Need advice with 1st build.

[d_mon1]

Hello all,

I'm a 1st time poster but i've been reading around for a while now. I want to build my first computer ever and need some advice from the pros. I am going to use it mainly for gaming and i do want to play games at max or near max settings.

OK, this is the list of components I'm planning on buying so far. But have not made up my mind on alot of them. That's whre you guys come in.

1] Case - I am going to get this case for sure.
Antec Nine Hundred Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - Retail

2] PSU - not sure wich power suply to get yet. Maybe a 650W or 700W one.

3] CPU - this is a big choice because of the price diference. which one?
Intel Core 2 Duo E8500 Wolfdale 3.16GHz 6MB L2 Cache LGA 775 65W Dual-Core Processor - Retail
OR
Intel Core 2 Quad Q9550 Yorkfield 2.83GHz 12MB L2 Cache LGA 775 95W Quad-Core Processor - Retaill

4] Mobo - I was thinking one of these two.
EVGA 132-CK-NF78-A1 LGA 775 NVIDIA nForce 780i SLI ATX Intel Motherboard - Retaill
OR
EVGA 123-YW-E175-A1 LGA 775 NVIDIA nForce 750i FTW SLI ATX Intel Motherboard - Retaill

5] GPU - there are two cards that I have in mind but cant make up my mind
EVGA 512-P3-N871-AR GeForce 9800 GTX(G92) 512MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card - Retail
OR
EVGA 512-P3-N980-AR GeForce 9800 GT Hybrid Power 512MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card - Retail

6] RAM - another hard (for me at least) choice. (should I get another brand or another speed?)
OCZ Platinum 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 1066 (PC2 8500) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory - Retail
OR
CORSAIR DOMINATOR 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 1066 (PC2 8500) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory - Retail

7] HHD - you guys think this is enough space and a good brand?
Seagate Barracuda 7200.11 ST3500320AS 500GB 7200 RPM 32MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM

8] Optical - is this ok? This will play and burn cds and dvds, right?
SAMSUNG Black 22X DVD+R 8X DVD+RW 16X DVD+R DL 22X DVD-R 6X DVD-RW 12X DVD-RAM 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-R 32X CD-RW 48X CD-ROM 2MB Cache SATA 22X DVD Burner - OEM

9] Heatsink - will i need a heatsink if i'm not overclocking?
Thermaltake CL-P0114 120mm CPU Cooler - Retail
OR
XIGMATEK HDT-S1283 120mm Rifle CPU Cooler - Retail with Retention Bracket - Retail
OR
Rosewill RCX-Z775-EX 92mm 2 Ball CPU Cooler - Retail

10] Thermal Compound - will i be needing this?
Arctic Silver 5 Thermal Compound - OEM

11] OS - I don't know if i should get XP Pro (since I'm familiar with it) or make the jump and get Vista 64bit.


12]As for all the other extra stuff, i'll probably get a 22" later, got the keyboard and mouse, and i do want a wireless connection so I was thinking of getting THIS.

Please give me your thoughts on my build and feel free to make any recomendations. Thanks.

 

[jpdykes]

Hi d_mon

- PSU: Corsair, enermax, pc power and cooling - any will be good reliable supplies.

- Graphics: ATi 4000 series are the way to go at the moment. 9800 is older technology. If the budget fits 4870 go with that, especcially if you are after max graphics quality.

- RAM: Unless you want large overclocks go DDR2-800, will work fine and you'll only notice the money saved!

- CPU: Probably E8500 or Q9550 is the choice. For ultimate gaming at a given price point dual still seems to be the best, but if you can afford the Q9550 that will beat the E8500.
- Clarification: E8500 vs Q6600, same price, dual usually performs better in games. E8500 vs Q9500 - Q9550 should win easily.

- Seagate is fine for HDD and 500Gb should last ok as long as you aren't planning on ripping HD movies.

- Heatsink - only required if overclock. If so Xigmatek.

- Go to a 64bit OS for best use of RAM and DX10 in games.

Jeremy

 

[d_mon1]

Hi d_mon

- PSU: Corsair, enermax, pc power and cooling - any will be good reliable supplies.

- Graphics: ATi 4000 series are the way to go at the moment. 9800 is older technology. If the budget fits 4870 go with that, especcially if you are after max graphics quality.

- RAM: Unless you want large overclocks go DDR2-800, will work fine and you'll only notice the money saved!

- CPU: Probably E8500 or Q9550 is the choice. For ultimate gaming at a given price point dual still seems to be the best, but if you can afford the Q9550 that will beat the E8500.
- Clarification: E8500 vs Q6600, same price, dual usually performs better in games. E8500 vs Q9500 - Q9550 should win easily.

