Building my own computer for the first time - Parts list

[Desmond]

Hi, this is my first post on the forum.

My friends convinced me that I should build my own computer because I'm on a tight budget and can't afford an expensive gaming rig that is already prebuilt.

I need to know if this partslist is a good one, if all the hardware are compatible with each other, and whether or not I am getting a good deal on the hardware (cost/performance).

I basically want a better computer to replace my emachines that I brought almost 3 years ago for 300 bucks. I can't spend any more than $1350 and I basically want a computer that can perform well for the next few years.

I'm going to be using it for gaming (StarCraft II, Crysis, EvE Online, games like that. Preferably on full settings ^^) and photoshopping. I also want to be able to run a lot of applications at the same time without it slowing down (It happens all the time on my machine with 512MB ram), so I got 4GB ram. I had 8GB, but I had to cut down to 4GB to stay in my budget.

The processor, graphics card, ram, motherboard, harddrive, and pretty much everything on the parts list were picked by my friends, so I want to ask the community if it is a good parts list and recommend any changes to it.

By the way, all the parts are being brought from newegg, so if you want details about them just look them up at http://newegg.com.

Sony Optiarc 24X DVD/CD Rewritable Drive Black SATA Model AD-7240S-0B - OEM 
$31.99
 	 	
IN WIN Maelstrom Black SECC(0.8~1.0mm) ATX Full Tower Computer Case - Retail 
$109.99
 	 	
Western Digital Caviar Black WD6401AALS 640GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive 
$74.99
 	 	
Foxconn A7DA-S AM2+/AM2 AMD 790GX HDMI ATX AMD Motherboard - Retail 
$124.99
 	 	
XFX HD-487A-ZWFC Radeon HD 4870 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFire Supported Video Card - Retail 
$149.99
 	 	
CORSAIR CMPSU-750TX 750W ATX12V / EPS12V SLI Ready CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS Certified Active PFC Compatible with Core i7 Power ... - Retail 
$119.99
 	 	
RAZER DeathAdder RZ01-00150100-R3M1 Black 5 Buttons 1 x Wheel USB Optical High Precision Gaming Mouse - Retail 
$49.99
 	 	
AMC CC5E-B25B 25 ft. Cat 5E Blue Network Cable - OEM 
$3.99
 	 	
AMC CC5E-B50G 50 ft. Cat 5E Gray Cat 5E 350 MHz UTP Gray Network Cable - OEM 
$6.99
 	 	
Rosewill RTK-002 Anti-Static Wrist Strap - Retail 
$3.49
 	 	
G.SKILL 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 1066 (PC2 8500) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model F2-8500CL5D-4GBPK - Retail 
$79.99
 	 	
AMD Phenom II X4 940 Deneb 3.0GHz Socket AM2+ 125W Quad-Core Black Edition Processor Model HDZ940XCGIBOX - Retail 
$169.99

Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit 1-Pack for System Builders - OEM 
$109.99

The cost currently is around $1000. It would be higher if I decided to add a second hard drive (for a total of 1.2TB instead of 640GB) and if I were to buy another set of RAM (for a total of 8GB), if so, then the price will be around $1300.

If the cost stays at $1000, then I would want to buy a new monitor. Right now my monitor is a 15 inch or so LCD monitor. I want a higher definition monitor with a wider screen, so if anyone were to know of a good monitor that is 19" or bigger for under $200USD, please tell me.

Any help will be appreciated. Thanks!

 

[theonedub]

I don't have all the time to go through each list, but just glancing at it makes me think $1k is too much.

Never hurts to check out the Buy/Sell/Trade forum if you want to save some cash and do not mind second hand items

 

[angelkiller]

I think the 1K figure sounds high, because the OP has included some accessories like the mouse and Cat 5 cable. Not an issue, but it the price for just the box is a bit less.

@ the OP,
I think you can do better than that. I really think you should go the Core i7 or i5 route and pair it with an ATI 5850 or 5870. Give me a few minutes and I'll throw a something together.

If you don't want to go the Core route, I would at least get an AM3 CPU. (PII 945 instead of 940) IIRC, the 945 will work with DDR2 and DDR3. Someone else needs to confirm/deny this.

