This is my first time building a computer and I'd like some advice for my build. I've done a lot of research but if some of you experts could take a look and make sure everything is compatible and I haven't made any poor choices, that would be great.
Budget: $1050 including monitor, operating system, and mouse/keyboard/speakers
Usage: I will mainly be gaming on this computer, I plan on playing Warhammer Online, Crysis, and new games that come out
Overclocking: I plan on overclocking my CPU slightly even though I've never done it before, but I don't want to spend extra money on a CPU fan and heatsink
Storage: 250gb is plenty
Operating System: I would prefer to have vista 64-bit so I can use 4gigs of RAM
Case: I would prefer a case with a side-window, but not something with tons of crazy lights. My only preference for size is that it is big enough for everything to fit.
Monitor Prefernce: 22" widescreen monitor
Here are the components that I have chosen.
Case: Cooler Master Centurion 5
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119077
I chose this case because it is inexpensive, popular, and appears to be of good quality. I like the side window but it isn't too flashy.
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-EP35-DS3L LGA 775 Intel P35 ATX Motherboard
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128337
This motherboard is inexpensive, and it was recommended to me from another post. I think it has all the functions I need and it should be compatible with all the other parts.
PSU:
Corsair CMPSU-650TX 650W ATX12V / EPS12V 80+ Certified Power Supply
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139005
Another post recommended Corsair PSUs, and this one has huge discounts if I buy it with the Gigabyte motherboard. 650W will be more than enough power for my build. I also heard the cables for this PSU are very long, so I won't have to worry about enough length to power my hardware.
Video Card/GPU:
Sapphire 100245L Radeon HD 4850 512 MB
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102770
I'm very set on getting the 4850 HD. I wasn't really sure what manufacturer version I should buy, so I went with Sapphire because I have heard good things about their aftermarket fan. My one worry is that the large fan will not fit on my motherboard.
CPU:
Intel Core2 Duo E8500 Wolfdale 3.0GHz 6MB L2 Cache LGA 775 65W Dual-Core Processor
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115036&Tpk=e8500
This seems to be the most popular Intel processor out right now. I have heard that dual core generally outperforms quad-core right now, and for Warhammer Online, the game I will mostly be playing, the designers say that the game runs at its best with a dual-core processor. This fits in my budget also.
RAM:
G.Skill 4gb (2x2gb) 240-pin DDR2 SDRAM 800
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231122
This RAM is on sale for only $60, and that seems to be a huge bargain for 4 gigs of RAM. It's cheap and fits in my budget, and 4gigs should be more than enough for gaming. I decided to go with 4gigs instead of 2 because it was not much more, and with Windows Vista, I thought 2 might be cutting it a bit tight.
Hard Drive:
Seagate ST3640323AS 640GB 7200RPM 32MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822148335
Seagate is a fairly reputable name in hard drives so I went for this inexpensive hard drive. 250gigs is enough space for me
Operating System:
Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium 64-bit English for System Builders
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16832116488
I decided to go with Vista because it's newer, and in the future it will be the norm for computers. I read that the 64-bit is needed in order for the computer to use 4gigs of RAM, so I went with this.
Monitor:
ASUS VW222 U Black 22" 2ms widescreen LCD monitor with HDCP support
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824236028
This seems to be a popular monitor among gamers, and $190 after mail-in rebate is relatively inexpensive for a 22" monitor.
DVD Burner:
Samsung Black DVD burner/reader
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827151155
I'm not going to be using this very much. For $25, it burns and reads just about everything besides Blu-Ray/HDDVD
Keyboard and Mouse:
Logitech Keyboard/Mouse Combo- $25
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16823126017
I don't think I could really go wrong here. I'm trying to save money so I just went with a basic Logitech mouse/keyboard. Maybe in the future I'll buy a better gaming mouse.
Speakers: Logitech S-220 17 Watts 2.1 Multimedia Speaker System - OEM
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16836121014
These speakers got pretty good reviews, and for $20, they are all that I need.
