Aces High Bulletin Board
General Forums => Hardware and Software => Topic started by: kilo2 on March 09, 2010, 05:20:42 PM
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Decided I am going to build a computer on my own. I am really nervous about it, its my first time. Any one have any advice for a new builder?
Any thoughts would be appreciated. :salute
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Well, have you already ordered the parts?
If not, and you are basically asking for part sugggestions:
We'll need a budget, and the use for the comp, ie full gaming PC, just AH, general computing, etc.
Building a computer is extremely fun.
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Get someone to double check you build before you buy the parts, don't want to buy stuff that isn't compatible or with not enough power to run everything you load into it first two suggestions buy an aftermarket cpu cooler, and a power supply that is overrated for wht you want to use it for if you need 600 watts get 800 watts more power is less stress on the supply unit. You don't want to be running your power supply at full throttle all the time, leave some head room. Also get a 64 bit OS you can only run 4 gig of ram with a 32 bit and if you ever want to go with more you will have to get a 64 bit so might as well start there. I can help ya if ya need it check my page swamprevel.webs.com
Ask tuk151 helped him design his system.
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So far I have parted it out on paper. My main questions right now are with the power supply and how many watts I will need and compatibility.
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List the parts, if possible links from newegg.com and we can be more of a help.
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http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.350154
Bundle Deal
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150447
video card
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820145260
RAM
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811146058
Case
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136284
Hard Drive
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817152036
power supply
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827135202
Drive
The case I am not sure about as well as the power supply.
Edit: I am still looking into cooling options.
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All looking good...the M59 is a nice case. Sort of my Lexa S's arch rival. Depending on what you are looking for I also suggest the Beta Evo. Any NZXT case is top quality.
I also suggest you stay away from XFX cards, especially the XFX 5770. The 5770 is a great card for sure, but even with the warranty you may be better off with a Sapphire 5770 Juniper XT (I have two) or even the new MSI R5770 Hawk. You'll love the 5770, I just ordered another card for crossfire today.
Other than that it looks pretty good. PSU is good, probably don't need such a big PSU, but headroom is always good if you plan on upgrading in the future.
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I'm not sure I'd buy a Raidmax PSU. I'd stick to a more reputable brand like PC Power & Cooling, Seasonic or even Corsair who seems to have picked it up a bit lately.
The size is good. 600W should be a bare minimum but 750W and up provide more flexibility in future upgrades/additions. I'd also make sure that whatever PSU you buy is at least 80% certified. I never trust those "up to" claims.
There's debate on this topic but I prefer a single rail PSU over multiple 12V rails.
I use a PCP&C 750W Silencer. Not a bit of trouble.
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Above is very true. I have a OCZ 600W ModXStream, works great and put one in my g'pas build. Powers my 5770 fine and another 5770 is going onto it.
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Here is a link that will tell you your minimum power supply remember go bigger, you can input your whole build and it will tell you what you need.
http://www.journeysystems.com/?power_calculator
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Also, get a Triple Channel Memory Kit. Go 2GB x 3. Use that CPU and MB to it's full potential.
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I would keep looking for a PSU . A power supply can make or break a build...... so go for quality. I bought a PSU 4 years ago and although it was $180 bucks (was alot in 05 ) it has been threw 3-4 different builds and is now running my phenom 550 (overclocked 800mhz) and 260gtx along with my water cooling system.
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I see they don't carry my power supply anymore, but it is the 850 brother to this one and it's been beat up for more than 5 years without a hiccup. And like 38ruk said, I think I paid 255 or so 5 years ago.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817171053 (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817171053)
Although, I don't use anything but PC P&C for my customers builds, I don't have a problem recommending Cooler Master for a personal build.
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I see they don't carry my power supply anymore, but it is the 850 brother to this one and it's been beat up for more than 5 years without a hiccup. And like 38ruk said, I think I paid 255 or so 5 years ago.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817171053 (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817171053)
Although, I don't use anything but PC P&C for my customers builds, I don't have a problem recommending Cooler Master for a personal build.