 

[BraveSoul]

Ati 5850 is a must for your 3 year plan, im with angelkiller on Phenom II 945(get the 95w model), and there is DDR3 2x2gb for same price as DDR2
GIGABYTE GA-MA790GPT-UD3H AM3 AMD 790GX HDMI ATX AMD looks like a fine Motherboard for those parts
LG W2353V-PF Black 23" 2ms(GTG) HDMI Full HD 1080P Widescreen LCD Monitor 300 cd/m2 50000:1 looks really good, oh man its too good, now i want it, k k calm down,ahh so good,so colorfull,no no,,, no more spending o jeeez ,, think bills bills , bills to pay ,, errrrr ,, im drulling now

 

[Desmond]

Thanks for the quick responses!
Guys, I'm a total noob when it comes to hardware, and I have no idea what any of those things you mentioned are.

Angelfire: You want me to get the Core i7, which I know is a processor, but then I'll need to pick a different motherboard, and I've never heard of ATI 5850. It's a graphics card, right?

Bravesoul: What's the difference between the Phenom II 945 95w model and the 125w model? They cost the same.

and DDR3 ram, I heard that it's pretty expensive, but I guess I should get a motherboard that can support it if I plan to upgrade in the future. But I have no idea how any of this works, or if it's even possible to use DDR3 with DDR2.

Anyway, It would be more helpful if you guys could just simply post a link to a product on newegg that you recommend and explain why I should use that one instead.

 

[angelkiller]

Yes, if you go the Core i7 route, you will need a different motherboard. In my recommendation (below) I've changed my mind and picked a Core i5 processor. And yes the ATI 5850 is a graphics card that was released about 2 weeks ago.

I'm not sure of the difference between the 95W and the 125W models, but I would probably guess that the 95W model is a later revision of that CPU that uses less power. That's the one you want.

You can't use DDR2 and DDR3 at the same time. DDR3 is more expensive than DDR2, but DDR2 is on it's way out. Not in the next 2 months, but I doubt it'll be mainstream in 2 years. DDR3 is more future proof.

Ok have a look at this. Box only:

Case - Whatever - $120
PSU - Corsair TX650 - $100
Mobo - Gigabyte GA-P55M-UD2 - $110
CPU - Core i5 860 - $290
Heatsink - Unsure - $50
RAM - Crucial 6GB (3x2GB) DDR3-1066 - $120
Graphics - Radeon 5850 - $260
HDD - 640GB WD Black (WD6401AALS) - $75
Opticial - Whatever - $35

Total: $1160

And that price is before rebates and before shipping. (which will likely offset each other) Add ~$200 for that other stuff you wanted. (OS, mouse, etc) I dropped the PSU down to 650W because it's $30 cheaper and you'll never need 650W unless you drop some serious cash on some high end gear. The RAM I picked out looks whimpy, but a well established member here (Fitseries3) says they can clock to insane frequencies. (1600MHz+) And yes, I know I've picked out a 6GB kit. You simply won't use 1 of the sticks. I would pick the 4GB version but I don't know if they use the same chips or not. If you ever get a platform with a tri-channel mem controller, you'll have the extra stick. I don't know what kind of case you like so get what you want. As for CPU cooling, I've been a bit out of the loop on a good heatsink. I know of a few great coolers, but I don't know of their compatability on the LGA 1156 platform. Speaking of which, I chose the LGA 1156 platform over the LGA 1366 one because overall it's a bit cheaper. Mostly on the mobo side. I'm getting a midrange mobo for ~$50 less than the cheapest LGA1366 boards. A midrange board will add to that figure. Plus the Ci5 runs much cooler. If you wanna save more cash, you could drop down to a Ci5 750. You loose hyper threading, but you still have a wickidly fast CPU. And I assume you'll be overclocking the CPU. If you wern't planning on doing so, I'm going to strongly recommend it. You don't need to push it to it's limit, but you can easily get 20-30% more performance for free. Overall, I think that's a solid upper midrange gaming rig. CPU, mobo and graphics have all be released in the last few months, so you'll experience their full life cycle of them. Cases and PSUs don't really get outdated. (ie they have a really advancement rate) So there you go.

 

[Desmond]

The RAM I picked out looks whimpy, but a well established member here (Fitseries3) says they can clock to insane frequencies. (1600MHz+) And yes, I know I've picked out a 6GB kit. You simply won't use 1 of the sticks.

The ram (Crucial 6GB (3x2GB) DDR3-1066 - $120) has 3 sticks, while the mobo you picked has 4 slots, so I could use all the sticks, could I?

About the heatsink, I did not have one in the first budget I posted. I thought they came with the processor, so do I really need to buy one?

