advice request for $1500 rig build by n00b

[markw2009]

This is what I've speced out at newegg based on price and want to know if they will all work together and would like to avoid poor quality. This will be used for 3d modeling, video editing, etc.

experience: none
guide: Build Your Own PC for Dummies
budget: 1500

OS: Microsoft Windows XP Professional SP2 - Retail
Case: COOLER MASTER RC-690-KKN1-GP Black Computer Case - Retail
Power Supply: COOLER MASTER UCP RS700-AAAAA3 700W Power Supply - Retail
Motherboard: GIGABYTE GA-EX58-UD3R LGA 1366 Intel X58 ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail
Ram: CORSAIR 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory - Retail
CPU: Intel Core i7 920 Nehalem 2.66GHz LGA 1366 130W Quad-Core Processor Model BX80601920 - Retail
HD Western Digital Caviar SE16 WD6400AAKS 640GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive - OEM
Graphic Card: XFX HD-487A-ZDFC Radeon HD 4870 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFire Supported Video Card - Retail
DVDRW: LG 22X DVD±R DVD Burner Black SATA Model GH22NS30 - OEM
Monitor 1: Hanns·G HW-191DPB Black 19" 5ms Widescreen LCD Monitor - Retail
Monitor 2: Hanns·G HW-191DPB Black 19" 5ms Widescreen LCD Monitor - Retail

 

[Eureka]

You're good to go. Some things you may want to consider, you can probably get a 1TB drive for the same price as that WD. You might want to go allt he way with 8 gb of ram considering you have a pretty decent system anyway.

I'd also switch from XP to Vista, Vista is now a much more mature OS and in my experience much smoother with a lot of tasks. You also want to get 64-bit to utilize that 4+ gb of ram.

 

[Pokeylicious]

I'd reconsider the RAM if I were you. You have a double set of DDR3 RAM selected. The i7 requires the RAM to be operating at a voltage of LESS than 1.65 volts or you could potentially damage the on-die memory controller. The dual channel RAM kits operate at 1.8-1.95 volts.

Also, since the i7's memory controller supports triple channel RAM, you'll get maximum bandwidth with 3 sticks. If you're still planning on staying with a 32 bit OS like XP, you can get a triple channel kit of 3 1GB sticks of DDR3 ram for less than 100bucks Canadian, and the triple channel kits run at 1.65 volts, keeping your Intel wunderkind nice and happy.

 

[masteryoda34]

Get a 6GB (2GBx3) kit of DDR3.

Get Vista x64 so you can use all your Ram.

 

[markw2009]

Thanks gents. 3DS Max and Vista didn't use to play well together, but I've seen more positive comments recently. I'm leaning towards Vista right now. I do want to go 64 bit.

Pokey and Master Yoda, you guys are talking about something like this, right?
OCZ Gold 6GB (3 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Low Voltage Desktop Memory Model OCZ3G1600LV6GK

It's only $100 for 6 GB. 5 stars from 127 reviews, too. Never heard of OCZ.

Question #1: which parts would you add 1 year warranties to?

Question #2: do I need more fans? This comes with the case...
"Three 120mm fans are installed at the factory, in the front, rear and side. There is room for four more, two on the top, and one each on the bottom and side. You can also add an 80mm fan to the back of the motherboard tray to cool the CPU from both sides."

 

[Absolution75]

Originally posted by: markw2009
Thanks gents. 3DS Max and Vista didn't use to play well together, but I've seen more positive comments recently. I'm leaning towards Vista right now. I do want to go 64 bit.

Pokey and Master Yoda, you guys are talking about something like this, right?
OCZ Gold 6GB (3 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Low Voltage Desktop Memory Model OCZ3G1600LV6GK

It's only $100 for 6 GB. 5 stars from 127 reviews, too. Never heard of OCZ.

Question #1: which parts would you add 1 year warranties to?

Question #2: do I need more fans? This comes with the case...
"Three 120mm fans are installed at the factory, in the front, rear and side. There is room for four more, two on the top, and one each on the bottom and side. You can also add an 80mm fan to the back of the motherboard tray to cool the CPU from both sides."

