A Newbie's First Computer....Any recomendations on these parts?

[sirpado]

Hello all,

This is the first time to build a computer, and Id just like to say that these forums have taught me a lot, but I am still running low on confidence, so I just wanted to run by you guys my system before I swipe that credit card��.ok, here it goes. By the way, this is goin in my college dorm�


Case: Enlight 7237 Case w/ 300W PSU- $50 NewEgg

CPU: AMD Athlon 1.4 GHz CPU- $164 NewEgg

CPU HSF- Black Thermoengine w/ delta fan(Fan comes in 5100 or 7200 RPM from azzo.com) I am really
clueless on HSF. I am looking for a good reliable product that does the job without being too loud. Any suggestions? I am not overclocking if that matters.

Thermal Grease- Arctic Silver II- $6 NewEgg ( I need this right?)

Case Fans- (2) Sunon 80 mm fans- $10 (Are these fans very loud? Comments?))

RAM-(2) 256mb PC2100 DDR-Ram- $85 Crucial (already purchased)

MB-ASUS A7M266 Motherboard-$163 Newegg (or should I go for the Epox 8k7a?, Im not O/Cing)

Video--- Tough decision here. Either a Leadtek Winfast Geforce 2 Pro GTS 64MB 5.5ns ($168) or a Kyro II Prophet 4500 ($105) I figure either way Im ending up with a good card. Any recommendations?

HDD-60 GB IBM HD 7200 RPM- $152 NewEgg

DVD-Pioneer 16x DVD Drive OEM-(won in bet from a friend)- 0$

CDRW-Phillips 8x/4x/32x Burner- (free after Rebates at BestBuy-pricematched)- 0$

NIC-3com (won from friend in a bet) - 0$

Floppy- $10 NewEgg

Sound -Turtle Beach Santa Cruz , $70 NewEgg (Anywhere cheaper? Refurb?)

Keyboard- Logitech Cordless, from old computer

Mouse- Microsoft USB Intelli Mouse Explorer, $37 NewEgg

Total- around 900 (Note I did get some parts for free) But besides the ones I already have, any comments on prospective parts? I am about to buy these parts, but I trust the knowledge of you guys so I figure you could leave me wit some final advice. I will order a monitor later.right now im just focusing on these components. I am sorta clueless on the HSF, Thermal Grease, and also which Video card to buy. Well, thatâ??s itâ?¦

Thanks for reading!

 

[neuralfx]

nice choices, the motherboard, ya look at the Epox, the MSI K7master is my personal fav right now.. check out the reviews.. im jus nitpicking, though, i know lots of people like Enlight, and ya they are good i guess.. i just dont like them.. http://www.coolerguys.com they have some *cool* cases, heh.. well thats my 2cents....
-neural

 

[Poncherelli]

I cant find artic silver 2 or the santa cruz at newegg.com, where did you see them? Also, where is the hsf from, i'm building a system very similar to yours soon and looking to minimize dealers.

 

[rommel]

well if you wont overclock any of the ddr's will prolly be good...epox is far less money...so i would go there...you'll save about 40 bucks.
get a thermalright sk-6 or the taisol cgk760092...the taisol will come with the slim line delta...and if you dont overclock adn get a cool running cpu it may work out.
and i would get the santa cruz...i have used a few now and i like them alot...nice software/drivers...not proprietary like the sb liveware crap that you have to format to get rid of

 

[sirpado]

yea, actually the santa ruz i was gonna get from mwave.com, and the arctic silver is in cpu paste setion at new egg.

wait, so r u saying the thermo engine is bad? What is better about those hsfs? I want a simple, quality, not too loud hsf. thanks, also what do u think about my video card...

 

[mcveigh]

Yes save money oon the epox, and maybe a better power supply, like enermax 350+ watts

 

[xPrototype00x]

I've heard the artic silver thermal compound really doesn't do all too much more then standard and I don'r know if its true but apparently it is conductive and can short out the pins if it overflows

 

[xPrototype00x]

and just get a geforce 3 I did and its amazing

 

[mchammer187]

get the epox
tailsol HS and YS Tech/thermaltake fan should be good for you
thermoengine is also good but you should get whatever is cheaper since you are not overclocking.
you can save money on the fans buy ordering some from
here. $15 for a pair of 80mm's and they look cool too
I got 6 fans (4x120mm , 2x80mm) from there plus a thermaltake now i gotta find a place for them . Also i would get the MSI GF2Pro if you are going to get a Pro because it is cheaper. I can get mine to 240 core/ 480 mem and 85 FPS @ 4xFSAA and 1024x768 on cstrike is NICE. I personally like this case for 30+12 shipping i think it looks nicer and has places for fans and no mb tray. I dont know if the enlight does have a tray but i read trays can form hot air pockets in the case. You will probably have to ditch the Power Supply either way because 1.4 GHz is kinda pushing a 300W. And try out the intellimouse explorer before you buy it because some ppl dont like the way it feels cuz the left side is higher. The intellimouse optical has a much more natural feel to it.

 

[sirpado]

I am goign to need a new power supply? Are those hard to install?

 

[QuestionsandAnsweres]

get a epox 8k7a mobo.. Get geforce 2 PRO.. also get a 1.2Ghz. the performace wont be much different than a 1.4ghz but it requires less power so that powersupply that comes wtih that case should work. if uget a 1.4ghz it might not

 

[eLiu]

There is a 300W Power supply that comes with the enlight case. If you decide to buy a new one, simply unscrew it, and screw in your PS of choice.

If you do buy a new one...try to find the enlight w/o a PS- save some money.

Mobo: The A7M offers the BEST performance, however it is only MARGINALLY better than the Epox--there isnt really any real world difference (get the a7m if you want to brag about benchmarks...). If money matters, get the Epox.

Video: Get the GeForce 2 Pro. The KyroII is a good card. However, it's performance is very game dependent--it kills the GeForce in some games, but it dies in others; the GeForce is always good. I wouldn't go for the GeForce3, even if you have the cash. There aren't any games out for it yet, and by the time there are, the price will be down.

Case fans: yes, those case fans are fairly quiet, and unless you want to use one on your heatsink (see below), you only need one: the Enlight case comes with a fan in the front.

HSF: I would recommend getting a 1) Globalwin WBK 38. Buy an extra 80mm fan, and a fan guard. You can easily mount that fan onto the WBK (it comes with a 6800rpm fan...not too loud, but high-pitched=annoying). Or, 2) get a Taisol CGK760092. These things are reported to be easy to install, and they have good performance (make sure you DO NOT get a high rpm fan if you're worried about noise)

Also, if you have never installed HSFs before, or dont know anyone who does know how to do it...I would recommend buying a NON-CONDUCTIVE shim. This little piece of metal goes on top of the cpu, and keeps you from cracking the core.

Thermal Grease: you NEED this...your computer will die without it. Read the instructions here to figure out howto use the stuff.

Last words of advice: Read the instructions at AMD's website about installing HSFs if you dont know how...dont assume anything--if you crack the core, you're basically screwed. If you fry the CPU, you're dead in the water until the RMA goes through.

And: check your resellers! Go here. If their rating is too much below a 6...then it's a RISKY buy.

For your cooling stuff...try these places:
Best Byte
KD Computers
1coolpc (I would highly recommend them...they're the best imo)

hmm...just gettin in my $.02,
-eric

 

[QuestionsandAnsweres]

also the 1.2ghz is about $68 less than a 1.4ghz...

 

[sirpado]

wait,so where do i get the shim from. Is the taisol easy to install? And does it come with a fan?