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

[jjrocks]

If I ever move to Canada I'll keep that in mind. Thanks for the sites! If anybody has any other websites I'll be more than willing to take them up! I love comparing prices.

 

[jjrocks]

Here is the current list

Case
Antec Three Hundred Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - Retail

Power Supply
CORSAIR CMPSU-650TX 650W ATX12V

CPU
Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 Kentsfield 2.4GHz

Memory
OCZ Platinum 4GB (2 x 2GB)

Motherboard
GIGABYTE GA-EP45-UD3P LGA 775 Intel P45 ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail

Hard Drive
Western Digital Caviar SE16 WD6400AAKS 640GB 7200 RPM 16MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive

DVD Burner
LG Black 22X

OS
Vista Ultimate (Craigslist so therefore no link) 🙁 $60

Video Card
SAPPHIRE 100245L Radeon HD 4850 512MB

Monitor
Gateway 22" (Craigslist again) $150

If there is anything I'm missing or any improvements I could make go ahead and tell me.

 

[aevm]

Looks good.

Are you sure the Vista Ultimate you get from Craigslist is legitimate? You might get a copy whose serial number is already registered by somebody else, and then you won't be able to get security updates, or Vista might refuse to work at all.

 

[jjrocks]

I'm afraid of that also. I'll question the person over email to get any suspicions down. I'll also make sure it's legitimate copy. If not, I'll see what I can do.

 

[jjrocks]

Oh, before I forget the total cost is $996.77 Does anyone want to do a quick math check here?

Well if any more questions come up I'll be shore to post!

 

[jjrocks]

It looks like me and my dad decided to put in rebates. The price has lowered to $921. Right now, I think I just want to improve the case. Any suggestions?

 

[geofelt]

It looks like me and my dad decided to put in rebates. The price has lowered to $921. Right now, I think I just want to improve the case. Any suggestions?

It is hard to beat the Antec 300 at any price.
1) Outstanding cooling.
2) Three speed fans included.
3) Washable filters.
4) No fussy front doors.
5) Plenty of room for parts.
6) Good quality.
7) Good customer service support.

What more do you want?
If you want "bling" , resist the urge and spend the $100 you save on something useful.

 

[jjrocks]

Ok the, if that's the case I'll just leave it at that. Since school closed yesterday due to snow I wasn't able to talk to comp sci teacher but, oh well. I'll talk today. Anyway thanks for the help. I'll probably bump this back up when all the parts arrive so I can get help on building.

 

[xthekidx]

If you want to use up the extra budget you could bump up the video card to a HD 4870 and get another 4 GB kit of ram for 8 gigs, however your build is quite solid right now and there are no glaring areas that need improvement unless you wanted to spend $100 more and get the Q9550. (You did say that up to $100 over your $1000 budget would be fine...). Don't change the case, it's the best budget case around.

 

[jjrocks]

How about the HIS Hightech H487F512P Radeon HD 4870

I only chose it because of free shipping...

 

[jjrocks]

Never mind... I decided to get a usb network... thing (forgot the proper term) since I have 8 usb ports. all for the price of $13! Any objections?

 

[aevm]

LOL, I have no idea what you're talking about. What is the thing supposed to do? Link?

 

[jjrocks]

Wifi access instead of wired access you know what, here is the link

oh, by the way here is the new cost: 919.87

 

[aevm]

Neat... Very useful if you have pets who like to chew on cables.

 

[jjrocks]

Yes indeed. Now I just need to find a pet who chews on cables

 

[aevm]

Did you read this comment at Newegg?

Don't use default driver on disk, or software, very unstable, download drivers from the website. I didn't know this and became very frustrated.

 

[jjrocks]

I make sure that at least 4% - 5% have that type of posts for total convincing. I think I've found 2 so I have 2 more to go to make sure however if it doesn't work I'll know the reason.

 

[jjrocks]

So I have a bigger problem. Trying to convince my parents to buy the parts for the computer. They are non tech types so I won't be able to use specs to convince them.

Any ideas?




Oh and yes I'm still in high school

 

[geofelt]

So I have a bigger problem. Trying to convince my parents to buy the parts for the computer. They are non tech types so I won't be able to use specs to convince them.

Any ideas?




Oh and yes I'm still in high school

Go to the local library, and read a book on salesmanship.

 

[jjrocks]

That would be great and all but I haven't paid my fines in weeks and it's at $40

 

[aevm]

I make sure that at least 4% - 5% have that type of posts for total convincing. I think I've found 2 so I have 2 more to go to make sure however if it doesn't work I'll know the reason.

I should have been more clear. I didn't mean it's a bad device. Go ahead, buy it. I just wanted you to know that you should get the drivers from the Web site. No point in you suffering too just like that guy who wrote the review

About the salesmanship part... Explain to your parents that familiarity with Vista will be a useful skill on your resume, and you need a computer capable of running Vista so you can learn it. It's true actually. (Just don't mention that HD 4870 is way overkill for that purpose.)

 

[aevm]

BTW, building and repairing and upgrading PCs is also a useful skill. It can lead to a job in IT eventually, or making some money on weekends while working in a totally different field, or at least to saving money because you won't have to pay Geek Squad (or similar) obscene amounts of money to fix trivial stuff. Parents usually approve of their kids learning things.

 

[jjrocks]

They did, that's why they were willing to fund this. just so they could let me get some educational experience. They have been having second thoughts about it though. It happens every time I ask them to fund something greater than $100

Edit: They want me to put it off for a later time but the problem is craigs list. I saved $300 using it and I'm not going to let those deals die on me.

 

[xthekidx]

tell them you need it for school, you will be more productive if you have your own computer to do your work on instead of having to wait for them to get off to use theirs...It almost worked on my parents when I was in High school...but then they just bought an eMac G4 and made me use that

 

[geofelt]

They did, that's why they were willing to fund this. just so they could let me get some educational experience. They have been having second thoughts about it though. It happens every time I ask them to fund something greater than $100

Edit: They want me to put it off for a later time but the problem is craigs list. I saved $300 using it and I'm not going to let those deals die on me.

Get a job. Ask if your folks will match your earnings.