PC Construction Blues (updated, page 2)

littwentythree

Here is my attempt at building a new PC. The problem being, of course, is that I know nothing about building a PC, and half the components I chose are either incompatible with one other, or a huge waste of money. This is where I ask help from G+T - I've done my best to select something that makes sense, as not to waste everyone's time with "Hey guys design me a computer lol". Now I just need some knowledgable folks to tell me what mistakes I've made, what money I've wasted, and what I can do. Budget here is about $1000, which should be more than enough.



APEVIA X-CRUISER-BK Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811144151)
69.99 (59.99 Rebate)

Rosewill Stallion Series RD500-2DB ATX V2.2 500W Power Supply 115/230 V CSA, UL, TUV, FCC
(http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817182044)
47.99 (32.99 Rebate)

ABIT AB9 QuadGT LGA 775 Intel P965 Express ATX Intel Motherboard
(http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813127019)
159.99 (119.99 Rebate)

AMD Athlon 64 X2 6000+ Windsor 3.0GHz 2 x 1MB L2 Cache Socket AM2 Processor
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103773
169.99



XFX PVT80GGHD4 GeForce 8800GTS 320MB 320-bit GDDR3 PCI Express x16 HDCP Video Card
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150173
309.99 (279.99 Rebate)

Crucial Ballistix 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 1066 (PC2 8500) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820148069
159.99

985.93 (890.93 with "Rebates")

Malkor

Dude. AMD processors doesn't work with Intel motherboards. After the 25th better Intel CPUs will sell for around that Windsor. Other than that it looks good. Get a better power supply though... I suggest looking at pricewatch.com and other sites to see if you can save a few $$ for those components.

littwentythree

And this is why I've come to ask for help, haha.

How large of a power supply am I going to need to run these components?

Malkor

http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=1389575&CatId=1078

I bought this Thermaltake PSU for my mom when one in the Dell I bought her recently kicked the bucket.

littwentythree

What parts of the 430W power supply are better than the 500W I selected?

setrajonas

Yea, drop the Athlon, and wait for the E6750. The 8800GTS video card is good, but go with evga instead of xfx.

Get a different power supply. I've have not heard good things about Rosewill's reliability. Go with Antec, Corsair, Seasonic, Thermaltake or any other of the better brands. They're all more expensive, but for a good reason - they're good. The major thing you should look out for is +12v rails. You want that to be high. This Corsair is very stable and should have sufficient power for you to do whatever.

About your RAM, unless you're going to overclock, it go with something cheaper. Also, make sure your mobo is compatible. Not all motherboards support 1066 mhz.

FreddyD

FSP is the only cost-effective power supply manufacturer that I would recommend.

victor_c26

Malkor wrote: »

http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=1389575&CatId=1078

I bought this Thermaltake PSU for my mom when one in the Dell I bought her recently kicked the bucket.

Only 18 amps on the 12v rail? I don't know.

Try something with at least 30 amps on the 12v rail if you want to power a 6000+ X2 with an 8800GTS.

logothesia

Both arstechnica.com and anandtech.com have parts guides for building your own computer for various purposes (gaming, general purpose, god box, etc.). They will also explain how the different parts work together and why certain specs are important (as said above, 12v current capacity) and some are not so important (the total wattage number of a power supply).

Both sites also have forums where people offer build suggestions and by reading those you can get a feel for what's quality and what's junk.

And the other posters are right, next week Intel CPUs will drop quite substantially in price, so I'd at least wait until then for a build.

littwentythree

Is my graphics card alright, or is there any way I could save money there/better card choices?

setrajonas

You can pick up the evga version of that card for 259.99 after a 20 rebate. I'd recommend sticking with that card unless you're going for like a 30" monitor or something. If so, then get the 640 mb version.

littwentythree

EVGA?

Malkor

littwentythree wrote: »

Is my graphics card alright, or is there any way I could save money there/better card choices?

It depends on what you wanna play. Are you willing to spend the extra money to put stuff out at ultra high-rez?


I like Thermaltake, I haven't had any problems with them so far. But victor_26 is right it might be a bit much for the 8800 and a high-end cpu.

edit: EVGA is a company that makes components.

setrajonas

Yea sorry, I should probably give you a link:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130082

Raslin

Don't waste that much money on the ram. Just get 2 gigs of, say, corsair value select, or kingston's value ram. You should be able to get either at ~80 for 2 gigs.

littwentythree

Ultra-High Res isn't really a requirement with me, I'd just like something that can run games like Half-Life and Doom 3 without insanely long load times, and I'd be nice to play a full game of Civ 4, instead of one with just two or three players.

setrajonas

You could probably go with the 7800gs if you're not playing anything intense. It's much cheaper and will do what you need it to do.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130274

Malkor

Also the second generation DX10 cards will probably be a better value.

