New home computer

FINAL FINAL FINAL FINAL FINAL CHECKLIST

-note: I am reusing an optical drive. Its old school (uses an IDE; mobo has) but hopefully it'll work.

Case: Cooler Master 342 (mATX case)

PSU: Corsair 430W (80+)

Mobo: ASUS M4A88TD-M (mATX board), 4250 integrated, USB3+SATA3

CPU: AMD Athlon II X2 250 3.0GHZ

RAM: GSkill 4GB

HDD: Western Digital Blue Caviar 500GB 7200RPM 6GB/S (WD5000AAKX)

Windows 7

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

OLD

I dont have any experience when it comes to building computers, only swapping one or two parts out as they get old.

When my parents told me they wanted a new computer, I thought it would be a good idea to try my hand and building one from scratch.

Needs: Casual computing
-very basic
-watching dramas
-sending emails
-downloading music
-uploading photos
MUST DO ALL THIS SMOOTHLY.

I was thinking of 4 gigs ram, dual core, onboard graphics.

Lite-on DVD burner (pretty much for installing OS only and maybe occasional making of photo CDs to give to family) Decided to try to reuse old one.

380W Antec PSU

Rosewill Blackbone Case I think this one is overkill.

MSI Mobo with solid onboard graphics

GSkill 4gigs

[URL= http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Produ [...] 819103903] AMD Athlon II dual
core[/URL]

[URL= http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Produ [...] 822152244]
Samsung spinpoint F4 320gb HDD[/URL]

and of course

Windows 7

At first I wanted to reuse the old hard drive but I soon found out it would be better to get a new one since it would make installing the new OS simpler.

Question is, how would I transfer old data to the new drive?

Also, Ive never ordered anything from newegg canada before. Are they the best choice? How quick is the shipping? (Im in west coast canada)

Would like to hear your opinions and recommendations on parts. (Especially the mobo, hard drive, and case)

Looks nice, for the HDD get a Samsung spinpoint f3 500GB or 1TB. Save your data from the OS partition on DVDs (the My Documents stuff, pics, movies, whatever, not the installed programs, you can't save those) then you will format that partition after you install the new OS on the new HDD. For the new HDD, format it and create an OS partition, say 100GB.

Case with free shipping
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Produ [...] 6811119106

Thanks for the replies! They have a shell shocker on a case right now, but I probably wont be purchasing my parts until maybe a couple days later so Im not going to rely on that deal.

How reliable is direct canada? Im most worried about failing RAM and is it fairly hassle-free to return DOA parts?

Also, how do I do whatever you suggested in formatting my HDD etc. etc.?

EDIT: Newegg.ca doesnt have a F3 500 gb, but I found a 320gb F4
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Produ [...] 6822152244

I think 320 gigs should be plenty since my parents have barely even used 200.

Is this CPU+Mobo a good combo? Will everything I have there be compatible? I switched out ram for a different pair btw.

I'd say direct canada is reliable. I haven't had any RMA's with them though.

Hey Calbee, say your plea for help in another thread. Figure I might offer my advice.

Looks like you have a nice system. However, it seems a bit overkill for what you want it for. Now I'm not saying it's a bad build, but I think it may be a little overpowered. I suggest you look into these types of boards/cpu/gpu: http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Produ [...] 6813131732 they are cheap, small, and get the job done. However, it's not much cheaper. But hey, I thought I'd throw the option out there!

Well, you don't have to worry about Ethernet. almost all (read: all) mobo's have onboard LAN. Unless it's wireless, don't bother.

Next thing is check to see if the DVD drive is Sata or IDE. If Sata, keep.

I did a little shopping. Keep everything, but change out the case and PSU for this little number: http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Produ [...] 6811119218 Save $44.

Swap board for this one: http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Produ [...] 6813157199 It has DVI out, which would be nice if they upgrade their monitor in the future. Also has a better layout IMO.

And that about wraps it up! Are you a student or do you know someone with a .edu email? http://www.microsoft.com/student/e [...] fault.aspx

I have not used the case/psu, but Cooler master makes OK PSU's. For saving $45, I think it's worth it personally. The elite 460 is plenty for their needs.

It's that little port above the USB. You can see it in the picture.

And aww, that sucks. Sorry for missing that

I would go with the mobo I linked. As I said, it's got a DVI, allowing you to use newer monitors in the future.

Also, you should go with 2GB in my opinion. They don't need 4GB unless gaming. But then again, it's $20...

Ahh. It depends. If your current mobo supports sata, just turn the PC off and throw the HDD in there and plug it in. Then copy all the my docs or whatever.

If it doesn't, you will need to burn the stuff in my docs to DVD's, or use an external hard drive.

Btw, you cannot carry over OS/apps. You need to do a clean install.