- Seagate is fine for HDD and 500Gb should last ok as long as you aren't planning on ripping HD movies.

- Heatsink - only required if overclock. If so Xigmatek.

- Go to a 64bit OS for best use of RAM and DX10 in games.

Jeremy

Thanks Jeremy for the quick responce.
- PSU, i'll probably get a Corsair or enermax brand like you sugested.
- GPU, i really wanted to stick to nVidia and 4870 would be nice but it's kinda pricy.
- RAM, I'll probably go with the DDR2-800 and save some $$$
- CPU, i'm going to go with the E8500 and put all the savings onto a 22" monitor.
- Heatsink, i won't need any cause i'm not overclocking, right?
- and for OS, i dont know if to get Home Premium or Ultimate

Any other sugestions guys?

 

[shortstuff_mt]

Hi d_mon

- PSU: Corsair, enermax, pc power and cooling - any will be good reliable supplies.

- Graphics: ATi 4000 series are the way to go at the moment. 9800 is older technology. If the budget fits 4870 go with that, especcially if you are after max graphics quality.

- RAM: Unless you want large overclocks go DDR2-800, will work fine and you'll only notice the money saved!

- CPU: Probably E8500 or Q9550 is the choice. For ultimate gaming at a given price point dual still seems to be the best, but if you can afford the Q9550 that will beat the E8500.
- Clarification: E8500 vs Q6600, same price, dual usually performs better in games. E8500 vs Q9500 - Q9550 should win easily.

- Seagate is fine for HDD and 500Gb should last ok as long as you aren't planning on ripping HD movies.

- Heatsink - only required if overclock. If so Xigmatek.

- Go to a 64bit OS for best use of RAM and DX10 in games.

Jeremy

I agree with the above except for the HD. I would highly recommend the WD6400AAKS drive since it's considerably faster, has 140GB more storage, and is only $5 more.

I suggest heeding the advice about the ATI 48x0 series cards. I would take a close look at the 4870 1Gb GPU. Read through this article and look at the games and resolution you will be gaming at.

http://www.anandtech.com/video/showdoc.aspx?i=3415

If you decide to go that route you should also get a nice X48 chipset board from ASUS or Gigabyte to allow full speed crossfire in the future. The GA-X48-DS5 is a very nice board.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128332 $229.99

 

[shortstuff_mt]

Thanks Jeremy for the quick responce.
- PSU, i'll probably get a Corsair or enermax brand like you sugested.
- GPU, i really wanted to stick to nVidia and 4870 would be nice but it's kinda pricy.
- RAM, I'll probably go with the DDR2-800 and save some $$$
- CPU, i'm going to go with the E8500 and put all the savings onto a 22" monitor.
- Heatsink, i won't need any cause i'm not overclocking, right?
- and for OS, i dont know if to get Home Premium or Ultimate

Any other sugestions guys?

I would just stick with 64-bit Vista Home Premium. Here's a link to the comparison between Ultimate and Home Premium:

http://www.microsoft.com/windows/windows-vista/compare-editions/default.aspx

Newegg carries Vista Home Premium for $100:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16832116488

 

[jpdykes]

I'm going to back short_stuff on some of his post.

- Go WD, sounds good to me.

- If the 4870 is too pricy, maybe look at the 4850. Should still lay waste to 9800 offerings.

- I don't support the case for X48 motherboard especcially not at 22" res and on a medium budget. If you were to add a second graphics card later you might expect to loose 5% at a high resolution when compared to the P45 chipset. 22" you would hardly notice the difference.

Jeremy

 

[shortstuff_mt]

That's true. If X48 is out of the budget just stick with a nice P45 chipset board. It sounds like the OP has his mind set on Nvidia for some reason though.

To the OP - I hope you read through that GPU comparison linked above and don't let a bias toward Nvidia make your decision for you. The numbers speak for themselves. The Intel chipsets are also superior to the Nvidia ones.

 

[d_mon1]

I would just stick with 64-bit Vista Home Premium.
Newegg carries Vista Home Premium for $100:

I will get this OS. Thanks.

Can you guys post some links to Mobos and Video cards comparable in price to the ones i had intended to purchase. You are so close to changing my mind right now.

Here's what I got so far. Newegg cart Can you guys see it?

