Need help for an amateur.

[Rlessary]

So here's my dilemma, back before I knew how to work on computers I bought a dell xps 8300 due to getting a college discount that not only came with a free Xbox but also at a price comparable to if I built it myself, I did check newegg, TD and so on. The specs are as follows as it sits now
i5 2400,
12 gb Ram (upgraded to g.skill ripsaw),
1TB, SATA3, 7.2K,Western Digital HDD
430w psu
Mobo http://www.ebay.ca/itm/DELL-Studio-...Foxconn-DH67M01-Intel-H67-HWY8Y-/261044573955
Gigabyte USB 3.0 Card

The rest is unimportant I assume unless I do a completely new build, but basically I bought a sapphire hd 6850 to replace my garbage gt420 and it had a faulty fan and died quick, I sent it to hong kong for rma but over the year I have learned a lot more about PC's. I fix all my friends and family's and have done many of repairs, a lot of them hard ware, but have never built one from the ground up. Now I decided to upgrade and bought a EVGA gtx 480, a Diablotek 775w PSU with a 60v 12a rail (I usually would avoid Diablotek but everything I've read on this one is 5 stars and reviewers say its the best Diablotek PSU with rarely any problems). I also have 2 brand new cases unopened from a friend who ordered them thinking he could do a couple customs and realized he knew nothing about builds and bought a Mac instead. So I got a Thermaltake Armor a60 AMD edition, and a Raidmax Blade for 50$ for both. In your opinions should I use either case and strip the dell parts out and put them in one along with the new PSU and gtx 480, or should I get a new mobo, case or anything (even all new parts) and do a fresh build and when the 6850 returns stick it in the xps and sell it for what I can get? I do not know much about these cases as I haven't opened them in case I want to return them(he bought them 3 weeks ago from newegg and amazon and I got the receipts) and get a better one for the 110 I'll get back? I'm lost on what to do and need advice. Sorry for such a long post I'm just stressing and need my pc up and running. The dell case I feel would melt from the gtx lol since its a known oven. Any help is much appreciated!

Also it will be used for gaming and adobe master suite cs6 mainly, i wont be OC, I live in the U.S, my budget is 400$! I do have windows key and my monitor features are 24" Dell U2410 Display with1920x1200 (max) WUXGA 16:10 Wide Aspect Ratio, 6-Millisecond Response Time2, 80,000:1 DCR

 

[Nocens]

Well, first of all, you have 3 cases now. Pick one of the new ones and return the other. The dell case will probably have problems with the extra heat anyways. Just like the crap PSU included, Dells are usually designed to fit a specific need with no overhead.

You already bought the parts you needed the most. The case, PSU, and video card. Everything else from the dell should be just fine. You said your budget is $400, but you already have the parts. Just put it together and be happy. Decide after you do that if you are going to upgrade.

 

[zandor]

Dell boards can be a bit screwy and may or may not fit in a standard case. There's no guarantee of screwiness though. I upgraded a dell with an aftermarket board once a long time ago and everything fit perfectly except for the ribbon cable to the front panel. The front panel ribbon cable was compatible but it was too short... so I had to make 32 connections to splice a 16 line ribbon cable. Being the hard ass that I am, I soldered them. Can't have family member calling me about a computer problem that just so happens to be caused by a loose connection in a cable splice when they're 2 states away. When I was done I wished I had just spent a bit more and bought a new case.

If the cooling is adequate or can easily be made adequate I'd leave the system in the Dell case. If it's not I'd condider trying a different case but if you run into trouble I'd consider just mod the Dell case. Back in the "old days" most cases had mediocre cooling and [H]'ers relied on Dremels. I haven't seen a lot of Dremel love around here lately compared to what there once was. The art/full custom mod crowd still uses them, but most OC'ers just get cases with ton of fans and/or ready to go mount points for watercooling radiators for their Intel approved for OC'ing K-series CPUs. OC'ing's been commercialized, but if you want to seriously upgrade a Dell you may well have to do it the old fashioned way. Maybe make a hole or two and add a side and/or top fan or something like that.

