Building first Computer! Suggestions/Recommendations Wanted!

My take on gaming is that even though you only plan to play games when you have time, you would want to be able to play good games and have a good gaming experience when you do. Therefore, a good processor and graphics card would be a good idea if you can afford it. I would go with the E6850. For the graphics card, one of the 8800 series cards from Nvidia or possibly an HD 2900 series from ATI/AMD. For a lower cost card you could consider an ATI Radeon X1950Pro. The X1950Pro is only DX 9 compliant, however.

A floppy does come in handy if you want to flash the BIOS.

eroz said:

Hi all..... I've decided to build my own computer. I not that that much of a gamer but do play when I have the time. I'm also an amatuer photographer. Below is the parts that I have come up with, if there is something better or if there are parts that are not compatible, let me know. I'm looking for a total of about $1,500 or less....


NZXT Apollo ORANGE NP Orange SECC Steel Chassis ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - Retail
ABIT IP35 LGA 775 Intel P35 ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail
Rosewill RP600V2-S-SL 600W SLI Ready-ATX12V V2.01 Power Supply - Retail
Intel Core 2 Duo E6850 Conroe 3.0GHz LGA 775 Processor Model BX80557E6850 - Retail or Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 Kentsfield 2.4GHz 2 x 4MB L2 Cache LGA 775 Processor - Retail
CORSAIR XMS2 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model TWIN2X2048-6400PRO - Retail
NEC Black 1.44MB 3.5" Internal Floppy Drive - OEM
Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 ST3750640AS 750GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM
ASUS 20X DVD±R DVD Burner with LightScribe Black SATA Model DRW-2014L1T - Retail
Arctic Silver 5 Thermal Compound - OEM
Thermaltake CL-P0114 120mm CPU Cooler - Retail
Logitech 920-000325 Black USB Wired Ergonomics Wave Keyboard - Retail


I'm planning on reusing my monitor and mouse. What video card should I also use? Please post any questions that might help you help me..., comments and recommendations. Thanks guys (and gals).

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Both processors you listed are good. I would go for the Q6600 games, apps are being optimized for quads. If you decide to go for the Q6600 make sure it has the G0 stepping and not the B3's. The G0's run cooler. Clubit.com has been selling G0's since they hit the market. You need a case with good airflow or your temps will be high. Do you plan to OC? If you do, you will need a heatsink for the processor. Clubit.com has the Q6600 G0 in stock for $267.00 after $5 MIR.

Here is a case that has good airflow, same price range, more fans. If you want even better airflow then replace all the stock fans with some high CFM Panaflo, Yate Loons, or better yet Delta's that push 102CFM each. I just built a new system with the Q6600 G0 and replaced all fans (7) with these Deltas. They aren't super loud but I wouldn't go any higher than a 45decibal rating. I'm using the new PC-A70B by Lian Li and the airflow is superb.

Right now I'm running Prime95 for stress testing (all cores at the same time) the CPU, ram etc and at full 100% load my temps range between 36-44C. This is with a Evga 8800 Ultra with stock cooling and the GPU temp is 44C. This is air cooled with a Enzotech Ultra-X heatsink. CPU is stock, but not for long.

http://www.petrastechshop.com/120x25mmfans.html

http://www.sidewindercomputers.com/de12trblvehi.html


http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119137
http://www.clubit.com/


Yes, please don't use that PSU with all the nice new hardware you have. Corsair 620w 650w and Seasonic M-12 700w are excellent PSU's. You can get these much cheaper from other various sites other than NewEgg. I love the Egg that's where I buy most of my stuff from. Clubit has the Corsair 620w for 110.99 after rebate. They have good HD prices and vid card.

I noticed you didn't have a sound card listed, are you using on board?

Another choice other than the Abit is the Gigabyte, it has two slots for DDR3 memory as well as the DDR2. When ever you decide to go the DDR3 route you wouldn't have to buy a new board. Just a bit of staying a head of the game.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128048

Now depending on if you want to wait for the new quads that are coming in Jan 08. Here is the shedule for Intel.
http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/showthread.php?t=160108

Here is some helpful info on PSU's
http://forums.extremeoverclocking.com/showthread.php?t=136602

