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First build ever PLEASE HELP

M

mobusta1

2[H]4U
Joined
May 1, 2008
Messages
2,590
Ok first off some background info:

This is my first build ever so I'm pretty nervous about buying all the right parts, putting them all together, then overclocking and having everything work out (fingers crossed). I'm also a college student so I pay to attention to price very closely.

I have been using my p4 3.2 for the past coupe of years doing minor upgrading so I could still play the latest games. It's time to do a big upgrade as I'm just not getting enough FPS in online shooters (which is what I mainly play)

I own a Dell 2407 24inch lcd and I like to game at 1920x1200. After gathering various opinions on this I will probably install vista x64 on this machine. I'm going to MAINLY use this computer for gaming and very light video editing (i.e. using fraps to record myself ingame to make frag movies). I'm going to mostly use this PC to play the latest games, Crysis, COD4, UT3, Asassian's Creed, Dark Messiah, AOC etc. FPS is very important to me, especially in games like cod4 where if I dont have a constat 80-90 fps I can't play. And, I'd like to be able to do this at high settings with a high rez.

After reading the OC thread in the OC section I had my heart set on a q6600 but after making a thread on helping to chose a video card a fellow poster informed me that it is actually better to go with a dual core then quad core if all I mainly do is game.

And the last bit of info... I do want to overclock, my goal is somewhere around 3.5-3.6 (without water cooling). I read somewhere that your memory speed has to match your cpu speed fsb, so I'm not sure if I picked out the correct memory.

It took me weeks to do all the research and get together all the information by reading reviews on different websites and reading all the theards here on the [H], so any help at all would be really helpfull

Anyways without further ado here are the pieces I've picked out so far.

WS= with shipping

CASE:

Rosewill R5604-TBK 0.8mm SECC Screw-less Dual 120mm Fans ATX Mid Tower Computer Case
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811147033
$56.99


MB

GIGABYTE GA-EP43-DS3L LGA 775 Intel P43 ATX Intel Motherboard
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128347
W$= 109



CPU

Intel Core 2 Duo E8400 Wolfdale 3.0GHz
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115037
$189.99

(Again this is where I dont know what decision to make. Either the above CPU or a q6600 which is the same price range)


PSU

Corsair 750W TX750W ATX12V Power Supply
http://www.provantage.com/corsair-cmpsu-750tx~7CSMC05E.htm
WS= $107.06


GPU

SAPPHIRE 100242L Radeon HD 4850 512MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102747
$159.99 after $30.00 Mail-In Rebate

Another question here would be is it worth it to upgrade to the 4870 (with the settings that I like to game at as listed above)



HD

Maxtor 1TB Serial ATA/300 32MB Buffer Hard Drive
http://frys.com/product/5524820
$ 159.99


RAM

AGAIN NOT SURE WHICH ONE TO PICK. WHICH ONE GOES BEST WITH MY MB/CPU?

1:
G.SKILL 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 1000 (PC2 8000) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231145
WS= $92

2:
G.SKILL 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 1066 (PC2 8500) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231166
$104.99

3:
mushkin 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820146731
WS= $72 after $25.00 Mail-In Rebate (THIS ONE IS ACTUALLY SIGNIFIGANTLY CHEAPER)


AFTER MARKET CPU COOLER

XIGMATEK HDT-S1283 120mm Rifle CPU Cooler
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835233003
$26.99 after $10.00 Mail-In Rebate


RETENTION BRACKET FOR COOLER

XIGMATEK ACK-I7751 Retention Bracket
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835233019
WS= $14




Thanks for all your help guys
 
Case:
I recommend getting a better case. For just $4 more, you can get this case with free shipping:
Antec 300 ATX Case - $60

CPU:
How long do you plan on keeping this PC? If it's less than two years, stick with the E8400. If it's more than two years, go for the Q6600. You can't add more cores but you can always add more clock speed. However, at 1920x1200, clock speed doesn't matter that much. Once above 1280x1024, you're more GPU limited than CPU limited. In fact the E8400 isn't that much faster than the Q6600 at 1920x1200 with many games. Read this article:
http://www.guru3d.com/article/cpu-scaling-in-games-with-quad-core-processors/

GPU:
Yes, it might be worth it for you to upgrade to the HD4870.

RAM:
Definitely #1 for the E8400 and Q6600.
 
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fantomau said:
For alittle bit more ($180 shipped free), You can get 2 of these - Western Digital 640GB WD6400AAKS

They are very fast and come close to the performance of a raptor.

Heres some nice cases:

COOLER MASTER RC-690

Antec Three Hundred

Antec Nine Hundred - ($79.99 AR)

And damn I just missed the rebate for the Xigmatek, Bought mine on 6/29. Couldve saved $10, Owell.
Click to expand...

Do you mind explaining why the 640GB is faster than than 1TB one? It says there both sata drives and 7200 rpm.
 
mobusta1 said:
Do you mind explaining why the 640GB is faster than than 1TB one? It says there both sata drives and 7200 rpm.
Click to expand...

The WD 640GB drive uses a newer two-platter design that's faster than the 3 platter design of that Maxtor 1TB drive. As such, the WD 640GB is just as fast as some Raptor drives.
 
I forgot to ask a few more things, Will I be needing any extra cabling? I was reading the reviews for the 640 drive and it said it didn't come with any cables. I also have a dvd/rw that I'm pulling from my four year old gateway pc. I know its vague but will the dvd drive be comptabile?
 
