New to building my own PC - Would like some help w/ first build - New-System-Build

I'm trying to build my first PC for mostly gaming and trying to stay around $1000 w/o getting a monitor. After doing a little research, I came up with this build.

I would just like to make sure:

- that everything will run together
- I haven't forgotten anything critical
- I'm not making any stupid mistakes

If you guys have any suggestions, I'd be more than happy to take any advice!

I was also wondering if I should get Vista 32 or 64 bit.

Thanks!

Motherboard
EVGA 132-CK-NF78-A1 LGA 775 NVIDIA nForce 780i SLI ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6813188024

Processor
Intel Core 2 Duo E8500 Wolfdale 3.16GHz 6MB L2 Cache LGA 775 65W Dual-Core Processor - Retai
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6819115036

Case
Antec Nine Hundred Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6811129021

CD/DVD Drive
ASUS Black 20X DVD+R 8X DVD+RW 8X DVD+R DL 20X DVD-R 6X DVD-RW 14X DVD-RAM 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-R 32X CD-RW 48X CD-ROM 2MB Cache SATA 20X DVD±R DVD Burner with LightScribe - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6827135156

Hard Drive
Western Digital Caviar SE16 WD5000AAKS 500GB 7200 RPM 16MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6822136073

Graphics Card
EVGA 512-P3-N801-AR GeForce 8800 GT 512MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express x16 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6814130318

Power Supply
Antec TPQ-850 850W ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply 100 - 240 V UL, CUL, FCC, TUV, CE, C-tick, CCC, CB - Retai
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6817371009

Memory
OCZ Reaper HPC Edition 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6820227267

OS
Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium SP1 32-bit English 1pk for System Builders DSP OEI DVD - OEM
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6832116485

TOTAL: 1,171.00

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3 stupid mistakes i see.

motherboard / processor/PSU

nvidia chipsets = super mega ugly BAD!

get something along the lines of a p45 chipset from asus, gigabyte, or foxconn. it would easily save you 80$

processor too. get an E8400, because the 40-50$ premium for .16ghz isnt worth it is it?

next the PSU, 850 watts is a super overkill. Get something along the lines of a pcpower and cooling silext Xtreme (i think its called that) 610 watts for around a cool 90-100$. or pcpower and cooling 750 watt psu for 140$. that psu is still one of the best being almost a year old model. i say this because it provides sufficient voltage, with headroom for future upgrades that dont overkill your power bill.

also do you have a cooling solution?

Reply to Physicz

I would change... *EDIT* (lol i think me and the guy above me are like twins...)

-P45 Motherboard (cheaper less buggy)
-E8400 (not much of a difference save a few bucks)
-WD640 (bigger harddrive, faster)
-ATI 4850 (same price more power)
-Corsair 650tx (your psu is overkill)

the rest looks good, and i think if you take some of these suggestions you will stay well under 1000

Message edited by helios2052 on 08-07-2008 at 04:44:05 AM

Reply to helios2052

LOL we sade the same thing helios haha

but the 4850 is 200$ while the 8800GT is around 125ish.

Message edited by Physicz on 08-07-2008 at 04:44:17 AM

------------------------------ i has a connection to the interwebz it's why you see me
Reply to Physicz

yeah but if he saves money on the board and Cpu and PSU........

Either way they are both good cards but i figured since we recommended the intel board with crossfire capability why not an ati card.

ATI 4850- 169.99 (154.99 AR)
NVidia 8800GT - 149.99 (129.99 AR)

Message edited by helios2052 on 08-07-2008 at 04:50:29 AM

Reply to helios2052

Looks pretty solid.

If it was me, I would spend the extra $10 and get the faster/higher capacity Western Digital 6400AAKS - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6822136218

The argument can also be made for an ATI 4850 and Intel x48 motherboard. You will probably get a little better performance for your money, but then again $130 AR for the 8800 GT is pretty good.

Wow - looks like a whole conversation went on while I was typing this reply. There were no replies a couple minutes ago. You guys are to fast for me!

By the way - don't be scared of jumping right into Vista 64 bit. I don't see any reason not to. It will allow you to utilize all your memory and all the previous compatibility problems seem ironed out. I have Vista Ultimate 64 bit and I love it - regardless of what the Vista haters say!