OCZ is a solid company, I've used them in many of my own builds, and others.


Adding warrenties? Don't bother, by the time the manufacter warrenty is over on a lot of the parts, it will be time to replace them anyway.

From my experience/observation, these are the most risky parts in a computer.
1) Hard drives (its luck of the draw really, I've never had one die, but I tend to replace them proactively every 3 years) - by the time it dies, a faster/better drive will be out for the same price. Most hard drives, if they die, tend to die immediately/in a few weeks of purchase.

2) DOA Ram/Ram that doesn't run at rated timings (Almost all ram comes with a lifetime warranty, so don't bother).

3) Power supplies, I've only had one specifically die on me, got a replacement which is in my pc atm. After I sold an old one, it died well within the warranty period.

4) I've had a couple DOA motherboards and one that flat out died on me. Well within the warranty period though.

Never had any speaker/monitor/video card/cd drive/whatever else.

Overall I haven't had to many problems. Never have I had a part that was a waste of money or died out of warranty. Shipping is annoying though. . .

Note: I've probably built 30+ PC's over the last 6 years - so I've been fairly lucky with some parts.

Edit: Actually I guess I had a fan that died on my old Geforce 4 TI 4600. . . But that was an easy fix.

Also, for fans, I only have two 120mm case fans. One in, one out. You really don't need anything more, though your processor will definitely run hotter than mine. You are probably fine with two (assuming you aren't doing any over clocking). After you put it together, you can check your temps with RealTemp/CoreTemp and see if you are satisfied. Having an exceedingly cool computer that is loud isn't the best thing in the world. I'd rather have respectable temps which are in spec by a decent margin and have the PC be silent.

 

[Pokeylicious]

Any triple channel kit should work okay, as long as it's a kit. If you are planning on overclocking, you can get 1600mHz speed RAM, if you have more money than brains, you can get 2000mHz RAM, and if you have NO intention of overclocking AT ALL, you can get whatever's cheapest.

As far as warranties go if you mean extended warranties, I personally don't even bother with them; if something dies on me, it's probably going to die fairly quickly. Considering that most parts have between 1 and 3 year warranties, if something DOES die outside it's warranty period, it'll be MUCH cheaper to replace it then, if it's still even made. Ahhh, technology....

As to your fan situation, you're good to go. I can only hope my 3 80's will be okay in the interim for my pending i7 build *crosses fingers*...

I'd quote properly so that this post read a little bit better but I'm horribly unknowledgeable with this forum software... Sorry folks.

 

[markw2009]

Awesome feedback. Thanks again all. No overclocking considered right now. Good luck with your build Pokey, though I suspect you don't need it.

Originally posted by: masteryoda34
Get Vista x64 so you can use all your Ram.

Question #3: Is it true that if I order this... "Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium SP1 - Retail"... I pay more and don't get the x64 installation disc in the box? That I have to order another cd? But if order this... "Microsoft Windows Vista Business SP1 64-bit for System Builders DVD - OEM"... I pay less and get 2 cds, one for 32 and one for 64? It's $50 less.

 

[Lunyone]

Originally posted by: markw2009
Awesome feedback. Thanks again all. No overclocking considered right now. Good luck with your build Pokey, though I suspect you don't need it.

Originally posted by: masteryoda34
Get Vista x64 so you can use all your Ram.

Question #3: Is it true that if I order this... "Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium SP1 - Retail"... I pay more and don't get the x64 installation disc in the box? That I have to order another cd? But if order this... "Microsoft Windows Vista Business SP1 64-bit for System Builders DVD - OEM"... I pay less and get 2 cds, one for 32 and one for 64? It's $50 less.

NO! You only get 1 DVD with either version that you listed. The RETAIL version allows you to move your OS over to a new build, somewhere down the road. The OEM version is for only the original build that you make. So if you don't plan on moving your OS onto another system than the OEM version will do just fine. Personally I'd just go with the OEM version of Vista Home Premium 64 bit and be done with it. It is usually around $80-100, depending on if there is specials going around. You could even go with Windows 7 RC, it's free for download and if you like it, you can buy it later this year or earlier next year. Just make sure you get a 64bit version OS for your build. If you don't get a 64bit version, you won't be able to see/use more than 3.5 gb's of RAM, thus not being able to take advantage of your 6 gb's or RAM that you buy.

