Rate: My 1st built computer <$1500

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freekgeek

n00b
Joined
Feb 23, 2007
Messages
7
I donated my Dell computer 2 months ago and now I'm ready to build one
I plan on doing A LOT of gaming so tell how this configuration is.
Budget $1500

Windows Vista Home Premium ($111.99)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E16832116202

Cooler Master Black ATX Mid Tower Case ($49.99)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E16811119106

430 Watt Power Supply ($39.99)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E16817153023

Intel G965 Express Motherboard ($114.99)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E16813121048

Intel Core 2 DuE6400 Conroe 2.13GHz ($188)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E16819115004

Artic Cooling Freezer 64 Pr92mm CPU Cooler ($29.99)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E16835185125

2GB DDR2 SDRAM 800 (2 Dimm) ($88.99)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E16820211066

320MB GeForce 8800GTS 320-bit GDDR3 PCI Express x16 ($299.99)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E16814130038

19" WXGA+ Widescreen LCD Moniter (1440x900) ($169.99)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E16824254001

20X DVD+/-R/RW w/Double Layer and LightScribe Support ($37.99)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E16827106045

320GB 7200RPM Sata Hard Drive ($79.99)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E16822148140

Logitech X-230 32 watts RMS 2.1 Black Speaker System ($38.99)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E16836121123

Microsoft Comfort Curve Black USB Wired Ergonomics Keyboard ($12.99)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E16823109149

Logitech G5 2-Tone 6 Buttons 1 x Wheel USB Wired Laser Mouse ($45.99)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E16826104191

Logitech Desktop Microphone ($9.99)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E16836111602

Microsoft LifeCam USB Interface WebCam ($38.99)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E16826105033

EPSON Stylus CX3810 C11C612001 All in One Color Inkjet Printer ($77.50)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E16828103183
 
All those are good, but you should really really consider on getting a better power supply. I suggest a thermaltake toughpower power supply. Since its your first computer build I suggest you to build a computer that costs around $600 *if you understand what I mean. But if you have experience with computers then you should do fine.

ps. You should get a anti static mat + anti static wrist.
 
I've help compile computers before and I've upgraded my old dell several times
I think I'm fine with the building, i just want to know about quality and longevity
 
Everything looks looks nice for a decent gaming machine. However, I get a beefier PSU, and if you plan on doing any overclocking, you'd need a diferent motherboad, though Intel boards are pretty stable just no overclocking with them.

Lose the desktop microphone and get a decent set of gaming headphones w/mic , like the Sennheiser 150's for about $25.00, you won't regret it. Other than that, it looks ok.




 
freekgeek said:
how many watts would i need for a good power supply
is 500 ok?
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817182044

and is this motherboard good for overclocking (i read some review, not bad)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128012
Click to expand...

I agree, drop both the Thermaltake and Rosewill PSUs and get a better quality one. The XClio Goodpower 500W derrico recommended is good, and the Corsair 520W It_Shiro recommended is even better. If you want middle of the road, look at the XClio Stablepower 500W (built by Enhance) or the Enhance 5150GH 500W (at eWiz.com).

$50 - XClio GoodPower 500W ATX 500W
$70 - Enhance ENP-5150GH 500W 80+ Efficiency
$106 - Corsair CMPSU-520HX ATX12V v2.2 and EPS12V 2.91 520W ($10MIR)

The DS3 is a great choice. Its one of the best boards out there for non-dual card setups and overclocking. Get it from ClubIT.com instead... they guarantee revision 3.3, and its cheaper.

$115 - Gigabyte GA-965P-DS3 Socket T (LGA 775) Intel P965 Express Rev3.3

freekgeek said:
Intel Core 2 DuE6400 Conroe 2.13GHz ($188)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E16819115004
Click to expand...

Get the E6420 instead. Its a conroe core, instead of allendale... meaning it has 2MB more extra cache, for a buck or few extra.
$189 - Intel Core 2 Duo E6420 Conroe 2.13GHz 4MB L2 Cache 1066Mhz FSB

freekgeek said:
Artic Cooling Freezer 64 Pr92mm CPU Cooler ($29.99)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E16835185125
Click to expand...

This won't work with your CPU socket. You'll need the Arctic Cooling Freezer 7 Pro. However, newegg charges so much for it, get it from eWiz.com instead. Its only $20 there. If you want to order everything from Newegg, go for the Scythe Ninja Plus Rev.B instead ($40 at the egg, search for scnj). Also, pickup some Arctic Silver 5, too, just in case you need to remove the HSF and re-install it.

