Hi Guys,
I have been planning to build my 1’st system for a while now. I have been checking out everyone’s response for about a week on this forum. I really learnt a lot from you guys , which helped me make up my mind. My last pc was from Gateway purchased in 2004, in Canada. I know this config would be ancient. It was a very stable PC so I was quite happy. Here’s a list of some of the upgrades I have been doing for a while now from the original setup. Please let me know what you think I need for the remaining items and what I can salvage from my old PC.
Gateway Specs:
1) Intel Pentium 4 Processor 550 – 3.40 GHz, 800 MHz FSB, 1 MB L2 cache
2) 1 GB DDR PC3200 Ram
3) 8x DVD+/-RW Dual Layer Drive
4) 250 Gb SATA HDD
5) GPU: ATI Radeon X300 SE
6) PSU: 300 W
Partially Upgraded till last year:
1) 3 GB DDR PC3200 RAM (Unfortunately Win XP 32 bit ONLY Recognized 3.5 GB -> No Salvation for these guys I guess in my NEW Build)
2) 1 Seagate FreeAgent Desktop - 320 GB External Drive
Recently Purchased in Hopes of Upgrading to a Better Config (Last Month): (Price->Can $ incl of Tax)
1) Corsair VX550W 550W ATX Power Supply - SLI-Ready, SATA-Ready (From TigerDirect) ->C$ 149.6
2) 1 Seagate FreeAgent Desktop – 1 TB External Drive (From Futureshop)->C$ 170.00
3) BenQ E2400HD 24" Widescreen Full HD LCD Monitor ( From Tigerdirect)->C$ 431.66
4) XFX GeForce 8800 GT 512MB PCI-Express Video Card - Alpha Dog Edition ->C$ 354.58
Little did I realize that my Graphic card wouldn’t work on my ancient Motherboard. Sorry It sounds pretty dumb to try run it on anything not compatible with a SLI or ATI enabled Mobo. The Excitement lasted only a couple of hours . The goal was to be able to run some good adventure games and a have really fast PC. Right now my AWESOME monitor is displaying BLOATED up icons with my nice/Stable old GPU.
Either way, learnt from my mistakes and started looking into the tech websites like tomshardware.com for expert advice and brushing up on all the latest news. I have had an information overload in the past few weeks but I am glad I took this step. Now Here are a few things I have purchased in the last 1 week. I know about all the Buzz related to the new Intel Core i7 chips. But I found this good deal on NCIX.com the day before and went for the New MOBO and Ram. I will tell you the retail price on these were around C$ 700+, probably a little less or more depending on where you buy it from. I got it on a deal for C$340 including Tax and delivery.
1) EVGA Nforce 790I Ftw Digital Power LGA775 DDR3 3PCI-E16 2PCI-E1 2PCI SATA2 Sound GBLAN Motherboard
2) Aeneon Xtune AXH760UD10-18J-K-2G 2GB 2X1GB DDR3-1866 CL10-10-10 240PIN Dual Channel Memory Kit (2 sets – 4GB total)
I know this rules out the option for Intel Core i7. Due to this decision here, I need your advice on configuring the rest of my pc. THANKS FOR BEING PATIENT WITH ALL THE HISTORY I have been writing . I used the site www.shopbot.ca to check the lowest price for the PC components for online websites. Here are some of the Specs I think I will go for just to make it a bit more futureproof (say 2 years atleast) :
1) Thermaltake ArmorPlus(Armor+) VH6000BWS Black Aluminum / Steel ATX Full Tower Computer Case –> C$ 254.49
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811133056&nm_mc=OTC-sho6b0tCA&cm_mmc=OTC-sho6b0tCA-_-Cases+(Computer+Cases+-+ATX+Form)-_-Thermaltake-_-11133056
2) Intel Core 2 Quad Q9650 3.0GHz LGA 775 95W Quad-Core Processor Model BX80569Q9650 -> C$ 418.49 (Want to OC it in future OR RATHER when I learn how to do it based on your advice )
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115130
3) Arctic Cooling MX-2 Thermal Compound Paste NON-ELECTRICAL Conductive 4 Gram ->C$ 9.00
http://www.ncix.com/products/index.php?sku=26895
4) COOLER MASTER V8 RR-UV8-XBU1-GP 120mm Rifle CPU Cooler -> C$ 83.00
http://www.extreme-pc.ca/showproduct.asp?productid=373001
5) Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium SP1 64-bit for System Builders (Retail) – C$ 149.99
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16832116488CVF&nm_mc=OTC-sho6b0tCA&cm_mmc=OTC-sho6b0tCA-_-Software+-+Operating+Systems-_-Microsoft-_-32116488CVF
Am I missing anything else. Can my 500 W PSU support this Configuration if OC is performed. I intend to use the SLI feature in about an year’s time or do u think I need to find another 8800 GT 512 MB right now?. I Really appreciate your time and effort to help me with any tips to build my 1’st PC .
