Building first Computer! Suggestions/Recommendations Wanted!

Status
Not open for further replies.
OK that is one awesome build! People do say the the Rosewill PSUs are not very good so you could look for a differnt PSU. I have one myself and it works fine but you are building one mean machine so I would defently get a better one. I will let someone else help you with that. You really don't need the thermal compound or the CPU cooler as the CPU already comes with that. Unless you plan to overclock alot then you won't need it. But those quad cores may put out a lot of heat. I would definetly go with the quad core but the core 2 duo would be alright to. If your not gaming much I don't really see a point in spending that much money on the CPU. Do you really need the floppy drive? Nobody uses those things anymore. Unless you do that is fine but I would get rid of that. As for a video card if your building that much of a good computer I would go with the 8800GTX. That may a little to over the top but you can look at them anyway. Or there is the 8600GT or GTS. That memory will work good. I would look at a differnt case maybe. Something that has better cooling. I do believe that Antec and Thermaltake make good cases.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130286 -- GC

Well those are my suggestions.
Good luck with the build! :D
 
Thanks. I just read how even though a floppy is not used now it is still a good idea to have one. Thanks on the info on the PSU and graphic card. I'm also planning on running Vista Home Premium, I don't know if I should use the 3sbit or go for the 64?
 
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:

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:)
 
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.

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 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.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back