Noob Build

[montanas]

Im in the final process of building my first homebuild!

I have the following bits:

2GB Corsair DDR3
GeForce 7650 GX2 1GB DDR3
CM690 cooler master case
Intel core 2 duo 3.16GHZ

So i need to get a PSU and motherboard but just keep running around in circles as to what to buy ... the asus striker is beyond my means and i just seem to find bad reviews of the other cheaper boards.

Can anyone help me as to which PSU and motherboard im going to need to finish the system?

(and if there are any other bits and pieces i will need)

Can i just buy a OEM version of windows vista or 2000 and it will install on a new build?

(i brought an OEM win 98 along time ago and it was just a waste of money)

thx in advance

 

[jsc]

Motherboard - Gigabyte P45. You will need to research the variants to see which one you want.

PSU - any good 500 watt unit - Corsair, for example.

 

[aevm]

PC P&C 750W, $70
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817341011

Get Vista 64-bit Home Premium OEM.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16832116488

Get a GA-EP45-UD3P and this RAM:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231209
Sell the DDR3 you got. That way you have a very good MB and 4 GB of RAM for $117+$50 minus whatever you get for the DDR3. Buying another 2GB of DDR3 and a DDR3-compatible MB would cost more and get the same results.


Edit: you don't NEED 750W. However, that's a fabulous PSU and $70 is an incredibly low price for it. Plus, it will support even HD 4870 1GB Crossfire or HD 4870 X2 or GTX 295 if you ever want to upgrade the video.

 

[montanas]

Many thanks for the replies.

Yes, it would seem simpler/better to sell the dddr3 on flea bay and then buy 4-8GB of ddr2 ... why on earth do the ddr3 motherboards seem to restrict ddr3 memory to 2GB max ... weird!

Even with the crappy exchange rate it is still chepaer to buy in the US .. any ideas who is cheap and can ship to the UK?


thx again.

M.

 

[montanas]

With regards to the motherboard .....


"Get a GA-EP45-UD3P"

Does this support SLI or just crossfire?

or should i go for:

MSI P7N SLI Platinum


and then maybe pick up another older 7650 and run them in parrellel?


any advice before i pull the trigger, should i get the GA-EP45-UD3P even though im using NVIDIA cards?


thx again

M.

 

[aevm]

GA-EP45-UD3P supports Crossfire.

Where would you pick up another 7650? Even assuming you can, you'd end up with SLI with two ancient cards. Performance would be nowhere near a single modern card like the GTX 260 or HD 4870. For example 7950 GT SLI gets an unplayable 3.5 fps in Crysis at 1680x1050.
http://www.tomshardware.com/charts/gaming-graphics-charts-q3-2008/Crysis-v1-21,755.html
A modern card or HD 4850 Crossfire would give you 18 to 22 fps.

 

[montanas]

Ok I sold the ddr3 (at a loss) on flea bay.

I brougt the gskill ram

I brought a sony blu ray drive

and i got the GA-EP45-UD3P


i also brought and installed an OCZ stealth extreme PSU.

So im really confused as to how to attach the motherboard to the Cm 690.

I have 12 brass screws, which have screw holes in the top of them.

there are fourteen holes on the CM 690 case where screws coud potentially go and 9 holes in the motherboard where screws could go.

Ive obviously read the manula and looked at the build your own pc webpages but im still confused.


I'm pretty sure the screws are there to lift the motherboard off the case.

But sine i dint get any screws with the motherboard im also thinking i use these same screws to secure it in place.

How does that work? I have too few screws and too many holes ...

Since the screws screw into each other im just wandering which are the important holes that i have to align the motherboard and case screws with?

thx again

 

[shortstuff_mt]

The brass standoffs are installed under each of the nine holes in your motherboard. The standoffs are absolutely necessary to avoid grounding the board. You then use screws that go through the holes in the motherboard and into the standoffs. Your case should have come with a bag of screws.

 

[montanas]

The case came with 12 brass screws/standoffs.

The brass screws are designed in such a way that the top of the screw/standoff allows for another screw/standoff to be screwed into it.

I didnt get anything else in with the cm690?

So i have 9 holes in the motherboard and 12 screws, which means if the screws and the stnadoffs are actually the same thing that i can only use 6 of the holes in the motherboard?

 

[montanas]

the manual says:

spacer (6.9) qty: 12 used for: Screws on the mainboard tray

 

[montanas]

i guess these are screws and standoffs?

Do i just need to buy 7 more of these?

 

[montanas]

Ok i took some screws out of my old (dead) system which fit into the brass standoffs!

 

[montanas]

LOL it turns out that there are 40 screws screwed into the cm 690 ....

anyway .. i think i have most things sorted, but too scared to turn i on just yet for two reasons:


1. The IO shield had two metal "bits" covering the network ports. Ive bent them back to allwow the ports to be accessable but one of them is touching the metal case of the nwetwork port on the mobo. IS this going to short?

2. I dont know where to connect these:

Power Sw
H.D.D. LED
Power LED+
Power LED -
Reset SW


Any help, as ever, much appreciated.

 

[montanas]

Ok im off to bed.

I think i solved the two issues above .. basically bent the metal so it wasnt touching aything.

and then found the place to connect the Power SW etc.



I think i hit my first compatabiliy issue though.

I got a OCZ stealth extreme PSU from my brother for xmas.

It has a cable with 20 pins with the word MAIN printed on it.


There's no where on the motherboard this cable fits.

Is the PSU not compatable with the ep45-ud3p?

Or am i just daft?

 

[montanas]

this is the PSu:

http://computershopper.com/best-prices/product/32461078/power%20equipment/OCZ-StealthXStream-power-supply---600-Watt/availability

wil a cable like this solve the problem:

http://www.maplin.co.uk/module.aspx?TabID=1&criteria=usb&ModuleNo=46201&doy=search&C=SO&U=Strat15

 

[aford10]

That sounds like your main power connector for the board. It plugs in near the RAM slots. The port on the board supports 24 pins. If you look at the plug from the PSU and the port on the board, they are shaped specifically, so it can only fit in correctly. The 20 pins from the psu will fit into one or the other end of the 24 pin port on the board. That power supply is a 20+4, so there should be another 4 pin connector that goes with the 20 pin to = the 24 pin port on the board.

 

[montanas]

wont let me edit my post, so anotherpost, sry!

With the cable above to convert the 20 pin to 24 ad this:

http://www.pcloft.com/4posuto8atxs.html

to convert the 4 to 8 pin.

Would i just be wasting money with these ccnverters or wil they solve the problem?

or do i need to send back the PSU?

please help on this one ...

 

[aford10]

That is a power adapter for servers, it's not what you're looking for. Your PSU has the connector you need. Find the 20 pin and plug it into the board. There will also be a 4 pin connector that goes side by side with the 20 pin. Some even say +4 on them, some have grooves on them to slide up next to the 20 pin. I checked your PSU, it has the needed connections, it is good.