Building a computer and need some advice!

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claudius

Weaksauce
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Nov 26, 2005
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So I plan on building a computer and have gathered some parts on newegg. I just want some approval from some people that have experience building, etc. I'm mainly going to be gaming, hopefully FEAR, BF2, CoD2, Quake 4, stuff like that. And the rest is just surfing, etc. OK, here's the parts...

NEC Black IDE/ATAPI DVD Burner Model ND-3550A - OEM

COOLER MASTER Centurion 5 CAC-T05-WW Black/Silver Aluminum Bezel, SECC Chassis ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - Retail

HITACHI Deskstar T7K250 HDT722516DLA380 (0A31637) 160GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM

EPoX EP-9NPA+Ultra Socket 939 NVIDIA nForce4 Ultra ATX AMD Motherboard - Retail

eVGA 256-P2-N516 Geforce 7800GT 256MB GDDR3 PCI Express x16 Video Card - Retail

FSP Group (Fortron Source) AX500-A ATX12V 500W Power Supply - Retail

Logitech X-230 32 Watts RMS 2.1 Speaker - OEM

LITE-ON SK-1788/BS 2-Tone PS/2 Wired Standard Keyboard - Retail

GeIL Value Series 1GB 184-Pin DDR SDRAM DDR 400 (PC 3200) Unbuffered System Memory Model GE1GB3200BSC - Retail

AMD Athlon 64 3700+ San Diego 1GHz FSB Socket 939 Processor Model ADA3700BNBOX - Retail

Microsoft Windows XP HOME Edition With Service Pack 2 - OEM



Is this everything I need to build a computer??? Do I need thermal paste or something like that???

Thanks for the help.
 
I would suggest looking at the Hitachi 7K80 drive. It is a better performer and costs around the same. I would either get the Chaintech VNF4 Ultra or the Epox 9NPA+Ultra. If you plan on overclocking, get the Epox. Switch the Antec PSU with the Fortron AX500-A. Also, I would look somewhere else besides newegg for it. Newegg charges around $20 more on the PSU then many other sites. FEAR and BF2 can really take advntage of over 1GB of RAM. So, I highly recommend getting 2GB or at least just buy a single 1GB stick so you can upgrade to 2GB without using all four slots. I would also suggest just getting some Corsair VS. Get something like an Opteron 146 instead of the 3700+. It has the same amount of cache and overclocks much better.
 
KoolDrew said:
I would suggest looking at the Hitachi 7K80 drive. It is a better performer and costs around the same. I would either get the Chaintech VNF4 Ultra or the Epox 9NPA+Ultra. If you plan on overclocking, get the Epox. Switch the Antec PSU with the Fortron AX500-A. Also, I would look somewhere else besides newegg for it. Newegg charges around $20 more on the PSU then many other sites. FEAR and BF2 can really take advntage of over 1GB of RAM. So, I highly recommend getting 2GB or at least just buy a single 1GB stick so you can upgrade to 2GB without using all four slots. I would also suggest just getting some Corsair VS. Get something like an Opteron 146 instead of the 3700+. It has the same amount of cache and overclocks much better.
Click to expand...

He pretty much nailed what I would say, minus the overclocking stuff. Seems like you certainly did your research.
 
1. Listen to what KoolDrew said. He hit all the major points, and you would do well to take his advice.

2. That case is nice, but have you considered the Centurion 532? It's much roomier and can support two 120mm fans, instead of one 80mm and one 120mm.
 
...80 GB's will go fast. I'd get more hard drive room. A small delta in price will get you some needed growing room. Current prices for the Hitachi drives (also my recommendation - fantastic drives) on NewEgg are:

80 GB - $54.00
160 GB - $89.50
250 GB - $109.50

....so the 160 feels like a "no brainer" to me. You will never regret having the room, trust me....:cool:

The build I'm finishing up today for a buddy that's currently on my bench has a pair of 250 GB drives in it.....:D

Nice system - good luck - B.B.S.
 
OK, I switched the Hitachi 160gig HD, the Epox board, and I like the Corsair but I kinda want a heat spreader, is there any other RAM like that w/ a heat spreader? I dont think I'll go with the Opteron though. I'll start out with the 1gig or RAM and add more leter.
 
Why do you want heatspreaders? IIRC they do not help at all. They are more for show then anything else. Also, if you plan on overclocking going with the Opteron would be a MUCH better choice.
 
i have the 80gig hitachi drives. they are running great so far. my computer does seem to boot up faster. i would choose another motherboard myself but thats me. you didnt say what your budget was.
 
Just updated my list of parts and I don't really want to go over $1200. I will be upgrading things in the future, like more RAM, maybe a 10,000 HDD, and maybe a 7800GTX. But before all that I want to get a better moniter.

I have a CRT moniter laying around, it said it was made in 1995, is it too old that the GPU wouldn't effect it???

Oh and do I need thermal paste?
 
If I buy 2x512Mb of RAM add a 1gig stick later one w/o having to get rid of the other 2x512mb sticks?
 
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