Help on First built computer system (lots of it too)

jjrocks · Jan 25, 2009

Well before I give you all the things you need to know, let me tell you a bit of background. First off this is my very first computer I'm building (really excited). In the system specs are the things I want to be in the system not what is on my system. I'm basing most of my decisions on this this

I'm a multitasker, a big one. Right now I have 15 tabs in mozilla firefox running, I have something downloading in the background, I'm listending to music, I also have many things in the system tray, like rockstar games social club, network magic, xfire, steam, skype, and the list goes on and on. I was hoping to have a game in the background as well with this new system.

I'll put a score out of 10 to tell you how knowledgeable I am in the subject. Anything in (parenthesis) is extra info about it. Anything in [brackets] tells the budget of that specific part. Each thing in the system specs is something I'm looking at buying not what I already have.

System Specs
Budget:$800 - $1000 (up to a $100 over budget would be fine) ?/10

VGA: (I'll use 2 Graphics cards, Crossfire or SLI supported) 9/10

Monitor:19 - 22 inch 6/10

MotherBoard: P45 or x58 2/10 [???]

Operating System:Windows Vista Home Premium or Ultimate 8/10

Browser:Mozilla Firefox/Chrome if it helps 10/10

CPU:Quad core or i7 [$300 at the most]

Sound:Is it really important to have one? 2/10

What I'll do with the computer:Everything though I'll do a lot more gaming with this card.

Memory:4GB- 6GB (depends on Quad core or i7) [???] 7/10 PSU:500

Watts - 700 Watts 4/10 Brand:As long as it doesn't suck!

HD:500 GB - 1TB [???] 5/10

Cooling:If I need it 1/10

Misc:Wireless networking card if it fits budget 3/10

jyjjy · Jan 25, 2009

I wouldn't recommend sli or i7 on that budget.
Q9400, p45 motherboard, 4 gigs of ddr2 800, gtx 260+, terabyte hard drive...
That's $700ish leaving the rest for the monitor and case/psu.

Mrbumbum · Jan 25, 2009

aevm · Jan 25, 2009

Let's clarify a bit:

You have $1100 (USA dollars) at most.
You need to fit a monitor and Windows too in this budget.
You want a gaming machine.
You want an Intel MB (P45; forget X58 on your budget)
You want a quad CPU (multitasking like crazy, etc.)
You don't care if the video card supports Crossfire or SLI but you do want to have two cards eventually. (forget buying two good cards on your budget)

Let's start with the obvious parts:

Windows Vista Home Premium 64-bit OEM $100 (Newegg prices)
Monitor - around $200 for a decent 22" LCD widescreen

You're left with $800 for the actual tower.

Q6600 retail - about $180 (I'm on dial-up and too lazy to check Newegg so prices are approximate, sorry; also, where I don't give you links, look them up on Newegg)
GA-EP45-UD3P $115 - supports Crossfire
HD 4850 $135
S75CF $70
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817341011&Tpk=S75CF
RC-690, $70
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119137
RAM $50
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231219&Tpk=G.Skill HK
SH-S223F
WD6401AALS

Add shipping costs and I think that's about it for your budget. Add a second video card and a HDT-S1283 later and overclock if you want.

aevm · Jan 25, 2009

Mrbumbum :

Excellent setup. I'd go with it, with these changes only:
- WD6401AALS is almost 50% faster than WD5000AAKS and cheaper per GB
- the Xigmatek is not necessary, because the CPU is retail (comes with cooler) and the OP is not ready to overclock
- the PC Power & Cooling 750W is basically the same PSU as the Corsair 650TX, but more powerful and $10 less

Mrbumbum · Jan 25, 2009

aevm :

I agree with most of that. I was just trying to stay under his 1100. The 650tx has a combo with the p5q pro which brought it under the 1100 budget, the pc 750watt brings total to $1,108.20 Yeah its only 8 bucks more but he said the 1100 was his max so I stuck with it

For the same reason I picked the 500gb over the 640gb. If OP can spend the additional $18 then yeah I would get the 640gb and 750watt

If OP dosent want to overclock at all then yeah scratch the cooler, but the p5q pro, ocz ram, hdt dark knight will overclock nicely and is user friendly. I have not overclocked until i bought those components and I got my E6550 (2.33ghz) running at 3.5ghz by only upping the fsb and vcore. I think if the OP wants to overclock he can without much trouble. Plus the Dark Knight Cooler looks sick on the p5q pro

jjrocks · Jan 25, 2009

aevm :

Let's clarify a bit:

You have $1100 (USA dollars) at most.
You need to fit a monitor and Windows too in this budget.
You want a gaming machine.
You want an Intel MB (P45; forget X58 on your budget)
You want a quad CPU (multitasking like crazy, etc.)
You don't care if the video card supports Crossfire or SLI but you do want to have two cards eventually. (forget buying two good cards on your budget)

Let's start with the obvious parts:

Windows Vista Home Premium 64-bit OEM $100 (Newegg prices)
Monitor - around $200 for a decent 22" LCD widescreen

You're left with $800 for the actual tower.

