Looking for some feedback before I order my new comp

[trickymickey]

Ok so I'm a noobie so don't be too harsh, but I've asked for advice a couple of times recently, but now I'm actually ready to order and deals have changed, and therefore so has my build. I've read quite a few posts about choosing parts, and comments people have made on other builds, so I'm hoping this is good to go, but I'd love to get some yays or nays from some more experienced builders. I've done a little tinkering with computers in the past, but never anything as serious as building from scratch or OCing parts.

APPROXIMATE PURCHASE DATE: This weekend, possibly tomorrow or friday depending on when I get my paycheck and my cc payment clears.
BUDGET RANGE: $900 Max, including parts I've already purchased
SYSTEM USAGE FROM MOST TO LEAST IMPORTANT: Gaming, online video chat, streaming video/music, plus any sort of word processing, spreadsheet etc.
PARTS NOT REQUIRED: Keyboard, Mouse, Monitor, OS, and I already ordered my Case and an Optical Drive
PREFERRED WEBSITE(S) FOR PARTS: been shopping on newegg, but open to reliable sites.
PARTS PREFERENCES: none
OVERCLOCKING: Maybe
SLI OR CROSSFIRE: Maybe
MONITOR RESOLUTION: 1280x1024 until I get money for a new monitor, then getting a 22"

ADDITIONAL COMMENTS: I would like a PC that doesn't drown out all other noise in the room, some noise is to be expected... just not hurricane force winds.

So, I've already purchased an Antec 900 ( http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811129021 ) for 109.98 including shipping and a Samsung SH-223F DVD Burner (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827151171) for 32.18 after shipping, which means I have 760 left for my cpu, mobo, gcard, psu, ram, and hdd. Here's what I've picked out.

CPU: AMD Phenom II X4 955 Black Edition
MoBo: ASUS M4A79T Deluxe AM3 DDR3 AMD 790FX
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.212581
PSU: Corsair 750TX 750W
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139006
GPU: SAPPHIRE 100259-1GL Radeon HD 4870 1GB 256-bit GDDR5
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102801
RAM: OCZ Platinum 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820227286
HDD: Western Digital Caviar Black WD6401AALS 640GB 7200 RPM 32MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5"
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136319

Total for these with Shipping and MIB is $740.30, which brings my grand total to $882.46

So, the mobo bios might not be compatible with the 955, but ASUS will send me a updated bios chip if that's the case which would seem to make it worth it, I assume it's fairly easy to change a bios chip but I have no idea. Other than that I think everything should work together great.

Thanks for any advice, i'm a noobie builder so it's really helpful to me.

 

[Proximon]

My only concern is your math.... could that really be the total? You got quite a bit for that price.

 

[hunter315]

Just double checked and his math is right, that combo helps out quite a bit. I checked the asus website last night because i ordered that same combo on monday and it says that the 955 is supported from the very first bios version so you shouldnt have a problem.

 

[jsc]

Antec 900's do not come with a case (system) speaker. You should buy or scrounge one from somewhere. I use case speakers salvaged from old cases.

 

[Proximon]

You can get a PC P&C 750W for 100 bucks, and not have to worry about the rebate:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817703009

And per jsc's suggestion,
http://www.cwc-group.com/casp.html

 

[trickymickey]

My only concern is your math.... could that really be the total? You got quite a bit for that price.

Haha, I guess not having the money when I want to buy parts helps because then I can just look at parts for like a month and find good deals. Hopefully they won't all get bought up today before I can buy the CPU deal.

Good to know about the mobo support hunter, some of the reviews on newegg said they had to get a new bios but maybe they don't know what they're talking about. What happens if the bios isn't compatible, computer doesn't boot? I already have quite a new headset, so I don't really use speakers, or is the case speaker useful for diagnostic purposes when you're booting up for the first time?

Thanks for all of the feedback, it's good to have some confirmation from much more experienced builders and thanks for writing that guide on picking parts Proximon, it was very helpful in picking these out.

 

[hunter315]

The case speaker is diagnostic, its inside the case and attached to the motherboard. Beep codes get sent to the case speaker not regular speakers so if you are having an issue make sure to find one somewhere, lots of OEM computers come with one so you might be able to snag one from there.

 

[trickymickey]

Thanks for all the help, I just ordered the CPU and MoBo! Can't wait to put this rig together.

One more question, I was thinking about preordering windows 7 and was wondering if anyone has tryed any of the testing or if it's better than vista. I don't really fancy being a test dummy, but it's only 50 bucks if I preorder so maybe it's a good idea?

 

[trickymickey]

Ok, so I've ordered everything but RAM, and I can't decide what RAM to get.

My parts are as follows(basically what I posted above)

Antec 900 Case
AMD Phenom II X4 955 Black Edition
ASUS M4A79T Deluxe AM3 DDR3 AMD 790FX
Corsair 750TX 750W
SAPPHIRE 100259-1GL Radeon HD 4870 1GB 256-bit GDDR5
Western Digital Caviar Black WD6401AALS 640GB 7200 RPM 32MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5"
Samsung SH-223F DVD Burner

I was going to get OCZ Platinum 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820227286), but then some of the reviews said it didn't perform up to spec. Then my friend recommended mushkin, and there are two which both look pretty good, along with possibly some Gskill. I was wondering how important latency is vs speed, and if one of these is particularly better than another. I'd probably just get the mushkin, but unfortunately both are out of stock, and I'm not sure how long I'll have to wait for it to come in stock. Here are the different options for what I'm looking at. Thanks for any advice.

***OCZ Platinum 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820227297
***OCZ Platinum 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820227286 (slightly lower latency)
***G.SKILL 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 (PC3 10666) http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231189
***G.SKILL Trident 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231259
***mushkin XP 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820146871
***mushkin HP 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 (PC3 10666) http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820146868

I'm also open to other recommendations, these are just what seemed to have good reviews, in my price range.

 

[Proximon]

I think it has to be this OCZ:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820227286

I'm a big fan of G.skill, but this is by far the fastest kit. The Mushkin would be great also:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820146871