Good luck with your new build

Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 Kentsfield 2.4GHz 2 x 4MB L2 Cache LGA 775 Processor - Retail - $279.99 + free shipping
GIGABYTE GA-X38-DQ6 LGA 775 Intel X38 ATX Ultra Durable 2, Ultra Cooling Intel Motherboard - Retail - $299.99+ $7.52 shipping
PNY VCG88512GXPB G92 GeForce 8800GT 512MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 PureVideo HD Technology HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card - Retail - $259.99 + $6.33 shipping
Pioneer Black 18X DVD+R 8X DVD+RW 10X DVD+R DL 18X DVD-R 6X DVD-RW 16X DVD-ROM 40X CD-R 32X CD-RW 40X CD-ROM 2MB Cache E-IDE/ ATAPI DVD Burner - OEM - $29.99 + free shipping
Corsair TWIN2X2048-6400 2GB Kit DDR2-800 XMS2-6400 Xtreme Performance Memory Retail ***Free Shipping*** - $46.00 after $30 rebate
CORSAIR HX CMPSU-620HX 620W Active PFC NVIDIA SLI Certified Modular ATX Power Supply Retail - $119.99 after $20 rebate + $9 shipping
Thermalright Ultra 120 eXtreme - $56.95
YATE LOON 120mm Case Fan - D12SM-12 71CFM @ 33dBA - $3.50 x4 to be replaced in the case and for the CPU cooler.

All your other parts can remain the same. The grand total in that case will be about $970 with shipping, maybe a bit more. Good luck and let us know how it goes.

I just built one recently with spces similar to yours shown in my System specs as for your reference. It has been good advices on this post already. I like to add, a great monitor makes lots of different; as for your budget, it seems very flexible on options. Good luck and enjoy!

Cool. I missed Rage's suggestions. I had ordered the day before he posted. All parts should be in tomorrow. I ordered the Q6600 g0 from clubit. I also got an Antec 650w PSU. I'll get the case fans sometime soon and then I'll replace the stock cpu heatsink and fan once I think I am ready to start oc.


My monitor right now is an Acer AL1917WAbd Black 19" 5ms DVI Widescreen. It is still in good shape and I haven't had any trouble with it, that is why I'm reusing that one.

@Bruce2, why're you using Vista 32-bit with 4GB of RAM and that 640MB 8800GTS? The OS won't allow you to use all 4GB of your RAM. Upgrade to 64-bit so you can take advantage of all your RAM.

@Rage_3K_Moiz

If I alredy bought Vista 32-bit from Newegg, is there a way to get the 64-bit instead? Do I have to return to Newegg for exchange or is there another way? I don't have 4gb of RAM just 2gb but I do plan to get more.

I have no idea, since I've never personally ordered anything from Newegg at all. A lot of people here have though, so they might be able to help you out there.

With 2GB of Ram you'll be fine with the 32-bit version of Windows Vista. As for memory upgrades you'll be able to go all the way up to 3GB without any troubles, you'll need the 64-bit version for anything more than that.

Rage_3K_Moiz said:

@Bruce2, why're you using Vista 32-bit with 4GB of RAM and that 640MB 8800GTS? The OS won't allow you to use all 4GB of your RAM. Upgrade to 64-bit so you can take advantage of all your RAM.

Click to expand...

No one gave me suggestion when I posted my part list before I placed order on the project. It was too late when I learn about the disadventages. Is there a cheaper way to upgrade to 64bit instead of buying a new OS?

As answering to eroz's question about newegg return policy, you can return the unopen 32bit and make a new purchase on a 64bit.

Well so far eroz does not need the 64-bit version. As for you I'm afraid there's no other way to upgrade then buying a new OS. Maybe you could sell your 32-bit OS to eroz & then purchase the 64-bit version.

Well Didou, eroz sounded like he had already bought the 32bit other wise I could sell mine to him half price since I still havn't registered yet.

Well, eroz, what do you think? pm me if you like to work out something. Thanks.

Sorry dude......I went ahead and installed the 32-bit version.


I've built the computer and all is well except for the floppy. It is connected to the motherboard, it shows up in MY COMPUTER and in the BIOS, but I couldn't figure out what cable connects to it to give it power. I tried using the same cable that gives the hard drive and dvd power but it wouldn't fit on the floppy. The floppy has a 4-pin but it looks much smaller than the harddrive and dvd drive. It didn't seem to fit and I didn't want to force it and bend the pins.


Any ideas what cable I need or do I just need to try the harddrive power cable again?

There's a power connector specifically for the floppy drive. As they're getting more & more obsolete maybe your PSU does not have such a connector.

Didou, do you know what it is called or where I can get one? This is the PSU I have. It says it has two floppy cables but none that actually fit.

Well upon googling it, it seems it's called "mini-plug". You can see a picture of it HERE, right next to the Molex power connector (the one used on IDE drives).

I had an adopter came with the psu which converts the flat 4pin. Have you check?

I didn't see it. It could have gotten mixed up with all the other extras I had on the table. I'll take a look for it....otherwise I'll need to find a shop that has it. I found some on ebay but if I can walk in a store and get them that would be better.

Hey I think your build is good, and you can have a look at this mobo :
http://www.dealstudio.com/searchdeals.php?deal_id=66244