Q6600 retail - about $180 (I'm on dial-up and too lazy to check Newegg so prices are approximate, sorry; also, where I don't give you links, look them up on Newegg)
GA-EP45-UD3P $115 - supports Crossfire
HD 4850 $135
S75CF $70
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817341011&Tpk=S75CF
RC-690, $70
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119137
RAM $50
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231219&Tpk=G.Skill HK
SH-S223F
WD6401AALS

Add shipping costs and I think that's about it for your budget. Add a second video card and a HDT-S1283 later and overclock if you want.

Yes you are right on all things. Here is a real quick question, do you think I get the monitor from Circuit City for a lesser price since they are having that huge sale of theirs? I could save a lot of money doing that and invest into another project.

aevm · Jan 25, 2009

By all means, go there and see what you can find. It's smart to buy monitors from a brick-and-mortar store anyway because you get to see how they feel. Maybe they'll even let you check for dead pixels before you buy.

V3NOM · Jan 25, 2009

well theres nothing making you go buy windows..................

imo get an S1283, but don't get the bloody dark knight version... the S1283 red scorpion is like $20 cheaper and just as godo if not better. it ahs nickel plating on the bits that matter - the heatpipes. the dark knight has plating on the aluminium fins. ever heard of aluminium fins rusting? i havent.

if you're not overclocking, you should be. buying a Q6600 and not ocing it is SIN i tell you 😛

xthekidx · Jan 25, 2009

Also check like craigslist, a lot of the time people overspend their budgets and buy nice monitors and then have to sell them. I bought a copy of windows vista premium 64 for $50. It pays to shop around!

jjrocks · Jan 25, 2009

Looking through my local craigslist I found a monitor that are selling for $10 cheeper than the one you are suggesting.
Gateway HD2200 Black-Silver 22"

Again, when it comes to monitors I'm a newb. So, what do you suggest? This one on craigslist is selling for $150 and has been in use for a few months. It looks better than the other however I can't tell whether it is or not. Any suggestions?

Oh, by the way I will overclock it. Oh and xthekidx you were right I found Windows Vista ultimate for $60!

Why do I need to install a 64 bit? And will all the items I'm getting be compatible with 64-bit?

jyjjy · Jan 25, 2009

32 bit Windows can only utilize 3.2-3.5 gigs of ram.

xthekidx · Jan 25, 2009

If you have a desktop then you want to get 64 bit, otherwise you will not be able to use more than 4 gigs. IMO only laptops should use 32 bit. Make sure that Vista Ultimate is a 64 bit version.

jjrocks · Jan 25, 2009

Going with your suggestions I tried to see what alternatives that were cheaper and had the exact same or better features. Here is the list.

[strike]Cases[/strike] Done! Thanks you aevm again for your wonderful support

[strike]Power Supply[/strike] Another one down by aevm

nothing for the CPU

Memory
I'll be checking up on compatible ram in a bit.

[strike]nothing for the motherboard though looking at the motherboard you suggested more thoroughly are you sure that the memory is compatible? Still need to figure out if memory will be supported on this mobo(motherboard)[/strike]
Solved! Thanks for the help

none for CPU cooler

[strike]Hardrive[/strike] Solved! I'm getting a bit more expensive one but it proves to be more bang for it's buck!

[strike]DVD burners[/strike] Solved! Sticking to original.

[strike]Right now for my Graphics/Video card I have a 4670 HD, it works spectacular! Would it be better to get 2 of those instead of 1 4850?[/strike] Solved! I'm getting a 4850. Thanks aevm!

[strike]Monitor[/strike]
Solved for the most part. I'll go with aevm on this one but I'll still be looking at the other monitor just in case. I'll be using craigslist for the gateway monitor ($150). So it just may be a better deal to get that monitor than the other

Keep in mind that I'll be using Craigslist for the Gateway monitor if that's prefered. The cost there was $150

People also looked into this here: http://www.eggxpert.com/forums/467734/ShowThread.aspx#467734 can't tell which one is better though.

