Building a new computer. First time - Help!

[Knyteguy]

OK, so I've never built a computer before. I've done little things, like put in video cards etc., but I've never built one from scratch. Looking through Newegg last night, I tried to build a complete one.

I don't even know if I have all the parts I need (I don't need a monitor). Could anyone help me? I need to know if the parts below are all I'm going to need, and a critique would be nice as well. It's supposed to be a semi-high end gaming machine, and I don't even know if I've accomplished that.

Antec NEOPOWER 480 ATX 480W Power Supply

ASPIRE X-Infinity ATXB6KLW-BK/420 Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case ATX [h

Western Digital Caviar SE WD3200JD 320GB 7200 RPM Serial ATA150 Hard DriveOEM

Leadtek PX6800GT TDH Geforce 6800GT 256MB GDDR3 PCI Express x16 Video Card

Creative Sound Blaster Audigy2 ZS 70SB035000000 8 (7.1) Channels PCI Interface Sound Card

Microsoft S51-00001 2-Tone PS/2 Wireless Ergonomics Keyboard Mouse Included

CORSAIR ValueSelect 2GB (2 x 1GB) 184-Pin DDR SDRAM DDR 400 (PC 3200) Unbuffered System Memory Model VS2GBKIT400C3

AMD Opteron 170 Denmark 1GHz FSB Socket 939 Dual Core Processor Model OSA170DAA6CD

NEC Black IDE DVD Burner Model ND-3540AOEM

DFI LANPARTY UT nF4 Ultra-D Socket 939 NVIDIA nForce4 Ultra ATX AMD Motherboard

Final Price: $1,495.24

I was also thinking about water cooling it, but it seemed like a little work. I was having trouble finding anything about compatibility there, I could also use some advice on that one. Will this system work without anything more? Will I need to buy a network card, or could I simply go wireless (I have a wireless setup, I'm not sure if you need both). Any reccomendations for a swap of any of the parts for another part near the same price? Does the case supply a large enough power supply?

Thanks a lot for the help!

 

[MustISO]

Your video card is PCI-e and the motherboard is AGP.

 

[Ricemarine]

Ok. my thoughts.

=Screw the CD-RW, DVD burners are CD-RW's plus many more.
=Get the 6800gs over the x800gt
=Get a GOOD POWER SUPPLY, if you really had to, buy an antec sonata II and use its 450w Smartpower.. Otherwise get that case + an enermax or something $70+.
=PCI-E to AGP is not right.

 

[Knyteguy]

Originally posted by: Ricemarine
Ok. my thoughts.

=Screw the CD-RW, DVD burners are CD-RW's plus many more.
=Get the 6800gs over the x800gt
=Get a GOOD POWER SUPPLY, if you really had to, buy an antec sonata II and use its 450w Smartpower.. Otherwise get that case + an enermax or something $70+.
=PCI-E to AGP is not right.

Hm, the 6800GS is pci as well. Does this mean it as well wouldn't be compatible?. Any other reccomendation over this? Thanks a lot for the help, I'm a little lost on this one

[Edit] For example, <a target=_blank class=ftalternatingbarlinklarge href="http:// [L=http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16814270005]http://www.ne
egg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16814270005">XGI V8 256MB AGP Volari V8 256MB DDR AGP 4X/8X Video Card</a> - Will this work?

 

[datamestonic]

Originally posted by: Knyteguy

Originally posted by: Ricemarine
Ok. my thoughts.

=Screw the CD-RW, DVD burners are CD-RW's plus many more.
=Get the 6800gs over the x800gt
=Get a GOOD POWER SUPPLY, if you really had to, buy an antec sonata II and use its 450w Smartpower.. Otherwise get that case + an enermax or something $70+.
=PCI-E to AGP is not right.

Hm, the 6800GS is pci as well. Does this mean it as well wouldn't be compatible?. Any other reccomendation over this? Thanks a lot for the help, I'm a little lost on this one

[Edit] For example, <a target=_blank class=ftalternatingbarlinklarge href="http:// [L=http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16814270005]http://www.ne
lt;b">egg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16814270005">XGI V8 256MB AGP Volari V8 256MB DDR AGP 4X/8X Video Card</a> - Will this work?

I'd consider anotoher motherboard instead... Go for something in the ASUS A8N series

That'll leave you with more space for upgrading as well, since pretty much all new graphic cards use PCIE.

