First Time Builder - Need Help With Choosing Parts / Answering Questions

[schaanic]

Ok...first time builder here. I'm not sure at all about a setup, which is why I'm turning to you guys to lend a hand. Below I have listed some different parts I'm looking at, with one being more expensive than the other. I can't afford to get all the better parts which is why I need you to help me choose which are worth the extra cost and which I would be fine without. I want to be able to play newer games, such as Far Cry 2, Fallout 3, and Crysis Warhead, and have them look good. I also have a question or two after each part that if you could answer would help me tremendously. Feel free to suggest parts that you think would work better for me as well.



OS: Windows Vista 64-bit SP1 ($100) --- Will I have to buy an OS for each system I build in the future?

Monitor: 22" Acer X223Wbd 5ms WS LCD ($195) vs 22" Samsung 2253BW 2ms WS LCD ($280 - $20 MIR) --- Is the the Samsung enough of an improvement to justify that much extra? I'm willing to spend more on a monitor if it means getting vibrant colors that wow. I had thought about the $500 24" Samsung T240HD b/c it has the connections to double as a TV so I could hook my XBox 360 up to it. Is there a cable I can get to hook it up to a cheaper monitor? Can both the XBox 360 and PC be hooked up to a monitor at the same time? Will going with a budget brand like Acer make me sacrifice picture quality when using either the PC or XBox 360?

Case: Antec Three Hundred ($70) vs Antec Nine Hundred ($140) --- Do both of these have enough room for everything?

PSU: Corsair 750TX 750w Power Supply ($130 - $20 MIR - $25 w/ E7200 combo) vs Corsair 620HX 620w Power Supply ($160 - $25 MIR) --- Is the HX series that much better than the TX series?

PC Tools: Rosewill RTK-002 Anti-Static Wrist Strap ($4) --- Is this needed/recommended to safely build a computer?

Surge Protection: Belkin 12-Outlet Surge Protector w/ $300k Connected Equip Warranty ($25) --- Another precaution...

MoBo: This is where I have no clue. I don't need 2 PCI-E slots b/c I don't care to go the CrossFire route. I just want a good and reliable motherboard that will OC alright and that is compatible with my other parts. I can't afford to get anything over $150 here, unless I absolutely have to. Would a microATX board work? Or would it not have enough space?

HDD: Seagate 250gb 16mb Cache Hard Drive ($60) vs Seagate 640gb 32mb Cache Hard Drive ($85) - I don't use a lot of HDD space so the main difference here for me is the cache size. Will it make any difference with loading times, etc? Is there any reason to go with Western Digital instead? Like does WD have quieter drives or something to make up for the higher prices?

CPU: Intel C2D E7200 ($120) vs Intel C2D E8400 ($170) --- Is there a big performance diference?

Cooler: Arctic Cooling Freezer 7 ($25) vs Xigmatek HDT-S1283 ($35) --- One of these is needed for OCing the CPU, right?

Thermal Compound: Arctic Silver 5 ($6) --- This is needed for getting and aftermarket cooler, right?

GPU: VisonTek Radeon HD 4850 ($185 - $20 MIR) vs VisonTek Radeon HD 4870 ($260) --- Is there a big performance difference?

RAM: Corsair 4gb (2 x 2gb) DDR2-800 ($84 - $20 MIR) --- Good choice? I think I'm good with these but could be wrong, I guess.

Optical Drive: Pioneer 20X DVD+R DVD-ROM Drive ($30) --- I think this should work for my needs as long is it isn't too loud...the computer is going to be in my room.



I have a mouse and will probably get a $10 keyboard from Circuit City. Where might I look for a good 2.1 speaker system under $50? Oh and if you could recommend your favorite PC game to play I might just pick that up as well.

Thank you so much to anyone that responds!

 

[DSF]

If you like real-time strategy games and haven't played Company of Heroes, I'd pick that up.

Fry's has the E8400 for $140 right now. Check the Hot Deals forum for details. If they run out of stock or the deal dies before you order, I'd stick with the E7200 since you're OCing anyway. Processor is one area you can generally afford to spend a little bit less.

For the motherboard go with an entry-level P45 motherboard like the Gigabyte EP45-DS3L or ASUS P5Q.

 

[Roguestar]

If you like Half-Life, or FPS games in general and don't already own Valve's Orange Box, then you're a criminal in my eyes . Go buy it and have weeks of fun!

Hard drive: Get the Western Digital 640GB Caviar, it's the best performing 7200K RPM desktop drive out there.
Graphics card: Maybe stick with the 4850 unless you're gaming at really really high resolutions. The 4850 is much cheaper and has fantastic performance.
PSU: The difference between the TX and HX is that the HX is modular. Which, in my opinion, is the handiest thing in the world when it comes to actually installing all your parts in the case. I'd pick the 620HX personally.
Anti-Static thinger: Don't bother. Just be sensible and careful. Don't put it all together on carpet! Touch a grounded object every so often (heater/radiator or even the PC case) and you'll be grand.
Motherboard: I'm with DSF on this one; the P45 DS3L or P5Q are good boards. I'd personally edge toward the Gigabyte.

 

[betasub]

HDD: Seagate 250gb 16mb Cache Hard Drive ($60) vs Seagate 640gb 32mb Cache Hard Drive ($85) - I don't use a lot of HDD space so the main difference here for me is the cache size. Will it make any difference with loading times, etc? Is there any reason to go with Western Digital instead? Like does WD have quieter drives or something to make up for the higher prices?

LOL, you don't use much HDD space, yet you are going to install Vista and lots of new games.

Cache size isn't a major issue here: the effect on long load times is minimal. For the 7200rpm drives, the main improvement in speed has come from increased data density: WD fit 640GB onto a two-platter drive. There's no reason to buy an older, small drive at this point: a medium-sized (500-750GB) new-model drive will be faster and give better GB/$.

 

[angry hampster]

Agreeing with Roguestar about the Orange Box. It is, IMHO, the best deal that's ever come out in PC gaming. Even when it was brand new at $50, it was a steal.

If you want to max out settings on new games on your 22" monitor, get the 4870. If you're satisfied running without antialiasing and perhaps dropping quality a bit, a 4850 will be perfect -- great bang for the buck.

 

[CKent]

Orange box kicks ass.

Is there a possibility you may at some point want to play an xbox360 / ps3 or blu-ray films on the monitor? For 1:1 pixel mapping with any of those you'll need a 24" monitor. I have a friend buying an LCD and he's insisting on 22" even though 24s are dropping into the sweet spot for price:size. I keep trying to convince him about this, especially since he does have an xbox360 that he wants to use with the monitor. On top of that you're moving away from the sub-par 6bit TN panels which I believe are in every 22" LCD out there, and of course the bigger the screen the better On the other hand 1920x1200 might be a stretch for a single 4850.