I want this post to serve a dual purpose. First, I want to list my components, where I purchased them, and prices. Second, I want to to tell everyone about my online shopping experiences.
Lets keep a few things in perspective before I get started. This is my first computer build. All of my previous computers have been built by computer houses like Dell. I have done some decent research but never enough obviously not to have someone in this forum criticize one or more of my component choices. I only want to receive constructive advice on how to build my rig. If you have something negative to say or want to bitch about whatever else please reserve it for one of the other posts that welcomes this kind of feedback. Ok lets get started.
Creative Labs Sound Blaster Audigy 2 ZS $86.00 (after rebate) ZipZoomFly.com
Gamer Limited Edition Retail
CoolerMaster PAC-T01-EK Praetorian $115.99 Newegg.com
Aluminium Mid Tower Case (Black) Retail
NEC 16X Double Layer DVD±RW Drive, $67.00 Newegg.com
Black, Model ND-3500A BK, OEM
Lite-On 16X DVD-ROM, Model SOHD-167T $29.00 Newegg.com
Black, RETAIL
NEC 1.44MB Black Internal Floppy Drive, OEM $9.99 Newegg.com
OCZ PowerStream 520W Power Supply $139.00 Excaliberpc.com
OCZ520ADJ - 520W
Seagate Barracuda 7200.7 ST3160827AS $112.00 ZipZoomFly.com
160GB Serial ATA 7200RPM Hard Drive
w/8MB Buffer
Asus A8N-SLI DELUXE Socket 939/nForce4/ $213.66 Ewiz.com
PCI-Express/RAID/2GBE/ATX Motherboard
Corsair VS1GBKIT400 1GB Kit DDR400 $144.50 Zipzoomfly
PC3200 CAS2.5 Value Select Memory Retail
AMD Athlon 64 3500+, 2.2 GHz, 512KB L2 $305.10 Monarchcomputer.com
Cache 64-bit Socket 939 Processor - Retail
Winchester core
Leadtek nVIDIA GeForce 6600GT Video Card, $199.49 Newegg
128MB GDDR3, 128-Bit, DVI/TV-Out, PCI-Express,
Model "PX6600GT TDH" -RETAIL
Total $1421.73 (includes shipping and taxes)
Please note I already have from a previous rig a retail copy of Windows XP Pro and a Dell Ultrasharp 18.1" flat panel monitor.
Ok as far as my shopping experiences. Newegg, Zipzoomfly, Excaliberpc, Monarchcomputer, and Ewiz are all excellent with the whole online shopping experience. The best by far however I would have to say is Monarchcomputer.com. I ordered my cpu through them. I received the first email immediately acknowledging my order. I received the second email shortly thereafter acknowledging the successful charging of my credit card. The third email I received is the kicker. By 6pm I received my Fedex tracking number for 2nd day delivery. The kicker is I had free Fedex ground shipping and they upgraded me to 2nd day free of charge!
Ok and without getting into the grizzly details, the absolute worst online shopping experiences I have ever had are awarded to Tigerdirect.com and buy.com. Believe me, everything you read is true! If you notice none of my components were purchased through them even though a couple of attempts were made.
Now on to the good stuff. All of you experienced rig builders please list for me, in order, the steps I need to follow to build my rig. Be as detailed as possible as once again I have no prior experience other than upgrading my previous rigs. Please also note that I will not be OC'ing. Thanks in advance.
Lets keep a few things in perspective before I get started. This is my first computer build. All of my previous computers have been built by computer houses like Dell. I have done some decent research but never enough obviously not to have someone in this forum criticize one or more of my component choices. I only want to receive constructive advice on how to build my rig. If you have something negative to say or want to bitch about whatever else please reserve it for one of the other posts that welcomes this kind of feedback. Ok lets get started.
Creative Labs Sound Blaster Audigy 2 ZS $86.00 (after rebate) ZipZoomFly.com
Gamer Limited Edition Retail
CoolerMaster PAC-T01-EK Praetorian $115.99 Newegg.com
Aluminium Mid Tower Case (Black) Retail
NEC 16X Double Layer DVD±RW Drive, $67.00 Newegg.com
Black, Model ND-3500A BK, OEM
Lite-On 16X DVD-ROM, Model SOHD-167T $29.00 Newegg.com
Black, RETAIL
NEC 1.44MB Black Internal Floppy Drive, OEM $9.99 Newegg.com
OCZ PowerStream 520W Power Supply $139.00 Excaliberpc.com
OCZ520ADJ - 520W
Seagate Barracuda 7200.7 ST3160827AS $112.00 ZipZoomFly.com
160GB Serial ATA 7200RPM Hard Drive
w/8MB Buffer
Asus A8N-SLI DELUXE Socket 939/nForce4/ $213.66 Ewiz.com
PCI-Express/RAID/2GBE/ATX Motherboard
Corsair VS1GBKIT400 1GB Kit DDR400 $144.50 Zipzoomfly
PC3200 CAS2.5 Value Select Memory Retail
AMD Athlon 64 3500+, 2.2 GHz, 512KB L2 $305.10 Monarchcomputer.com
Cache 64-bit Socket 939 Processor - Retail
Winchester core
Leadtek nVIDIA GeForce 6600GT Video Card, $199.49 Newegg
128MB GDDR3, 128-Bit, DVI/TV-Out, PCI-Express,
Model "PX6600GT TDH" -RETAIL
Total $1421.73 (includes shipping and taxes)
Please note I already have from a previous rig a retail copy of Windows XP Pro and a Dell Ultrasharp 18.1" flat panel monitor.
Ok as far as my shopping experiences. Newegg, Zipzoomfly, Excaliberpc, Monarchcomputer, and Ewiz are all excellent with the whole online shopping experience. The best by far however I would have to say is Monarchcomputer.com. I ordered my cpu through them. I received the first email immediately acknowledging my order. I received the second email shortly thereafter acknowledging the successful charging of my credit card. The third email I received is the kicker. By 6pm I received my Fedex tracking number for 2nd day delivery. The kicker is I had free Fedex ground shipping and they upgraded me to 2nd day free of charge!
Ok and without getting into the grizzly details, the absolute worst online shopping experiences I have ever had are awarded to Tigerdirect.com and buy.com. Believe me, everything you read is true! If you notice none of my components were purchased through them even though a couple of attempts were made.
Now on to the good stuff. All of you experienced rig builders please list for me, in order, the steps I need to follow to build my rig. Be as detailed as possible as once again I have no prior experience other than upgrading my previous rigs. Please also note that I will not be OC'ing. Thanks in advance.