Have I thought of everything?

[tiff]

Im about to build my first computer, the building part I'm happy enough with.

I would just like to ask a few questions regards, my selection of parts/components and a few other wee things.

I will list what I would like to buy and ask at the end, thanks in advance.



Processor:
Intel Core 2 DUO E6600 "LGA775 Conroe" 2.40GHz (1066FSB) - Retail (CP-128-IN)

Motherboard
MSI 965P NEO (Socket 775) PCI-Express DDR2 Motherboard (MB-073-MS)

Ram Memory
Corsair 2GB DDR2 XMS2-6400C5 TwinX (2x1GB) (MY-092-CS)

graphics
Gainward BLISS Geforce 7900 GT "Golden Sample" 512MB GDDR3 TV-Out/Dual DVI (PCI-Express) - Retail (GX-033-GW)

Harddisk
Western Digital Caviar SE16 250GB 2500KS SATA-II 16MB Cache - OEM (HD-046-WD)

Cable for HDD
Western Digital Secure Connect Serial ATA Cable (CB-000-WD)

Dvd RW
Asus DRW-1608P3S 16x16 DVD±RW Dual Layer ReWriter (Black) - Retail (CD-020-AS)

DVD rom
Asus DVD-E616P1 DVD-ROM (Black) - Retail (CD-018-AS)

Sound Card
Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi Xtreme Music - Retail (SC-042-CL)

case
Silverstone Temjin TJ01 - Silver (No PSU) (CA-000-SV)

Powersupply
FSP Sparkle AX500-A Blue Storm 500W ATX2.0 PSU (CA-005-SK)

Cooling for Processor thermal material
Arctic Silver 5 Thermal Compound (3.5g) (AC-000-AC)

OS
Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition inc. SP2 - OEM - 1Pk (N09-01528) (OS-001-MS)




The processor is retail in box with its own cooler, so is the graphics card, the case has 2x 60 mm intake and an 80mm exhaust. I already have monitor, keyboard etc etc

I will be using this comp for online gaming, lastest games, and heavy photoshop use and photo storage (student photographer)


My questions are:

1) if all this stuff arrives at my house and I build it do I have all the parts to get a comp going or have a forgotten some cable or something else.

2) is the 500w power suplly sufficent

3) How does duel channel ram work, if i just plug it into the montherboard which supports duel channel will it run as duel channel.

4) Is building a comp as easy as i imagine, eg i have swapped graphics cards and ram before and replaced a power supply, and my we bro can work bios so is there anything else I have missed basically



THANKS in advance im sure you regulars get this everyday thanks again


Tiff UK

 

[ElMoIsEviL]

Im about to build my first computer, the building part I'm happy enough with.

I would just like to ask a few questions regards, my selection of parts/components and a few other wee things.

I will list what I would like to buy and ask at the end, thanks in advance.



Processor:
Intel Core 2 DUO E6600 "LGA775 Conroe" 2.40GHz (1066FSB) - Retail (CP-128-IN)

Motherboard
MSI 965P NEO (Socket 775) PCI-Express DDR2 Motherboard (MB-073-MS)

Ram Memory
Corsair 2GB DDR2 XMS2-6400C5 TwinX (2x1GB) (MY-092-CS)

graphics
Gainward BLISS Geforce 7900 GT "Golden Sample" 512MB GDDR3 TV-Out/Dual DVI (PCI-Express) - Retail (GX-033-GW)

Harddisk
Western Digital Caviar SE16 250GB 2500KS SATA-II 16MB Cache - OEM (HD-046-WD)

Cable for HDD
Western Digital Secure Connect Serial ATA Cable (CB-000-WD)

Dvd RW
Asus DRW-1608P3S 16x16 DVD±RW Dual Layer ReWriter (Black) - Retail (CD-020-AS)

DVD rom
Asus DVD-E616P1 DVD-ROM (Black) - Retail (CD-018-AS)

Sound Card
Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi Xtreme Music - Retail (SC-042-CL)

case
Silverstone Temjin TJ01 - Silver (No PSU) (CA-000-SV)

Powersupply
FSP Sparkle AX500-A Blue Storm 500W ATX2.0 PSU (CA-005-SK)

Cooling for Processor thermal material
Arctic Silver 5 Thermal Compound (3.5g) (AC-000-AC)

OS
Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition inc. SP2 - OEM - 1Pk (N09-01528) (OS-001-MS)




The processor is retail in box with its own cooler, so is the graphics card, the case has 2x 60 mm intake and an 80mm exhaust. I already have monitor, keyboard etc etc

I will be using this comp for online gaming, lastest games, and heavy photoshop use and photo storage (student photographer)


My questions are:

1) if all this stuff arrives at my house and I build it do I have all the parts to get a comp going or have a forgotten some cable or something else.

