Building a $1200 AM2 System for College

[HighNoon]

I am helping my friend build a computer for college, but neither of us have ever built one before. My advantage is that I actually know a decent amount about computer hardware, where as he is pretty noob and doesn't recognize common acronyms such as SATA, IDE, PSU, MoBo, etc.

Anyway... we (mainly I) have chosen what I feel is a pretty solid set of components, and just wanted to see if you guys had any comments.

Motherboard: Asus M2N-SLI Deluxe Nvidia nForce 570 SLI MCP
Processor: AMD Athlon 64 3500+ (Orleans)
CPU Fan: Gigabyte G-Power GH-PDU21-SC CPU Fan w/ Heatsink
RAM: 1 GB (2 x 512 MB) Corsair XMS2 240-pin DDR2 SDRAM (DDR2 800, PC6400)
Hard Drive: Samsung SpinPoint P Series 160 GB 7200 RPM SATA 3 Gb/s
Video Card: EVGA Nvidia 7600GT 256 MB GDDR3 PCIE x16
Case: Athenatech Black Steel ATX Mid Tower w/ 400 W PSU
DVD: LITE-ON 16x DVD Burner w/ LightScribe (IDE)
OS: Windows XP Home Edition SP2

Peripherals
Headphones: Sony MDR-DS3000 Infared Wireless 5.1 Headphones
Monitor: Acer 19" Widescreen 8ms Widescreen Monitor
Mouse: Microsoft Laser Mouse 6000 B7G-00004
Keyboard: Rosewill RK650 Slim USB Keyboard

A couple of questions we had were...
Will a 400 W PSU be enough to power this PC?
Will we need more than one 120 mm fan?
Are all of these components compatible?

PS: I know somebody is going to comment about the excess features of the SLI motherboard and recommend the M2N-E or w/e instead, but my friend thought it would be cool just to buy another video card and slap that in the case instead of replacing the current one.

Thanks for any input!

 

[shadowduck]

A couple of questions we had were...
Will a 400 W PSU be enough to power this PC?
Will we need more than one 120 mm fan?
Are all of these components compatible?

PS: I know somebody is going to comment about the excess features of the SLI motherboard and recommend the M2N-E or w/e instead, but my friend thought it would be cool just to buy another video card and slap that in the case instead of replacing the current one.

Thanks for any input!

1) 400W is cutting it close, look at 500W or even 550W
2) Depends...
3) Yes, no problem

Your friend might think SLI is cool but its a HUGE waste of money, especialy on 7600GTs. Unless you want to SLI with 7900s (within 90 days), or need RAID 5, do yourself a favour and get the non SLI board and save cash. Slapping in a 2nd video card is a horrible idea, because in 6-8 months the top card will smack your SLI setup and cost less. 7900 single can beat 7600GT SLI is some benches already, so that makes your prospoal even worse.

 

[The_Prophecy]

Suggested changes:

Forget about the extra video card.

Motherboard: Asus M2N-E

CPU heatsink: Zalman CNPS9500... the only reason you should get this (or the Gigabyte heatsink you had lined up), is if you're going to be doing a lot of overclocking (Over 2.6Ghz). Otherwise it's a waste of money.

A 400W supply should be sufficient for this system. More than one 120mm fan shouldn't be necessary, unless you notice unusually high temps.

 

[Rall]

I am helping my friend build a computer for college, but neither of us have ever built one before. My advantage is that I actually know a decent amount about computer hardware, where as he is pretty noob and doesn't recognize common acronyms such as SATA, IDE, PSU, MoBo, etc.

Anyway... we (mainly I) have chosen what I feel is a pretty solid set of components, and just wanted to see if you guys had any comments.