 

[Dangman]

Now I decided to upgrade and bought a EVGA gtx 480,

How much did you pay for that card? Can you return it?

a Diablotek 775w PSU with a 60v 12a rail (I usually would avoid Diablotek but everything I've read on this one is 5 stars and reviewers say its the best Diablotek PSU with rarely any problems).

This is exactly why you should not rely on Newegg, user, or improper reviews for PSUs: it leads people to make really poor purchases. Unless those were proper PSU reviews that you read (like the sites listed here), that Diablotek is still more than likely a shitty PSU. It's a $70 775W PSU. That should have been the first red flag right there since good 750W PSUs costs $100 or so. The second red flag should have been that it's a Diablotek. If you can, return that PSU. If you can't, buy a new PSU. No matter how desperate you are, it's simply not worth risking a PC with a PSU with that many red flags. Again, whatever user reviews you read, they do not count for much when it comes to PSUs. Only proper PSU review sites, like the ones listed in the above link, should be used when it comes to judging PSUs.

As for what new PSU you should get, that's dependent on what GPU you'll be using.

I also have 2 brand new cases unopened from a friend who ordered them thinking he could do a couple customs and realized he knew nothing about builds and bought a Mac instead. So I got a Thermaltake Armor a60 AMD edition, and a Raidmax Blade for 50$ for both. In your opinions should I use either case and strip the dell parts out and put them in one along with the new PSU and gtx 480

The problem is that both cases aren't that great due to how cramped they are. Both cases have little to cable management capability which means that you might get higher temps and even less space in the case. So I'd return those cases as well. There are a ton of good cases out there for around $110 or less:
$76 - Corsair Carbide Series 300R ATX Case
$90 - Corsair Carbide Series 400R ATX Case
$110 - Antec 1100 ATX Case
$115 - Corsair Carbide Series 500R ATX Case

should I get a new mobo, case or anything (even all new parts) and do a fresh build

New PSU, new GPU, and new case is pretty much all you need.

EDIT: Also if that Windows 7 key came with that Dell, it's tied to that Dell no matter what. As such, a new motherboard is pretty much out of question if you don't want to buy a new Windows 7 key.

 

[Rlessary]

Thx for the replies, I was gonna just use the Raidmax because the Thermaltake is all AMD graphics, it's a special edition and I have intel/nvidia lol. Then I got a pm that worried me about someone who roughly a year ago tried to take the hardware out of the dell and it wouldn't fit at all, as if they made it like that on purpose. The XPS 8300 case is tiny, and cn barlely fit a 6850 without getting warm so I definitely wanna upgrade my new case. I have an extra 400 plus a 120$ new egg gift card so I'm thinking why not just get a new mobo. I have been itching to spend that card but had everything I need but a nice new mobo would be sweet, which I'll later upgrade my i5 to the best i7 that will be compatible with it. Any suggestions on a real nice z77 for 200$ roughly? And maybe a SSD around 150 or less(size isn't that important just the fastest and most reliable for the price range) so I can use it as my system drive?

 

[450]

The dell psu is good, the systems can be spec'd with hd5870s so the psus can't be too weak.

 

[Rlessary]

How much did you pay for that card? Can you return it?

$200 and yes, why I thought its the fastest for that range?

This is exactly why you should not rely on Newegg, user, or improper reviews for PSUs: it leads people to make really poor purchases. Unless those were proper PSU reviews that you read (like the sites listed here), that Diablotek is still more than likely a shitty PSU. It's a $70 775W PSU. That should have been the first red flag right there since good 750W PSUs costs $100 or so. The second red flag should have been that it's a Diablotek. If you can, return that PSU. If you can't, buy a new PSU. No matter how desperate you are, it's simply not worth risking a PC with a PSU with that many red flags. Again, whatever user reviews you read, they do not count for much when it comes to PSUs. Only proper PSU review sites, like the ones listed in the above link, should be used when it comes to judging PSUs.