Message edited by shortstuff_mt on 08-07-2008 at 04:52:43 AM

Reply to shortstuff_mt

yea, im coming to the light.

3840 ftw because of dx10.1 and so on with the integrated 7.1 sound codecs etc....

just keep those 900 fans blowing!

do keep in mind x48 mobos run high in costs.

Reply to Physicz

For gaming, spend your $ on the best vga card you feel comfortable buying. It is MUCH more important than the cpu.
http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/ [...] ards-money

There is no sense buying an expensive sli motherboard. You can get a good P45 mobo from gigabyte or asus for about $110.

The E8500 is only $20 more, so why not?

Agree that psu is overkill. PC P&C silencer610 is a tier 1 unit on this list:
http://www.xtremesystems.org/forum [...] p?t=108088
Corsair or seasonic is also good.

4gb of DDR2-800 is good. Why not use all of it with the 64 bit version of Vista home Premium?
----good luck---

Message quoted 1 times

Reply to geofelt

I have no problems with overkill PSUs like others here. The bigger the PSU, as long as it's quality, the longer it will last you. Wattage is not the whole story though.

The size of your monitor will determine how much GPU you need.

I can't say what MB to get without knowing what res you want to game at. If it's 1680x1050 you want a P45 with the option to crossfire.

If your target res is higher than that you want an x48 board.

If it's less than that you can get away with a single slot P45 board.

Reply to Proximon

Can't thank you guys enough for the help.

I swapped out the MB, vid card, power supply and hard drive based on some of your suggestions

I went with:

- ASUS P5Q Pro LGA 775 Intel P45 ATX Intel Motherboard
- ASUS EAH4850/HTDI/512M Radeon HD 4850 512MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFire Supported Video Card
- CORSAIR CMPSU-650TX 650W ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply
- Western Digital Caviar SE16 WD6400AAKS 640GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM

Just got one more question. Is this Vista the right one to get?

Microsoft Windows Vista 64-Bit Home Basic for System Builders Single Pack DVD - OEM
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6832116200

I'm just wondering what the difference is between the OEM version for system builders and the retail version.

thanks

Message quoted 1 times
Message edited by flashman on 08-07-2008 at 07:32:26 AM

Reply to flashman

the oem version can only be used on one computer (can't reuse it for your next build) also go with vista 64 home premium OEM http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6832116488 basic doesn't have aero and premium adds that plus a couple of games

Message quoted 1 times

------------------------------ Core i7 920 @ 3.99 ghz 1.35v 48 idle/73 load
Gigabyte EX58-UD4P
OCZ 3P1600V2Z 6 gb @ 1520 7-7-7-24-1t 1.64v
Sapphire 4870x2 stock(for now)
Reply to Wgfalcon

Wgfalcon wrote :

the oem version can only be used on one computer (can't reuse it for your next build) also go with vista 64 home premium OEM http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6832116488 basic doesn't have aero and premium adds that plus a couple of games

Thanks for the help, I'll get the version you linked to.

Reply to flashman

Case
COOLER MASTER Centurion 590 RC-590-KKN1-GP Black SECC / ABS ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - Retail $69.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6811119152
(Solid Case I own the old centurion model)

DVD-RW
ASUS 20X DVD±R DVD Burner with LightScribe Black SATA Model DRW-2014L1T - Retail $36.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6827135156
(no reason to change)

Hard Drive
Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 ST3500630AS 500GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM $74.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6822148136
(Avoid western digital drives they tend to fail.

Motherboard
ASUS M3A78-T AM2+/AM2 AMD 790GX HDMI ATX AMD Motherboard - Retail
$149.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6813131331
(motherboard contains the new hybrid system which might bolster your frames a bit not to mention if anything happens to your video card it has decent onboard till you get it replaced. Also supports crossfire if you chose to get another card)

Video Card
MSI R4850-512M Radeon HD 4850 512MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFire Supported Video Card - Retail $192.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6814127370
(the 4850s tend to require software support to cool them down (i have 2 of them) the new msi versions cooler eliminates that problem get this model)

Power Supply
RAIDMAX RX-850SS 850W ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply - Retail $129.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6817152034
(covers all you need not to mention the extended watts will support crossfire.)

