First build ...need advice

[gnusmas645]

Hi,

I’m looking into the possibility of assembling my own computer and was wondering how much of a hassle it would be for the average Joe (me) to put together this rig (below).

I have a little experience in adding and removing parts such as Memory, HDD, Power Supplies and Video Cards but that’s as far as it goes.

Do I need any special tools?
Do I need special parts that don’t come with the motherboard?
What should i be on the lookout for?
Etc…

CASE: Antec P180
Power Supply: Thermaltake ToughPower 600Watts
Motherboard: ASUS P5N32-E SLI 680i
CPU: Intel Core2Duo E6400 2.13GHZ
Memory: Corsair PC-6400 DDR-800 2x 1024MB
Video Card: eVGA or BFG 8800GTS 640MB
HHD: Seagate Barracuda 400G 7200RPM 16MB S2
Optical Drive: Pioneer DVR-111D
Floppy Disk: STD + Card reader


Thanks

 

[Reagent]

Building a computer is very easy.

Tools:

Screwdrivers small flat head and small philips.
Small pair of Needle Nose pliers. (or tweezers)
Knife/scissors to cut open boxes/packaging/cable ties.
Flashlight.

It is pretty straight forward.
All the crap now adays is pretty much plug and play.

Almost forgot, you will need beer.

 

[GMoney42392]

as far as tools go, all you need is a flathead and phillips screwdriver (electric is best, saves lots of time). asus should provide everything you need to get your pc up and running. be on the lookout for the budget 8800gtses with 320mb but no other differences to be released in february. i would wait for that, as it should cost $100 less than a 640mb gts, which can get you an e6600. other than that, looks good.

 

[kill4killin]

I have found that magnetic screwdrivers help a lot as well, especially with the case you are getting (its the one I have, congrats) since it has a lot of little spaces where two hands just wont fit. They also come in handy if you happen to drop a screw into the case near something you might not want to touch.

The motherboard and parts, assuming they are all compatible with each other will fit together with no special extra parts.

When you are assembling the computer be weary that even a small electric shock that you can't detect with your own fingers can fry parts of the computer. Make sure you ground yourself by touching the computer case (metal part) before touching any other computer part, AKA processor, motherboard, anything electricity runs through. Better yet if you can afford one (they arent expensive) buy a grounding strap from like radioshack or the like. It is a wire that you connect to your wrist or ankle and attach to something metal, so you don't have to remember to touch metal before you work.

Other than that good luck.

 

[gnusmas645]

Thanks everyone

By assembling my own system I'm able to save approximately $300/CAN (online deals from canadacomputers.com and ncix.com)

So now I can afford to go with E6600 instead of the E6400 and still save money
Great stuff!


Thanks for your time

 

[alkaline]

go with the evga card....they are a great company and you will be pleased with their service if you ever have an issue.

 

[buffbiff21]

Almost forgot, you will need beer.

QFT

I have found that magnetic screwdrivers help a lot as well,

Correct but DO NOT get the magnet tip around your hard drives!!!

Are you hellbent on an ASUS board? You will save $50 if you get the EVGA, plus EVGA has far, far better customer support.

For your system, I would get a different PSU. I dont know... I just dont trust Thermaltake for power.
Try this http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16817341001

For ram, that Corsair does not OC. At all. You need the Higher-end stuff from Corsair to OC. These are some G skill that are still using the good Micron chips:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16820231065

For your CPU, I personally would get the e6300 if youre on a budget. I dont find that extra multiplier any useful if you have good flexible RAM, which you will if you buy the stuff I listed.

EDIT: you may want one of these HD's for games: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16822136054

EDIT AGAIN:

If you overclock the CPU get one of the following:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...escription=zalman+9700&Submit=ENE&N=0&Ntk=all

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16835154001
Good luck!
I remember my first build and it was very fun!

 

[gnusmas645]

Are you hellbent on an ASUS board? You will save $50 if you get the EVGA, plus EVGA has far, far better customer support.

So far what I found would cost me a bit more than the ASUS. (I live in Montreal, Canada)
But that's not to say I'm not going to go with the EVGA anyway.

For your system, I would get a different PSU. I dont know... I just dont trust Thermaltake for power.

Actually, the reason I chose the Thermaltake was for the noise level. It has a 140mm fan which is bound to be quieter than any 120mm.
Noise level is also the reason I didn't go the 10,000RPM Raptor route.

For ram, that Corsair does not OC. At all. You need the Higher-end stuff from Corsair to OC. These are some G skill that are still using the good Micron chips:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16820231065

To be quite honest I've never done any kind of OC and wouldn't know where to start.
I am however very interested in learning and was told the 680i is a very good place to start as it makes it easy even for the complete noob, like me, to dive right in.