Motherboard: Asus M2N-SLI Deluxe Nvidia nForce 570 SLI MCP
Processor: AMD Athlon 64 3500+ (Orleans)
CPU Fan: Gigabyte G-Power GH-PDU21-SC CPU Fan w/ Heatsink
RAM: 1 GB (2 x 512 MB) Corsair XMS2 240-pin DDR2 SDRAM (DDR2 800, PC6400)
Hard Drive: Samsung SpinPoint P Series 160 GB 7200 RPM SATA 3 Gb/s
Video Card: EVGA Nvidia 7600GT 256 MB GDDR3 PCIE x16
Case: Athenatech Black Steel ATX Mid Tower w/ 400 W PSU
DVD: LITE-ON 16x DVD Burner w/ LightScribe (IDE)
OS: Windows XP Home Edition SP2

Peripherals
Headphones: Sony MDR-DS3000 Infared Wireless 5.1 Headphones
Monitor: Acer 19" Widescreen 8ms Widescreen Monitor
Mouse: Microsoft Laser Mouse 6000 B7G-00004
Keyboard: Rosewill RK650 Slim USB Keyboard

A couple of questions we had were...
Will a 400 W PSU be enough to power this PC?
Will we need more than one 120 mm fan?
Are all of these components compatible?

PS: I know somebody is going to comment about the excess features of the SLI motherboard and recommend the M2N-E or w/e instead, but my friend thought it would be cool just to buy another video card and slap that in the case instead of replacing the current one.

Thanks for any input!

I would say go with a 500 watt power supply.
The more fans you have the cooler a PC will run, but don't waste money!
Also I would go with 2 gig of ram! And maybe a dual core processor. I bought a 7900 GTX from ebay for 400 with free shipping! look around for the best prices.

I also heard that AMD will be coming out with 4x4 system. Which will be a very nice rig. So if he could wait untill christmas it may be worth the wait. But overall he should have fun with that system! Good luck!

 

[HighNoon]

I know somebody is going to comment about the excess features of the SLI motherboard and recommend the M2N-E or w/e instead

Motherboard: Asus M2N-E

Damn I so called that one.

I really appreciate the suggestions, but I think we're just gonna stick with the SLI board. Although I am quite aware that SLI's only purpose is geek bragging rights and slightly better performance, 3 things stop me from getting the M2N-E instead.

1. The SLI board has a digital optical out, which the wireless headphones require.
2. The SLI board has a firewire port.
3. I already ordered it.

EDIT: As far as the PSU goes, I think I'm gonna try the 400 W one, but if it doesn't boot or something, I'll look there first.

I have told my friend that he should upgrade to 2 GB RAM as soon as he gets an extra $100 or so. He is EXTREMELY frugal.

And for waiting... well he needs the system ASAP. Waiting more than 1 or 2 weeks is not an option.

NOTE: Since this is my first computer build I have decided to bring the parts up to my local computer shop (IMS Computers) and build it in the store, with guided assistance from a pro. It's only $65/hr., and I feel much more comfortable that way, because after all, this is NOT my money, it's my friend's.

EDIT AGAIN: Crap, I forgot 2 more things.

- I think I'll add another 120mm fan just to be safe, unless it costs alot or doesn't make much of a difference or is annoyingly loud.

- I've never overclocked anything before, but if the risk of screwing something up is relatively low and the actual overclocking process is relatively simple, I'd be willing to try it.

 

[chased13]

dont spend 65 an hour

buy the extra gig of ram

theres plent of people willing to help you online- dont throw 65 (minimum) bux away

its not hard to put a pc together

screw in some screws, plug in some cables- really self explanitory- do you really need some 1 to tell you "you plug the power cord in here. you need to hook up ur psu to the power cord. you put the hd power into the hd. you plug in the fan. ram goes in the ram slots." etc

dont waste 65 bux- save it or spend it on something you will notice

 

[HighNoon]

Well the things you said were extremely obvious. What I was worried about was...

1. I don't know what order to plug everything in.
2. I've heard that getting the HDD light and the power button and that stuff is hard.
3. I've read about people destroying their CPU while trying to install the CPU fan.
4. I know people online will help but it's just not the same as having someone there in real life.

