My First Homebuilt.

[JokerFMJ2]

Hey, all. I'm building my first computer (since I actually have time to do it now) and my brother in law and myself have picked out the different components for it.

The biggest problem i'm having is with the case as far as air flow and such as obviously I want to make sure it's not going to overheat or have any problems.

Here is what we have picked out so far:

AMD Athlon 64 3700+ Processor - $223.00.
ASUS A8N-SLI Premium - $166.99.
NZXT Lexa-NP Case - $129.00.
Rosewill RP500 ATX 500W Power Supply - $59.99.
BENQ FP91G+ 19" LCD Monitor - $299.99.
Corsair XMS 1GB RAM (2-2-2-5) - $196.00.
Western Digital SE16 250GB SATAII HD (Two of them) - $107.00 (ea).
NEC 16x DVD+/-R/RW 48xCD R/RW (Two of them) - $38.99 (ea).
XFX PVT70FUND7 Geforce 7800GTX 256MB - $525.00.
XP Pro X64 - $139.95.

Any suggestions on different items or what not would be greatly appreciated. Please feel free to play the critic and tell me anything you think I should know.

And I know someone is probably going to ask what the budget is and there really isn't a hard budget - i'll just play it by ear.

Thanks, all.

 

[JokerFMJ2]

I appreciate the advice. That was a problem I was having with that case, it didn't seem like it had great airflow.

Thanks.

 

[INeedCache]

Ditch the Rosewill power supply. Opt for a Fortron, Antec, or Seasonic. The Benq monitor is nice. If you're not going to overclock, save some money on memory, as you won't get any tangible benefit from spending $200 versus $150. The Benq DW1640 is a better DVD burner.

 

[JokerFMJ2]

I'm not planning on overclocking anything. This upgrade will be plenty for me from my current setup.

Why ditch the Rosewill power supply? Any particular reason? Also, Is the BenQ DW1640 just a better DVD Burner or does it also burn CD's better (as I rarely burn DVD's but often burn CD's).

Thanks.

Ditch the Rosewill power supply. Opt for a Fortron, Antec, or Seasonic. The Benq monitor is nice. If you're not going to overclock, save some money on memory, as you won't get any tangible benefit from spending $200 versus $150. The Benq DW1640 is a better DVD burner.

 

[JokerFMJ2]

I have another question as to a component i'd like to get.

I see on some manufacturer's websites (Dell, for instance) that they have 13-in-1 Media Card readers in a 3.5" bay where a floppy drive may normally go.

I've been looking for one of these but can't seem to find one. Are they a proprietary thing or does someone know where I can find them?

Thanks.

 

[INeedCache]

Tried several Rosewill power supplies a while back, one was DOA and the others all died within 3 months. A few replacements are still working, but a few others died as well. Wouldn't touch 'em with a barge pole. The Benq DW1640 has proven itself to us by being extremely reliable. Never made us a coaster, and no problems with compatability of different media that we have used. I haven't heard of a 13 in 1 media card reader before, but I know Mitsumi makes a 7 in 1 floppy drive/media card reader that is pretty handy.

 

[JokerFMJ2]

Alrighty... I've changed my Power Supply to an Antec SmartPower 2.0 500W ATX12V and also changed my case to the on suggested above.

The only concern I have with the Gigabyte 3D Aurora case is that it appears as the HD's may be "side mounted" or whatever you like to call it. Where the cables on the drives face toward the right instead of to the back. Is this the case and if so will this pose any problems?

I've also added the Zalman cooling fan (I had looked at it before, but just forgot to add it to the list).

Other than a keyboard and a mouse, is there anything I need that i'm missing? I don't see anything, but some other sites of eyes never hurt.

Lastly, is Arctic Silver a good idea or should I not worry about it if i'm not overclocking?

 

[JokerFMJ2]

Thanks, I appreciate the reply and information. So if this is what the top cases are using now, I take it that it doesn't put any undo stress on the cables/wires?

Also, should I look into getting some Arctic Silver Thermal Paste (or any kind of thermal paste) just for extra cooling?

Thanks.

