New build critique

[DoubleHelix747]

I have everything that I could think of for my new and first build. But first, guys and gals - thank you so much for patiently answering my questions in various forums for the past one month. Mucho gracias!

It took me about 5 weeks to accumulate parts using combinations of store specials, MIRs, Paypal discounts, Live.com, etc. My budget was $650 w/o monitor. The PC would be all purpose with bit of everything - usual office activities, surfing, hobby level photo/video editing, HD recording and playback, programming, some intensive MATLAB and R (statistics) work with very large amount of data, and gaming at medium-to-high settings. I had planned on upgrading from my 19" Viewsonic Q19b to a 24" monitor soon, but I think I am going to hold off on that for at least a year. Also, I plan to run a Linux partition with a browser, MythTV, R, emacs, etc. Will OC. Do not intend to run SLi or Crossfire. Assume that two CPU/GPU intensive tasks would be run simultaneously often.

BTW, I know I can google for this information but I rather benefit from experience on this board - where on the web I can find best primers on assembling a PC? Remember I am a noob to this game.

So here is what I have - please critique: suitability, quality, bang for buck and future proofing are some of the dimensions that come to mind. Anything else?

Intel C2Q Q9300 Yorkfield 2.5GHz 6MB L2 Cache LGA 775 95W Quad-Core CPU $190.79
http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16819115043

GIGABYTE GA-EP45-UD3R LGA 775 Intel P45 ATX Intel Motherboard
http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16813128359 $79.58

CORSAIR 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit RAM $19.41
http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16820145184

Western Digital Caviar Black WD6401AALS 640GB 7200 RPM 32MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s HDD $69.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16822136319

MSI N9600GT 512M OC GeForce 9600 GT 512MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready Video Card $49.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16814127333

LG Black DVD Burner $22.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16827136152

Microsoft Comfort Curve Keyboard 2000 $14.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16823109149

ZEROtherm ZEN FZ120 120mm CPU Cooler $6.18
http://www.newegg.com/Product/...16&Tpk=zerotherm%20zen

OCZ StealthXStream OCZ600SXS 600W PSU $27.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16817341010

Antec Nine Hundred Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Case $59.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/...antec%20nine%20hundred

Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium SP1 64-bit for System Builders - OEM $79.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16832116488

Reusing an existing mouse.

TOTAL build cost $621.89. Prices include all discounts. I did not pay shipping for any item! Will use the balance plus some to probably buy another HDD. Does not include TV tuner that I will buy down the road.

I clearly scrounged on the video card as (1) I was approaching my budget limit (2) I believe an OC'd 9600GT should be ample for my 19" monitor that I don't plan on upgrading for at least a year (3) I don't need to run the latest and greatest games at the highest settings, and (4) I can probably upgrade to a 4850 or 4870 for half the price when I really need that horse power.

So what do you think? I don't think I could have done any better on the price.

 

[vj8usa]

So you already have/have ordered all of these parts?

 

[DoubleHelix747]

Originally posted by: vj8usa
So you already have/have ordered all of these parts?

Yes. But I am still well within 30 days return time frame. E.g. the video card and HDD were ordered just yesterday and the CPU the day before. So If there is material negative opinion on anything, I can always return it. I guess this is my last sanity check before I go ripping everything and assembling.

 

[zerocool84]

Call me crazy but did you buy DDR2 memory for a DDR3 motherboard???

 

[FerraraZ]

hahah yes he did

 

[DoubleHelix747]

Ha ha, good typo catch - no I did not, just copied and pasted the wrong item from Neweggg. I actually bought the famous

GIGABYTE GA-EP45-UD3R LGA 775 Intel P45 ATX Intel Motherboard

OP edited. Thanks.

 

[zerocool84]

Originally posted by: DoubleHelix747
Ha ha, good typo catch - no I did not, just copied and pasted the wrong item from Neweggg. I actually bought the famous

GIGABYTE GA-EP45-UD3R LGA 775 Intel P45 ATX Intel Motherboard

OP edited. Thanks.

Oh ok good. That's a great board.

 

[cardiac]

Here is a decent video showing how to install the CPU: CPU Install

Take your time and have fun.

Bob

 

[krnmastersgt]

Price-wise I'd say you did a damn good job, nice build System looks like it's going to be a lot of fun
On to the actual assembly, luckily when you really just lay out the materials, you can figure what goes where just based on the shape/type of connector you see, make sure you ground yourself before handling anything outside of its protective anti-static bag. If you wanted a general guide on what to do, I wrote up a small guide for a technical writing class I had, not the greatest manual in the world but it gets the basics done Just drop me a pm if you want me to send the file.