First time building computer!

samhaudino

July 4, 2012 3:16:17 PM

Hi!

I'm a civil engineering student (freshmen) looking for a reliable computer that can last me through college. People have been telling me not to use laptops since they using die pretty quickly so I'm trying to build a computer for college. This is my first time so any comment and suggestions would be appreciated!

So for engineering, I usually use softwares like Matlab, SolidWorks and 3DS MAX. Besides that I also do game design and media productions for fun, so I also use software likes Virtools, DX Studio, Soundbooth, Premiere, After Effects, Dreamweaver, FL Studio, Finale... as for gaming, I do it once in a while, not that into it, but since I have a ps3, that is not a big issue.

I did some reading and research online for a couple weeks, and here's the parts I picked. Just don't know if they are good / compatible.

CPU:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...
AMD FX-6100
$140

Motherboard:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...
ASUS M5A97 EVO
$135

Memory:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...
Corsair Vengeance 8GB (2x4GB) 240 Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model
$45

Hard Drive:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...
Seagate Barracuda ST2000DM001 2TB 7200 RPM 64MB Cache SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5” Internal Hard Drive–Bare Drive
$99

Video Card:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...
XFX HD-687A-ZHFC Radeon HD 6870 1GB
$129

Card Reader:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...
Rosewill RCR-IC002
$10

DVD Burner:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...
ASUS 24X DVD Burner
$19

Tower:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=11-146-...
$120

Power Supply:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...
Corsair Enthusiast Series
650W
$90

Thanks!

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smorizio

July 4, 2012 5:00:45 PM

if you have a local micro center the i5-3540 is 149.00 there also were doing a 50 dollar off any mb with a k chip. they also have amd cpu chip deals too. look on toms and other review sights..there been some shocking reviews on how the intel i-3 was better then most of amd cpu line ups. the only two parts i would add is a boot os ssd and an after market cpu cooler. the boot ssd will make your programs run a lot faster. and they have dropped in price a lot. the after market heat sink is most of the ones that come with the cpu have plastic legs. there hard to install right and over time the plastic weakens from the heat and you have to replace the heat sink. the 212 or clones of the 212 are a great heat sink.

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Phyrexiancure

July 4, 2012 5:13:54 PM

The AMD FX is better in multithreaded applications than the i3, so if the programs you listed take advantage of all the cores of the AMD part i'd get it over an i3. If you could get an i5 i'd suggest the k series since it can overclock well with an aftermarket cooler like a hyper 212. You'll also need a P or Z series motherboard since they are the only ones that can overclock. The FX can also overclock just as well and has more core than the i5 k parts but still has lower performance. You still get good value from the FX's multthreaded performance but i5 k part is better though it cost more.

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