 

[Skyhanger]

My Recommendations:

DVD-RW: BenQ DW1640 or NEC 3540 (both ~$40)

Case and PSU: Any case will do. A good PSU is needed. Antec Sonata II is a good case with a decent 450w PSU ($100). I would say this is the cheapest you can get w/out risking a ****** PSU. Otherwise get an empty case and buy a Seasonic, Fortron, or PC&P PSU.

HDD: Western Digital and Seagate are both brands. I suggest you to get two 160 GB drives instead of a single 320 GB drive.

GPU: Really depends on you. The 6800GS is a good mid range card. 7800GTs can be found in the low $300's, which is a killer deal.

Sound: Wow, that is expensive. If you're an audiophile, sure, go for it.

RAM: Get DDR ram, not DDR2. AMD systems are only compatiable with DDR!

CPU: Nice choice, though that is kinda pricey. Personally I would get a 3800+ X2. The new 939 Opteron CPUs are also compatible w/ 939 desktop mobos. I would look at the dual core Opteron CPUs as well...

Motherboard: Get a nForce4 Ultra based motherboard. These are currently the best supported motherboards.

You do not need a second optical drive. Also, stay away from watercooling if you're new. It's a steep learning curve and I won't recommend you to do it on your 1st system. Also, aircooling is more than sufficient in most cases (non-extreme OCing)

Stick to PCI-E, AGP is pretty much dead. Also stick to 939 CPU setups.

 

[snizzle]

Ya the Asus A8N series are good boards for the first timers, and you could overclock fairly decent when the time comes

 

[Knyteguy]

Originally posted by: Skyhanger
My Recommendations:

DVD-RW: BenQ DW1640 or NEC 3540 (both ~$40)

Case and PSU: Any case will do. A good PSU is needed. Antec Sonata II is a good case with a decent 450w PSU ($100). I would say this is the cheapest you can get w/out risking a ****** PSU. Otherwise get an empty case and buy a Seasonic, Fortron, or PC&P PSU.

HDD: Western Digital and Seagate are both brands. I suggest you to get two 160 GB drives instead of a single 320 GB drive.

GPU: Really depends on you. The 6800GS is a good mid range card. 7800GTs can be found in the low $300's, which is a killer deal.

Sound: Wow, that is expensive. If you're an audiophile, sure, go for it.

RAM: Get DDR ram, not DDR2. AMD systems are only compatiable with DDR!

CPU: Nice choice, though that is kinda pricey. Personally I would get a 3800+ X2. The new 939 Opteron CPUs are also compatible w/ 939 desktop mobos. I would look at the dual core Opteron CPUs as well...

Motherboard: Get a nForce4 Ultra based motherboard. These are currently the best supported motherboards.

You do not need a second optical drive. Also, stay away from watercooling if you're new. It's a steep learning curve and I won't recommend you to do it on your 1st system. Also, aircooling is more than sufficient in most cases (non-extreme OCing)

Stick to PCI-E, AGP is pretty much dead. Also stick to 939 CPU setups.

Ok, I did some of the changes you said. I removed the CD-RW, I already have the 3540-a Nec Dvd burner on there, is this the same as the 3540?

For a power supply, I changed it to the Antec NEOPOWER 480 ATX 480W Power Supply . Will this be sufficient enough?

I changed the RAM to CORSAIR ValueSelect 2GB (2 x 1GB) 184-Pin DDR SDRAM DDR 400 (PC 3200) Unbuffered System Memory Model VS2GBKIT400C3

I changed the sound card to Creative Sound Blaster Audigy2 ZS 70SB035000000 8 (7.1) Channels PCI Interface Sound Card

I changed the mobo to DFI LANPARTY UT nF4 Ultra-D Socket 939 NVIDIA nForce4 Ultra ATX AMD Motherboard

And last but not least, I changed the GPU to the Leadtek PX6800GT TDH Geforce 6800GT 256MB GDDR3 PCI Express x16 Video Card

How does the setup look now? Again, I really appreciate the help!

 

[Mike Altieri]

I would go with the AMD Opteron 165 over the AMD Athlon 64 X2 4200+.

