1st Timer Building his own?

[jerkinjohn]

Hello all, I am brand new here and this is my first post! I recently decided to build my first PC because I am wanting to get into a sim racing hobby. I have been gaming on consoles for many years but the consoles don't offer the realism and variety that the PC sim world has to offer.

I just need to know from people like yourselves that know what your talking about when it comes to computers if I am good to go with this build. I have already purchased some items from newegg. I am on a budget of $1,200.00 and this is the build that someone has assured me is a good gaming build for the money.

The list is as follows:

1.Cooler Master HAF 932 / Purchased

2.EVGA Nvidia nforce 750i SLI Mobo / Purchased

3.Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 CPU / Purchased

4.G.SKILL 4GB (2X2GB) RAM / Purchased

5.ASUS DVD Burner with lightscribe SATA / Purchased

6.Western Digital 1TB HDD / Not yet purchased

7.CORSAIR 750W PSU SLI/Crossfire ready / Not yet purchased

8.EVGA GeForce GTX 260 GPU / Not yet purchased

9.Windows XP SP3 For system builders, Because I like XP better than vista / Not yet purchased

So what do you guy's think? Thumbs up? I hope!!!

Thanks and I am looking forward to my first build and learning as I go along.

 

[xthekidx]

:/ not so much. The mobo you chose is not very good, the 7 series mobo's are riddled with problems. Sometimes you get a good one and have no issues, but problems are very common with those mobo's. The Q6600 is an old and hot CPU, The Q9400 would have been a better choice for about $30 more. Windows XP is a waste on a gaming system because you don't get all of your ram and you don't get DX10. With SP1, Vista is actually faster than XP in gaming. With a GTX 260, you will see less than 3gb of ram. I got a buddy who has a GTX 260 with XP and he only see's 2.33GB.

The case is excellent, as is the HDD and PSU. I like to stick with LG or Samsung drives, they are cheaper and higher quality IMO, but admittedly I don't know much about that ASUS drive. As far as the GPU, the games you play and the resolution of your monitor will determine whether or not that is a good fit. I would get this MSI GTX 260 if you end up getting that card, this is the best deal on a GTX 260 that I have seen. Although I would suggest you return the mobo you bought and get this one instead and then go for HD 4870's in xfire.

 

[shortstuff_mt]

+1 to xthekidx's comments.

 

[jerkinjohn]

:/ not so much. The mobo you chose is not very good, the 7 series mobo's are riddled with problems. Sometimes you get a good one and have no issues, but problems are very common with those mobo's. The Q6600 is an old and hot CPU, The Q9400 would have been a better choice for about $30 more. Windows XP is a waste on a gaming system because you don't get all of your ram and you don't get DX10. With SP1, Vista is actually faster than XP in gaming. With a GTX 260, you will see less than 3gb of ram. I got a buddy who has a GTX 260 with XP and he only see's 2.33GB.

The case is excellent, as is the HDD and PSU. I like to stick with LG or Samsung drives, they are cheaper and higher quality IMO, but admittedly I don't know much about that ASUS drive. As far as the GPU, the games you play and the resolution of your monitor will determine whether or not that is a good fit. I would get this MSI GTX 260 if you end up getting that card, this is the best deal on a GTX 260 that I have seen. Although I would suggest you return the mobo you bought and get this one instead and then go for HD 4870's in xfire.

Oh boy, not what I wanted to hear but thanks for your reply! If I go with Vista instead of XP will that help cause I haven't purchased that yet. The CPU is being delivered tomorrow and I got the mobo today in the mail and opened it.

I would hate to return this stuff! Man this sucks!

 

[shortstuff_mt]

You'll need a 64-bit OS to fully use 4GB of RAM.

Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium SP1 64-bit for System Builders - OEM
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16832116488 $99.99

 

[xthekidx]

You can keep the CPU, its alright, just that there would have been better options. The Q6600 just needs better cooling that the other quads because it runs hotter, so you should invest in a good CPU cooler for it, like this:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835608002

The mobo...since you already bought it I guess you can give it a try, and hopefully nothing goes bad on it. Chances of something going wrong are higher with those mobo's than the P45 chipset, but sometimes you don't get any problems whatsoever, hopefully you got one of those boards.

 

[gkay09]

Oh boy, not what I wanted to hear but thanks for your reply! If I go with Vista instead of XP will that help cause I haven't purchased that yet. The CPU is being delivered tomorrow and I got the mobo today in the mail and opened it.

I would hate to return this stuff! Man this sucks!

Well I would suggest get the Vista because when Win 7 comes out, you can upgrade from XP to Win 7 as some reports suggest...So later, you would have to buy a new copy of Win 7...

The CPU is not bad though...as you have already purchased it, its fine...
The main concern here is the mobo as xthekid had said...If possible get it changes to a good P45 board...
If it is not possible, like xthekid said, give it a try...
HDD - Make sure you get the WD BLACK
PSU - No doubt its a good quality component...
GPU - Good choice but again make sure you get the Core 216 and the core 192...

 

[jerkinjohn]

OK... Thanks alot! I guess ideally I had better options and I should have asked around more before I started purchasing this stuff. I asked a guy I know for a second opinion after it these parts where suggested to me buy the guy who is helping me with the build and he though it was a very good purchase. I really don't know much about computers and so I am relying on other peoples know how and I really appreciate your help.

Go with Vista though right?

I will let ya know how things turn out and also in regards to your Display resolution comment. I am going to be using a 26" LCD tv with a resolution of 1366 x 768 for the time being till I can afford a better PC monitor.

I can always ad another GTX 760 GPU to right?

Bare with me cause I hardly know what I'm talkin about

This thing is gonna be better than my x-box right?

