Building For the First Time

[valoric]

Hi, I've recently decided to make a computer that was kinda Inexpensive that would work mainly for games. I've already picked out most of the stuff so it should either be a working design or a flop. BTW I'm from Australia so if the prices look stupid its because its in $AU (plus stuff more $ here).

GPU ATI HD 5770 1Gb 4800hz/800hz GDDR5 $214.00
G.Skill Ripjaws F3-10666CL9D-4GBRL (2x2GB) DDR3 $145.00
CoolerMaster V8 CPU Cooler $74.00
Thermaltake V5 Black Edition LAN Case $82.00
Western Digital Caviar Black 1TB WD1002FAEX $119.00
APEVIA Dark Side 600W Power Supply $87.00
Arctic Cooling MX-3 Thermal Compound (4g) $16.00
AMD Phenom II X4 965 Black Edition $219.00
ASRock 890GX Extreme3 Motherboard $169.00

Total = $1138 + $46 (shipping)

I'm mostly worried about the PSU and the RAM.. maybe the GPU because I've seen problems with the Drivers.

I am gonna put Windows 7 64 Home premium on it because I already have a copy spare.

So if there's any insight you could give me or telling me if this design would be absolute garbage together Or if it could become self-aware and become the new Sky Net that would be much appreciated.

 

[Deleted member 217926]

If you will link me to whatever website you order from I will be glad to take a look. DDR3 1066 is quite slow.....with a little shopping around we can do better with DDR3 1333 or even 1600. That PSU is not great you are right about that. The good news is with a 5770 you only need a good 450w unit from Antec, Corsair or Seasonic. The HD5770 is a great card with low power consumption and it overclocks well.
I myself would look for a Gigabyte or Asus motherboard but As Rock is decent if not on the level of the other two. You can save a few dollars going with a Phenom II x4 955 as it will overclock to 965 levels with even stock cooling.

 

[jsc]

That would be where to shift the costs a little: get a 955 and take the money you save and get a better PSU.

 

[valoric]

I'm buying from PCCaseGear.com

http://www.pccasegear.com/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=15

Not too sure what to choose from.

 

[valoric]

http://www.pccasegear.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=15_226&products_id=13459
Antec TruePower TP-650 650W $138.00
Looks pretty nice, but a fair bit more expensive, I can't really find great PSU thats really cheap too. I also changed the RAM to G.Skill Ripjaws F3-12800CL9D-4GBRL (2x2G) DDR3 which is 1600. The other Ripjaws I had aren't 1066 but 1333. That was just the RAM model type I think.
At first I thought the 1333 Ripjaws would be alright because they're more stable with the CPU. And if I wanted actual 1600 I'd have to go into the Bios and change stuff. I'm not that good at fiddling with computers. Building it is step 1

 

[Deleted member 217926]

Ok here is what I would do.

This memory $152

http://www.pccasegear.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=186_912&products_id=12495

This processor $189

http://www.pccasegear.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=187_345&products_id=11301

This MB $189

http://www.pccasegear.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=138_803&products_id=13785

This hard drive $89

http://www.pccasegear.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=210_344&products_id=12711

This power supply $99

http://www.pccasegear.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=15_354&products_id=6063

Keeping your orignal graphics, cooler, thermal compound and case that comes to $1109 + shipping. A little more expensive I would look at the Antec DF30 or Antec 900 cases.

 

[jsc]

Don't worry about going into the BIOS. All motherboards that I know of have the capability of saving one or several sets of BIOS settings. And most will default to a bootable condition without clearing the BIOS if you overdo the BIOS settings.

So tinker away. At the worst, you will need to clear the BIOS and restore the original factory defaults. And, except for voltage settings, there aren't too many settings that can actually damage the hardware

 

[valoric]

Does it matter between those two different RAM for compatibility? Like the Blue is made for i7/i5 and the red ones has Intel P55, Intel X48, Intel X38, Intel P35, Intel P4x Series, AMD 790/785/770 Series motherboards. Also I don't know too much about RAM or Mobos either so maybe it doesn't matter :S

I've changed the PSU, Mobo & CPU from its original setup. I kinda really want my HDD because its SATA III not II.

BTW are those cases you mentioned anort3 Mid towers still, might explain the +$50

 

[Deleted member 217926]

The SATA II vs SATA III does not matter in the least for any drives except SSDs. 7200 RPM drives can not make use of the extra bandwidth. That WD drive might be 1 or 2% faster than the Spinpoint in accesing smaller files while the Spinpoint is about the same amount faster with larger files. The Spinpoint F3 has been the best "bang for your buck" drive for a while.

The difference in the RAM is the lower the cas latency the faster the RAM. I am actually on an AMD computer I am building right now with that same RAM I linked you to so it works fine

Antec cases are about the best out there. I would have recommended the 300 Illusion but I never see it outside the US. The plain 300 does not include the 2 front fans and the Illusion does for basically the same price. Good 120mm fans are $10 to $15 US each. Actually the only reason I still have this computer is the exhaust fan on this 300 Illusion failed and I am waiting on a new one. First time I have had one fail. I have an Antec 1200 for my PC.
I LOVE those Antec DF cases. They just look so cool and are about as functional as you can ask for.

 

[valoric]

Wow anort3 you're the king! I'll change the HDD to the spinpoint and move the case to the Antec DF-30 because it looks aaawesome! Well, because the DF-30, 900 & 900-2 are only within 15$ of each other maybe the 900-2 would be worth it?

Anyway being the first time I'll ever be making a computer is there any tips you could hand out anort3?

 

[Deleted member 217926]

I'm jealous of that DF-30 I have not had my 1200 long and they come out with those.

Just take your time and do things one step at the time. There are some good step by step guides you can find with a little searching that will help you out. Even youtube has some so watch a few while you wait on your parts. If you have any problems with the build or with settings after then you are in the right place to get good answers!

Good luck! I think it looks like a great build myself and like I said I love that case ( DF cases are brand new).

 

[valoric]

Best answer selected by Valoric.

 

[valoric]

Hey what about this Thermaltake V9 it looks nice. How would it be compared to the DF-30?

http://www.pccasegear.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=25_1081_53&products_id=8015

I'm mostly just trying to reduce costs now because it seems like it'd work nicely now. TY so much, dramatically changed my build and it only cost $25 more. In a good way better RAM, Case, PSU & MB, then more efficient gear like HDD and CPU. I should use this site more often XD