For your CPU, I personally would get the e6300 if youre on a budget. I dont find that extra multiplier any useful if you have good flexible RAM, which you will if you buy the stuff I listed.

One of the reasons I chose to go with the E600 instead of the previously listed E6400 was for the extra 2Mb of cache (I was told it makes a big enough difference to justify the extra $100/CAN ...true or false?)

I would really like to understand exactly what I'm doing before I start overclocking anything.
I've been told a lot of things about OC from well meaning individuals but, since I don't have any experience, it's kind of hard to separate the myths from the facts. Also, since one of my goals is a very quiet PC, should I even consider overclocking? Wouldn't I need more fans? (Extra fans = more noise)

If anyone has a link that explains overclocking that even a two year old could understand I would greatly appreciate it.

Thanks again everyone

 

[buffbiff21]

So far what I found would cost me a bit more than the ASUS. (I live in Montreal, Canada)

Ah gotcha. So you are goin with the EVGA then? I have absolutely zero problems with mine.

Actually, the reason I chose the Thermaltake was for the noise level. It has a 140mm fan which is bound to be quieter than any 120mm.
Noise level is also the reason I didn't go the 10,000RPM Raptor route.

Well, you can actually soundproof a case after you build it. From what i have seen the Antec P180 is a very quiet case. Just take each fan, plug it in separately, and find out which ones are the loudest. You can find and replace good quiet ones that have good CFM pretty much anywhere, Yate loon fans are my preferred. That OCZ PSU is very quiet, I have the 700W model and I do not notice it. Personally, I would prefer a louder HDD, because then I know when it is reading/writing something. This is useful when it should/should not be active. (like a virus or spyware writing itself to my disk)

To be quite honest I've never done any kind of OC and wouldn't know where to start.
I am however very interested in learning and was told the 680i is a very good place to start as it makes it easy even for the complete noob, like me, to dive right in.

Yea the 680i is not too tough. It has a large amount of options, and you can run the RAM unlinked to the FSB which intel chipsets do not currently have.

One of the reasons I chose to go with the E600 instead of the previously listed E6400 was for the extra 2Mb of cache (I was told it makes a big enough difference to justify the extra $100/CAN ...true or false?)

I think it is worth it, because I encode/burn movies to DVDs all the time. However this is the only category that that extra 2 meg cache will come in handy for. If you have the money, and you encode movies/music/etc, then do it.

I would really like to understand exactly what I'm doing before I start overclocking anything.
I've been told a lot of things about OC from well meaning individuals but, since I don't have any experience, it's kind of hard to separate the myths from the facts. Also, since one of my goals is a very quiet PC, should I even consider overclocking? Wouldn't I need more fans? (Extra fans = more noise)

Overclocking makes all the difference. When playing Oblivion, you really will notice the extra FPS on the world map and such. You dont need experience, just jump in, really. All it is - is upping the FSB and overvolting the CPU and RAM. The only thing to consider in terms of fans is a better HSF, and the two of the best HSF are in the post i did a couple up. ^

All of the components I listed in that post are very overclockable. Dont be afraid, I would just go for it.

If anyone has a link that explains overclocking that even a two year old could understand I would greatly appreciate it.

pc.ign.com/articles/747/747606p1.html

pretty basic, but again, its a place to start.

 

[kill4killin]

The amount of magnetic interference that it takes to distort the data on your hard drive disks is far greater than the amount on the tip of a magnetic screw driver. If you left it laying on the disk for like...24 hours or even longer then yea it might cause damage but just for a brief time it wont hurt anything, I use magnetic screw drivers to screw my hard drives in and have done it that way for the longest time and have yet to have any problems with data lose or corruption.

 

[Bbq]

Magnets < Hard drives

A hard drive has powerful magnets in it. VERY powerful magnets. Permanent magnets, too.


Don't get that psu. Try the Corsair HX 520 or 620. It is actually quiet, although only a 120mm fan. Seasonic build, quality, and modular. Definatly worth a try.

 

[buffbiff21]

Don't get that psu. Try the Corsair HX 520 or 620. It is actually quiet, although only a 120mm fan. Seasonic build, quality, and modular. Definatly worth a try.

... YOu were telling him to not get the TT psu right? The OCZ one is excellent and will i believe support dual 8800GTS if he wants SLI in the future. However those Corsair are also excellent, and I think they are modular as well.

 

[gnusmas645]

Are the cables long enough on both the OCZ and the Corsair PSUs to easily reach everything inside the P180?