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First Time Custom Built Computer.

N

nancyboy

Weaksauce
Joined
Mar 11, 2004
Messages
88
I finally decided to put togather a computer from the ground up rather than go the Gateway/Dell route.

Computer Specs.

Aspire X-Dreamer II Silver Case
Asus P4P800 (Non Deluxe)
Pentium 4 3.0c
Cooler Master Aero 4 Lite CPU cooler
Artic Silver 5 Paste
Mushkin Dual 512 Of Ram (2x256 222 Special @ Newegg.com)
Western Digital Special Edition 80Gig HD
Thermaltake Silent 480w PSU
Lite-On CD-RW / DVD-Rom
Logitech Z-340 Speakers
ATI 9800 Pro
Phillips 109P40 19' Monitor

I'm buying most of my components from NewEgg.com (should get most of it by Monday)

I have yet to order the Pentium 4 3.0c.. I was wondering if I should buy the Retail or OEM version?

The Retail has a 3year warranty & I could not find anything of a warranty with the OEM. Could someone tell me which one I should buy.
 
If you're overclocking (and with that RAM it seems like you will) go OEM; that warranty is useless after OCing. Of course, if you want that case badge, get retail.

OEMs come with 1 year warranty by the way.
 
I don't actually plan on Overclocking (everything stock).
The RAM just seemed like the best & I read alot of good reviews about them. Good RAM? or did I over pay?

Question..
Will I need to deal with jumper/voltage etc. settings or will the MB pretty much find & auto config my hardware?
That is probably what I'm more nervous about. (don't want to make a mistake)
 
That RAM is very good; it offers the lowest timings you can find in RAM and most probably some extra performance over other RAM. I'd say that it was a little too much money if you're not planning on overclocking, because there is RAM that offers nearly the same performance at stock from other companies (like Corsair and Kingston).

I think it was about $20 - 30 more than comparable RAM, but you are getting good RAM, so don't worry so much about your purchase decisions.

If you went Retail CPU, you'll get the 3 year warranty, the intel heatsink fan, and the case badge, all for only $5 more I think? I guess you decided to go retail for that warranty?

Anyways, you most likely won't have to use jumpers on the motherboard unless you're resetting the CMOS. The motherboard will automatically configure everything for you (CPU fsb, voltages, hardware); you'll probably have to set your own memory timings to get the best performance out of the RAM.

Have fun.
 
You are overpaying for that ram considering you are just getting 512. Running 2-2-2 instead of 2-3-3 does next to nothing in most applications. Get 1 gig instead of 2-3-3 instead.
 
I paid $160 for the 2-2-2 2x256 Mushkin Memory. [ Mushkin @ newegg ]

I'm considering returning the RAM but don't have a clue as to what I should get instead.

If someone could give me some advice I would appreciate it.
Links to some good quality RAM 2x256 or 2x512 combination.

www.newegg.com

Thanks,
 
$160 bucks!!! Ouch. I don't know if you live near a Fry's but right now they have Corsair PC3200 512MB for $70. Get 2 of these and you will be set.
 
You say you will keep everything at stock, so in my opinion, you do not need performance RAM. Lower timings will net you a slight increase in memory performance, but in Intels, it's not as important overall as memory bandwidth.

Here's some suggestions for good RAM.

512 MB DIMM Corsair Value Select:
http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=20-145-026&depa=1

512 MB DIMM Mushkin value:
http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=20-146-219&depa=1

512 MB DIMM Mushkin Blue Line:
http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=20-146-212&depa=1

I'd say Corsair: it's the cheapest of these three and it'll cost about $170 for two sticks combined and will give you 1 Gig of dual channel goodness.

Newegg does charge a 15% restocking fee though, just to let you know.
 
I called newegg and asked about getting the Corsair 2x512 instead of the Mushkin 2x256 & the sales rep. said I could always refuse the package @ the door..
and once the RAM is returned back my credit card will be credited & I could just place the order for the 2x512(Corsair).

Does that sound like a good idea?

Thanks for all the advice guys, really appreciate it.
 
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