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/Prod [...] 6811119077 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/Prod [...] 6813128337 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/Prod [...] 6817139005 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.
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.
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/Prod [...] 6820231122 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.
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/Prod [...] 6832116488 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.
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/Prod [...] 6827151155 I'm not going to be using this very much. For $25, it burns and reads just about everything besides Blu-Ray/HDDVD
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.
Get a SATA DVD burner. Solid build, there's a few things i might tweak (P45 instead of the P35), but good reasoning behind your choices. You say 250GB hard drive, but you have a 640GB HD linked. If you go 640 get the western Digital, if you go 250GB ,320GB or 500GB get the Seagate 7200.11
Message edited by dirtmountain on 10-13-2008 at 03:29:35 AM
+1 @dirtmountain.
The Antec 300 may be a nice case, but it lacks the side window the OP says he wants.
------------------------------There is ALWAYS a drone. Exactly where, or how many drones you will encounter may vary, but that there will be at least one will not.
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