Thanks for all the post and detail! I really appreciate it. And no, I wasn't really planning to overclock, but mostly because I had no idea how to.

edit

As for CPU cooling, I've been a bit out of the loop on a good heatsink. I know of a few great coolers, but I don't know of their compatability on the LGA 1156 platform. Speaking of which, I chose the LGA 1156 platform over the LGA 1366 one because overall it's a bit cheaper. Mostly on the mobo side. I'm getting a midrange mobo for ~$50 less than the cheapest LGA1366 boards. A midrange board will add to that figure. Plus the Ci5 runs much cooler. If you wanna save more cash, you could drop down to a Ci5 750. You loose hyper threading, but you still have a wickidly fast CPU. And I assume you'll be overclocking the CPU.

Sorry but what does that mean? I don't know what any of the things you mentioned are (LGA 1156, Ci5 750).

And also, the CPU you listed (Core i5 860 - $290) had a link that linked to a Core i7 860, so I think you either linked to the wrong product or said the wrong thing.

 

[angelkiller]

Ok so there's this thing (for lack of a better word) called dual channel memory. The idea is that if you use the same sized capacity in both memory channels, you double the effective bandwidth. Core i5 has 2 memeory channels, so having a 2GB stick in each channel doubles the effective bandwidth. Does it help? Maybe. So yes, you could use all three sticks, but by doing so you lose the ability to run the RAM in dual channel mode. Will such a config hurt performance? I doubt it. (less than 5% tops) But it's pretty traditional to have sticks in dual channel mode. So there's not a good reason really why not. Just that people have been doing the dual channel thing for so long.

A heatsink does come with this (and every) retail CPU. However, it's a cheap and dinky little thing. Performance is very average. (ie low performance at a higher noise level) It'll handle the CPU just fine, it's just that you can do better. You could do a modest overclock on the stock cooler. If you wanna save the cash, that's fine. The only advantage that you'd get with an aftermarket is the ability to hit higher frequencies. So no, you don't really need to buy one. In fact, keep things simple and don't get an aftermarket one.

Overclocking is really easy. You won't be going for a record-breaker here, so you'll only neeed to adjust a few settings. Once you read how, you can do it in literally 10 minutes. And it's not like learning is difficult. We can help you with that after you get everything built.

Yes, I meant to write Core i7 860. The link is correct.

Ok. This could be an extremely long and in depth explanation of Intel's current offerings, but I'm going to make this as basic as posisble. Intel has 3 CPU sockets, LGA 775, LGA1156 and LGA 1366. Your CPU must fit in the CPU socket on the motherboard. And for each CPU socket there are different CPU's that go in that socket. For example, the Core i5 860 is a LGA 1156 CPU. That means that it fits in motherboards that have a LGA 1156 socket. None of Intel's CPU socket are compatible with each other. So a LGA 1156 CPU will not fit in a LGA 1366 socket.

So your mobo socket and CPU type must match. What really makes things confusing is Intel's naming scheme. You would think that all the Core i5 or Core i7 processors would belong to one socket right? Wrong. Some Core i7 processors fit the LGA 1366 socket while others fit the LGA 1156 socket. It makes no sense for people that know what they're doing. So don't worry about the name, worry about the socket.

If that didn't make sense, please ask questions. I'm pretty sure that wasn't a great explanation.

 

[Desmond]

Alright, thanks a lot for all your help!
I have 1 thing that I want to ask about though.

The graphics card, it's more than $100 more than the one I originally picked, so how come? My friends told me that the Graphics card I had was good enough to run all the graphics-intensive games. I'm assuming that the one you picked for me would be a lot better, right? The only problems are the cost and the fact that there aren't any in stock right now.

 

[mosheen]

i5 750 + hd 5850

 

[Desmond]

Here's my build so far. I don't know if this link will work or not:
http://secure.newegg.com/WishList/PublicWishDetail.aspx?WishListNumber=8112449

 

[kurosagi01]

this is all about planning ahead for you correct? if you want your system to last you for like 2-3years or whatever you will need to look at ATI new HD 5000 series..and the 5850 is the key to keep your rig running for couple years as it is the NEW generation.
Does that make sense,the 5850 will run all your games perfectly and it draws less power than the 4000 series.
Again this is all about looking ahead for you in future,if you want your system to last you then get the 5850,Direct X11 games will soon hit market and your prepared for them.

