbs
Material Aluminum
M/B Type E-ATX (does not support Dual Xeon Nocona), ATX, m-ATX, BTX, m-BTX,PICO-BTX
5.25" Drive Bay 9 (Exposed)
3.5" Drive Bay 4 (Hidden) from 1 x 4-in-3 Device Module included; 1 x 3.5
I/O Panel Dual I/O Panel in Front and Top USB 2.0 x4, IEEE 1394 x1, MIC x1, SPK x1
Cooling System One 2 Fans Included:
One 120x120x25 mm Front Fan (LED)
One 120x120x25 mm Rear Fan (Exhaust)
Optional Fan Configuration: (Extra Fans Not Included)
Supports up to 9 x 12 CM FAN (optional)
Front x 3, Top x 1, Rear x 1, Side x 4 (Side
Expansion Slots 7
BTX Upgrade Kits SRM, BTX Air Duct, and BTX I/O shield(optional)
Power Supply Standard ATX PS2 (Optional)
Support EPS 230mm PSU
Other **Cross Flow Fan will NOT work with the Nvidia 8800 Series or the ATI R600 Cards**
**Cross Flow Fan will NOT work with any video Cards longer than 12
Warranty 2 years


Oh, and I'm running 7 fans and it is pretty quiet. Well for me anyhow.
Running 7 Scythe S-FLEX Series 120 x 120 x 25 mm fans.
Overkill, I know but I feel secure.

It's is more that what you have listed which is probably the only deterrent.



http://www.coolermaster-usa.com/product.php?product_id=2702

Bug! That case is betwee $200-400 depending on the model! Looks dang nice though!


I AM building on a tight budget. I personally have only owned one NVidia and quite honestly I have loved every one of my ATI cards. I'm sticking by them. I have upgraded my build to a 4890 as of now though. I will likely go with AMD because of cost factors primarily. I need to bring this puppy home under $900. If I can get to $800 --- even better. So, understand there is a limited budget here. I am fortunate that I have somehow talked my wife into letting me get a new computer only a year after getting my last. So, I'm not pushing my luck. I DO still want to have some snuggle-time later on. I mean I love you guys and all, but...


I'll be trying to finalize some thoughts and ideas over the next day or so and I'll post one more set of equipment for the build when I get 95% complete. Thanks a TON for the input boys!

«b»

NP. Just a marketing thing. Any Vid card will work of course in this case.
When I bought mine there was no Nvidia Logo on the case. Kinda gay. I still wouldn't want that logo on my case.

Here is what mine looks like.


http://www.ipcqueen.com/images/products ... 2_main.jpg

That's good looking indeed!

Hey CT, I know you said that you wanted to try and build the system yourself but I'm trying to sell my gaming rig and I was wondering if you would be interested. Also, if you don't want the entire system I've got one of my 4870's that I'd sell ya as well. If you're interested let me know, if not no biggy, thought I'd check with you before I put it up for sale elsewhere

Hey CT did you ever put this monster together? Pics?

I've been building my rig over the past few months and I believe I'm done now until the new Nvidia cards are released.
Here are some pics...

After I modded the Corsair H50
http://img7.imageshack.us/img7/6529/img2785c.jpg
http://img714.imageshack.us/img714/2729/img2784j.jpg

Before I modded
http://img203.imageshack.us/img203/664/img2775q.jpg


Specs:

Processor:
AMD Phenom II X4 955 Black Edition (4 CPUs) ~3.6GHz / Modded Corsair H50- Push|Pull exhuast w/ Swiftech MicroRes
Memory:
4Gb G.Skill Trident DDR3 1600Mhz
Hard Drive:
WD 320GB / WD 1TB
Video Card:
2x PNY XLR8 GTX 260 Core 216 896MB in SLI 634/1404/1134
Monitor:
Hanns G HG281D 28" 1920 x 1200
Sound Card:
CreAtive SoundBlaster X-Fi Titanium Fatal1ty Pro
Motherboard:
MSI NF980-G65 Tri-SLI
Computer Case:
CoolerMaster HAF 932 Full Tower w/ Corsair HX1000 PSU

Unfortunately, no I haven't done it yet. I will have to see if I still can. I know that when I do get my next computer, I'm gonna build it. It won't be as good looking as yours, but it'll be functional. Thanks Skyline!