First Attempt At A Build

[rds]

First of all, what a great site!!! Very helpful with lots of great info!

I've been looking around for a while for a new machine, and decided to try building my own.

Approximate Purchase Date: Buying parts within the next few weeks; before Christmas at the latest.

Budget Range: (e.g.: 600-800) Under 1500 Cdn


System Usage from Most to Least Important: (e.g.: Folding@Home, gaming, surfing the internet, watching movies) Listening to music, gaming (WOW, Bioshock, etc), surfing the internet, some light photo-editing every once in a while. Hoping to hook into new home stereo system.

Parts Not Required: (e.g.: keyboard, mouse, monitor, speakers, OS) Keyboard, Mouse, Monitor, Speakers

Preferred Website(s) for Parts: (e.g.: newegg.com, ncix.com -- to show us selection & pricing) I found most of it at NewEgg.ca, except for the Sound Card from TigerDirect.ca

Country of Origin: (e.g.: Grand Fenwick) Canada

Parts Preferences: by brand or type (e.g.: I would like to use an AMD CPU & Biostar mobo with a 24" LCD and full tower case) Want a good SoundBlaster Card; other than that I'm open to suggestion

Overclocking: Yes / No / Maybe Nope

SLI or Crossfire: Yes / No / Maybe Nope

Monitor Resolution: (e.g.: 1024x768, 1280x1024, 1440x900, 1600x1200, 1680x1050, 1920x1080, 1920x1200)
1280 X 1024 on a 17" Samsung LCD

Additional Comments: (e.g.: Need to have a window and lots of bling, I would like a quiet PC)


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My fist attempt at a build is as follows:

Case: Coolmaster Centurion 5 CAC-TO5-UW
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119068

Power Supply: Nexus VALUE 430 430W Active PFC Power Supply
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817610002

Mother Board: Gigabyte GA-P55A
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128409

Processor: Intel I5-760
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115067

RAM: CORSAIR XMS3 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820145315

Hard Drive Western Digital Caviar Blue WD10EALS 1 TB, 7200 RPM
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136534

Optical Drive Lite-On iHAS224-06
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827106333

Sound Card Creative Labs SoundBlaster X-FI Titanium Fatal1ty Pro PCIe Sound Card
http://www.tigerdirect.ca/applications/searchtools/itemdetails.asp?EdpNo=3901279&csid=_23&body=QA#tabs

Video Card XFX HD-577A-ZNFC Radeon HD 5770 (Juniper XT) 1GB
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150447

Probably going to run Win 7; someone said that I need the "Pro" if I still want to run some XP programs?

 

[mosox]

ASUS P7P55D-E LX + Intel Core i5-760
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.552991
PSU - SeaSonic S12II 520
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817151094
RAM - G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 4GB (you don't need more)
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231303&cm_re=GSKILL-_-20-231-303-_-Product
SAMSUNG Spinpoint F3
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822152185&cm_re=samsung_spinpoint_f3-_-22-152-185-_-Product
Alternative for the case - HAF 912
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119233

Video card: HD 6850 or HD 6870.

If you want crossfire stick with the Gigabyte mobo and get this PSU
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817151096
If you don't CF get the 6870.

 

[jitpublisher]

Don't buy a Sound Card. Try the on board first. If it does not do the trick for you, then buy a sound card later. On board is pretty good these days, and most people find it will do the job nicely. If you do find that the on board is not good enough for your tastes, then find something other than that Creative card. There are much, much better choices to be made if you really want a dedicated sound card.

 

[rds]

Thanks for the advice! New Config:

Case: Coolmaster HAF 912
http://www.bestdirect.ca/products/230752/RC-912-KKN1/COOLERMASTER/

Power Supply SeaSonic S12II 520 Bronze 520W
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817151094&cm_re=seasonic-_-17-151-094-_-Product

Processor: Intel I5-760
http://www.bestdirect.ca/products/230098/BX80605I5760/Intel/

MoBo: ASUS P7P55D-E LX
http://www.bestdirect.ca/products/227476/P7P55D-E%20LX/ASUS/

Video Card Sapphire Radeon HD 6870
http://www.bestdirect.ca/products/231346/21179-00-40R/SAPPHIRE

RAM: G.SKILL F3-12800CL9D-4GBRL Ripjaws PC3-12800 2X2GB DDR3-1600
http://www.bestdirect.ca/products/219728/F3-12800CL9D-4GBRL/G.SKILL/

Optical Drive Lite-On iHAS224-06
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827106333

Hard Drive Samsung Spinpoint F3 1 TB 7200RPM,
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822152185&cm_re=samsung_spinpoint_f3-_-22-152-185-_-Product

Do I need to worry about a CPU cooler (I'm not planning to overclock)?
Are there any specialty items that a noob would forget to get / need? (I've got a grounding strap, extra screws, etc)

 

[Motopsychojdn]

You should be fine on standard cooler if not overclocking as you say,
I'd recommend pushing the budget to a better psu tbh
but as long as you have a nice clean (preferably wooden) workspace, a phillips screwdriver and a little sense, your all set
Moto

 

[BeCoolBro]

You better get a better cpu cooler as from my experience the stock i5 cooler can get noisy in the summer when the temps tend to rise.A hyper 212 plus is excellent and in case you want to overclock in the future it should let you do so.
For the psu,with 6 more bucks you get the 620w seasonic so get this instead.

 

[rds]

Thanks for all the help, everyone. Will be placing my order in the next few days. Do I need to worry about ordering extra cables (MoBo to case USB, audio, speakers, etc), or do they come with the case / MoBo (Cooler Master HAF912 and ASUS P7P55D-E LX with an i5-760).

 

[Motopsychojdn]

You get 3 sata leads in with that mobo and another dma cable, the gfx card link doesn't work for me but you 'should' get a vga>hdmi adaptor and a molex>pcie power adaptor in the box too, all your other cables for powerswitch/reset, case-mounted usb ports etc will be on the case itself.
Moto