Umm.... This? http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] -_-Product

Broken links. Throw a space between url= and url. I think that fixes.
And an external enclosure uses an external power source. It routes that to HDD, and also converts IDE to USB. Fairly simple.

Well, I should have clarified. Is it IDE or Sata? You can look on the back and tell pretty easily. If it's sata, then yeah. Throw it in the new rig and transfer. If IDE..... You need enclosure probably.

Haha, good description. Throw it in the new build. You won't have issues.

And yeah, it's an issue.
new DVD drives are literally $20, so no big deal. Spend the extra buck and get one with lightscribe, your parents might like that.

wow, I'm stupid. I'm sorry, I didn't do my research. Yes, you can reuse the drive. Lol, that's what I get for assuming........

Psh, he doesn't know what he's talking about. Yes antec is awesome, I've used 3! All of them are sexy-awesome. If you get an earthwatts, make sure you have an old PC power cord, since they don't ship with them. (Way to be "green". They really just want OUR green, because we have to buy a separate power cord!)
And for the case. I see you chose blackbone+antec in the end, which is fine. BUT, I would get a little more discrete case. The blackbone is pretty flashy, specially with that LED.

Something like this, maybe? http://www.directcanada.com/produc [...] 20Computer

And you probably did say that. I read all sortsa threads, and my mind mixes them up.
But hey man, free shipping! All the other cases I wanted had $20 shipping so...

And the case seems alright. Better than a prebult case.
but seriously, you could probably put these parts in a plastic bag and they'd be ok lol. Cooling isnt a big concern with this build.

But idk, it's up to you. You know the budget.

Lol. Direct canada looking good yet? Seriously, we'll figure it out. Search on canadacomputers and directcanada for the parts. If they don't have them, we'll find substitutes.

Good news. And remember, ASROCK MOBO!!! You need that IDE connector and DVI.

And there isn't anything wrong with multiple sites. Just print off the receipts so you know what came from where.

For case/psu, I think it'll be fine. CM is pretty high quality. And you won't be running at max load.... You're system will pull probably no more than 200 watts on full steam. But, PSU's run best around 50% load so you should be good.

And rosewill is I believe and in-house brand, so that's to be expected. Look at apex.

This HDD is pretty equal to the Samsung: http://www.directcanada.com/produc [...] re=SEAGATE

And not to derail, but at this point you might just get a cheap HP prebuilt...... It'd be cheaper. Not as fun or fast though!

http://www.shopping.hp.com/webapp/ [...] p7z_series

It's pretty cheap..... Same CPU I think. And a full warranty on the whole thing. Now I don't doubt that it would be better to spend $50 on higher quality parts, but $50 is $50........

Ehh, I don't like the looks of it.
Here's a slim case with built in PSU: http://www.directcanada.com/produc [...] OLERMASTER Kinda cramped, but we are going microATX anyway so it doesn't matter.

EDIT: I Like this one better. It's got more space, but is a bigger case in general http://www.directcanada.com/produc [...] OLERMASTER

ANOTHER option: http://www.directcanada.com/produc [...] OLERMASTER

Yup, edited with directcanada links.
By the way, it's only complicated because you are picky picky xD
First it's "My mom likes flashy" then it's "Eww, that orange isn't sexy". WORK WITH ME MAN!

HDD link messed up, but yeah. I don't see why it would die.....

If your rents want a little USB3 or Sata3 action, you could throw down the $8 (might as well) for this board: http://www.directcanada.com/produc [...] cture=ASUS

Simplifies things by shipping from one place. And it's got the IDE. I would grab it, but that's me.

USB3 is the new version of USB. It's like, faster and stuff.

Sata3 is same thing. Faster/better. Don't really need it, but it would improve the value a little. Really only for SSD's right now.
If they ever want to get a big external HDD, USB3 would help out alot.

Like I said, it's 8 bucks, and makes it a one stop shop. Why not?
And that board is mad sexy.....

Lol, you'll be fine.

All you gotta do in BIOS is boot to the CD drive to install windows. Here's an awesome guide that details assembly and install: http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/ [...] e-building

I have decided to go with seperate PSU and cases in hopes of better reliability.

Updated the thread with this:

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

UPDATED CHECKLIST:

-note: I am reusing an optical drive. Its old school (uses an IDE; mobo has) but hopefully it'll work.

Case: Compucase 6C28B If someone can recommend something, please make sure its available in either NCIX or Direct Canada

PSU: Corsair 430W (80+)

Mobo: ASUS M4A88TD-M (mATX board), 4250 integrated, USB3+SATA3

CPU: AMD Athlon II X2 250 3.0GHZ

RAM: GSkill 4GB

HDD: Seagate Barracuda 500GB 7200RPM 6GB/S

Windows 7

Yes...we will.....


I forgot to say but, thanks alot striker. Seriously, you've been very dedicated in helping me and I really appreciate it.