Your motherboard comes with a couple or more sata cables and the PSU will come with the sata power cables.

What is your DVD/RW drive? Sata or IDE? If IDE, It might be a good idea to get a Sata DVDRW drive (Samsung, LiteOn, Asus are some good recommendations), That way you dont have to deal with the bulky IDE cables, Makes for better cable management.
 
No additional cables. The motherboard comes with three SATA cables IIRC. Yes your IDE DVD burner is still compatible.
 
Case - get a P182 ($100-$120) which is one of the most well designed cases I have used. Very efficient airflow. Also consider purchasing an addition (4th) 120 mm fan to serve as an intake. I recommend the tricool series from antec which have three speed settings via a handy switch (I run all mine on low and I can't hear them when the machine is running).

MB - get a DFI board for overclocking, I don't know much about that GB board. The P43 is a new chipset so you might have BIOS glitches with it. P35 and X38 are both more mature.

GPU - dunno much about ATI cards. I'm an nvidia guy.

HD - also not a Maxtor guy... I'm very happy with the new gen 11 seagates myself (part numbers end in .11). Newer design, NCQ, and 32 M cache. See TH's 3.5" disc guide.
 
I agree, avoid Maxtor unless its a rebadged Seagate. :p

And yes, go with RAM choice 1. That P43 board would OC that chip to 4Ghz just fine. If you'd like to go higher, get a board with better chipset cooling.
 
One last thing. I posted this another forum and very knowledgable guy said that I should just go for the e7200 instead of the e8400 as they both OC the same and I would be saving money to put towards a 4870. What do you guys think?
 
That knowledgable person does have a point.

It's up to you. Do the research.

Do note that you can get the E8400 for $160 from Microcenter.com. So with that in mind, the extra $30 for the E8400 is worth it to me.
 
I was reading the specs on the 4870 and it said that it had 2x 6pin connectors. The powesupply that I listed abovev only has 8 pins with no 6 pin connectors. Is there an adapter that will make it work?
 
Its an 8pin connector and you snap off 1 end to convert to a 6pin. Thats how my corsair HX620 is. So it can either fit a 6pin or a 8pin.
 
I can confirm for ya. I have a 750tx and it has 4 8 pin connectors labeled specifically for pci-e. it's a 6 pin head with 2 additional pins on separate wire that is heatshrinked/sleeved as part of the 6 pin.

No worries....for the rest of your days! Hakuna Matata! :D
 
I agree, if you can get the E8400 at that price, thats a nice deal.
 
Just a heads up. I ordered all the parts from my post and the parts that everyone here recommended. Now lets just hope nothing arrives DOA and everything works from the get go (fingers crossed!)
Thanks to everyone to chipped in and gave their 2 cents. Couldn't have gotten this far without the help from the [H] people :D

On a side note. After reading some reviews i've heard that you have to be really picky with size when you install an after market HSF due to the space restriction. I really wish I looked into this before I orderd the MB lol.
If anyone knows if the HSF that I ordered above will fit fine please do let me know.
 
I'm sorry, but could you post the "final" list of which parts you've bought? There has been so many recommendations in this thread that I can't remember them all....

... And pics... oh yeah! Pics!
 
[FONT=arial,helvetica,sans-serif]Xigmatek is 120([/FONT][FONT=arial,helvetica,sans-serif]W[/FONT][FONT=arial,helvetica,sans-serif]) x 159(H) x 50(D) mm

TRUE is [/FONT]132(W) x 160.5(H) x 63.44(D) mm

TRUE compat says OKAY for your MB so I'm takin a shot here that the Xigmatek will probably fit just fine. The NB Heatsink on your motherboard looks like no trouble(unlike on my PITA DFI LP LT X38).
 
tiraides said:
I'm sorry, but could you post the "final" list of which parts you've bought? There has been so many recommendations in this thread that I can't remember them all....

... And pics... oh yeah! Pics!
Click to expand...

Sorry about that. Here you go:

SAPPHIRE 100243L Radeon HD 4870 512MB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16

1 GIGABYTE GA-EP43-DS3L LGA 775 Intel P43 ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail

1 G.SKILL 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 1000 (PC2 8000) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model F2-8000CL5D-4GBPQ

1 Western Digital Caviar SE16 WD6400AAKS 640GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM

1 Antec Nine Hundred Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case -

1 Intel Core 2 Duo E8400 Wolfdale 3.0GHz LGA 775 65W Dual-Core Processor

1 XIGMATEK ACK-I7751 Retention Bracket

1 XIGMATEK HDT-S1283 120mm Rifle CPU Cooler - Retail

1 CORSAIR CMPSU-750TX 750W ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply - Retail

And yes I will definately update this page (or maybe make a new one ;) ) with lots of pics from each stage of the build once I have everything. I know once I have all the parts delivered it'll feel like xmas. I'm getting excited!
 
Nah, don't make a new thread. Just update this.

Nice build. Have fun with it!
 
Cool, that looks like a good build. I was going to tell you to stay away from Maxtor and get WD, but I guess you figured it out.
 
I believe its an nec dvd/r dual layer burner that came with the old gateway I had. I didn't want to spend another 40 bucks on a burner and really didn't need to (although it does look a little ugly in an all black case but I can just paint it later).
 
oh ok thx i like the way it sucks the cd in wish i could find more like those
 
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