 

[The_Prophecy]

1. I don't know what order to plug everything in.

There isn't really an order to follow. Any parts that have to be installed in a specific order only need common sense to determine that order. For example, installing the CPU before attempting to install the heatsink.

2. I've heard that getting the HDD light and the power button and that stuff is hard.

Sometimes it can be a little bit tricky, but if you plug one of them in the wrong way, it won't hurt anything. Say you plug the cable for the power switch in the wrong way. Attempting to turn on a system with the power switch cable inserted wrong won't damage anything, the computer just won't turn on. The mobo manual should tell you the proper orientation anyway.

3. I've read about people destroying their CPU while trying to install the CPU fan.

These people were totally careless about installing the heatsink. And nowadays, you would have to put A LOT of pressure on the heatsink to damage the cpu. Just remember that if something isn't seating properly, don't try to force it into place. Pull it out and make sure you are trying to insert it correctly.

4. I know people online will help but it's just not the same as having someone there in real life.

While this is true (when I started out building computers, I always felt better having someone with experience around to make sure I wasn't doing something wrong), if you don't try it yourself, you will never learn. If you have any friends who know how to build computers, ask them to come supervise and make sure you don't make a mistake somewhere.

 

[dmantech]

Like others may have said buy the extra Gig of ram and save you some time.
Make sure that you have at least a 500watt PSU. If you want SLI go with the 7900 GT.

 

[ajmueller]

I am helping my friend build a computer for college, but neither of us have ever built one before. My advantage is that I actually know a decent amount about computer hardware, where as he is pretty noob and doesn't recognize common acronyms such as SATA, IDE, PSU, MoBo, etc.

Anyway... we (mainly I) have chosen what I feel is a pretty solid set of components, and just wanted to see if you guys had any comments.

Motherboard: Asus M2N-SLI Deluxe Nvidia nForce 570 SLI MCP
Processor: AMD Athlon 64 3500+ (Orleans)
CPU Fan: Gigabyte G-Power GH-PDU21-SC CPU Fan w/ Heatsink
RAM: 1 GB (2 x 512 MB) Corsair XMS2 240-pin DDR2 SDRAM (DDR2 800, PC6400)
Hard Drive: Samsung SpinPoint P Series 160 GB 7200 RPM SATA 3 Gb/s
Video Card: EVGA Nvidia 7600GT 256 MB GDDR3 PCIE x16
Case: Athenatech Black Steel ATX Mid Tower w/ 400 W PSU
DVD: LITE-ON 16x DVD Burner w/ LightScribe (IDE)
OS: Windows XP Home Edition SP2

Peripherals
Headphones: Sony MDR-DS3000 Infared Wireless 5.1 Headphones
Monitor: Acer 19" Widescreen 8ms Widescreen Monitor
Mouse: Microsoft Laser Mouse 6000 B7G-00004
Keyboard: Rosewill RK650 Slim USB Keyboard

A couple of questions we had were...
Will a 400 W PSU be enough to power this PC?
Will we need more than one 120 mm fan?
Are all of these components compatible?

PS: I know somebody is going to comment about the excess features of the SLI motherboard and recommend the M2N-E or w/e instead, but my friend thought it would be cool just to buy another video card and slap that in the case instead of replacing the current one.

Thanks for any input!

I would say go with a 500 watt power supply.
The more fans you have the cooler a PC will run, but don't waste money!
Also I would go with 2 gig of ram! And maybe a dual core processor. I bought a 7900 GTX from ebay for 400 with free shipping! look around for the best prices.

I also heard that AMD will be coming out with 4x4 system. Which will be a very nice rig. So if he could wait untill christmas it may be worth the wait. But overall he should have fun with that system! Good luck!
Also remember that a huge amount of fans can harm your computer if configured wrong (and can be very noisy). Pick large fans that move more air at lower RPMs and configure them so you have about the same amount of air coming in as out.