Memory
mushkin 2GB 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 1066 (PC2 8500) Desktop Memory Model 991599 - Retail $115.98
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6820146784
(mushkin are high quality and i avoid dual kits because if one is doa then you have to send them both back.)

Processor
AMD Phenom 9850 BLACK EDITION 2.5GHz Socket AM2+ 125W Quad-Core Processor Model HD985ZXAGHBOX - Retail 194.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6819103249
(i compared this processor to another build a few minutes ago using the E8400 and it performs much better in games and several other benchmarks mostly 75 percent of the time. The extra 2 processor cores support future programs and more future games better than the dual core pentium i would recommend this processor. (also adding into this note for those of you who are worried about the recent phenom bug. that bug is not in this series of processor it has been corrected)

Operating System
Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium SP1 64-bit English for System Builders 1pk DSP OEI DVD - OEM $109.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6832116488
(vista is a pain in the butt sometimes id like to stick with xp but because several new pc games are going to be vista only compatible its probably high time to stick with vista... or rather deal with the crap till the newest os comes out.)

Highly recommend this build. comes to roughly 1,077 with 3 day shipping obviously might be slightly less or more depending on where you live.

Reply to vegettonox

geofelt wrote :

For gaming, spend your $ on the best vga card you feel comfortable buying. It is MUCH more important than the cpu.
http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/ [...] ards-money

There is no sense buying an expensive sli motherboard. You can get a good P45 mobo from gigabyte or asus for about $110.

The E8500 is only $20 more, so why not?

Agree that psu is overkill. PC P&C silencer610 is a tier 1 unit on this list:
http://www.xtremesystems.org/forum [...] p?t=108088
Corsair or seasonic is also good.

4gb of DDR2-800 is good. Why not use all of it with the 64 bit version of Vista home Premium?
----good luck---

not exactly the best argument in the world the cpu is as important as the gpu. My rule of thumb is that when building a new system keep your processor and video cards within 1-2 series of each other. Such as if you got the newest video cards the 4870 or 9800gtx2 then go with a phenom series or quad core intel. if you got a 3850 or 8800 card id tell you to get at least a dual core intel or x2 amd.

As games advance yes its a good idea to get an excellent video card but the games also massivly increase in physics calculations and operations to the video cards increase. keep your processors as powerful as you can they will take a more major hit as games increase than your video card. not to mention a cpu upgrade can cost you a lot more if you need to get a new mobo vs a video card which doesnt change in port requirements for years at a time.

Reply to vegettonox

flashman wrote :

Can't thank you guys enough for the help.

I swapped out the MB, vid card, power supply and hard drive based on some of your suggestions

I went with:

- ASUS P5Q Pro LGA 775 Intel P45 ATX Intel Motherboard
- ASUS EAH4850/HTDI/512M Radeon HD 4850 512MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFire Supported Video Card
- CORSAIR CMPSU-650TX 650W ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply
- Western Digital Caviar SE16 WD6400AAKS 640GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM

That looks perfect and will make you a killer system at a great price!

Good luck!

Reply to helios2052

In regards to "Vegettonox".....

You have recommended a Quad core phenom that would be killed by even an e8400/e8500 dual core. ALMOST ALL games and those in the next year will not utilize a full 4 cores. Not only that but a 2.5 Ghz intel chip is faster than a 2.5ghz amd chip, therefore a 3.0Ghz Intel chip (e8400) crushes a 2.5ghz amd chip (the phenom you recommended)(despite its extra cores that won't be used). If he did go for a cheap quad, the Q6600 is the way to go.

The Power Supply you recommended is also way overkill and overkill is not good for anyone on a budget. A 650TX will support dual 4850s just fine.

And one more thing is that Tom's did a test a few months ago and showed that spending money on a better video card was infinitely more times important than spending it on a CPU (too lazy to look up the link). Even a cheap Intel CPU can overclock into the range of a CPU hundreds of dollars above it.

Reply to helios2052

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