Question:
Building first PC
I've owned, upgraded and just generally messed around with computers alot for most of my life but have still yet to build a desktop (and currently don't even own one!) so I want to build one. What do you guys think of these specs and the price? I ordered from Newegg.
Asus A8N 32 sli Mobo at $220
Antec P180 case for $125
Sony DRU810A optical drive for $49
Western Digital caviar 250GB 7200 RPM HD for $96
Antec Power supply TPII-550 $90
Artic Silver compound for cooling is about $5 per stick
2 GB of corsair XMS ram (2 latency) for $197
AMD Dual core 3800 for $295
Creative XFI Xtrememusic sound card for $121
BFG 7900GT graphics $330
Samsung 740B for $230 (not including DVI cable)
Logitech Z5500 speakers for $214
Windows XP home
Logitech G15 keyboard. $70
Total= $2130
I figure I can always upgrade to two 7900GT cards and add 2gigs of ram later as well. Can upgrade processor later to. Anyway is this a good setup? What should I change? I was trying to be financially reasonable I would much prefer a 4000 dollar build but can't afford it.
Answer:
Re: Building first PC
have you already purchased it, or looking for advice on what to get?
adding 2gb of ram + the other 2gb ram already in the system? what would you need 4gb ram for (3d rendering/video editing system, or is this a gaming system..which it looks to be...for editing/rendering you would want a huge monitor and a quadro series gpu, with 4gb ram)
otherwise, i am partial to a DFI motherboard, OCZ ram, OCZ PSU, cooler master stacker for the case, 2 hitachi 80gb 7200 rpms for a raid 0 setup, with a 300gb storage drive.
otherwise, looks pretty nice. do you plan to overclock at all?
also, something to note..a single 7800gt is by NO MEANS a slouch card, i would much rather pick up two of those and setup SLI, unless a single 7900gt can stomp that setup..it would save you some money, and possibly upgrade something else, or buy some software/games.
hope this helps,
pb,out.
Answer:
Re: Building first PC
Blah change your order and get the DFI Lanparty series motherboard~!
The one you ordered is great, but the DFI is better for overclocking, plus it's just a solid motherboard with 100% guaranteed Japanese Capacitors so you know you'll have stable, clean voltage running through your board to the parts and it has ample cooling with heatsinks all over the place.
Also change your powersupply to the OCZ Powerstream series, 520 or 600, whichever you need.
I say get these parts instead even if you don't plan on overclocking because this way you can be assured that you will have a stable system over the years instead of having your power supply almost cook your motherboard like my old Thermaltake Butterfly 480 Powersupply. That piece of junk is gone~! Adjustable rails is the only way to go these days baby. :D
Got it? Get it? Good. :D
Answer:
Re: Building first PC
It will be for gaming among other things. I'm actually considering adding a 7900GTX and a 10000rpm hard drive along with a slightly larger UXGA monitor. (19inch) It won't cost me much more. I'm most familiar and fond of ASUS and have noticed that is what most companies (falcon nw) and people use.
As for overclocking the BFG cards are overclocked with warranty support. I might OC the AMD and maybe the ram also but am not sure.
I may also wait as I hear Directx10 and new vista only/Directx10 only cards will be coming..unless I can get by with this.
Answer:
Re: Building first PC
How about a Western Digital 10,000RPM Raptor hard drive.
Answer:
Re: Building first PC
Buying a Raptor is like throwing your money down the drain in my opinion. It's much more worth it to buy 3 Western Digital 160GB HD's and run them at RAID 0. They would be virtually running at 21,600 RPM's. 3 WD 160's would cost around $180. This is less then the cost of one 150GB 10,000 RPM Raptor.
Answer:
Re: Building first PC
Who needs 480GB of storage? I think I am using about 20GB myself including windows. You could put the Raptors in RAID and be running at 30,000RPMS.
Answer:
Re: Building first PC
i need about over 1000GB, but than again i have issues :D the 250 is the best bang for the buck in terms of storage especialy the seagate baracuda that i got, consider adding water cooling at about 100$, its silent and allows much playfulness with the OC
also consider buying a real audio system at 214$...
Answer:
Re: Building first PC
If I were you, I would still choose Asus board over DFI. I had bad experience with DFI LanParty for AMD socket462. It 'cold boot' frequently. I dont know about Lanparty for Athlon64...maybe it just got better.
Answer:
Re: Building first PC
i have had zero problems with my DFI board, running it for the last 6 months or so..rock solid board.. it is very finicky with its parts, since it is an enthusiast board. DFI and OCZ basically work hand in hand to build their parts.. (on DFIs support website, www.dfi-street.com they have reps for OCZ that can give you stock timings, RMAs, etc...)
as shampoo said, the OCZ Powerstream 520w..is TOP NOTCH. with adjustable rails..it just cant be beat..for the 600w PSU howerver, you need a minimum load (they suggest standard components..opticals, SLI, 5 hard drives) JUST to keep it stable.
as for the raptors, you are better off getting 3 80gb hitachis for $53 each, and run them in RAID 0 (21,600 rpms, and costs about the same as one raptor)..
as for water cooling..i cannot stress this enough...if you build your water cooling system, you will spend less (depending on what you choose), and will get better performance then a "prebuilt" system.
for water cooling, i suggest danger den (the chosen water cooling of www.dfi-street.com )
www.dangerden.com
hope this helps.
pb,out