Need help 1st build !!!

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lilronj

lilronj

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Hello Everone,
My 1st build some of the parts I already have Some I need to buy. Looking for speed and stability as well as streaming HD content.
PSU: Corsair TX650V2
Case: CC-9011011 Carbide
MoBo: Asus M4A8Bt
CPU: Phenom II x4 965 black edition
OS Drive: OCV Sata3 120GB SSD
Data Drive: Seagate Barracuda 7200
Audio: Asus Xonar Essence SXT
Win7 Ultimate
still need graphics card. Id appreciate anybody's thoughts or suggestions
Thanks
Oh and if Ive forgotten anything??
 
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coffeecoffee
Not a bad hardware composition for your first build, however I would make a few changes;

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The Corsair 750W is only $5 more than the 650W V2[After rebates on both]. Sure it's the first gen 750w vs the 650w Gen 2, but we are talking about a "True and Tested" design by Corsair who has provided quality PSUs for many years. I can also personally vouch for this PSU as I have one myself - it's powering the PC I am writing this post from.

PSU: Corsair 750W [First Gen]
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139021...
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coffeecoffee

coffeecoffee

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Not a bad hardware composition for your first build, however I would make a few changes;

===========================================================================================================================================
The Corsair 750W is only $5 more than the 650W V2[After rebates on both]. Sure it's the first gen 750w vs the 650w Gen 2, but we are talking about a "True and Tested" design by Corsair who has provided quality PSUs for many years. I can also personally vouch for this PSU as I have one myself - it's powering the PC I am writing this post from.

PSU: Corsair 750W [First Gen]
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139021
===========================================================================================================================================
Case: Personally, as far as PC Cases go, it all comes down to Price Vs Air Flow ratio. Nothing on the market does this better than the Antec 300 Illusion. It's still a very popular case today and has much to offer for it's price. This case has stood the test of time [This case was released back in the 8800GT days :na:]

The Case offers 2 frontal intake 120mm fans, 1 top 140mm exhaust fan, 1 rear 120mm fan [They all come with blue LEDs and a 3 Speed Switch]. There is also a easily removable and washable air filter located in the front panel. And finally it offers a small but acceptable area for wire management. On a side note, the fans are very quiet even when turned to speed 3.

Antec 300 Illusion ==> http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811129066&Tpk=Antec%20300%20Illusion

Note: You will have to sacrifice 1 drive bay to fit the Graphics Card, small price to pay considering it's a solid case with good air flow and half the price of the Corsair Carbide.

===========================================================================================================================================
Mobo:

I Couldn't find anything under Asus M4A8BT - but i have found the Asus M4A88T. Is this the mobo you plan to get?
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131657

Personally, I find micro-ATX mobos very... frustrating to work with due to it's smaller form factor, which brings me to my next point. Don't underestimate a mobo's quality and capabilities, they interconnect all the hardware in a PC. If you invest $50 more in a better mobo, it will have very good north and south bridges - which provides excellent on-board sound quality among other benefits [i.e memory slots, sata ports, etc]. Thus ending the need to purchase a dedicated sound card.

Consider GIGABYTE GA-880GA-UD3H.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128444
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CPU: The Phenom II x4 965 BE is an excellent choice.

===========================================================================================================================================
SSD: By OCV, I'm guessing you meant OCZ??

I would recommend the Curcial M4 128GB. It costs about $50 more but it has a much better track record in reliability. The reviews speak for themselves.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820148442

===========================================================================================================================================
Hard-Drive/Data-Drive:

I would recommend the Western Digital Caviar Black. Nothing fancy, just a solid and good performing HDD for a good price.

750GB ==> http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136794
1TB ==> http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136533

===========================================================================================================================================
OS:

I can understand Windows 7 Ultimate's Extra Features offer much temptation, but how many of those features do you actually need and plan to use????
Why not consider Windows 7 Home Premium OEM, it less than half the price of the retail Windows 7 Ultimate - the money you save can be put towards better hardware.

Consider Windows 7 Home Premium OEM: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16832116986
===========================================================================================================================================
Graphics Card:

The current "best bang for your buck are between the Nvidia GTX 560TI and AMD's 6950 2GB; trading blows for blows in many modern games today - they both offer excellent [if not overkill] capabilities for streaming HD videos and gaming.

Nvidia GTX 560TI 1GB ==> http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814125401

AMD 6950 2GB ==> http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150549
===========================================================================================================================================
RAM: <== you forgot about these

I would recommend the G.Skill 4GB x2 1333mhz or 1600Mhz ram sticks.

G.Skill 4GB x 2[8GB] 1333mhz ==> http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231402

G.Skill 4GB x 2[8GB] 1600mhz ==> http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231401

As previously released on Tom's Hardware review, the "sweet spot" for RAM is Latency 7 Sticks between 1333mhz and 1600mhz.
===========================================================================================================================================

That concludes everything, hope this helps.

