Support NeoGAF

[bill0527]

I'm going back and forth between a pre-built Dell and just building my own. I know the pros and cons of doing either one and I've never built my own computer. I think I can do it. I've installed memory, video cards, power supplies, and other components when I've wanted to upgrade my PCs in the past. I have to keep it under $1000. Here's my newegg list. Let me know if there's anything I have forgotten.

EVGA 122-CK-NF63-TR LGA 775 NVIDIA nForce 680i SLI ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail $159.99

CORSAIR XMS2 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model TWIN2X2048-6400 - Retail $117.00 $30 MIR

Intel Core 2 Duo E6400 Conroe 2.13GHz LGA 775 Processor Model BX80557E6400 - Retail $187.00

EVGA 256-P2-N765-AR GeForce 8600GTS 256MB GDDR3 PCI Express x16 Superclocked HDCP Video Card - Retail $219.99 $20 MIR

Rosewill R103A Black SGCC Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case 350W Power Supply - Retail $25.99

Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 ST3250820AS 250GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM $69.99

LITE-ON 20X DVD±R DVD Burner With 12X DVD-RAM Write Black SATA Model LH-20A1S OEM BK - OEM $32.99

Thermaltake W0093RU ATX 12V 2.0 Version 500W Power Supply - Retail $69.99 $20 MIR

Atech Flash Xm-4U 11-in-1 USB 2.0 Black & Silver Internal card reader - Retail $24.99

Microsoft Windows Vista 32-Bit Home Premium for System Builders Single Pack DVD - OEM $111.99

Subtotal: $1019.92 - $70 Mail In Rebates = $949.92 + tax and shipping

Is there anything else I need? Additional cooling fans? Cables? Will this version of Vista work? The only main concern I have is that some of these components may have problems with Vista.

 

[B'z-chan]

if you can hold out till july 22nd you will be able to get something more awesome. thats when intel is bringing out new chips. highter clock speed all around and a boost in fsb as well.

 

[alr1ght]

a case

 

[bill0527]

a case

Its in there.

 

[B'z-chan]

Do you have a screen already? or do you plan on just jacking into your computer via a mind link cable?

 

[bill0527]

Do you have a screen already? or do you plan on just jacking into your computer via a mind link cable?

I have a Sceptre x22wg-gamer 22" widescreen monitor

 

[B'z-chan]

How is that screen? i saw it at costco for under 250 after rebate. Looked nice but since they dont play anything over hdmi or games for that matter i couldnt tell if it was worth the money or not.

 

[Cheeto]

You can go cheaper on the motherboard and get an 8800gts instead for a rather large performance boost.

 

[Crayon Shinchan]

Do you have a screen already? or do you plan on just jacking into your computer via a mind link cable?

I would like to hear more about this fabled mind link.

 

[B'z-chan]

the mind link requires a small one time only operation. where a port is installed at the base of the cerebral cortex. The mind link is then inserted and you have control over you pc without the need of screen, keyboard, mouse. Just think and your electrical transmissons from your brain take over.

would you like to know more?


:lol :lol :lol

 

[perryfarrell]

Do it yourself, it's more fun. You learn a bunch of stuff. It's not necessarily cheaper, but you'll be able to upgrade by replacing components yourself.

 

[bill0527]

How is that screen? i saw it at costco for under 250 after rebate. Looked nice but since they dont play anything over hdmi or games for that matter i couldnt tell if it was worth the money or not.

Its been a good screen so far. I've had it since January. It takes a lot of tweaking after you buy it because the colors are total shit on factory settings. I almost shipped it back right after I first plugged it in. I occasionally plug my PS3 into the HDMI if my TV is being occupied and it looks great.

 

[perryfarrell]

Get a somewhat better case, too. 25 dollars for a case? That can't be too good.

 

[CharlieDigital]

Get a somewhat better case, too. 25 dollars for a case? That can't be too good.

Seconded.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811129018

Antec Solo.

I've used this case on two builds now and it's a great case.

PROS:
+ Solid. This thing is built like a tank.
+ Quiet. It's designed to be quiet and includes silicone rubber mounts for the hard drive trays, sound proofing material on the top, left, and right panels. It also includes a hard drive suspension system which is awesome if you don't intend to move your machine around.
+ Handsome, understated good looks.

CONS:
- Heavy. Because it's built like a tank, it's heavy like one too But the added steel does wonders for dampening sound.
- Some cheap plastic on the front buttons.
- Removing front face involves removing side panel (not too bad since it's secured with thumbscrews).

Check out the review at slientpcreview: http://www.silentpcreview.com/article272-page7.html

Also, if you're willing to go over budget a bit, if you're never worked with a Lian-Li case, you don't know what you're missing out on.