 

[HighNoon]

Once again, thanks for all your advice.

Highnoon wrote:
1. I don't know what order to plug everything in.

There isn't really an order to follow. Any parts that have to be installed in a specific order only need common sense to determine that order. For example, installing the CPU before attempting to install the heatsink.

I was just worried that if I plugged in the MoBo power cord before connecting some of the other components or something like that I might fry something.

If I do get the 400 W PSU and hook everything up and try to turn on the PC, and it doesn't work... will it damage anything?

if you don't try it yourself, you will never learn

We're planning on actually building the PC ourselves, it would just be nice to have someone there to make sure we don't do something dumb. We're doing this as a learning experience, any future computer building I do will be done by me, not a paid technician. Also, none of my friends are very computer savvy. Some of them have homebuilt PC's, but these were built by friends of theirs, who I don't know.

And lastly, I'll prolly just stick with the one fan.

 

[Akifuddin]

Instead of getting 1GB DDR2-800, get 2GB DDR2-667. Newegg is selling OCZ Gold series 2GB DDR2-667 RAM for 188.99 with a $40 mail-in rebate so $148.99. And M2N-E is better. About the PSU, I'd get a 500W Antec Smartpower PSU, newegg sells one at around 60 bucks.

 

[shadowduck]

Instead of getting 1GB DDR2-800, get 2GB DDR2-667. Newegg is selling OCZ Gold series 2GB DDR2-667 RAM for 188.99 with a $40 mail-in rebate so $148.99. And M2N-E is better. About the PSU, I'd get a 500W Antec Smartpower PSU, newegg sells one at around 60 bucks.

No! Do NOT do that! If you can only afford 1GB of DDR2-800 stick with that for now. AMD AM2 to work properly (and any faster) than S939, basically requires low latency DDR2-800 RAM. Do NOT buy 667 for any reason, unless you wnat a system equal/slower than 939 with more upgrades (yuck).

 

[HighNoon]

I just have one more question, and then I'm gonna order my parts.

If I do get the 400 W PSU and hook everything up and try to turn on the PC, and it doesn't work because it's not powerful enough... will it damage anything?

Shadowduck, I wasn't planning on buying that kind of RAM anyway. I've read about way too many issues concerning the motherboard I'm gonna buy and OCZ RAM.

 

[shadowduck]

I just have one more question, and then I'm gonna order my parts.

If I do get the 400 W PSU and hook everything up and try to turn on the PC, and it doesn't work because it's not powerful enough... will it damage anything?

Shadowduck, I wasn't planning on buying that kind of RAM anyway. I've read about way too many issues concerning the motherboard I'm gonna buy and OCZ RAM.

Well.. OCZ RAM has been having issues with the Asus board. I would use Corsair DDR2-800...

On the PSU question: most likely not... you will get weird freezes and/or crashes with an underpowered PSU or the system might just shutoff. A low quality PSU however CAN damage your system.

 

[mulciber]

On the PSU question: most likely not... you will get weird freezes and/or crashes with an underpowered PSU or the system might just shutoff. A low quality PSU however CAN damage your system.

Very true. I was recently brought an athlon64 3500+ system which had a fried mobo and processor after a 650w chaintec ebay special psu decided to die.

 

[ajmueller]

To complicate matters more, but maybe save you some decent bucks, consider ordering from ZipZoomFly. In my experience, they're cheaper than newegg on basically everything, free shipping on everything (except for heavy cases), and they're always great with packing and service. I don't even bother with newegg anymore. Go ZipZoomFly...trust me.

 

[mulciber]

You can generally build a box for hundreds of dollars cheaper than if you bought all from one store if you use the right tools. I wouldnt have nearly the machines I have today without pricegrabber, froogle, other services (like pricewatch), and discount forums like fatwallet and techbargins.