 

[Deleted member 67555]

I think Since This is HIS first build....
You might be Better off with an AMD setup such as...
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136283
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128378
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231193
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103674
which puts you $30 above your original setup with about 15% more performance and more HD space you could easily save that with a different case and psu and mouse and keyboard...
here are a few suggestions
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16823175103
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16826100010
case with PSU (antec earth watts 500 good PSU) http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811129024
and that saves you quite a bit and leaves you with a pretty good system too

 

[Soylent Joe]

Hey man, take your time getting your stuff. Do your research and make sure you're getting good quality and compatible items. I'd throw a list together but I'm about to walk out the door. These guys here will help out a lot and don't be afraid to ask "noobish" questions, that's how we learn.

 

[angelkiller]

I think Since This is HIS first build....
You might be Better off with an AMD setup such as...
<snip>

Ok, don't take this the wrong way. No hostile intentions here.

But why go the AM3 route? If you dropped down to a Core i5 750, the CPU and mobo costs would be pretty much the same. At stock speeds, the Ci5 750 looks to be a little faster. BUT, the Phenom has ~25% advantage in clock speed. So clock for clock, Ci5 is noteably faster. And let's not get into power consumption, where the Ci5 dominates everything.

I don't think AM3 is the way to go here. If you want to save some cash, the CPU can be changed to a Core i5 750 instead of the Core i7 860. You lose hyper-threading, but that's about it really.

The graphics card, it's more than $100 more than the one I originally picked, so how come? My friends told me that the Graphics card I had was good enough to run all the graphics-intensive games. I'm assuming that the one you picked for me would be a lot better, right? The only problems are the cost and the fact that there aren't any in stock right now.

Yes, the 4890 should max out pretty much everything. But you said that future-proofing is important. The 5850 was literally released a couple of weeks ago while the 4890 was relased in April. To be quite honest, both cards have a pretty long life ahead of them and won't get old anytime soon. I picked the 5850 for some minute reasons. I've learned from my experiences, that if you're debating between a two parts, one being a small step above the other, you should pick the faster part. Why? In a year and a half when the next gen parts get here, your part will be that much faster than the the other. Kinda like why they say don't get cheap tools. You pay more initially, but you'll get that much more from the tools.

If you want to save cash, again, drop the CPU to a Core i5 750 first. Then drop to a 4890. It's much more important to have GPU power than CPU power, especially if you're gaming. (Not that the Ci5 is 'slow')

And another thing, don't take everything I say as absolute truth. All this is in my own opinion. I write so much because I like to show you the reasoning behind my choices. But other could have better solutions. So yeah.

 

[A Cheese Danish]

No offense here Desmond, but you really don't need an anti-static bracelet. I know you are worried about static shock, but if you are
going to be working on like cement or hard wood floor, you shouldn't have to worry. As long as you touch the case
before touching any of the hardware you should be good. Also, I would recommend atleast getting Windows 7 Pro
if you are going to use 7.

 

[kurosagi01]

No offense here Desmond, but you really don't need an anti-static bracelet. I know you are worried about static shock, but if you are
going to be working on like cement or hard wood floor, you shouldn't have to worry. As long as you touch the case
before touching any of the hardware you should be good. Also, I would recommend atleast getting Windows 7 Pro
if you are going to use 7.

i agree,when i was putting my build together i didn't have a anti-static bracelet,i've just touch something metal to "un earth" myself so i don't get any statics.
I put some cardboard on my floor to build mine since i got carpet floor lol.

 

[[Ion]]

Here's my build so far. I don't know if this link will work or not:
http://secure.newegg.com/WishList/PublicWishDetail.aspx?WishListNumber=8112449

Looks pretty good, but I would make a few changes
Pick up the Centurion 590 case instead, it's a nicer case for $50 cheaper.
Spend the $50 you saved on either a GA-P55M-UD4 or a GA-P55-UD4P. Both are nicer boards than what you had selected. Also, as everyone else has said, there is no need to buy a wrist strap, I've assembled dozens of computers and never used a wrist strap and I haven't had any issues.

 

[vaiopup]

Isn't that psu a lil over the top or are the recent GPU's really that greedy?
(It shows that gpu's aren't my thing).

 

[Desmond]

Alright, I'm at school right now, so I'll make this quick.

case with PSU (antec earth watts 500 good PSU) http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811129024

Who thinks that I should replace my power supply and case with this one? Is it a good idea, and is 500 watts enough?

Spend the $50 you saved on either a GA-P55M-UD4 or a GA-P55-UD4P. Both are nicer boards than what you had selected.

Why is this motherboard better? Do I need it?

 

[[Ion]]

Alright, I'm at school right now, so I'll make this quick.


Who thinks that I should replace my power supply and case with this one? Is it a good idea, and is 500 watts enough?



