First Try building PC

[the grip]

My Dell Dimension 4300 died. I'm trying to build my first computer and want to make sure the items I have are what is needed and that they will not clash. I tried to be very thorough in reading up on each item, but I'm new at this and want to make sure before I mess up totally. I have the manuals on how to set it up and my son (who built his first computer at 13) said he will help if I get into trouble. I want to show him that even I can do this. Here's what I have....

New Case with Rosewell (Mercury) Powersupply 350W #LC-8360BTX
Mobo- ECS Elite Group Intel Socket 775 #GF7050VT-M
Graphics Card - Nivdia GeForce 7050 (610i) #MCP73V
CPU- Intel Pentium D Core 2 Duo 3ghz
HD - Western Digital Protege 40G 5400rpm 2mb buffer EIDE interface #WD400EB
Ram- Ultra Dual Channel 1G(2x512mb sticks) PC4200 DDR2 533mhz #ULT31694

I put all the model #'s at the end. Any reccommendations would be appreciated. I'm really excited to create my own computer. I just want everything to go smoothly, and your help and advise my be needed more before this is through.

 

[Tmagic650]

Basic system...

That Western Digital drive should be 7200 rpms not 5400rpm. Why not go with a bigger drive like 250GB's. A gforce 8600 or 8800 would perform much better

 

[the grip]

Thank you I'll check into those. My son had the HD and said that I could have it, but maybe buying a bigger one is better.

 

[LinkedKube]

350 watt psu might not be enough for the video card upgrade and that dual core

 

[the grip]

If that powersupply is not enough would it not be able to power up? I put it together and figured once I got it running I would see about a new HD, but it will not power up.

 

[Rage_3K_Moiz]

Is this PC going to be used for watching movies, surfing the Net and nothing more? Or are you planning to run any video editing software or the latest games on it? Also, what would your total budget be?

 

[the grip]

No budget. I'm just using this as a normal computer to get on the internet and keep certain files on. I don't plan on doing anything that is going to take alot of memory. The only thing is I like to keep my music there and change my MP3 playing to go to the gym. Other than that buying and selling on Ebay will be one of the only things I'll be doing on that computer.

 

[N-Guy]

If that powersupply is not enough would it not be able to power up? I put it together and figured once I got it running I would see about a new HD, but it will not power up.

It should power up, but not all the required power will be filtered through the power supply, and can lead to hardware failures, specifically the harddrive.

350 in my opinion, is below standard now. You should get at least a 500W.

 

[Rage_3K_Moiz]

Ok, then try this as a possible alternative system:

• Intel Core 2 Duo E4600 Allendale 2.4GHz 2MB L2 Cache LGA 775 65W Dual-Core Processor - Retail - $119.99 + free shipping
• GIGABYTE GA-G31M-S2L LGA 775 Intel G31 Micro ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail - $59.99 + $8.97 shipping
• CORSAIR XMS2 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory - Retail - $47.50 without $10 rebate + free shipping
• Seagate Barracuda ES.2 ST3250310NS 250GB 7200 RPM 32MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM - $79.99 + free shipping
• SeaSonic SS-400ES ATX12V V2.2/ EPS12V V2.91, 400W, PFC, 80+, PCI-Express (6Pin), Power Supply - OEM - $54.99 + free shipping
• COOLER MASTER Elite 340 RC-340C-KKN1-GP Black Steel MicroATX Mid Tower Computer Case - Retail - $39.99 + $17.50 shipping

Grand Total = $428.92 with shipping included and without the rebate on the RAM kit.
That PC should be enough for your needs and the onboard video and sound on the motherboard will suffice for you.

Good luck and let us know how it goes.

 

[the grip]

I will check into these...thank you so much for the input. My son was trying to give me spare parts he had already so it wouldn't cost much. Since I don't use the desktop as much as the laptop he figured that what I had would be enough. I'll check into your advise and definetly let you know how it goes. Thanks again.

 

[the grip]

one other quick thing...I bought the CPU-motherboard and ram brand new.
If you look at the first post you can see what they are. Are these no good? I hate buying something and then wasting it. My son was giving me the HD and the powersupply came with the case, so if those aren't good I wouldn't mind buying new, but I trust your opinion and if you think I should junk the stuff I just bought I would rather have a well running computer than a piece of junk. Thanks again.

 

[Rage_3K_Moiz]

Oh, I didn't know you already bought the parts. You can use that CPU and RAM, but I'd highly suggest a different motherboard since ECS produce very low-quality ones that usually fail soon. Ditto with the power supply in that Rosewill case. Just get the ones I suggested and it should be smooth sailing.

 

[the grip]

Thank you. I definetly don't want something that is going to fail after I would put in all this work. Well I'll get back when I have the new parts and try again. Thanks again. I have to say you guys are great, this will save me lots of headaches.