Building First System Ever

[hoggiebear]

Hey Guys

I thinking about building a new system some time after Christmas and i have been pricing some parts and what not and just wanted your opinions on what i have chosen and also if everything will work well together, fit in the case, etc. If you have any suggestions try and put them into simple terms as i am not that tech savy.

Case:
Antec Nine Hundred Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - Retail
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811129021

Mother board:
GIGABYTE GA-EP45-UD3R LGA 775 Intel P45 ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128359

or

nForce 750i SLI FTW
http://www.evga.com/products/moreInfo.asp?pn=123-YW-E175-A1&family=Motherboard%20Family

Processor:
Intel Core 2 Duo E8500 Wolfdale 3.16GHz 6MB L2 Cache LGA 775 65W Dual-Core Processor - Retail
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115036

RAM:
OCZ 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 1066 (PC2 8500) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory - Retail
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820227362

Video Card:
GeForce GTX 260
http://www.evga.com/products/moreInfo.asp?pn=896-P3-1260-AR&family=GeForce%20GTX%20200%20Series%20Family

Hard Drive:
Western Digital Caviar Black WD6401AALS 640GB 7200 RPM 32MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136319

Power Supply:
Rosewill RP550V2-D-SL 550W ATX12V v2.01 SLI Ready CrossFire Ready Power Supply - Retail
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817182030

DVD Drive:
HP Black 20X DVD+R 8X DVD+RW 8X DVD+R DL 20X DVD-R 6X DVD-RW 12X DVD-RAM 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-R 32X CD-RW 48X CD-ROM 2MB Cache SATA 20X DVD±R DVD Burner - Retail
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827140031


Thanks in advance for any help you can give

 

[Outlander_04]

I would use a better quality PSU

Corsair , seasonic , antec

Building computers is very easy . Just get an online tutorial to follow . Print it if you have to . Work on a clean surface .

Use antistatic precautions . Working in a room with a wooden floor and wearing cotton clothes is generally enough since you wont be generating static electricity .

Get a cpu cooler . The intel one gets a bit noisy . Id only consider the nvidia mb if you plan to sli at some stage , otherwise go with intel mb

Nice build . Good luck

 

[einstein4pres]

I more or less agree.

1) Better PSU (corsair, seasonic, antec are all excellent brands)
2) Use the intel-based mobo (P45) unless you want to add a video card in the future. If you don't have solid plans to do so, I recommend the intel mobo.

 

[hoggiebear]

First off thanks for the quick replies

A better quailty PSU is sounding like a good idea, and i was maybe going to see first how the CPU fan worked, though i was probably going to get one anyways, since most if the reviews on new egg seem to say that the stock fan can be loud

I was also leaning more towards the intel mobo, since if in the future i want to add another card, i can always get a new mobo down the line

Thanks again for the replies and if other peopel still want to comment it is always nice to hear a selection of different opinions

 

[Onus]

If you're going to build after Christmas, the odds are high you'll find some great deals on parts at that time.
Of those two, I would choose the Gigabyte P45 mobo.
Normally, I'd quickly say NO! to a Rosewill PSU, but I think that's the one Jonnyguru tested and passed.
I will say No on the RAM. Get DDR2-800 that will operate at its advertised timings on the JEDEC standard 1.8v. I like this Mushkin: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820146731. It will OC to at least DDR2-960 on 1.8V.

 

[hoggiebear]

As to the after Christmas pricing I was very much hoping that that would be the case of price drops, anyone have any idea how much they might drop?

 

[Onus]

One never knows, but some really great deals are sure to crop up. For example, until yesterday you could get an Antec Earthwatts EA650 PSU at Newegg for $60; it's back up to $99 now.

One site I like to check is www.slickdeals.net. There are often some PC parts listed there.

 

[hoggiebear]

Thanks, I will definatly have to look there for deals

 

[Shadow703793]

1. Get a quality PSU from Corsair, PC Power & Cooling, Antec, or OCZ.

2. Get this RAM:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231209
You don't need DDR2 1066. And most of the time DDR2 1066 is just factory OCed DDR2 800. The PI OCed very well and runs 4-4-4-12 @ 1.8-1.9v.

3. Consider getting a 4850/4870.

4. Do you already have a LCD? If so what resolution is it?

 

[hoggiebear]

No I don't yet have a monitor, though I was thinking something like this
KDS K-2626mdhwb Black 26" 5ms HDMI Widescreen LCD Monitor 300 cd/m2 1000:1 Built in Speakers - Retail
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824155056

And also why the ATI over Nvidia?

 

[Shadow703793]

^ More of price vs. performance for the ATI cards imo. Also why not get the GTX260 here:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130370
$220.

 

[hoggiebear]

well not getting the gtx 260 there because i live in canada and apart from the evga website the rest of the newegg stuff is the canadian website, so on that one the gtx is more expensive

 

[hoggiebear]

also, do you guys think it is worth the money to find a monitor with a res higher than 1680*1020, since that seems to be what most of them are at?

 

[Shadow703793]

^Depends. If you are going for a lat say like 26"+ then you should get higher than 1600*1200.

 

[hoggiebear]

ok well what do you guys think about this one?
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824236053
its only 21"-22" but it has a decent price and is 1920*1080, and ill save money where ever i can

 

[Shadow703793]

^ Looks good.

Consider this one:
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824254035

Resolution is lower but 1600*1200 is good for a 22".

 

[hoggiebear]

alright thanks, ill have to see after christmas how much money i have and what prices are, my laptop currently has a 1920*1200 res so i am used to that and anything else seems too big to me, lol
plus you guys said earlier to get a better quality psu so how about this one
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817371001, i figure that the 650watts will give me a bit more wiggle room in the future
also thanks again for all your guys help with this, i really do appreciate it

 

[ryanb213]

Get the E8400 -
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115037

ok listen the 8400 and 8500 -omly difference = e8400 has a 9x multiplier and the e8500 has a 9.5x multiplier witch isnt a difference at all and you will NOT i repeat NOT notice a difference

 

[Onus]

That PSU should be good.

 

[Shadow703793]

alright thanks, ill have to see after christmas how much money i have and what prices are, my laptop currently has a 1920*1200 res so i am used to that and anything else seems too big to me, lol
plus you guys said earlier to get a better quality psu so how about this one
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817371001, i figure that the 650watts will give me a bit more wiggle room in the future
also thanks again for all your guys help with this, i really do appreciate it

Well if getting the Antec 650 might as well get this:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817703005
Only 40W lower but will power almost anything.

 

[starman27]

If you are going to get a GTX 260, go with the GTX 260 216 core edition. It is the new model with more cores and the new architecture for just a little more, it's well worth it.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130398

And I will give another vote for the UD3R, its a better board for less money.

 

[Shadow703793]

^+1 for 216 and UD3R

 

[hoggiebear]

I will for sure take all of your suggestions into considerations when i recheck prices after xmas, i was thinking about the 216 core edition but didnt think that the performance increase was worth the price increase, but if prices keep dropping or i can get a deal on a few of my parts in combos at new egg then i will get the best parts i can while staying within my budget, and the only last worry that i have is that my case will fit it all since i have heard that the gtx 260 is a beast, and also can you guys suggest a good cpu cooler, since i really dont know what to look for in one

 

[hoggiebear]

Just one more last thing, will all of my hardware be ok for vista 64bit home premium, i notice on some of the reviews that it will be troublesome if all of your hardware isnt compatible

 

[Shadow703793]

^Yes. Your motherboard, GPU,etc has Vista x64 drivers. HOWEVER make sure your printers, WiFi,etc has the x64 drivers.