The purpose that design is so that you get more space in the motherboard area and also no wires stick out the back into the center of the PC.
It's what the top nowday cases use. Using space more efficiently that's all.

 

[pat]

Unless you are sure that each of your component has 64 bit support and drives, I would rather go with the 32 bits version. And download the free trial of xp64.

As of yet, there is not that much advantage going with a 64 bits OS.

My canon printer, HP scanner, capture card, ... have yet to have 64 bits drivers, so my computer with the 64 bit OS is rather not really usefull.

 

[JokerFMJ2]

Ah, yes, I may have forgotten to say, but i've also opted to go with the 32 bit version of XP Pro.

 

[pat]

I don't think you'll have any ovheating problem with this case.. If I dont have with mine, which is way smaller than this one, and my CPU is OCed to 2.25 GHz, with 3 HDD and my video card that has its fan connected to a fan controller, like my 3 other fans and have them running half speed ... Yours should be good.

It seems to have enough fans and all you have to do is simply make sure you make some nice arrangement with the wire

 

[JokerFMJ2]

Alright, thank ya'll for your input. Here is what my new setup looks like. Main changes: PSU, Case, Video Card (Went for the GT instead of the GTX), OS, and I added a Sound Card.

AMD Athlon 64 3700+
ASUS A8N-SLI Premium
GIGABYTE 3D AURORA GZ-FSCA1-ANS
Antec SmartPower 2.0 SP-500 ATX12V
BenQ FP91G+ Black 19" 8ms LCD
CORSAIR XMS 1GB
WD Caviar SE16 250GB SATA II
WD Caviar SE16 250GB SATA II
NEC Black 3550A
NEC Black 3550A
ASUS Geforce 7800GT 256MB
XP Pro
ZALMAN 92mm Cooling Fan w/ Heatsink
Sound Blaster Audigy2 ZS GAMER Limited Edition
Logitech Media Wired Standard Keyboard
Logitech MX518 Optical Mouse
NETGEAR 10/100/1000Mbps NIC

 

[hella-d]

Personally And Due To Experiance Id Say Your List Is Fine On What You Want For Your System Except One Thing.... Double The RAM To 2GB Even If It Means Going With A Slightly Slower CPU, Before I Upgraded To My Dual-Core I Had A 3200+ A64 And 2GB Of DDR466 And The Same Graphics Card Chipset And I Was Getting 117 FPS In HL2 With Max Settings At My LCDs Native 1600x1024, One More Tip: If You Can Afford One Go Dual Core (Id Reccomend The 3800+ X2 Becuase Of Its Good Overclockability If You Ever Wish To And Its Very Cool Running)

 

[JokerFMJ2]

Will that 3800+ X2 Dual Core work with that motherboard (the ASU A8N-SLI Premium)? I'm guessing it will because the PCU is the same chip set, I just want to be sure.

 

[hella-d]

Yeah It Definitely Will, But It May, I Say MAY, Requre A BIOS Update Otherwise (If It Needs One) It Will Still Run But It Will Only Be Able To Use One Core, But If It Has The Latest BIOS Im Pretty Sure It Will Recognize It

 

[JokerFMJ2]

Thanks.

 

[hella-d]

YW

 

[hella-d]

Id Agree With That, Just Make Sure Your Getting The Socket 939 Version And Not The 940

 

[JokerFMJ2]

Alright, I was looking at the specs for the AMD Athlon 64 X2 3800+ Manchester 1GHz FSB 2 x 512KB L2 Cache Socket 939 Dual Core Processor and for the AMD Opteron 165 Denmark 1GHz FSB 2 x 1MB L2 Cache Socket 939 Dual Core Processor.

The first difference I saw was that the L2 cache on the Opteron 165 is 2x1MB while the L2 cache on the X2 3800+ are 2x512kb.

The second difference (and this is the one that gets me) is that the operating frequency on the Opteron 165 is 1.8Ghz while the operating frequency on the X2 3800+ is 2.0Ghz.

Is it that there's more information being transferred per cycle so the Opteron is better?

I was expecting the Opteron's Operating Frequency to be higher so i'm just a little confused now and hoping someone can explain it to me. Thanks, ya'll.