FreddyD

setrajonas wrote: »

You can pick up the evga version of that card for 259.99 after a 20 rebate. I'd recommend sticking with that card unless you're going for like a 30" monitor or something. If so, then get the 640 mb version.

These benchmarks did not show a significant difference between the 320MB and the 640Mb version even at 1920*1200 w/4xAA 16xAF. This video memory analysis demonstrates that you would have to be gaming at 2048x1536/4xAA16xAF before you ran out of video memory.

Has anyone heard about PCIe 2.0 yet? I heard that it supports external video cards. The line between PC and console gaming may be getting even thinner in the future.

Rohan

A better, more expensive power supply is bullshit. I'm running a Core 2 Duo E6420 (2.13GHz), 2GB PC6400, GeForce 8800 GTS 320MB and three internal hard drives, all powered by a NorthQ Godzilla 500w PSU. And that 500w is way more than I need.

Raslin

Just something I've been thinking about...

You can now find the 8600GT for 100 dollars on newegg. I've been wondering if it might be worth it to run an SLI config with two of these? Sure, for 50-80 dollars you could get the 320mb 8800, but is the performance that much greater than two 8600GT's? I've seen conflicting reviews

littwentythree

Monitor-wise I'll be getting something like a 22". My friend owns a 30", that thing is pain on my eyes after a while.

setrajonas

FreddyD wrote: »

These benchmarks did not show a significant difference between the 320MB and the 640Mb version even at 1920*1200 w/4xAA 16xAF. This video memory analysis demonstrates that you would have to be gaming at 2048x1536/4xAA16xAF before you ran out of video memory.

Has anyone heard about PCIe 2.0 yet? I heard that it supports external video cards. The line between PC and console gaming may be getting even thinner in the future.

Well, it's just semantics really. I figured that 30" is essentially a 2560x1600 resolution monitor. Yea, you're right though.:P

FreddyD

Raslin wrote: »

Just something I've been thinking about...

You can now find the 8600GT for 100 dollars on newegg. I've been wondering if it might be worth it to run an SLI config with two of these? Sure, for 50-80 dollars you could get the 320mb 8800, but is the performance that much greater than two 8600GT's? I've seen conflicting reviews

The 8800GTS will outperform two 8600GTS cards in every situation by around 10%, so that doesn't bode well for dual 8600GTs. Plus, the heat, noise, driver issues, and case clutter will make you wish you just paid the extra $50.

littwentythree

As per suggestions:

CORSAIR XMS2 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820145590
113.00 (83.00 Rebate)

EVGA 320-P2-N811-AR GeForce 8800GTS 320MB 320-bit GDDR3 PCI Express x16 HDCP Video Card
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130082
279.00 (259.00 Rebate)


Still having trouble picking a power supply, I don't understand how many Rails or Amperes or Watts or whatever I'm going to need to run my graphics card efficiently.

Also, on the Intel processors - what would the noticeable advantages of the E6850 be over the E6750? Anything for what I'm doing? And when are these officially "out"?

Edit: July 22nd, looks like. Nevermind that.

capable heart

deleted

littwentythree

Thanks, but why that one? I'm interested in knowing why I'm doing what I'm doing, that way I don't have to come back here in a few years and mooch off you guys for information because I'm too lazy to figure it out myself.

capable heart

deleted

setrajonas

FreddyD wrote: »

These benchmarks did not show a significant difference between the 320MB and the 640Mb version even at 1920*1200 w/4xAA 16xAF. This video memory analysis demonstrates that you would have to be gaming at 2048x1536/4xAA16xAF before you ran out of video memory.

Has anyone heard about PCIe 2.0 yet? I heard that it supports external video cards. The line between PC and console gaming may be getting even thinner in the future.

Yea, I think it's just an issue of semantics. When I said a 30" monitor, I was figuring a resolution of 2560x1600 :P So we're basically saying the same thing.

tsmvengy

Yeah, you need a core 2 duo for that intel mobo. Also, I would suggest the following case:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811129024
Comes with a power supply and antec is quality.

setrajonas

tsmvengy wrote: »

Yeah, you need a core 2 duo for that intel mobo. Also, I would suggest the following case:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811129024
Comes with a power supply and antec is quality.