I didn't check those sites but I will return it and get something better, I'm about to leave for vacation tomorrow so I'll order what I need tonight and send it out on the way out of town tomorrow thanks for the sites, your right I knew to stay away from Diablotek but every site I order parts from had 5 star reviews but I still shouldn't of trusted them, I know enough to know that, that's a rookie error but it's going back. Any suggestions for a good psu under 130 that will work with what I hope you offer up as a better gpu solution?

As for what new PSU you should get, that's dependent on what GPU you'll be using.


The problem is that both cases aren't that great due to how cramped they are. Both cases have little to cable management capability which means that you might higher temps and even less space in the case. So I'd return those cases as well. There are a ton of good cases out there for around $110 or less:
$76 - Corsair Carbide Series 300R ATX Case
$90 - Corsair Carbide Series 400R ATX Case
$110 - Antec 1100 ATX Case
$115 - Corsair Carbide Series 500R ATX Case

thank you for the links I'll return this junk and start fresh, I just got a laptop from my dad for free with a i5 in it so it's good enough to get by for a week or so.
New PSU, new GPU, and new case is pretty much all you need.

EDIT: Also if that Windows 7 key came with that Dell, it's tied to that Dell no matter what. As such, a new motherboard is pretty much out of question if you don't want to buy a new Windows 7 key.

I have more than one key, a few actually. Not keygen ones, legit ones so that's no prob
Thanks for all the insight I await your advice my friend.

 

[Rlessary]

A 430w psu won't power a gtx 480, 12 gigs of ram (soon to be 16, already ordered 4 more), a quad core SB i5 and so on. It couldnt handle a 6850, it was having stability issues from the start. It has 18 amps on the 12va rail

 

[Dangman]

Next time you reply in a quote post, make sure to highlight your response. I didn't even see your response until late.

$200 and yes, why I thought its the fastest for that range?

The problem is that its 1.5GB will somewhat limit you in the future. In addition, the GTX 480 runs fairly hot and sucks up a lot of power. So while its performance is great, the high temperatures and massive power usage effectively outweigh the cost and performance aspects. I'd spend the extra $50 for this significantly lower power and cooling running GPU:
$250 - PowerColor AX7850 2GBD5-2DH Radeon HD 7850 GHz Edition 2GB PCI-E Video Card

I didn't check those sites but I will return it and get something better, I'm about to leave for vacation tomorrow so I'll order what I need tonight and send it out on the way out of town tomorrow thanks for the sites, your right I knew to stay away from Diablotek but every site I order parts from had 5 star reviews but I still shouldn't of trusted them, I know enough to know that, that's a rookie error but it's going back. Any suggestions for a good psu under 130 that will work with what I hope you offer up as a better gpu solution?

I recommend this PSU:
$90 - Corsair 650TX V2 650W PSU

which I'll later upgrade my i5 to the best i7 that will be compatible with it.

Unless you're doing extensive 3D, video, or audio editing or a ton of VM work and overclocking, no reason to get a Core i7.

Any suggestions on a real nice z77 for 200$ roughly?

What features do you need in a motherboard? RAID? Firewire? Crossfire or SLI support? USB 3.0? SATA 6Gb/s? eSATA? Onboard video? UEFI? etc.

And maybe a SSD around 150 or less(size isn't that important just the fastest and most reliable for the price range) so I can use it as my system drive?

Figure out the total of the new PSU, case, and motherboard and then tell us how much of your budget is left.

 

[Rlessary]

Next time you reply in a quote post, make sure to highlight your response. I didn't even see your response until late.
I apologize, I was using my ipad which is a nightmare to use special characters on, it takes 3 keystrokes to get to the page just to press the character and then returns you to the original letters to start over. I just got tired of it and turned on my laptop lol.