 

[Eureka]

Originally posted by: Lunyone

Originally posted by: markw2009
Awesome feedback. Thanks again all. No overclocking considered right now. Good luck with your build Pokey, though I suspect you don't need it.

Originally posted by: masteryoda34
Get Vista x64 so you can use all your Ram.

Question #3: Is it true that if I order this... "Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium SP1 - Retail"... I pay more and don't get the x64 installation disc in the box? That I have to order another cd? But if order this... "Microsoft Windows Vista Business SP1 64-bit for System Builders DVD - OEM"... I pay less and get 2 cds, one for 32 and one for 64? It's $50 less.

NO! You only get 1 DVD with either version that you listed. The RETAIL version allows you to move your OS over to a new build, somewhere down the road. The OEM version is for only the original build that you make. So if you don't plan on moving your OS onto another system than the OEM version will do just fine. Personally I'd just go with the OEM version of Vista Home Premium 64 bit and be done with it. It is usually around $80-100, depending on if there is specials going around. You could even go with Windows 7 RC, it's free for download and if you like it, you can buy it later this year or earlier next year. Just make sure you get a 64bit version OS for your build. If you don't get a 64bit version, you won't be able to see/use more than 3.5 gb's of RAM, thus not being able to take advantage of your 6 gb's or RAM that you buy.

I'm currently using an OEM version and I've reinstalled probably close to 10 times, over 3 different systems (though not all at once).

I'd just say go for the cheapest one, and believe it or not, you can just download the disc image from bittorent or something and use your key with it. I had a 32-bit OEM but I switched out to 4gb of RAM, so I just BT'd the image, and it activated fine.

 

[markw2009]

I just plugged everything in and nothin. I took the power supply out, plugged it in, and nothin. Shouldn't the fan on the power supply box spin whether or not it's connected to the motherboard?

Power Supply: COOLER MASTER UCP RS700-AAAAA3 700W Power Supply

 

[yh125d]

Plus the PSU into the wall, turn the switch on the back to off. Take a paper clip and bend it into a U shape. Now, take the main 24 pin connector on the PSU and use the paper clip to jumper the green wire (theres only one) with any black wire. Then turn the switch on the psu on. If it doesn't do anything, the PSU is dead. If it does then either your motherboard is dead (not telling the PSU to turn on) or youw power switch on the case is bad (not telling the motherboard to turn on the PSU

 

[markw2009]

Okay, I jumpered the green wire with a black wire, turned it on and the fan started spinning. So I'm doomed. So how do I determine if it's the board or the case? And thanks for your help, too.

 

[yh125d]

Look at where the front panel connectors plug into the motherboard. Find the one that says power switch. With the PSU plugged in and turned on as is normal, momentarily jump the two power switch pins. If it kicks on, its the switch. if it doesn't respond, bad mobo

And be very careful not to accidentally jump any other pins. It shouldn't do anything, but it may

 

[Lunyone]

Originally posted by: yh125d
Look at where the front panel connectors plug into the motherboard. Find the one that says power switch. With the PSU plugged in and turned on as is normal, momentarily jump the two power switch pins. If it kicks on, its the switch. if it doesn't respond, bad mobo

I was just going to suggest that, so you beat me to it!!

 

[markw2009]

So the 24 pin P1 connector and the two 4 pin P2 and P3 connectors go into the board from the PSU. What other PSU connectors need to be used to perform the test?

 

[markw2009]

ummm... I forgot to try the power from the front of the case... all's good I guess. I'm a n00b, what can I say.

 

[markw2009]

Okay, simple question about the audio. (This is not an instance of crying wolf.)

I've got no audio. Vista does recognize that speakers are plugged into either the back or top audio out connectors and pops up a menu to let me configure them. I figure I've failed to connect something to or from the m/b, but I'm stumped. I have an HD Audio (with a secondary AC'97) line coming from the case to the F_AUDIO header on the board. I don't seem to have little cables for the Speaker pins of the F_PANEL m/b header. Any ideas?