2) is the 500w power suplly sufficent

3) How does duel channel ram work, if i just plug it into the montherboard which supports duel channel will it run as duel channel.

4) Is building a comp as easy as i imagine, eg i have swapped graphics cards and ram before and replaced a power supply, and my we bro can work bios so is there anything else I have missed basically



THANKS in advance im sure you regulars get this everyday thanks again


Tiff UK

Hmm for a computer built in the U.K. that's not half bad. I say this because here in North America we can get an x1900XT 512MB for almost the same price as a 7900GT 256MB. But seeing as the 7900GT you have is the Gainward Bliss 512MB it's not all that bad.

Tell me, how much are you paying for it?

Few other things.. you can opt for PC2 5400 instead of PC2 6400 if you're not thinking about overclocking. PC2 5400 will perform the same or better (due to latency) when compared to PC2 6400 if you're keeping the system running at it's designated clock speeds. That should save you some cash.

You may want to opt for a 250-320GB Seagate 7200.10 7200RPM 16MB Cache drive instead. It's perpendicular design means that less discs are needed thus it produces less heat. It also performs better then the WD drive you have there and produces less noise. Also note the Seagate standard 5YR warranty.

Also that case only has 60MM and 80MM fans. Those are not efficient at cooling down today's higher end gear. Those fans are also quite noisy. May I suggest a case that uses a 120MM rear exhaust fan and an 80/120MM front intake fan? Many Cases now use 120MM fans especially models from Antec like the venerable P180.

And to answer your questions..

1. The case will come with all the necessary screws, the motherboard the necessary cables.
2. 500W should be more then enough.
3. Slots are usually color coded. Plug them in the same colored slots for Dual channel.
4. Too easy.. like Childs play.

PS... Tiffany I assume if your name. That's the same name as my GF and my ex-wife..

 

[tiff]

Wow thanks for the reply elmo, and for answering my questions.

Sounds like it wont be too bad then

The cards that I had in mind were the Geforce 7900 that i have listed or else the

PowerColor ATI Radeon X1800 XT 512MB GDDR3 AVIVO TV-Out/Dual DVI (PCI-Express) - Retail (GX-048-PC)



Both these cards are near enough the same price £240 GBP or 452 US dollars according to XE.com but I chose nvidea as the specs boast it has been desgined for vista and shader model 3.0


The total cost which is everything I have Listed in my first post, including shipping and 60 quid of additional sofrware is £1180.00 GBP or 2225.00 dollars

Oh good try on the name but I dont think you would ever guess it, its actually Christopher ----> topher sounds like tiffer.

And everyone calls me Tiff

 

[ElMoIsEviL]

Wow thanks for the reply elmo, and for answering my questions.

Sounds like it wont be too bad then

The cards that I had in mind were the Geforce 7900 that i have listed or else the

PowerColor ATI Radeon X1800 XT 512MB GDDR3 AVIVO TV-Out/Dual DVI (PCI-Express) - Retail (GX-048-PC)



Both these cards are near enough the same price £240 GBP or 452 US dollars according to XE.com but I chose nvidea as the specs boast it has been desgined for vista and shader model 3.0


The total cost which is everything I have Listed in my first post, including shipping and 60 quid of additional sofrware is £1180.00 GBP or 2225.00 dollars

Oh good try on the name but I dont think you would ever guess it, its actually Christopher ----> topher sounds like tiffer.

And everyone calls me Tiff

Yeah the 7900GT 512MB Gainward Bliss should be faster then the ATi x1800XT 512MB. Both support Shadel Model 3.0 with the x1800XT supporting Shader Model 3.0+ (features that go beyond Shader Model 3.0 and damn near Shader Model 4.0).

None of the two were designed for Windows VISTA. Vista was designed for DX10 level hardware and there isn't any out on the market yet. Although both will work with Windows VISTA's Hourglass feature.

The x1800XT has AVIVO Transcoding/Encoding and Video Acceleration and De-Interlacing/Playback, HDR+AA and angle independant Anisotropic Filtering.. meaning it will offer superior image quality.

The Gainward Bliss 7900GT 512MB, is faster (not by much though).

 

[nottheking]

Im about to build my first computer, the building part I'm happy enough with.

I would just like to ask a few questions regards, my selection of parts/components and a few other wee things.

I will list what I would like to buy and ask at the end, thanks in advance.

<snip>

1) if all this stuff arrives at my house and I build it do I have all the parts to get a comp going or have a forgotten some cable or something else.

2) is the 500w power suplly sufficent

3) How does duel channel ram work, if i just plug it into the montherboard which supports duel channel will it run as duel channel.