Why is this motherboard better? Do I need it?

Go with the Corsair, it's a nicer power supply (http://www.silentpcreview.com/article813-page1.html). And the cables are sleeved. The two motherboards I listed will allow for crossfire (or SLI) with double slot cards, they also should overclock better. Only get one of them if either of these matter to you.

 

[brandonwh64]

OK this first build im gonna post a pretty much top of the line computer now it may be over your budget but this is to show you if you can add alittle more money you can get ALOT more ok, SO here is the first build

http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=4950609&Sku=A79-0965

AMD Phenom II X4 965 Black Edition Quad Core Processor - 3.40GHz, Socket AM3, 6MB Cache, 2000MHz (4000 MT/s) FSB, Retail, Processor with Fan
http://images.tigerdirect.com/skuimages/large/A79-0955-Main-JH.jpg

Price=249.99

http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=4540506&CatId=4296

MSI 790FX-GD70 Motherboard - AMD 790FX, Socket AM3, ATX, Audio, CrossFireX, PCI Express 2.0, Gigabit LAN, USB 2.0, SATA, RAID
http://images.tigerdirect.com/skuimages/large/M452-6060-Main-JH.jpg

Price=179.99

http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=3345975&CatId=3473

2x OCZ Dual Channel Platinum 2048MB PC12800 DDR3 1600MHz Memory (2 x 1024MB)
http://images.tigerdirect.com/skuimages/large/O261-8070-main.jpg

Price=90.00

http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=5214197&CatId=3585

BFG GeForce GTX 285 OC Video Card - 1GB GDDR3, PCI Express 2.0, FREE Batman: Arkham Asylum Game Download
http://images.tigerdirect.com/skuimages/large/B52-02852_main_image001_im.jpg

Price=299.99

http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=4975140&CatId=1483

OCZ 600W StealthXStream Power Supply - 600 Watts, 120mm Fan, ATX, (Refurbished)
http://images.tigerdirect.com/skuimages/large/O261-2038_main_001_im.jpg

Price=49.99

http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=4306125&CatId=2459

Hitachi 7K1000.B Hard Drive - 1TB, 7200RPM, 16MB, SATA-300, OEM
http://images.tigerdirect.com/skuimages/large/TSD-1000H4-Main02-jl.jpg

Price=79.99

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811129021

Antec Nine Hundred Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - Retail
http://www.hardware.info/images/news/antec_900_overview_goed.jpg

Price=99.99


TOTAL PRICE= 1049.94$ Before shipping
on tiger you get bundled shipping for 1.90 in the US but on newegg the shipping cost of the antec case will probly be like 15$ or more but you can just scrap the antec case and order one with the rest of the parts from tiger to get that discount shipping its up to you

this build is the fastest AMD build out there and is 50$ over the 1K mark and faster than what you have purchased

 

[angelkiller]

Who thinks that I should replace my power supply and case with this one? Is it a good idea, and is 500 watts enough?

Doesn't matter. Case is personal preference. 500W is enough. The Earthwatts (PSU) is a solid unit. Pick whichever.

Why is this motherboard better? Do I need it?

IMO, I wouldn't spend the extra cash on either of those motherboards. Read Anandtech's Review of the UD2. He speaks very highly of the UD2 board, and if that board is really that good, then I see no reason to 'upgrade'.

OK this first build im gonna post a pretty much top of the line computer now it may be over your budget but this is to show you if you can add alittle more money you can get ALOT more ok, SO here is the first build

<snip>

this build is the fastest AMD build out there and is 50$ over the 1K mark and faster than what you have purchased

Ooook. What's up with everyone suggesting AM3 builds? I understand that such a build will improve on the OP's build, but you can do a Ci5 build for a tad more. The Ci5 is a bit faster than the Phenom 965 at stock speeds, but once overclocked, the Ci5 has the advantage. (Because both CPU's hit about the same frequency, and clock for clock Ci5 is faster.) Please list some reasons to pick AM3 over Ci5. Thanks.

 

[brandonwh64]

Ooook. What's up with everyone suggesting AM3 builds? I understand that such a build will improve on the OP's build, but you can do a Ci5 build for a tad more. The Ci5 is a bit faster than the Phenom 965 at stock speeds, but once overclocked, the Ci5 has the advantage. (Because both CPU's hit about the same frequency, and clock for clock Ci5 is faster.) Please list some reasons to pick AM3 over Ci5. Thanks.

Cause i am a AMD fan? just helping?

 

[Soylent Joe]

Don't cheap out on a PSU.