 

[dirtmountain]

Get this power supply in combo with your case choice. At $50 after the combo deal, you can't beat the Antec Earthwatts 650w.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817371015
Get a P45 motherboard that supports 8x/8x crossfire. At about $115 it's a great deal, stable, works better then a Nvidia chip motherboard, offers better performance at a better price.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128358
Xigmatek cooler with bracket
Western Digital 640GB HD
2x2 GB DDR2 800 RAM
Vista Home Premium 64 bit
any HD4850

 

[jcorqian]

Some quick thoughts having only read the OP's post:

Get the dual-core.

If you are set on one of those mobos, get the 750. You have no need for the 780. Or you can get a X48 or P45.

Definitely get a Corsair PSU, none better.

Since you saved some money with these choices, you can definitely get a better GPU, either the 4870 or the GTX 260. Either of these should last you a couple of years. You won't be able to play everything maxed maybe, but it'll get the job done.

 

[shortstuff_mt]

The GA-EP45-UD3P and a 4870 cost about the same as 780i and 9800GTX.

GIGABYTE GA-EP45-UD3P LGA 775 Intel P45 ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128358 $136.99 - $20 MIR

HIS Hightech H487F512P Radeon HD 4870 512MB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFire Supported Video Card - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814161236 $259.99 - $20 MIR

These come to a total of $356.98 after MIR

The 9800GTX you linked is $159.99 and the 780i is $219.99 - $30 MIR for a total of $349.98 after MIR.

That extra $7 would buy you a MUCH better setup.


Edit: If you go with the E8500 instead of the Q9550 use some of the $130 saved to upgrade to the 1GB version of the 4870.

 

[d_mon1]

That extra $7 would buy you a MUCH better setup.

I hope you know what you're talking about. Cause i'm going with this choice.

Edit: If you go with the E8500 instead of the Q9550 use some of the $130 saved to upgrade to the 1GB version of the 4870.

I am going with the E8500. What is the difference between 512MB and 1GB?

And which Crosair PSU should I choose?

 

[shortstuff_mt]

Read through this article and look at the games and resolution you will be gaming at.

http://www.anandtech.com/video/showdoc.aspx?i=3415

Read the article in the above quote. You will see that the 1GB model helps in some games at high resolutions with AA enabled. If you play GRID the difference is huge! It's only $30 more than the 512MB version.

Which PSU you choose depends on if you think you'll ever add another GPU in a crossfire setup. If you will, I would recommend the 750TX. The 650TX would work great with one 4870.

 

[d_mon1]

So here's my Newegg Wishlist, am I missing anything? Any changes I should make? Will everything fit in the Antec 900 case?

 

[shortstuff_mt]

The link isn't working for me.

Edit: You might need to make it a public cart.

 

[d_mon1]

The link isn't working for me.

Edit: You might need to make it a public cart.

I put the Newegg wishlist so you guys can see it. Let me know if the link doesn't work.

 

[shortstuff_mt]

That's a very nice build!

Pull the trigger and have fun.

You can get the same version of that DVD burner with lightscribe for only $1 more.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827151173&cm_sp=DailyDeal-_-27-151-173-_-Homepage $26.99


Edit: I just noticed you have a quantity of 2 for the motherboard and CPU. You might want to change that before pulling the trigger!

 

[d_mon1]

That's a very nice build!

Pull the trigger and have fun.

You can get the same version of that DVD burner with lightscribe for only $1 more.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827151173&cm_sp=DailyDeal-_-27-151-173-_-Homepage $26.99


Edit: I just noticed you have a quantity of 2 for the motherboard and CPU. You might want to change that before pulling the trigger!

Thanks for the heads up on the double components. And thanks for the dvd with lightscribe deal.
My friend was telling me if i'm going with AMD, i should get an Asus mobo. But wich one? I'm willing to pay $200 for a decent mobo. Any ideas wich one?

(oh yeah, and maybe a card reader)

 

[shortstuff_mt]

I would have to question your friends reason for suggesting an Asus board with an AMD GPU. I have had very good luck with Gigabyte boards and AMD GPU's. The one in your wish list is a very nice board. I don't see any reason to change it unless you want to step up to a X48 chipset board. The X48 boards run about $220+ though.

Asus options:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&N=2010200280%2050001315%201070509908%20107172333%201071734674%201387931644%204018&name=%24200%20-%20%24300

Gigabyte options:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&N=2010200280%2050001314%201070509908%20107172333%201071734674%201387931644%204018&name=%24200%20-%20%24300

 

[d_mon1]

Guess I'll keep the one i've got there then. Thanks A LOT to everybody that helped me out on this! Now I've got to finish saving up so I can order all the parts at once. Thanks again!