The problem is that its 1.5GB will somewhat limit you in the future. In addition, the GTX 480 runs fairly hot and sucks up a lot of power. So while its performance is great, the high temperatures and massive power usage effectively outweigh the cost and performance aspects. I'd spend the extra $50 for this significantly lower power and cooling running GPU:
$250 - PowerColor AX7850 2GBD5-2DH Radeon HD 7850 GHz Edition 2GB PCI-E Video Card
Yea thats been the main issue is the heat, I know it wont work in my dell case. I had a bad taste left in my mouth from the Sapphire HD 6850 after it was a nightmare of driver issues, CCC issues and failed in 2 weeks. But I shouldn't allow one bad card to turn me off a company, now that im getting it RMA'd would you suggest buying another for 120 and doing Crossfire or the card you just selected?

I recommend this PSU:
$90 - Corsair 650TX V2 650W PSU
Cool, I'll order it, is the 750w version from the same line just as good?

Unless you're doing extensive 3D, video, or audio editing or a ton of VM work and overclocking, no reason to get a Core i7.
I use Adobe Master Suite CS6 quite abit, and also I just finished my first semester of my Computer Engineering major, which was easy now but is gonna be intense lol, I got a lot to learn

What features do you need in a motherboard? RAID? Firewire? Crossfire or SLI support? USB 3.0? SATA 6Gb/s? eSATA? Onboard video? UEFI? etc.
Firewire, Crossfire, USB 3.0, SATA 6Gb/s, 2 x 16 PCIe slots, 8 Channel audio, preferably some cool features like fan control ect...

Figure out the total of the new PSU, case, and motherboard and then tell us how much of your budget is left.

At least another $250-300, I make good money and want a good build, nothing crazy cost wise but I can pad it some. Sorry It took so long to reply I was almost done on ipad and it for some reason redirected and I lost everything I wrote

 

[Dangman]

Yea thats been the main issue is the heat, I know it wont work in my dell case. I had a bad taste left in my mouth from the Sapphire HD 6850 after it was a nightmare of driver issues, CCC issues and failed in 2 weeks. But I shouldn't allow one bad card to turn me off a company, now that im getting it RMA'd would you suggest buying another for 120 and doing Crossfire or the card you just selected?

I wouldn't recommend a Crossfire setup due to the AMD's less than steller Crossfire drivers.

Cool, I'll order it, is the 750w version from the same line just as good?

The 750W version is just as good but you don't need it unless you're going for GTX 670 SLI ($800 worth of video cards). You'll be fine with the 650W for years.

I recommend this motherboard:
$180 - Gigabyte GA-Z77X-UD5H Intel Z77 ATX Motherboard

SSD wise, I recommend the Crucial M4 128GB (any model).

 

[tiraides]

Is your total budget still around $400? For the upgrades that you need -- motherboard, video card, case, PSU -- I suggest that you raise it.

So again, for emphasis, return the GTX 480, Diablotek PSU, and both cases that you bought. None of those parts are worthwhile upgrades.

Also, what specific stick of RAM did you order? Is that eating up part of your remaining budget?

If you can afford to buy everything you need at once, take advantage of the following NewEgg combo deal on the case and power supply:

$152 - Corsair 300R and Corsair TX650 V2 combo deal

If you don't have the money, look at the following case and PSU instead:

$50 - NZXT Source 210 Elite (from Amazon)
$60 - Antec NEO ECO 520C 520W PSU

While the Antec NEO ECO 520C can't handle a CrossFireX or an SLI setup, it can easily handle just about any single-GPU video card in the market. The goal for now is to establish a good base for future upgrades. You can always upgrade to a bigger, better PSU when you actually are considering a dual-card CFX/SLI setup (or a dual-GPU card).

As for the video card, stick with Danny Bui's recommendation (for the PowerColor HD 7850).