Building a Computer

[NightHawkInLight]

About a week ago we had the most recent of a series of severe storms that have hit this summer. The last one took out my dinosaur of a computer with a lightning strike so I figure it's time for an upgrade. My hard drive is fine along with the DVD drive and a few other components that should save me some cash in assembling a new one. I can at least save by running XP off my old HD on the new machine - At least until I feel like upgrading the OS as well. For now I have my HD in an even older computer that I'm currently using to hold me over.

 

I've put together a list of parts required for two computers I'm considering, one being a budget model, the other being my ideal. I'm still working out what I can afford. Any suggestions would be appreciated for either list.

 

Budget model:

 

Case (I like this because of the included power supply which saves quite a bit of $$$)

$39.99 @ amazon

10-Bay ATX Computer Case with 550W PSU & 9.84-Inch Blue LED Fan

 

Board

$69.99 @ amazon

Gigabyte GA-MA785GM-US2H Micro ATX Motherboard

 

Processor (This seems to have good performance for the price in comparison to others)

$62.00 @ amazon

AMD Athlon II X2 250 Regor 3.0 GHz 2x1 MB L2 Cache Socket AM3 65W Dual-Core Desktop Processor

 

Heatsink

$19.99 @ amazon

Minix A01 CPU AMD Cooler Low Profile Heat Sink + Fan

 

RAM

~$35 @ amazon

2G DDR2

 

Graphics Card (The board has a card built in, but I've grown dependent on dual monitors. The extra punch for the few games I play is also nice.)

$69.99 @ amazon

Radeon HD4670 1G DDR2 PCI Express 2.0

 

TOTAL: $296.96

 

 

Ideal model:

 

Case (Same case as low end model.)

$39.99 @ amazon

10-Bay ATX Computer Case with 550W PSU & 9.84-Inch Blue LED Fan

 

Board

$139.99 @ amazon

ASUS M4A89GTD PRO/USB3 - AM3 - AMD 890GX - DDR3 - USB 3.0 SATA 6 Gb/s - ATX Motherboard

 

Processor (Seems to be the best 4core processor outside of Intel, and for significantly less $$$)

$159.99 @ amazon

AMD Phenom II X4 955 Black Edition Deneb 3.2 GHz 4x512 KB L2 Cache Socket AM3 125W Quad-Core Processor

 

Heatsink

$19.99 @ amazon

Minix A01 CPU AMD Cooler Low Profile Heat Sink + Fan

 

RAM

$89.99 after rebate @ Newegg

CORSAIR XMS3 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model CMX4GX3M2A1600C9

 

Graphics Card

$109.99 @ amazon

EVGA nVidia GeForce 9800GT 1 GB DDR3 VGA/DVI/HDMI PCI-Express Video Card 01G-P3-N988-TR

 

TOTAL: $559.94

 

Any suggestions? Comments? Free money?

[KruseMissile]

I would check out newegg. They have awsome email deals that you cant beat.

 

What games are you trying to run?

 

Also, the nVidia GeForce 9800GT is awsome. I can run BC2 with my ancient(well 4 years old) computer because of that and 4gigs of RAM. Best of luck!

Brian

[Ralph]

I would highly recommend asus components (as you have selected on your motherboard on the ideal model)

I strongly advise against AMD and ATI (which have now combined their dodgyness under one owner) they are a little cheaper and sometimes have more performance than the intel and Nvidia counterparts but there is a reasons AMD procesors are notoriously unstable (think xbox360 and red ring of death which yes technically was an overheating problem of the crappy amd tricore) the chipset support for amd products is shocking and as for ATI graphics cards good luck getting drivers that will make your card work within 2 years of it being released (I refuse to build computers with ATI graphics cards newer (release date wise) than 3 months)

In Australia I nearly exclusively chose Asus as the manufacture of the graphics cards I install (the brand is upto the customer but I advise against the poorly manufactured competitors) though As you have other brands avalible in the US EVGA is very good with their warrenty and also with support XFX while some of their components arnt always top of the line their warranty system makes up for it.