$22 - Arctic Cooling Freezer 7 Pro CPU HSF @ eWiz.com
$40 - Scythe SCNJ-1100P Ninja Plus Rev.B 120mm CPU HSF
$6 - Arctic Silver 5 Thermal Compound 3.5g


Everything else looks good.
 
Wow, I can't believe that no one has said this, but why would you build a $1500 computer and crap out on a monitor, good graphics mean nothing if you have a POS monitor to display them on.

My advise is to simply upgrade the monitor, go used if you have to, the 19" Samsung 940BW, and 941BW's are great 19" monitors, and you can get them used for a little less than that Hanns, trust me it will be worth it!

Then again, I think Samsung is the best quality monitors/tvs you can buy, so I might be a little biased!
 
Change out your psu for a xclio in that price range. If you can find a sunbeam nuuo that should work too. Change to one of the newer chips that has double the cache. The sata optical drive only costs a few bucks more also. I have never heard of that monitor, did you check to see if it is good for gaming and not just regular office work?

You can save 5 bucks or more by getting the blue version of that case from the egg I believe. You can also order that mouse from the link in the hotdeals section for 33$ shipped from dell.

Is there a compusa closing near you? They have discounts on vista packages if they still have them.

Q for others: Is vista recommended if you stated that you are gonna be gaming a lot?
 
blendingnoise said:
Change out your psu for a xclio in that price range. If you can find a sunbeam nuuo that should work too. Change to one of the newer chips that has double the cache. The sata optical drive only costs a few bucks more also. I have never heard of that monitor, did you check to see if it is good for gaming and not just regular office work?

You can save 5 bucks or more by getting the blue version of that case from the egg I believe. You can also order that mouse from the link in the hotdeals section for 33$ shipped from dell.

Is there a compusa closing near you? They have discounts on vista packages if they still have them.

Q for others: Is vista recommended if you stated that you are gonna be gaming a lot?
Click to expand...

Those were my thoughts exactly, but if you get the right monitor, and graphics card, you will be fine. I would not recommend it unless you intend to play games like halo 2 (for the PC), I would hold off as long as I could on Vista, and get it after all the bugs are worked out.
 
I was about to suggest a better power supply also but someone beat me to it. Case is not to my liking, but that's really a matter of preference and not performance.

Usually, a general newcomer to the homebrew PC ring will not understand how important it is to purchase a decent power supply. Several times have I had venting capacitors on low end power supplies, even mid range ones. This can and WILL cause the most horrible cases of system instability you can ever imagine. I am currently running a 630 watt raidmax which cost me $130. I was going to sell it until I discovered that mostly all the caps in it were venting. I directly contribute this factor to the random bluescreens that plauged my PC a few months back. The PC would bluescreen several times a day like clockwork, then work for a week a so without any stability issues at all. I can only hope it holds out until my Enermax Galaxy (Plays sounds of taps) comes out of repair.

A good power supply to look into that is reliable without gouging you too much would be the Hiper type R line, and they're modular, too.
 
Monitor is up to you. If you want a big monitor, then get one. I know a few people who dislike 20" (wide and standard), and even 19" wides, because of the resolution. They like 1280x1024, and thats it. Therefore, I think its still a personal preference item. The size of monitor you get will decide which vidcard to get.
 
I am sorry but I simply cannot recommend a thermaltake power supply.

Back way back then they might have been fairly decent but now they're unreliable. I watched a guy at gruntville with a pure power with a pretty slick modded case (Biohazard) and his puepower blew up (As in kaboom) and destroyed all his work.

Overall, I am not very impressed with thermaltake's line of products, especially they're watercooling accessories (Damn them and their proprietary 1/4" ID crap). The only thing I really consider them useful for is little trinkets like temp probes.
 
here's a much better rig I put together a while back...

http://secure.newegg.com/NewVersion/wishlist/PublicWishDetail.asp?WishListNumber=4917252

add in:

DDR 1000 ram:
http://www.buy.com/prod/Crucial_Bal..._pin_DDR2/q/loc/101/204538864.html?adid=17662

a MUCH better PSU:
http://www.buy.com/prod/corsair-hx5...lar-atx-power-supply/q/loc/101/203270716.html

and this video card (at $300, that 8800 is WAY overpriced. Save the cash, this card will DEFINATELY run any game you want for the next year minimum, and by then, you could get an 8800 GTX for $250 or less....)
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=2707975&Sku=P450-7948
 
Get the G5 Revision 2, it just came out. The main differences are it has the forward button. it has more grip/different paint pattern, and no light in the weight tray. Im not sure what its going for at the moment but it sure looks sexy.
 
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