Does everything look good? Thanks for taking the time to look over all of this.
Budget: $1050 including monitor, operating system, and mouse/keyboard/speakers
Usage: I will mainly be gaming on this computer, I plan on playing Warhammer Online, Crysis, and new games that come out
Overclocking: I plan on overclocking my CPU slightly even though I've never done it before, but I don't want to spend extra money on a CPU fan and heatsink
Storage: 250gb is plenty
Operating System: I would prefer to have vista 64-bit so I can use 4gigs of RAM
Case: I would prefer a case with a side-window, but not something with tons of crazy lights. My only preference for size is that it is big enough for everything to fit.
Monitor Prefernce: 22" widescreen monitor
Here are the components that I have chosen.
Case: Cooler Master Centurion 5
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119077
I chose this case because it is inexpensive, popular, and appears to be of good quality. I like the side window but it isn't too flashy.
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-EP35-DS3L LGA 775 Intel P35 ATX Motherboard
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128337
This motherboard is inexpensive, and it was recommended to me from another post. I think it has all the functions I need and it should be compatible with all the other parts.
PSU:
Corsair CMPSU-650TX 650W ATX12V / EPS12V 80+ Certified Power Supply
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139005
Another post recommended Corsair PSUs, and this one has huge discounts if I buy it with the Gigabyte motherboard. 650W will be more than enough power for my build. I also heard the cables for this PSU are very long, so I won't have to worry about enough length to power my hardware.
Video Card/GPU:
Sapphire 100245L Radeon HD 4850 512 MB
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102770
I'm very set on getting the 4850 HD. I wasn't really sure what manufacturer version I should buy, so I went with Sapphire because I have heard good things about their aftermarket fan. My one worry is that the large fan will not fit on my motherboard.
CPU:
Intel Core2 Duo E8500 Wolfdale 3.0GHz 6MB L2 Cache LGA 775 65W Dual-Core Processor
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115036&Tpk=e8500
This seems to be the most popular Intel processor out right now. I have heard that dual core generally outperforms quad-core right now, and for Warhammer Online, the game I will mostly be playing, the designers say that the game runs at its best with a dual-core processor. This fits in my budget also.
RAM:
G.Skill 4gb (2x2gb) 240-pin DDR2 SDRAM 800
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231122
This RAM is on sale for only $60, and that seems to be a huge bargain for 4 gigs of RAM. It's cheap and fits in my budget, and 4gigs should be more than enough for gaming. I decided to go with 4gigs instead of 2 because it was not much more, and with Windows Vista, I thought 2 might be cutting it a bit tight.
Hard Drive:
Seagate ST3640323AS 640GB 7200RPM 32MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822148335
Seagate is a fairly reputable name in hard drives so I went for this inexpensive hard drive. 250gigs is enough space for me
Operating System:
Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium 64-bit English for System Builders
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16832116488
I decided to go with Vista because it's newer, and in the future it will be the norm for computers. I read that the 64-bit is needed in order for the computer to use 4gigs of RAM, so I went with this.
Monitor:
ASUS VW222 U Black 22" 2ms widescreen LCD monitor with HDCP support
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824236028
This seems to be a popular monitor among gamers, and $190 after mail-in rebate is relatively inexpensive for a 22" monitor.
DVD Burner:
Samsung Black DVD burner/reader
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827151155
I'm not going to be using this very much. For $25, it burns and reads just about everything besides Blu-Ray/HDDVD
Keyboard and Mouse:
Logitech Keyboard/Mouse Combo- $25
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16823126017
I don't think I could really go wrong here. I'm trying to save money so I just went with a basic Logitech mouse/keyboard. Maybe in the future I'll buy a better gaming mouse.
Speakers: Logitech S-220 17 Watts 2.1 Multimedia Speaker System - OEM
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16836121014
These speakers got pretty good reviews, and for $20, they are all that I need.
Does everything look good? Thanks for taking the time to look over all of this.
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