LITE-ON 20X DVD±R DVD Burner With 12X DVD-RAM Write Black SATA Model LH-20A1S OEM BK - OEM $32.99

I would recommend against the LITE-ON drives for their loudness. I've recently used this drive on two builds:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827151133

It's extremely quiet and gets very good reviews. I myself use two NEC drives, which I'm really disappointed with for the loudness and ridiculously bad performance. It's ATA, so if you must have SATA, then try this one:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827151141 (@+5$ over the LITE-ON)

Intel Core 2 Duo E6400 Conroe 2.13GHz LGA 775 Processor Model BX80557E6400 - Retail $187.00

Any specific reason you're not getting the E6420?

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115016

It's listed at $1 less and has 2x the shared on-die memory (4M vs 2M).

 

[EB Guy]

you're also gonna need a bigger power supply, 350W just ain't gonna cut it. I would get 500W or more.

 

[Tauntaun]

you're also gonna need a bigger power supply, 350W just ain't gonna cut it. I would get 500W or more.

Thermaltake W0093RU ATX 12V 2.0 Version 500W Power Supply - Retail $69.99 $20 MIR

 

[CharlieDigital]

you're also gonna need a bigger power supply, 350W just ain't gonna cut it. I would get 500W or more.

I can't comment on how the 8 series GPUs affect power draws, but from my own personal experience, a good 430W PSU is more than enough for most applications.

I am currently running:

* 3x 10K RPM HD
* 1x 7.2K RPM HD
* 2x DVD burners
* 1x 7600GT
* C2D E6400 @ 3.2Ghz
* 2x 92mm fans
* 1x 120mm fan
* Zalman CNPS9500
* 4GB RAM

On an 430W Antec TP3 ( http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817103942 )

 

[EB Guy]

damn I didn't see that. All I saw was the one that comes with the case.

 

[Karmacide]

I was going to point out that you could get the 6420 as well, but someone already noticed that. Get that. Save a buck and get twice the cache.

I would wait until the upcoming price cuts coming next month though. Quad core for $266.

 

[Diablos]

Whatever you do, get a good power supply. Like a Seasonic 500W modular PSU.

 

[Shogun]

Hey guys anyone got an amazingly easy to cool case, my current PC keeps crapping out and giving me resting temps of 70 - 80 and goes towards 90 for games.

 

[CharlieDigital]

Hey guys anyone got an amazingly easy to cool case, my current PC keeps crapping out and giving me resting temps of 70 - 80 and goes towards 90 for games.

First of all, what type of CPU are you using? What type of cooler are you using? The stock cooler provided with your CPU? Are you using Arctic Silver between the cooler and CPU? Are you sure that your cooler is making good contact with your CPU - are all of the mounting clips/screws tight? is the contact surface of the cooler flat?

Temps like 70-80C seems more like improperly installed heatsink or possibly inadequate heatsink for the CPU. Dunno if a case will help much, but if you're interested:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811112118 (windowed)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811112058 (non-windowed)

1x 120mm fan in the front.
1x 120mm fan in the rear w/ "hood" for CPU area.
1x 120mm fan on the side panel.

Notice how the video card is mounted on top of the CPU on this case (mobo is mounted "up-side-down" style) so that the heat rises and is drawn out by the side fan. Theoretically, the hood isolates the hot air from the CPU, which is located below the video card, and draws the air out from the rear.

The beauty of 120mm fans is that you can increase air flow without increasing noise.

 

[alejob]

Get a Hard drive with a 16MB cache.

 

[The Abominable Snowman]

Are there no good half-height video cards that are competitive with full-size cards?

 

[bill0527]

Thanks for all the suggestions.

I did make some changes to my build.

I went with aSamsung DVD rewriteable

Antec Performance One P180B Case - had a $40 MIR on it the day I bought it

XCLIO GOODPOWER 500W ATX 500W Power Supply

Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 (Perpendicular Recording) ST3250620AS 250GB 7200 RPM 16MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s

I've got about half the stuff sitting in my room right now. I'm waiting on purchasing a motherboard and processor because I wanted to wait until July 22nd for the price drop, but damn I am getting impatient.

I was originally going to go with the Intel Core 2 Duo E6420 Conroe 2.13GHz 4M shared L2 Cache but I'm wanting to hold out for the Q6600 Quad Core.

Is there any chance that the prices won't drop? What will be the retail price on that Quad Core? Those are wholesale prices so I'm sure they'll be more expensive at retail. I'm getting to the absolute maximum I can spend on this build right now. I've read that I may not actually get much more performance right now out of that Quad Core than what I would get out of a Core 2 Duo since very few apps have been written to take advantage of it.