Right now 25 tabs open. Music in the background, instaling an application, planning to download something soon.
Here is a picture to show you.

aevm · Jan 25, 2009

A HD 4850 will beat two HD 4670, even in games that support Crossfire very well. It's 800 stream processors against 2*320. On the other hand, with two HD 4670 you can connect 3 or even 4 monitors, while with the HD 4850 you are limited to 2.

jjrocks · Jan 25, 2009

One problem solved! 7 more to go. And those are the major ones! If anyone can tell me about the monitors say something same goes with everything else. I'm not that great with this however I know you guys are. It'll help out a great deal!

aevm · Jan 26, 2009

Let's talk about those cases then: a quick look at your link shows
6 reviews for ARK GL-09A
2 reviews for COOLER MASTER Elite RC-332-KKN1-GP
749 reviews for the Antec 300

I'm going to go out on a limb and say that the Antec 300 is probably better in that price range, since so many people preferred it.
Among other things, it's the widest of the three (18.5" x 7.9" x 16.9", 19.1'' x 7.5'' x 16.6'', 18" x 18.3" x 8.1") and that means it has the best chance to fit a good CPU cooler.

About the PSUs: the 650TX is the best of all those 4.

There's also a PC Power & Cooling 750W S75CF for $70 after rebate at newegg, but I'm not sure if it fits in those cases. It would fit in a RC-690, if you're interested in that case.

jyjjy · Jan 26, 2009

The Antec 300 is only $40 here;

http://www.microcenter.com/single_product_results.phtml?product_id=0283272

geofelt · Jan 26, 2009

Good suggestions from aevm and mebumbum.

With lots of multitasking, I would get 8gb. Corsair 4gb kits are $25 after rebate on egg.
The extra ram keeps the many tasks from interfering with each other.
Vista-64 will be needed to address over 4gb.

The Antec 300 looks like a great case to me. I have had very good experience with Antec cases, and their support is good.
Watch shipping costs; cases are heavy, and can cost $20 in shipping.

Since you do lots of multitasking, look at your monitor options carefully. Spend more there if you can, because you will be looking at the same display through several generations of pc. In particular, see how much display real estate you can get.
See if you can't justify a 24" 1920x1200 monitor.

Alternatively, you would get more display area with two 19" monitors vs a single 24" monitor.

Outlander_04 · Jan 26, 2009

with a 19 or 22 inch monitor you do not need 2 gfx cards

jjrocks · Jan 26, 2009

To avem: thanks for the support you helped me a lot. I'll use most of your suggestions if not all. Thanks to you Power Supply problem solved, Case problem solved, I'll look into the cooler, thought I think it may be better to stick with the XIGMATEK just for cost purposes. Cooler problem solved

To jyjjy: I figured out that other places may be cheaper. I know I won't buy everything from newegg (unless shipping is free). Though thanks for the suggestion of the site. I'll shop there and compare items when I'm fully ready.

To geofelt: Multitasking is something important in my life (exactly 25 tabs open as of now) I did free up some money because of Craigslist so I'll see what is left over the total cost. Right now I'm $100 overbudget shrinking it down will be tough especially with shipping charges. We'll see how things work out. With the monitor, I'll use the 22" first then move over to get an extra one at a later time since that will be way over my budget.

To xthekidx: Yes it's 64-bit just talked to the guy about it.

3 down 4 more to go!

aevm · Jan 26, 2009

OK, about the DVDs now: between those two, I'd prefer LG to Asus. LG makes fantastic DVD burners, they've always worked great for me. The only issue is they some times handicap them to rip DVDs slower than they could, for politically correct reasons. That can be fixed with Media Code Speed Edit, mind you. You could also check out the SH-S223F, it's very popular.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827151171&Tpk=SH-S223F

aevm · Jan 26, 2009

HDD: I hate to do this to you, since you're overbudget, but the fact is I wouldn't buy any of those HDDs you set up for comparison. They are slow or flaky or both. What I would buy is a WD6401AALS ($80) or a WD6400AAKS ($75).

jjrocks · Jan 26, 2009

So far I saved:
$10 on monitor (either one)
$30 on Windows.
$10 on Case

With the extra items added:
-$15 on HDD

Still trying to go to my normal budget of $1000
about $65 left to go!

I'll edit this post as well as the comparison list above as time goes on.

To aevm: I hope you are right on that HDD and I'll stick with the original one by LG just for the sake for keeping that dollar.
5 down 3 to go!

aevm · Jan 26, 2009

OK, I'm lost, which 3 are left?

Help on First built computer system (lots of it too)

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