 

[gkay09]

OK... Thanks alot! I guess ideally I had better options and I should have asked around more before I started purchasing this stuff. I asked a guy I know for a second opinion after it these parts where suggested to me buy the guy who is helping me with the build and he though it was a very good purchase. I really don't know much about computers and so I am relying on other peoples know how and I really appreciate your help.

Go with Vista though right?

I will let ya know how things turn out and also in regards to your Display resolution comment. I am going to be using a 26" LCD tv with a resolution of 1366 x 768 for the time being till I can afford a better PC monitor.

I can always ad another GTX 760 GPU to right?

Bare with me cause I hardly know what I'm talkin about

This thing is gonna be better than my x-box right?

Well don't be much worried about the purchases...
Problems are a part of the PCs so maybe you will face just a little more than others, which many here including me are facing

About the OS, Vista is much more refined now and with such good hardware, it would perform better...

For the display is not going to be a problem...For that resolution, a sinlge GTX260 is more than suffice...
Yes you can add another GTX later...

And sure it would be better than you XBox

 

[jerkinjohn]

Yeah I was freakin a little! Sorry.. It's just my first build and am doing it mostly for the purpose of a learning experience and for sim racing most of all.

I feel better just knowing that there may have been slightly better options but as long as the build goes well and it works I'll be happy with it and thats it's not a (BAD) PC for gaming.

 

[gkay09]

Hmm...But am sure you might face some problems with the mobo and those are known issues...So google around about the mobo to get more info, possible problems and fixes...so that when you put those parts toghether, you would be well informed as of what to do...

 

[jerkinjohn]

Will do, and I may after doing more research try to exchange it for a p45.

Thank you and wish me luck cause it sounds like I'm gonna need it

 

[gkay09]

Well if you get the P45, then it will be good...
And BEST OF LUCK

 

[xthekidx]

Chances are that you won't have problems with your build. When we say that those motherboards have problems, we mean in relative terms to other motherboards. But the problems that arise with those motherboards more likely than not you won't see. Its like maybe 1 out of 8 (just an arbitrary guess) of those motherboards have issues that you have to deal with, as apposed to a P45 board that maybe 1 in 50 has an issue. There is a good chance you won't have an issue with your new PC, but the chances of you having an issue are better than if you had gone with a P45.

 

[jerkinjohn]

Yeah I have been doing alot of research and it's tuff cause I don't know to much about this stuff, but I am learning alot thats for sure. When it comes to specs. i have a hard time and then there's overclocking capability's too that this guy who is helping said that the CPU in this case is good for that.

It's a swing or miss type of situation with all this stuff I think and as long as everything works ok I guess all's I'm concerned with is that it's a decent gaming PC!

I still have to dump money into my racing rig witch is why I have a budget of 1,200 on the PC. I already have a rig for my xbox 360 but when you get into sim racing on the PC there is way nicer stuff out there.

Thanks man

 

[xthekidx]

Well the Q6600 is a good overclocker, IF you have the right cooling. They can go to high speeds, but generate a lot more heat than other chips do going to the same level.

 

[jerkinjohn]

Well she is all put together and running great although I had a BIG problem with the Mobo Drivers while setting up! I kept getting the Blue screen of death and had to reinstall windows 5 times but after some trouble shooting I downloaded new drivers from EVGA and it is running great now! Knock on wood!

I just wanted to give you guys an update!

Thanx

 

[Helloworld_98]

has anyone mentioned yet that you can't SLI on P45 boards?

so no dual 260's, nearest bet would be dual 4870's.

 

[jerkinjohn]

I went with the EVGA 750i SLI btw! I had already purchased it before I posted this thread. I was just curios as to opinions of the guy's here on tom's hardware. So dual 260's is something I will be doing once I get a better monitor that will support a higher resolution!

 

[Helloworld_98]

you mean 2560x1600?

there really isn't a need for using dual 260's unless you play at that resolution.

hence why for my build I'm getting a single 4890 for my 1920x1200 monitor and then save £40 on the more powerful PSU which I can use towards a cooler or HDD, and I dunno if 260's will still be available when higher resolutions become the standard.

 

[jerkinjohn]

Oh ok.. You tell me cause I am really new at this stuff! I thought it was like a car, the more horse power the faster it goes kind of thing. I am still workin on a new monitor cause at the momment im using my 26" Sony LCD with a native res. of 1366X768 so the single GPU will do fine for now and it sounds like according to you that it will do fine when I get a new monitor as well.

 

[JTP709]

Windows XP is a waste on a gaming system because you don't get all of your ram and you don't get DX10. With SP1, Vista is actually faster than XP in gaming..

Doesn't the 64 bit XP allow you to use all 4GB? And while that that article does show how Vista perform better than XP, I would like to point out its by a fraction of a FPS. Dunno about you, but my eyes wouldn't be able to tell the difference. Honestly, all that shows is how negligible the performance increase is. I still would recommend Vista if you're playing DX10 games, but not because Vista's performance is "better." In my experience (I haven't looked up any benchmarks) XP is much faster in general, and that Vista is a memory hungry beast, typically soaking up twice the amount of Ram than XP did. But that is just my experience.

 

[jerkinjohn]

Well I went with XP Pro 32bit till 7 comes out and I am only getting to use 3Gb of RAM but with my current set up thats fine by me.
It's a work in progress so to speak.

Also as I mentioned before I had to reinstall windows 5 times till I figured out the problem was my Mobo Drivers. The first install I did the long format way wich took about an hour and then I did a couple quick format's and on the 5th one I did a quick format. Does anyone know if reinstalling windows 5 times does any harm or cause havoc on your PC? I was just curios cause it's running great now but I wondered if 5 reinstalls was a bad thing.

Thanx