My First Build-- Help Wanted!

[ObsiDianOsiris]

OK first I would just like to say hi as this is my first post here.


I need a new computer and I want to build it myself. It will be my first build and after reading many reveiws and looking around I still am unsure of what to buy. I don't plan to do any real over clocking, but with that being said I am a avid gamer and want decently high framerates ect.
I am having the most problems deciding on a Motherboard and PSU.
I want a PCIe MOBO with NF4 chipset with SLI enabled that is fast out of the box(because I have no idea about all this OCing stuff like ram timing). The DFI lanpary Ultra D and its SLI variant have high benchmarks from the reveiws I have seen but it seems like its a complicated MOBO to get setup ( I have never messed with BIOS so I dont wanna get it and be like "WTF" when I install it). As far as the PSU goes It seems like OCZ and ANTEC are they way to go for SLI but I don't know what one to get.

Any info you can give me as a first time builder will help ohh and it's going in a Lian-Li PC65 (black) case.

 

[The Pentium Guy]

If you don't like the DFI:
EPOX 9NPA+ Ultra is an excellent board.

Your board choice makes almost no difference .... performance will be the same. It'll affect how you overclock though.

Note on SLI: Are you planning on doing SLI? If you aren't then there's no point in saying "I'll buy this card now and in the future pop in a new one" because my experience with hardware tells me that products get outdated very quickly and there's a strong chance that you won't be doing that.

Excellent choice on case. It cools well and it's of the highest quality.

Power supply: OCZ Modstream 450W is an awesome power supply and I think it's on sale at Newegg for 70 as opposed to 85.
Edit: If you're SLI'ing you might want to upgrade to the OCZ Modstream 520 instead.

Might want to read: http://forums.anandtech.com/messageview...atid=27&threadid=1520618&enterthread=y

And state your budget as well as uses for your computer.
-The Pentium Guy

 

[Zebo]

Price?

I will say you are making the right choice to BYO for a high-end build like you want.. All budget builders and office types should just wait for a Dell deal.. but not gamers or those who expect high performance.

For example I am getting tired of building my own so I just spec's out X2 AMD setups at VoodooPC, FalconNW and Alienware thinking they may not be all that bad..well was I ever wrong.. all were over $5000.:Q Then I went to newegg, same exact parts but for case eg. X2, 7800GTX, Dual Raptors, Lain Li $250 case etc etc etc was half the price!!!

Good luck!

 

[imported_rod]

Have you decided on CPU/Video/RAM?


The ASUS A8N-SLI is a good board. I built my first computer on it a few months ago, and it worked beautifully first go. There are a few different versions, (vanilla/deluxe/premium) so you'll still need to decide between those. The premium is the best, and the deluxe isn't far behind. The A8N-SLI will also let you overclock later if you want to.

Personally, I say get an Antec. The TruePowerII series seems great. A TruePowerII 430W should be enough for most systems.