 

Im not sure that you need a seperate CPU cooler all retail intel chicks come with a stock cooler (or as we call it the intel stock hurricane) and all the AMD chips I have dealt with have come with one also though an OEM chip will come with nothing

 

That 9800gt you have there is quite a nice card it is a die shrunk 8800gt with faster ram which to was heavily based on the previous series 7 many people have tried to condemn these cards while the bang you get for your buck is quite good being able to even run crysis on medium settings on a good sized monitor at very high frame rates

 

something you may wish to consider is a quality powersupply the cheap ones work but are quite wasteful (I spent alot of money on my powersupply and even when pulling around 1000w the case feals at room temperature and the internal temperature probe confirms it while many of the cheap powersupplys customers insist on using get quite warm to the touch) also the cheap ones are prone to fail and a powersupply failure can be destructive (they often dump their energy or just expose your board to 240v (for you would be 110v)) a powersupply faliour in theory can take out every component in your computer (though it is often limited to CPU RAM motherboard and Graphics card) either way not fun I consider buying an antec or theremal take or pc power and cooling (just to name a few) powersupply as a good insurance policy

 

anyway im rambling now hope this helped

[dagabu]

For a gaming rig, go with the second list, for a good and solid home computer, go for the top list.

 

I like this better though:

 

CASE I have sold over a hundred Mini ITX cased PCs over the past four years and this case seems to be a well received case for a well balanced PC. Not including a hard drive, it cost me $218.00 to put this together for my wife three months ago and whenever someone comes over she shows them the "Cute little thing."

 

The 9800GT is probably the most revered video card of all time. Its not the best one out there but for the price, it cant be beat. Keep in mind, the 9800 comes in several flavors and you should read the reviews before purchasing.

 

Try Newegg.com, you will like it

 

ASUS is over priced, you will find similar performance in what many see as off brands. ZOTAC has been getting rave reviews for their small and low power MBs.

Edited July 19, 2010 by dagabu

[50AE]

Read reviews! This is the goal.

And no, there's no something like best brand. Both Intel and AMD have good products, the same goes to ATI and Nvidia.

Make sure you buy a case with good ventilation. Make sure it has intake and outtake slots for fans, 120mm preferably. Bigger fans make a better airfloat for less noise.

Also, invest in a good power supply. Never save money for it! Good PSU brands are Seasonic, Fortron, Antec, OCZ and others. You should also read reviews there. You don't want to have a computer with these light weight cheap PSUs ! Ralph has a great point.

 

There's no need to buy ASUS stuff only. Gigabyte and Asrock are cheap and they make some very good motherboards.

Stock CPU coolers are horrible. If you need silence and you like to overclock, I will suggest you to move to heatpipe cooling. Very good heatsinks can be bought for 20$-25$, one of my favourite price/for/performance is the Arctic cooling Freezer

The same goes for VGA cards. Most are very horrible and noisy, but there are some cards that come with a good cooler.

 

 

Also, you didn't specify for what you will use this machine. If it isn't for games, no need to invest for a great graphic card.

Edited July 19, 2010 by 50AE

[TheEskimo]

Since you mention that lightnig fried your comp, you may wish to buy this as well: http://www.newegg.co...N82E16842102069

It has saved my bacon many times, allowing me to save important files, even if the power has gone off. And it provides great protection against power surges. As dagbu said, go with newegg. You can get many component combos for less money than buying indivdually.

Edited July 19, 2010 by TheEskimo

[dagabu]

Stock CPU coolers are horrible. If you need silence and you like to overclock, I will suggest you to move to heatpipe cooling. Very good heatsinks can be bought for 20$-25$, one of my favourite price/for/performance is the Arctic cooling Freezer

The same goes for VGA cards. Most are very horrible and noisy, but there are some cards that come with a good cooler.

 

Maybe you have had some bad experiences with stock coolers but I really like the last coolers that come with the LGA 775 series of procs.

[Cookieman]

Nighthawkinlight,

 

You basicly got all the best advice here. When I put my computer together 5 years ago I spent 3 months researching and reading reviews on "PC world reviews" and "Cnet.com reviews." It's a basic question of what you want your computer to do. For example, I do alot of video editing and I watch TV on my computer so I need data transfer to be pretty fast without freezing. Your Motherboard and processor are the heart of the computer.If you are a gamer, then you need a good motherboard, processor and especially a good graphics card.The best advice I can give you is spend only what you intend to use the computer for. I have an Asus P5n32 sli deluxe motherboard, dual core Intell processor with 1GB Corsair memory, ATI 1900 all in wonder graphics card, two 250Gb IDE hard drives, 4 cooling fans including processor fan, 600w power supply, and a Samsung DVD writer. When I bought all this 5 years ago, it cost me $2500.00. When you go to a computer store and you ask them you want to buy or upgrade a computer, they basicly tell you, "OK what do you plan on using the computer for and how much do you want to spend?" Here is a link to where I buy my components so you can compare prices.