Do you still have a source for them? The Silencer Series -which was what I've used for several years - seems to have been discontinued. My last build I used the Corsair - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139006 - and it worked fine, but I don't have any idea how it performs at the margins.
<S>
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No, had to switch to OCZ for this last build. Same company, dif name though.
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Thanks for all the good advice. I should start getting the parts soon. Crossing my fingers hoping everything goes together smoothly.
One last question. How hard is it to put a water cooling system in?
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I would wait and see what your temps are going to be first. It's not hard just another $300 out of your pocket. If it were me I'd put it towards the build.
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One last question. How hard is it to put a water cooling system in?
Unless you're doing some serious overclocking (greater than 25%) you're fine on air as long as you have an aftermarket heatsink/fan and good airflow through your case. I guess if you don't have air conditioning and indoor summer temps exceed 80F you also might want to consider liquid cooling but at that point I'd buy a window air conditioner first (for less money).
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i would suggest a full tower with fans: i have almost the same set up as you are building.
XCLIO Windtunnel Fully Black Finish 1.0 mm SECC Chassis ATX Full Tower Computer Case - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811103011 (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811103011)
if you put an oversized heat sink into at mid-tower for the processor, you'll be luck if it fits.
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I really like that case thanks for the info.
?Now i have another problem. I know nothing about sound cards. I do not know whats good or bad. Any suggestions?
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i have a question, why do you want a triple sli setup are you going to run 3 cards in the future? i have a dual sli with GTX280's i do very intense graphic cad programs for home designing, man i dont now what you would use a 3 sli'd setup for, if your planing on 3 you better get a power supply that is going to handle all that i have 2 cards and i went with a 1000 watt unit.Go with an Antec case you wont be sorry pleanty of cooling fans, 4 - 5" Fans and one 7 " on top, the airflow thru the case is outstanding
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Here is a heck of a deal at Tiger...
Yes it doesn't include the 2.8 proc (2.6 instead), and yes it is not the fancy asus board...its the PT6
But for 890 bucks out the door...Asus P6T Intel Core i7 Upgrade Bundle - Intel X58 Motherboard, Intel Core i7 920, 12GB Triple Channel DDR3-1333 Corsair Memory
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=4488089&CatId=4139 (http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=4488089&CatId=4139)
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First build I have seen in a while. Like it all except, as others have pointed out, the power supply. OCZ or PC Power & Cooling if you can get it.
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First build I have seen in a while. Like it all except, as others have pointed out, the power supply. OCZ or PC Power & Cooling if you can get it.
I have nothing but great things to say about OCZ power supplies...Enermax is good too...
Presently I am running a 1KW OCZ Modular (3 years old)...modular is great because you can remove the unnecessary cables and clean up the case...
http://www.ocztechnology.com/products/power_management/ocz_z_series_1000w_modular (http://www.ocztechnology.com/products/power_management/ocz_z_series_1000w_modular)
As others have said...you can never have too much power...
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modular is great because you can remove the unnecessary cables and clean up the case...
I can't remove my cables and my case is pretty clean:
(http://i707.photobucket.com/albums/ww72/imbe/Computers009.jpg)
But it took a few hours of drilling and routing wires.
BTW, as to sound cards I use a Creative Soundblaster X-Fi Gamer Fatality Pro. There's a slightly less expensive version at about $90. They have their own RAM and totally unload all audio processing off of the CPU.
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As others have said...you can never have too much power...
Actually, you can. Ideally, a power supply (edit -> referring of course to the standard switching type power supply used to power computer equipment - there are many types of power supplies and different types behave differently with respect to loading) should run at about 70% of maximum load for peak performance and greatest stability. A power supply that's running under too great a load can be unstable - but often, one that is loaded too lightly will be even more so.
Just FYI.
<S>
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:salute Thanks to all who helped me on my quest to build a computer. I just finished and everything powered up and the motherboard is not showing any errors. Now just have to wait for my OS to come in and i will be shooting you all down on my new computer. Once again thanks for the advice.
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I also suggest you stay away from XFX cards, especially the XFX 5770
My card working flawlessly.