My very first PC build, lemme know if it sounds alright...

[garrettmania]

Hi there!
Recently, my 2 year old Dell PC kicked the bucket because of lightning hitting right outside my bedroom.
So I'm dumping Dell and going with a hand built machine. It's my first build and I hope all the parts will work well together and will be fast (or at least decent...). I was looking for something fast but energy efficient because I'm a "dirty hippy" so to speak .

http://secure.newegg.com/WishList/P...r=12755927&WishListTitle=Garrett's Desktop PC

Lemme know what you think about it. Whether the parts are compatible with each other, what will "bottleneck the machine", how long it should last me (unless another bolt of lightning hit's my house...).

Thanks!
--Garrett

BTW, I'm going with the x86 OS vs the x64 for two reasons...
1) My Adobe Creative Suite 3 Web Premium that I got for x-mas is only certified, according to their website, to work with the x86 os.
2) I want to wait for the technology to improve, I REALLY want the extra security, memory access, and slight speed boost, but I want it to mature a bit (drivers, available x64 software, etc.)

 

[garrettmania]

To add to my post, I plan on purchasing it tonight so that I might have it by sometime next week...

 

[Proximon]

OK

Pretty good choices over all. I have a few changes coming in a sec.

 

[Proximon]

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136074

http://www.frostytech.com/top5heatsinks.cfm
SO
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835233019
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835233003

Did you intend to run Crossfire later?

If so, your PSU would not be enough, although it's a really good choice otherwise.
Also, as it looks now we cannot recommend the P45 for 4870s in crossfire, especially at high resolutions

 

[Proximon]

To flesh that out a bit, the Zalman cooler you listed may be pretty and all, but it's no longer considered a great cooler.

An x48 chipset board can be had at a decent price, and it will do a better job with crossfired 4870s. Especially at resolutions 1980x1200 and higher.

If you only want to use one 4870, may I suggest the P5Q -E... most of the features of the Deluxe at a better price.

Oh and the Western Digital drive is faster, more reliable, and far better bang for the buck at that price.

 

[garrettmania]

I really like that Zalman heatsink because of how it looks and the blue LED plus I don't plan on doing any serious OCing, maybe enough to get 1:1 on bus speeds and maybe the CPU up to at most 3.4.

I don't plan on running crossfire because if that card becomes out of date any time soon, I probably will be out of gaming (or will have a full time job...) by then and won't worry about it... Plus the monitor I'm using is my old Dell 19" LCD (because it still works and I can't afford a new one on my minimum wage paycheck...). I've read that PC Power & Cooling is really good so that's why I chose that.

Thanks for your input!
--Garrett

 

[Proximon]

Excellent then

You can save money on the board without sacrificing performance, quite a bit actually. But, if you like the looks and all more power to ya

Do get the hard drive though.

 

[garrettmania]

Alright, will do! Thanks for the tip!
I am going to stick with the motherboard because it's not THAT much more...
How much of a difference will I feel when I have 4GB (3ish according to Vista though) @ 1066 and a 3.0 GHz dual core vs how I went at 3GB @ 533mhz and a 3.4GHz P4 in XP on my old machine?

ALSO:
Is it worth it for me to get the NewEgg "Protect your investment" and on which components if so?

 

[Proximon]

Well, first off you aren't going to want to run your RAM at 1066. With a moderate overclock you'll likely have it at 800Mhz (400 FSB, 3.6ghz on the CPU). That's what will give you the best performance.

You will see a significant increase in performance in Photoshop, etc. Obviously gaming will be much faster.

I can't speak to the newegg extended warranty.

 

[Shadow703793]

Good PSU, CPU, Motherboard, GPU (I wouldn't call a 4870 energy efficient :lol: ). Nice case btw (although a bit expensive, microcenter had a sale on those for $120 during June, got me self 2 of those ).

Get some DDR2 800. YOu won't notice the speed difference and most DDR2 1066 are factory OCed DDR2 800. It's also worth noting some of those 1066 RAM have compatibility issues.

Drop the Zalman and get a XIGMATEK S1283 (+ bolt in kit). See review here:
http://www.frostytech.com/top5heatsinks.cfm#INTELHEATSINK

Also if budget allows get a WD 640GB AAKS you will benefit from the speed of that drive over the 7200.10. Or better yet put them in RAID.

Also you may be able to save some money by getting a 4850 and a Antec 900.

 

[garrettmania]

So I should get a 800mhz set of RAM? Any set/brand in particular that would work the best?

I'm sticking with my choice for the cpu heatsink because I don't plan on doing any heavy overclocking on the cpu, if I do any at all it would be an overclock that would run stable with the stock cooler.

Would it be worth it to buy a 1 year extended warranty for the mobo and CPU?

 

[garrettmania]

I found some decent sounding DDR2 800 sets of RAM... but I don't know much heh
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820227267
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231065 (bit pricey, why is that?)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820145184
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231122

 

[Proximon]

Not any real good choices in RAM right now... the preferred Mushkin sticks of low latency low voltage RAM are out of stock.

Those last G. skills you listed are fine:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231122

 

[garrettmania]

Ok, so I checked the ASUS RAM compatibility PDF for the p5q deluxe and the RAM you linked to (the last set that I listed) checked out good so that comforts me. Plus it's cheaper than the 1066. I really want a HUGE performance boost from my Dell system and I don't want to make the same mistake I did when I picked out my Dell and get the wrong components that will make it obsolete in 2 years. I want to shoot for 6-10 years of being useable (3ish years for gaming, but 6 for general use, graphic design, and web design). I don't plan on playing any insane games like Crysis. I'm going to go to a local computer shop where I know some of the people there so they can watch over me and make sure I don't mess it up when I build it.

Thanks for all the help!

 

[garrettmania]

Ok so while driving to the college today I realized that I don't know if I need all the power of the 4870 and was thinking about the 9800GTX+.
For what I would be playing and on a 1280x1024 res on a 19" monitor, would the 9800GTX+ be plenty? I mainly play Valve games (Source engine games...), I'm going to buy COD4, and maybe some other games but nothing too extreme... the 9800GTX+ is 100 bucks cheaper then the 4870...

Your thoughts?

Also, I still don't know whether or not I should get an extended warranty from newegg on the motherboard and cpu...

Thanks!
--Garrett

 

[Proximon]

The truth is, that's overkill as well for that resolution.... and a 4850 is even less.

You could do even better with a 4850. Then get a P5Q Pro. Then get a 22" LCD:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824009094

I can play every game except Crysis at max settings on an 8800GT, on a 22" monitor, including COD4. A 4850 is more powerful than an 8800GT.

Cut a few corners and pick up a better monitor. You'll never see the bling inside your case but you'll see the monitor all the time.

 

[Shadow703793]

^+1.

 

[garrettmania]

Being that I like my 19" and it still works, I'm holding out on anew one for now... The 4850 and 9800gtx+ are about the same price...

 

[Proximon]

... and near the same performance, which is mostly irrelevant because at those resolutions they will both be very fast.

You, however, are buying a MB that supports crossfire. Putting a card that does not support crossfire in it makes no sense.

I think I've made all the recommendations needed here.

Good Luck!