First Time Build

[lessthanpenguins]

I'm attempting to do my first solo computer build. I was wondering whats the best place to start. This computer is gonna be multi-purpose for mostly gaming and multimedia (movies and music mostly). The guy at a local computer store said to start with a case and build around that and another guy told me to start my build around the motherboard. I have a graphics card, networking card, and two CD/DVD burner/players. I'm looking to do around 4 gigs of RAM but other than that im totally lost as to what to get from there. Im not looking for a "super computer" that will be able to put a mortgage on my house. Just a build around 800-900$. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

 

[the_mystery_gamer]

Start with the processor. That will determine what socket you need, and will help narrow down the chipsets that will work. Then, figure out what features you want and what peripherals/exp cards/drives you need to support. Then find a mobo and case that will accommodate. Most RAM and video cards are compatible with most boards made for current CPUs. Don't forget to check, of course.


BTW, in case you don't know, you will need the following:

Case
Power Supply
Motherboard
CPU
CPU cooler
RAM
Video Card
Hard Drive
Optical Drive
Operating System

 

[guanyu210379]

Don't forget (IF you don't have them yet, or if you want a new one) :
Monitor
Keyboard and mouse
Networking device (WLAN or Modem or etc.)
Audio device (HEadphone or Active Speaker or etc.)

$800-900? Everything or just the PC?

 

[lessthanpenguins]

I have a Sonic View Moniter, Altec Surround Sound speakers. I was prolly just gonna go of an intergrated sound card for a while and upgrade that after the initial build. I also already have stuff like an OS (Both XP pro, media, and Vista 64 bit) I will need a hard drive though. I have al the outside stuff (Modem and Wireless network) hooked up in both my apartment and my house. The 800-900 is looking at the internals and case. Also upon investigation of the graphics card i'm gonna end up having to replace it as well since it doesnt run on the PCI

 

[spunks]

800 to 900 buys a lot. Why dont you start off by listing what you actually have so we can tell you whats worth to keep.


BTW, if your building a gaming system, this is the order I choose componets

1) Video card
2) CPU - needs to feed video card
3) Mainboard - needs to match CPU and memory, and perferably build good (solid state caps, some kind of cooling on the voltage regulators)
4) Memory - Think 2gb ..... 4gb if you have money left over from picking the rest of the stuff

thats heart of your gaming power.

5) Power Supply - lots of Noobs make mistakes here. Dont go cheap.
6) case - Pick one that will cool you compenets well
7) Drives - what suits your needs (and budget)




Spunks

 

[lessthanpenguins]

Right now i have all the externals (Keyboard, mouse, monitor, sound system, and all that jazz) optical drives, the OS, and networking card.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130380 The video card I was looking at but newegg has no reviews on it.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115036 The processor I was looking at

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131284 The MOBO

Im just not sure if those all will go together or not LOL. Any suggestions??

 

[big_BDS]

Are you going to be doing any OverClocking? and where in the house in the pc going to be setting? bedroom go to think about noise and LEDs. if you are not going to OC that may be a little bit to much MOBO for you use

 

[spunks]

the video card is underpowered

think HD4850 ($170ish) or GTX 260 (270ish). search newegg. google reviews on both. decide what you want.

e8500 is a good choice. think about an e8400. Its only 160mhz slower and it will save you twenty dollars (which you can apply to something else)

Motherboard..... uh OVERKILL

asus P5q series:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131295 $130

or if your considering crossfire (dual hd4850's) or want more advanced motherboard cooling

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131296 $160




hope that puts you off to a good start (the parts you picked WILL work together, just not a good combination)




Spunks

 

[lessthanpenguins]

So I took what yall said about the MOBO and opted instead to maybe

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131296

and then taking the savings from that and doing the

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130337

I do plan to overclock the fan speed on the graphics card.

Any suggestions?

 

[Proximon]

The P5Q-E does have the better cooling, and it's the board I chose. However, also consider the P5Q Pro. 10 dollars less, and you loose the third useless PCI-E slot and gain a PCI slot. The Pro version is the more popular, but the -E is the better overclocker.

Since you are getting a crossfire board, you really don't want to limit yourself with an nvidia card.

The 4850 that Spunks linked for you is FASTER than the 8800 GTS you linked. Get the ATI card now so you can have the option to crossfire in the future, and better performance now.

 

[spunks]

Thats a real nice motheboard. It supports Dual ATI cards though, not NVIDIAs if your after the dual videocard support. If your after the cooling, it has a nice setup that should be able to take high overclocks for a long time. As the other guy said, the pro is cheaper, but if you notice, it only covers half the voltage regulators with the heat pipe. this one put a heat sink on the ones on the other side of the CPU.


You need to do more research on video cards. 8800 series is outdated now. The hd4850 has the most bang for buck going for it. Here are some cards to look at.
(In order of power). all do better than you 8800gts

Nvidia 9800gt ($160)
Nvidia 9800gtx (competes on some things with the hd4850, but not most) ($199)
ATI HD4850 ($175)
Nvida GTX 260 ($270)
ATI HD4870 ($285)
Nvidia GTX 280 ($430)


spunks

 

[lessthanpenguins]

So I took Spunks advice and am going with the ATI since the MOBO won't let the NVidia do Duals. So now I've got the MOBO, processor, and graphics card but I'm kinda at a stall on the memory. I want to do 4gbs but what runs better (or does it make a difference) 2 2gbs or 4 1gbs. And given all this, how much outage should i look at for the PSU to output?? Spunks you've been a great help with all this, Thank you for assisting with my NOOB questions and ideas

 

[Proximon]

2x2 DDR2 800.
Something like this will work:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820146731

Here is a good recommended PSU:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139006
It's a very good PSU for the price and will serve you well.... but maybe not in Crossfire. You might end up a bit short once you add the second GPU. It does exceed the recommended specs and is high quality.

If I were buying for a future crossfire config, I would make sure power was never going to be an issue:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139007
That would likely last you through a future build as well.