 

[Fallbrook41]

nice system!
My only suggestion is for you to set aside all these parts and build a cheapo first. One that if you make a ESD (ElectroStatic Discharge) mistake or hardware problem you can learn on it. I have learned the hard way some basic rules.
1-The greatest is never never read the manual. It's always wrong.
2-Always give that extra bit of twist , it will fit
3-You'll always have spare parts, toss'em
4-Always jiggle the parts once the power is on.

You get the idea. there are too many mistakes that can happen. Learn on a cheapo system (sub $400).

 

[JokerFMJ2]

Well i've put just about every piece of a computer together, i've just never bought one and made a system all by myself. So i'm not too worried about breaking something.

The only thing I haven't done is seat the CPU, which isn't all that hard, I don't think. (I bet I just jinxed myself - lol).

I appreciate the advice and suggestion, but I think i'll be alright.

 

[pat]

nice system!
My only suggestion is for you to set aside all these parts and build a cheapo first. One that if you make a ESD (ElectroStatic Discharge) mistake or hardware problem you can learn on it. I have learned the hard way some basic rules.
1-The greatest is never never read the manual. It's always wrong.
2-Always give that extra bit of twist , it will fit
3-You'll always have spare parts, toss'em
4-Always jiggle the parts once the power is on.

You get the idea. there are too many mistakes that can happen. Learn on a cheapo system (sub $400).

I hope you are joking because those are the most stupid advice I've read for a while...

 

[JokerFMJ2]

My Brother-in-law explained to me that while the 3800+ X2 Manchester runs at a higher operating frequency (2.0Ghz) than the Opteron 165 (1.8Ghz) the X2 is working at almost it's maximum ability while the Opteron is running at a lower percentage of its ability.

This makes sense to me now. So thanks ya'll.

Alright, I was looking at the specs for the AMD Athlon 64 X2 3800+ Manchester 1GHz FSB 2 x 512KB L2 Cache Socket 939 Dual Core Processor and for the AMD Opteron 165 Denmark 1GHz FSB 2 x 1MB L2 Cache Socket 939 Dual Core Processor.

The first difference I saw was that the L2 cache on the Opteron 165 is 2x1MB while the L2 cache on the X2 3800+ are 2x512kb.

The second difference (and this is the one that gets me) is that the operating frequency on the Opteron 165 is 1.8Ghz while the operating frequency on the X2 3800+ is 2.0Ghz.

Is it that there's more information being transferred per cycle so the Opteron is better?

I was expecting the Opteron's Operating Frequency to be higher so i'm just a little confused now and hoping someone can explain it to me. Thanks, ya'll.

 

[JokerFMJ2]

Yeah, I didn't put much stock into the actual 4 pieces of advice he gave. But I understand the general message he was trying to get across.

nice system!
My only suggestion is for you to set aside all these parts and build a cheapo first. One that if you make a ESD (ElectroStatic Discharge) mistake or hardware problem you can learn on it. I have learned the hard way some basic rules.
1-The greatest is never never read the manual. It's always wrong.
2-Always give that extra bit of twist , it will fit
3-You'll always have spare parts, toss'em
4-Always jiggle the parts once the power is on.

You get the idea. there are too many mistakes that can happen. Learn on a cheapo system (sub $400).

I hope you are joking because those are the most stupid advice I've read for a while...

 

[hella-d]

Technically, TECHNICALLY The Dual Core 1.8GHz Opteron And The Athlon 64 X2 4800+ Are The Same Chip (Except For The Opteron Has Higher Quality Cores) Thus It Likely That The Opteron Will Overclock Higer Even Though Is Rated At 1.8GHz Thses Chips Have Been Know To Overclock In The 2.6GHz - 3GHz Range With Stock Air Cooling (Would Prolly Go Even Higher With Aftermarket Air Cooling/Liquid Cooling) Thus Your Getting More "Bang For Your Buck" (And Im A Stickler For That Kind Of Thing) So I Myself Might Buy The 2.2GHz Version Of The Dual-Core Opteron Apon Procurment Of My Next Tax Return Check

One Advantage Of The Opteron Series Is The Unlocked Multiplier
Tip: Raise The Voltage A Bit For The Best Overclock