4) Is building a comp as easy as i imagine, eg i have swapped graphics cards and ram before and replaced a power supply, and my we bro can work bios so is there anything else I have missed basically



THANKS in advance im sure you regulars get this everyday thanks again


Tiff UK

First, to answer your questions...

• [*:2893e67a59]As mentioned, the case will come with all of the screws you need, and the motherboard will come with enough cabling to set up your system; they typically come with one floppy disk cable, one PATA cable, (for CD/DVD drives and older hard drive) and a modern SATA cable (for your hard drive) If that hard drive cable mentioned is an extra purchase, you could safely drop it.
  [*:2893e67a59]500 watts is sufficient, provided that the PSU if of sufficient quality. Fortunately, FSP's one of the best makers in the world, so you chose well.
  [*:2893e67a59]If both sticks are placed in the right slots, (usually slots 1+3 and 2+4) and the pairs are more or less the same (same size, same speed; they can be of different brands) then they will automatically work in dual-channel mode. In most cases, the motherboard's slots are color-coded, so you simply plug two sticks into the same-colored slots.
  [*:2893e67a59]Perhaps the most painful part is actually setup up the operating system; not tricky, but time-consuming, especially in the early phases, where ou're partitioning and formatting your hard disk. Assembling the hardware's fairly easy, to screwing the motherboard to the case is, in my opinion, a little trickier than working with most other parts.Now, as for my comments on your selection...[*:2893e67a59]The processor's a good choice; the E6600 is the cheapest Conroe with 4MB L2 cache, and for the ~$400US price, pretty darned powerful.
  [*:2893e67a59]The motherboard appears to be fine, as does the RAM, and the power supply.
  [*:2893e67a59]Those case fans are a little small; small fans spin faster, generating more noise, but still move air slower than larger fans. Always go with larger fans if possible.
  [*:2893e67a59]Arctic Silver's possibly the best thermal compound out there.
  [*:2893e67a59]The X-Fi card may seem like a little overkill for some, but the audio quality is improved, and the features and stuff it offers can make it well worth the extra money over a simple Audigy 2.
  [*:2893e67a59]I'd definitely go for a Seagate perpendicular drive at this point; they're hardly any more expensive than traditional 7200RPM SATA drives, yet perform more akin to WD's performance line of hard drives, the Raptors. Plus, they also generate less heat, come in larger capacities... You get the picture.
  [*:2893e67a59]As for the video card, depending on where you plan on gaming, a similar fee may get you a Radeon X1900XT, which in most cases, (just about anything other than Doom3/Quake IV) will perform better. The plain 7900GT will roughly match an X1800XT, while the "golden sample" will slightly out-perform it.[edit]Oh, and yeah, looking over this thread, it appears that I more or less concur with ElMoIsEviL.

 

[_Morphine_]

Only thing I can think of to help in your build is:

[*:96ee0cede9]Get some ArcticClean to clean off the stock thermal paste. Stuff is magical.

[*:96ee0cede9]Wrist strap

[*:96ee0cede9]Zip-ties

Have fun!

 

[tiff]

Some great replies and information. Thanks very much for your time and help guys I really appreciate it.

I'll take all your info in especially regards the fans/case and the hard drive.


Will hopefully have this within the next month, thanks again for the help, wish me luck



******EDIT*****

Couple of change to my shopping list

Case ==== Antec P180 Advanced Super Midi Tower Case - No PSU (Silver) (CA-039-AN)



Graphics ====== Connect3D ATI Radeon X1900 XT 512MB GDDR3 AVIVO TV-Out/Dual DVI (PCI-Express) - Retail (3056) (GX-047-CO)

This card is actually about £40 cheaper, is it worth my while to go for the 1900 series or should i stick with the 7900 GT golden sample or the 1800xt which was mentioned previosuly


Memory ===== Corsair 2GB DDR2 XMS2-5400C4 TwinX (2x1GB) (MY-095-CS)

Hard drive ==== Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 250GB ST3250620AS SATA-II 16MB Cache - OEM (HD-079-SE)




Added in === ArctiClean Thermal Material Remover and Surface Purifier - 60ml Kit (TH-000-AC)



dropped the extra cable

Due to cheaper ram and graphics (slightey more expensive case) it ends up at the same price as before


I think all the changes are wise based on your adivce, only thing im not 100% about is the graphics card but im not fussy, im sure they are all pretty much equal. As long as i get more than the 22fps most of my games run at at the min i will be happy

 

[tiff]

Anyone have any opinions on my changes?

 

[ElMoIsEviL]

Anyone have any opinions on my changes?

x1900XT > Gainward 7900GT 512MB golden Sample.

So x1900XT all the way!

 

[tiff]

great, thanks elmo. Thats all i needed to hear.