~Coffee

Edit: Fixing links
 
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lilronj

lilronj

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Well Thanks,

A few explanations regarding decisions:

I own the OS, the Seagate and the sound card already, as well as both optical drives and 16GB of DDR3-10600 (but yes I certainly did forget) also sorry for terrible typing.

I chose the MoBo as part of a package with CPU and as its my first build had no idea form factor would be an issue.

Was trying to assemble rest on a budget of 700.00 or less and honestly was just guessing based on the little I know. so again thank you very much and any other advice that you have now knowing all facts I'll certainly take.

Ron
 
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lilronj

lilronj

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lilronj

lilronj

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thanks alot i REALLY appreciate it !!
what I already have:
Seagate 1TB drive
HP dvd1270
Asus BW-12d1s external Blu-ray read/write
Asus Sonar Essence STX
Nvidia GeForce GT545 3GB FH (Telsa 2) (Will replace if inadequate)
Windows 7 Ultimate
12 GB DDR3-1333Mhz-SDRAM [4DIMMs]
2 TB Iomega cloud
2 TB D-link DNS-320 NAS (for back-ups)

This PC is my main pc several other PC's on network (kids) I use it for mostly personal stuff surf web and misc I dont really game but would like to have the infrastructure if I decided to in future. although not a critical need. It is connected to some relatively high end audio (reason for sound card) Denon AVR4311 Martin Logan Motion 6X1 also electromotion ESLx2 and motion12x2 also utilizing zones 2 &3 HSU subs and Polk Audio mains and surrounds throughout.

My Goals..............

System would be as fast and stable as possible (considering budget constraints)
must have usb 3 on MoBo at least 2 ports
Tv tuner if possible
SDD drive for OS (I've read this is best solution for stability and speed if Im wrong please feel free let me know and advise accordingly)
I am currently utilizing dual monitors
lastely the possibility for future upgradeability/expansion if possible (again considering budget constraints)
if I havent provided enough data please let me know and again THANK YOU very much for help
Sincerely
Ron

 
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coffeecoffee

coffeecoffee

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Apologies for another late and unfruitful reply; someone bailed on my department for the week due to a cold and the rest of us are stuck with 12 hour shifts until the weekend... just hold out until then, I'll definitely give you a proper build spec.

~Coffee
 
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lilronj

lilronj

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:bounce:

no worries I really appreciate the knowledge/insight I will wait for your specs, gonna have kids help me with the build so it should be fun :)
 
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lilronj

lilronj

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im not trying to rush you but kids and i are stoked to build, if you have a chance we could use the input
 
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coffeecoffee

coffeecoffee

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Apologies for my rushed post but my department is swamped at work, averaging 11.5 hours per day for 6 days a week. I would give a detailed explanation explaining my decisions and recommendations, but I simply don't have the time.The recommendation I made earlier is solid; stick with the build specs I posted before. The only exception would be the SSD, it MAY cause you to over budget. What I would recommend for now is to get the mobo, PSU, CPU, Case, and the GPU.

[Refer to my other post for links]
Mobo: $104.99 + $5 Shipping = $110 [before tax]
CPU: $129 [before tax][Free Shipping]
Case: $59 [before tax][Shipping]
PSU: $109 [before $15 rebate and tax][Free Shipping]

*Price in USD

Total is about $401.99 before GPU - which gives you PLENTY of room to cherry pick a good GPU for your current system since you already have the OS, HDD and RAM

As for your GPU, I would recommend a ATI 6950 2GB. The following are the same card made by different reputable companies, but they do differ slightly;

HIS 6950 2GB: HIS has a tendency to put better fan(s)/heatsink on their cards resulting in cooler temperatures and lower noise.
XFX 6950 2GB:XFX offers lifetime warranty on their cards.
Sapphire 6950 2GB: Sapphire is a reputable GPU manufacture - they are currently offering a free copy of Dirt 3 with the GPU purchase - you can probably redeem this on Steam as well.

HIS: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814161368

XFX: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150530

Sapphire: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102945

The GPU is about $260 - $300 after taxes and before rebate(s). If your willing to go slightly over budget (about $50-100), it would be advised to buy a 64GB Crucial M4 SSD [Sata III] and dedicated it as a boot drive. You will experience significant faster boot and shut down times among a whole bunch of other benefits - just to be sure to install your media files and games on your HDD due to space limitations. It is also advised to buy a 128GB Crucial M4 on Black Friday / Boxing Day and dedicated it as a gaming drive.

*Note: Please refer to my other post for links, apologies for my rushed post.

~Coffee


PS: If you have any other question(s) and/or concerns post here and I will reply ASAP and thanks for being patient.
PSS: I am not too familiar with TV tuners for PCs so I am not comfortable enough to give any recommendation there.
PSS: Future Upgrades: Once you have a dedicated OS SSD and a dedicated SSD for games, your pretty much set for the next 1.5 years - but then all you'll really need is a new GPU and possibly more hard drives for extra storage.




Edit: Forgot my fav coffee mug
 
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