I have been planning to build my 1’st system for a while now. I have been checking out everyone’s response for about a week on this forum. I really learnt a lot from you guys , which helped me make up my mind. My last pc was from Gateway purchased in 2004, in Canada. I know this config would be ancient. It was a very stable PC so I was quite happy. Here’s a list of some of the upgrades I have been doing for a while now from the original setup. Please let me know what you think I need for the remaining items and what I can salvage from my old PC.
Gateway Specs:
1) Intel Pentium 4 Processor 550 – 3.40 GHz, 800 MHz FSB, 1 MB L2 cache
2) 1 GB DDR PC3200 Ram
3) 8x DVD+/-RW Dual Layer Drive
4) 250 Gb SATA HDD
5) GPU: ATI Radeon X300 SE
6) PSU: 300 W
Partially Upgraded till last year:
1) 3 GB DDR PC3200 RAM (Unfortunately Win XP 32 bit ONLY Recognized 3.5 GB -> No Salvation for these guys I guess in my NEW Build)
2) 1 Seagate FreeAgent Desktop - 320 GB External Drive
Recently Purchased in Hopes of Upgrading to a Better Config (Last Month): (Price->Can $ incl of Tax)
1) Corsair VX550W 550W ATX Power Supply - SLI-Ready, SATA-Ready (From TigerDirect) ->C$ 149.6
2) 1 Seagate FreeAgent Desktop – 1 TB External Drive (From Futureshop)->C$ 170.00
3) BenQ E2400HD 24" Widescreen Full HD LCD Monitor ( From Tigerdirect)->C$ 431.66
4) XFX GeForce 8800 GT 512MB PCI-Express Video Card - Alpha Dog Edition ->C$ 354.58
Little did I realize that my Graphic card wouldn’t work on my ancient Motherboard. Sorry It sounds pretty dumb to try run it on anything not compatible with a SLI or ATI enabled Mobo. The Excitement lasted only a couple of hours . The goal was to be able to run some good adventure games and a have really fast PC. Right now my AWESOME monitor is displaying BLOATED up icons with my nice/Stable old GPU.
Either way, learnt from my mistakes and started looking into the tech websites like tomshardware.com for expert advice and brushing up on all the latest news. I have had an information overload in the past few weeks but I am glad I took this step. Now Here are a few things I have purchased in the last 1 week. I know about all the Buzz related to the new Intel Core i7 chips. But I found this good deal on NCIX.com the day before and went for the New MOBO and Ram. I will tell you the retail price on these were around C$ 700+, probably a little less or more depending on where you buy it from. I got it on a deal for C$340 including Tax and delivery.
1) EVGA Nforce 790I Ftw Digital Power LGA775 DDR3 3PCI-E16 2PCI-E1 2PCI SATA2 Sound GBLAN Motherboard
2) Aeneon Xtune AXH760UD10-18J-K-2G 2GB 2X1GB DDR3-1866 CL10-10-10 240PIN Dual Channel Memory Kit (2 sets – 4GB total)
I know this rules out the option for Intel Core i7. Due to this decision here, I need your advice on configuring the rest of my pc. THANKS FOR BEING PATIENT WITH ALL THE HISTORY I have been writing . I used the site www.shopbot.ca to check the lowest price for the PC components for online websites. Here are some of the Specs I think I will go for just to make it a bit more futureproof (say 2 years atleast) :
1) Thermaltake ArmorPlus(Armor+) VH6000BWS Black Aluminum / Steel ATX Full Tower Computer Case –> C$ 254.49
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811133056&nm_mc=OTC-sho6b0tCA&cm_mmc=OTC-sho6b0tCA-_-Cases+(Computer+Cases+-+ATX+Form)-_-Thermaltake-_-11133056
2) Intel Core 2 Quad Q9650 3.0GHz LGA 775 95W Quad-Core Processor Model BX80569Q9650 -> C$ 418.49 (Want to OC it in future OR RATHER when I learn how to do it based on your advice )
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115130
3) Arctic Cooling MX-2 Thermal Compound Paste NON-ELECTRICAL Conductive 4 Gram ->C$ 9.00
http://www.ncix.com/products/index.php?sku=26895
4) COOLER MASTER V8 RR-UV8-XBU1-GP 120mm Rifle CPU Cooler -> C$ 83.00
http://www.extreme-pc.ca/showproduct.asp?productid=373001
5) Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium SP1 64-bit for System Builders (Retail) – C$ 149.99
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16832116488CVF&nm_mc=OTC-sho6b0tCA&cm_mmc=OTC-sho6b0tCA-_-Software+-+Operating+Systems-_-Microsoft-_-32116488CVF
Am I missing anything else. Can my 500 W PSU support this Configuration if OC is performed. I intend to use the SLI feature in about an year’s time or do u think I need to find another 8800 GT 512 MB right now?. I Really appreciate your time and effort to help me with any tips to build my 1’st PC .