 

My link

 

 

 

 

[NightHawkInLight]

Thank you all for the great advice. I'll certainly change my power supply choice. I read reviews on all the other list items, but it was about 2am when I finally got to the case. I like the massive cooling fan and with the power supply it seemed like the best deal around:

http://www.amazon.com/10-Bay-Computer-Case-550W-9-84-Inch/dp/B00166KBDS

 

Now that I look into it more many of the reviews give the psu a short life. There are other cases with fans, I think I'll go for something else.

 

I looked up all of the components I mention on newegg as well as amazon and a google search to find the best price. Seems amazon has the best individual prices often with free shipping. I wasn't aware newegg might give me a deal if I buy multiple parts though, I'll check that out.

 

I have done quite a bit of gaming in the past. I only stopped because I got tired of the games my old computer could handle. So yes, I would like the capability to play recent games on near full settings. I also do quite a bit of video editing, though no HD as of yet. That's what is making me really consider the more expensive model as my computer, so I have the option to do some HD editing in the future. On the other hand, I'm sure the lesser computer could handle it, just MUCH slower. So it's mostly a question of how fast I want to get things done. I use my computers for about everything a computer can be used for.

 

Also, I do have a surge protector. It kept my computer safe through many a storm for 8 or 9 years, but they are all prone to failure.

[Algenco]

I also got hit by lightning last month, but was luckier, the power supply took the hit and nothing else was harmed

[Cookieman]

Thank you all for the great advice. I'll certainly change my power supply choice. I read reviews on all the other list items, but it was about 2am when I finally got to the case. I like the massive cooling fan and with the power supply it seemed like the best deal around:

http://www.amazon.co...h/dp/B00166KBDS

 

Now that I look into it more many of the reviews give the psu a short life. There are other cases with fans, I think I'll go for something else.

 

I looked up all of the components I mention on newegg as well as amazon and a google search to find the best price. Seems amazon has the best individual prices often with free shipping. I wasn't aware newegg might give me a deal if I buy multiple parts though, I'll check that out.

 

I have done quite a bit of gaming in the past. I only stopped because I got tired of the games my old computer could handle. So yes, I would like the capability to play recent games on near full settings. I also do quite a bit of video editing, though no HD as of yet. That's what is making me really consider the more expensive model as my computer, so I have the option to do some HD editing in the future. On the other hand, I'm sure the lesser computer could handle it, just MUCH slower. So it's mostly a question of how fast I want to get things done. I use my computers for about everything a computer can be used for.

 

Also, I do have a surge protector. It kept my computer safe through many a storm for 8 or 9 years, but they are all prone to failure.

 

Thats a nice case and a good price, I have the Cooler Master which is just below that one.If your running video editing software and playing games online, start with a good power supply at least 600w.

[50AE]

Dagabu, the stock 775 works for normal applications, but I overclock and need silence in same time

 

I remember when I assembled my 2008 setup. It's the best price/for/performance configuration I've ever made. I still use it.

 

Motherboard : Gigabyte DS3_R P35 chipset

CPU: Core 2 duo E2160 1.6GHz overclocked to 3.33

VGA: Asus X1950 Pro

PSU: Seasonic 430W HT

HDDs: Seagate 320Gb , Maxtor 250Gb and WD 640Gb

Sound card: Creative X-fi Music

CD R/W: No (only when I reinstall OS)

Case: Chinese garbage case which I modded

CPU heatsink: OCZ vendetta

VGA heatsink: AC silencer S1

6x80mm fans (4 front and two back) controlled with a homemade fan controller.

 

http://store.picbg.net/thumb/45/A5/5f8ffc95491245a5.jpg

Edited July 20, 2010 by 50AE

[asilentbob]

http://slickdeals.net/forums/showthread.php?sduid=0&t=553826

And in general their "Hot deals" forum for random deals... Been some great deals on SSDs and graphics cards lately.

I prefer newegg. Occasionally sales at Fry's.

 

i5 (cant remember exact) LGA1156 w/aftermarket heatsink with IIRC 4 heat pipes and 2 fans in push/pull config, 4 GB DDR3 1600, ati radeon 5770, 750 GB HDD... can't remember mobo... 3000VA USB/Serial controlled UPS

 

There are not enough high end graphics games out there currently. Crysis warhead is beautiful... but not many other games that beautiful around yet IMO. Or they are pricy and its hard deciding between 2 awesome games or groceries. Hope Portal 2 and other upcoming games will be good for it.

 

With the graphics card, the ones that don't have a case/shroud (or less of one) tend to run cooler.

See the 2 pics attached.

[asilentbob]

other. Edited July 21, 2010 by asilentbob