First Build **

[Weichelt]

I'm just starting out and have talked to many about the parts I need and want in a new system. I've done a fair amount of research, but was wondering what additional cables I might need or any other advice one could offer to a new system builder.

Here's a list of the parts I'm looking at (all from newegg):

SAMSUNG 18X DVD±R DVD Burner With 12X DVD-RAM Write, LightScribe Technology Black SATA Model SH-S183L - OEM

COOLER MASTER Centurion 532 RC-532-SKN1 Black Aluminum bezel, SECC chassis ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - Retail

Western Digital Caviar SE WD2500JS 250GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM

COOLMAX CP-500T EPS12V 500W Power Supply - Retail

Arctic Silver 5 Thermal Compound - OEM

Intel Core 2 Duo E6400 Conroe 2.13GHz LGA 775 Processor Model BX80557E6400 - Retail

Scythe S-FLEX SFF21F 120mm Case Fan - Retail

EVGA 320-P2-N811-AR GeForce 8800GTS 320MB GDDR3 PCI Express x16 HDCP Video Card - Retail

mushkin 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) with EPP Profile Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model 996533 - Retail

MSI P6N SLI Platinum LGA 775 NVIDIA nForce 650i SLI ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail



Thanks in advance for the help

 

[wilcoxon]

Will you be overclocking? What usage will you put the system to? What budget are you working with?

Why the WD Caviar? It's a quiet drive but not best at performance or storage? Raptor is good for performance. Seagate 7200.10 is pretty good performance with good storage (upcoming Hitachi T7K1000 will be as well).

Arctic Silver 5 is good but Masscool Shin-Etsu is better.

I prefer the Scythe S-Flex SFF21E. Less air flow but fair bit quieter. I would recommend Noctua NF-S12-1200 but they are hard to find in the US and more expensive.

Why that RAM in particular? What timings does it support?

Are you planning to use SLI? If not, you can save some money with a P965 mobo (Gigabyte DS3 is a good one).

Are you going to get an aftermarket HSF? If so, which one? If not, why the thermal compound?

 

[Weichelt]

Lot of acronyms there ....hmm where to start...

Don't really know anything about overclocking, just the basics of what it is. I would like to get to that step sometime.

The HD just seemed like the best deal and had good reviews.

I'll look into the thermal paste a bit more. Not really sure if I needed it, thought it couldn't hurt....do I need a cooler for hte cpu?

I don't really know what you're talking about the "Scythe S-Flex SFF21E." If its a case...the reason I chose the one that I did, was because I'm trying to keep the system under a budget of no more than 1200-1300 and the case and HD were what I was cutting back on at the moment.

I figured I could add an HD later on and always upgrade the case.

Do you know what kind of extra wires i'll need to hook everything up?

 

[alcattle]

Yes you need a cooler, the retail box CPU comes with a stock one. Good to start, you should get some thermal paste, you will use at some point and can be used many times.
The power supply is a very low rated model, look at your choices at your budget.
Between all the boxes you buy you should get enough cables to build your rig, hardly ever a problem.

 

[Weichelt]

any suggestions on brand or power for the PSU (under $120)?

 

[wilcoxon]

I don't really know what you're talking about the "Scythe S-Flex SFF21E." If its a case...the reason I chose the one that I did, was because I'm trying to keep the system under a budget of no more than 1200-1300 and the case and HD were what I was cutting back on at the moment.

Ah. The Scythe S-FLEX SFF21F you list is not a case - it is just a fan to put in the case. You can buy cases relatively cheaply (see Sanji's guide on this forum - he lists some cases to fit most budgets).

 

[wilcoxon]

any suggestions on brand or power for the PSU (under $120)?

Right now NewEgg has a fantastic deal on Corsair HX620 if you receive their newsletter ($129.99 after promo code). Failing that, the Corsair HX520 should be plenty for your system and I believe it is $119.99 currently without needing a promo code.

Both will support SLI. Neither will provide enough power to SLI 8800GTX (that card is way out of you current budget anyway) but the 620 should (I think) provide enough to SLI 8800GTS.

 

[Weichelt]

Cool, thanks. I don't suppose you have the promo code for the 620?

 

[Weichelt]

Any advice for an HD?

 

[wilcoxon]

Cool, thanks. I don't suppose you have the promo code for the 620?

Unfortunately, it won't work for you. They actually do check to make sure you were subscribed to the newsletter when the code was sent out.

 

[Weichelt]

no problem. Any advice for a hard drive?

 

[wilcoxon]

It all depends on what you're looking for and how much you want to spend.

The WD Raptor 150GB is very nice but will cost you around $200. It is a performance HD with 10k RPM.

The Seagate 7200.10 is a little lower performance 7200RPM drive but uses perpendicular recording (so it outperforms most 7200 drives) and has a much nicer price ($145 for 500GB - also comes in 250GB or 750GB).

The Hitachi T7K1000 is supposed to perform somewhere in between the Raptor and 7200.10 but is even larger (1TB). I believe retail will be $399. It is out for OEM system builders (Dell, etc) but not for parts (NewEgg, etc).

If all you want is space at a cheap price, you can find other drives that work quite well.

 

[emp]

Why do you need a SLI mobo? you could save some money but just using a Gigabyte DS3, remember that you can just buy a newer single card and outperform 2 older SLI'ed cards.