 

[Cheeto]

Spend $40 or so extra on a better GPU, and keep the 6420 for the CPU.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130082

The performance increase you'll see over the 8600, beats any extra performance you'll get out of a better CPU.

 

[bill0527]

Spend $40 or so extra on a better GPU, and keep the 6420 for the CPU.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130082

The performance increase you'll see over the 8600, beats any extra performance you'll get out of a better CPU.

Not sure where you get $40 more, but by my calculations, after rebates, its about $100 more. I'd jump all over that card if I could, but the system I'm building is already busting what I've got budgeted right now.

I'm just going to have to settle for this for now EVGA 256-P2-N761-AR GeForce 8600GTS 256MB 128-bit GDDR3 PCI Express x16 HDCP Video Card

 

[Cheeto]

Oh sorry, your first post quoted $220 for it.

 

[Cheeto]

Ugh, double post.

 

[bill0527]

Oh sorry, your first post quoted $220 for it.

Yeah the one I'm getting now is the exact same card, except the $220 card is overclocked from the manufacturer. I can do that myself and save a few bucks. I took the extra money I saved on the video card and bought a much better case.

 

[element]

GIGABYTE GA-965P-DS3 (rev. 1.3) LGA 775 Intel P965 Express ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail
Intel Core 2 Duo E6420 Conroe 2.13GHz LGA 775 Processor Model BX80557E6420 - Retail
mushkin 1GB 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Desktop Memory Model 991527 - Retail
mushkin 1GB 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Desktop Memory Model 991527 - Retail
LG 20X DVD±R Super Multi DVD Burner Black ATAPI / E-IDE Model GSA-H55NK - OEM
COOLER MASTER Centurion 532 RC-532-SKN1 Black Aluminum bezel, SECC chassis ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - Retail
Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 ST3320620AS (Perpendicular Recording Technology) 320GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM
EVGA 256-P2-N765-AR GeForce 8600GTS 256MB GDDR3 PCI Express x16 Superclocked HDCP Video Card - Retail
XCLIO GOODPOWER 500W ATX 500W Power Supply - Retail
SUPER TALENT INT-AIN1-C All-in-one USB 2.0 Card Reader - Retail
ZEROtherm CF900 92mm CPU Cooler - Retail
Microsoft Windows Vista 32-Bit Home Premium for System Builders Single Pack DVD - OEM

Total = $960.89

 

[Cheeto]

Yeah the one I'm getting now is the exact same card, except the $220 card is overclocked from the manufacturer. I can do that myself and save a few bucks. I took the extra money I saved on the video card and bought a much better case.

EVGA offers a "step-up" program. Within 90 days of a purchase of one of their cards you can trade it back into them for credit towards a better performing card. I don't know the specifics, but I hear it's great. Something you might want to keep in the back of your mind in the future.

 

[Oldschoolgamer]

Alrighty. If I should have made a new thread, apologies in advance, but, i thought that this was okay to bump.

I've decided that I was going to put together a PC, instead of just outright buying a new model. I should point out that this will be my first time doing this. So...I need some info. What is a good site to compare different models of equipment, and what will be a good site to use as a guide for putting it together, when I get the parts. I googled for directions, but, some seem to be outdated.

Anyhow, I'm trying to budget myself to around $1000. I need this new rig to be able to run some games decently, and use it for art type activities. Aside from that, I have no special needs. So yea, I'm in the research phase, and, help would be appreciated.

 

[bill0527]

Alrighty. If I should have made a new thread, apologies in advance, but, i thought that this was okay to bump.

I've decided that I was going to put together a PC, instead of just outright buying a new model. I should point out that this will be my first time doing this. So...I need some info. What is a good site to compare different models of equipment, and what will be a good site to use as a guide for putting it together, when I get the parts. I googled for directions, but, some seem to be outdated.

Anyhow, I'm trying to budget myself to around $1000. I need this new rig to be able to run some games decently, and use it for art type activities. Aside from that, I have no special needs. So yea, I'm in the research phase, and, help would be appreciated.

See the list I posted above? You can do that for under $1000.

I got all the parts yesterday. This was my very first build. It took me about 3 hours of putting it together but everything works perfectly. My only disappointment is the video card. I'm seriously thinking about doing EVGA's step-up program and getting an 8800. The 8600 is crap. I tested it out on Company of Heroes with and without DX 10. With DX 10 enabled, I have to turn a bunch of other stuff off. Without DX 10, I still can't run it near maximum settings. Not impressed at all with this card and it doesn't seem to be performing much better than the old 6600GT AGP card in my old system.