 

[pmoc81]

Dont get that soundblaster live...you need more sound processing power than that if youre going to game...go with the audigy 2 ZS basic version (not value) if youre looking to save some money...probably the best bang for the buck in sound

 

[datamestonic]

Originally posted by: pmoc81
Dont get that soundblaster live...you need more sound processing power than that if youre going to game...go with the audigy 2 ZS basic version (not value) if youre looking to save some money...probably the best bang for the buck in sound

I second that, and would like to add that that SB Live will (if I'm not mistaken) probably be somewhat similar to your onboard sound. The integrated sound on mobos these days is apparently pretty impressive. I may be wrong in this specific case though.

Anyway if you can afford it, certainly go for the 2 zs.

 

[Knyteguy]

Originally posted by: pmoc81
Dont get that soundblaster live...you need more sound processing power than that if youre going to game...go with the audigy 2 ZS basic version (not value) if youre looking to save some money...probably the best bang for the buck in sound

Changed. Updated previous post.

Anyone seeing any compatibility issues, or can I go ahead and hit the checkout button? Thanks!

 

[JustAnAverageGuy]

Originally posted by: Knyteguy
Anyone seeing any compatibility issues, or can I go ahead and hit the checkout button? Thanks!

You've got a lot to fix before you even LOOK at the credit card

You may find my recent order helpful.

$1415 shipped from NewEgg.

Add in your optical drives and keyboard\mouse, etc you'll end up with about $1500.

Your above rig also lacks an operating system.

Modify mine down to 1GB of ram, an A8N-E, 3000/3200+ Venice, XP home, perhaps even a 6800GS if you're hurting for cash. You should be set then. That might knock it down to a little cheaper then you have it now as well.

Not to be rude or anything, but I recommend you modify the first post instead of adding an extra reply. That helps people that are reading the thread for the first time from repeating criticisms that have already been fixed.

 

[Crescent13]

EDIT: Didn't see your changed post.

 

[pmoc81]

What is your exact budget??

It seemed like before you were willing to spend a little more money. If thats the case....take up the other people on some of the suggestions...2 160gb HDs in raid is better than the one 320gb...7800GT is the best bang for the buck right now..some OC evga for 325...and definitely get the opteron over the x2...theyre pretty much the same price, but everyone says you can OC the opteron substantially more

 

[Knyteguy]

Originally posted by: JustAnAverageGuy

Originally posted by: Knyteguy

Not to be rude or anything, but I recommend you modify the first post instead of adding an extra reply. That helps people that are reading the thread for the first time from repeating criticisms that have already been fixed.

I was actually doing this as you were posting this message, so first post is updated.

I already have Microsoft XP Home ready for the new computer, so this won't be a problem. After the above changes I have made to the original post, do you still reccomend these changes? Thanks!

EDIT: pmoc81: I don't really plan on overclocking, as I have absolutely no experience with it; would you still reccomend the opteron stock speed vs stock speed? My budget is about to the limit, which is a big reason why I am trying to save that $100 on the video card.

 

[pmoc81]

This is what i was talking about...slightly lower clock speed, but 1mb of cache for each core...

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16819103586

 

[Knyteguy]

Originally posted by: pmoc81
This is what i was talking about...slightly lower clock speed, but 1mb of cache for each core...

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16819103586

Thanks, changed processor to this.

 

[JustAnAverageGuy]

You could save some money by grabbing a Sonata II and dumping the NeoPower and the Aspire case.

$81 for a mouse and keyboard?

The rest of the people may not agree, but if you want to save some money, this A64 X2 3800+ is pretty much the same processor with half the cache. $80 cheaper.

 

[Crescent13]

Originally posted by: JustAnAverageGuy
You could save some money by grabbing a Sonata II and dumping the NeoPower and the Aspire case.

$81 for a mouse and keyboard?

The rest of the people may not agree, but if you want to save some money, this A64 X2 3800+ is pretty much the same processor with half the cache. $80 cheaper.

Or get the 165 instead of the 170. Twice the cache of 3800+ x2, and some people have been able to overclock it to 2.6 GHz on AIR.

EDIT: only other thing I would change now is the Hard Drive. I would get a Seagate 7200.9.

 

[JustAnAverageGuy]

Originally posted by: Crescent13
Or get the 165 instead of the 170. Twice the cache of 3800+ x2, and some people have been able to overclock it to 2.6 GHz on AIR.

EDIT: only other thing I would change now is the Hard Drive. I would get a Seagate 7200.9.

The 165 is OOS.