Heh, the power supply has to be better than the one that came with the Sonata II. I've read numerous reviews of that power supply involving it failing in a month.

tsmvengy

It is. I think the Sonata II came with the NeoHE, which had some problems that were fixed in later revisions.

littwentythree

Everything has arrived, and everything seems to be working alright. The fans all work, the lights all work, and I'm really rather impressed with myself. Now for the stupid question: The hard drive I have needs to connect to an IDE slot. So does my DVD drive. How am I to do this, if there is only one IDE slot on the Motherboard? I must be missing something. Or I have to pick up a SATA drive tomorrow.

Malkor

I think you can find an adapter.

Deusfaux

wth malkor?

OP, IDE cables have 3 ends on them, one for the mobo and 2 more for 2 devices.

Malkor

Hey! Some IDE cables have 3 ends. But I did forget that most of them do.

tsmvengy

Yeah, you should have an IDE cable that has one end that goes into the motherboard, a connector in the middle, and one at the other end. The hard drive should be on the one at the end (and the DVD drive in the middle,) and set the hard drive jumper to master.

littwentythree

Oh, I thought the "slave" was only for a secondary hard drive. Thanks for the help!

Kami

Okay, OP, I apologize for bumping this thread again, I actually have a dumb question that needs to be answered.

Well, it's really something pretty embarrasing.

I just purchased new RAM (x2 1 Gig Sticks) for my desktop, and for some reason, it won't properly secure on my mobo. I've installed RAM countless times, yet for some reason, the RAM won't properly secure. One side at a time will click, yet it'll be angled. I'm applying direct pressure throughout the RAM, yet nothing seems to do the trick.

It really makes me feel like an idiot, too. It's the proper size for my mobo, but I think the problem is caused by the outer shell of the RAM itself. There's no way to remove the outer shell, either, or else I would've already done it.

Any help? Advice? I'm not too sure of what to do, and I'd hate to just stick with the 1 GB of RAM I have at the moment, when I'm staring at 2 GB on my desk.

Raslin

Kami wrote: »

Okay, OP, I apologize for bumping this thread again, I actually have a dumb question that needs to be answered.

Well, it's really something pretty embarrasing.

I just purchased new RAM (x2 1 Gig Sticks) for my desktop, and for some reason, it won't properly secure on my mobo. I've installed RAM countless times, yet for some reason, the RAM won't properly secure. One side at a time will click, yet it'll be angled. I'm applying direct pressure throughout the RAM, yet nothing seems to do the trick.

It really makes me feel like an idiot, too. It's the proper size for my mobo, but I think the problem is caused by the outer shell of the RAM itself. There's no way to remove the outer shell, either, or else I would've already done it.

Any help? Advice? I'm not too sure of what to do, and I'd hate to just stick with the 1 GB of RAM I have at the moment, when I'm staring at 2 GB on my desk.

Thats... strange. I remember putting the ram in my system, I thought I was going to break it. But I applied a bunch of pressure(damn things put indents in my fingers), and they finally went in.

But I assume you're putting enough, and it still wont go in... so, thats weird. Dunno what to say.

Kami

Raslin wrote: »

Kami wrote: »

Okay, OP, I apologize for bumping this thread again, I actually have a dumb question that needs to be answered.

Well, it's really something pretty embarrasing.

I just purchased new RAM (x2 1 Gig Sticks) for my desktop, and for some reason, it won't properly secure on my mobo. I've installed RAM countless times, yet for some reason, the RAM won't properly secure. One side at a time will click, yet it'll be angled. I'm applying direct pressure throughout the RAM, yet nothing seems to do the trick.

It really makes me feel like an idiot, too. It's the proper size for my mobo, but I think the problem is caused by the outer shell of the RAM itself. There's no way to remove the outer shell, either, or else I would've already done it.

Any help? Advice? I'm not too sure of what to do, and I'd hate to just stick with the 1 GB of RAM I have at the moment, when I'm staring at 2 GB on my desk.

Thats... strange. I remember putting the ram in my system, I thought I was going to break it. But I applied a bunch of pressure(damn things put indents in my fingers), and they finally went in.

But I assume you're putting enough, and it still wont go in... so, thats weird. Dunno what to say.

I'd like to think I am, at least. My current RAM went in fine, no problems, clicked down without a hitch.

With the 2 GB though, I was applying enough pressure that I was actually flexing the mobo down, and that made me nervous.