New Computer Build Help (FIRST BUILD)

[tenfour]

1. What YOUR PC will be used for. That means what types of tasks you'll be performing.

I mainly want to build a computer for gaming purposes and watching HD video. This will be my first build and I have no experience on where to even start. Only through little research have I found this website, which is overwhelming me with information at the moment.

2. What YOUR budget is. A price range is acceptable as long as it's not more than a 20% spread

$1,200.00

3. What country YOU will be buying YOUR parts from.

United States

4. IF YOU have a brand preference. That means, are you an Intel-Fanboy, AMD-Fanboy, ATI-Fanboy, nVidia-Fanboy, Seagate-Fanboy, WD-Fanboy, etc.

I've always bought Intel and nVidia with my pre-built computer systems in the past and have had no complaints. Those are the only two companies I really know anyway.

5. If YOU intend on using any of YOUR current parts, and if so, what those parts are.

All new parts, excluding the mouse and keyboard.

6. IF YOU have searched and/or read similar threads.

I've looked at threads, but have no idea on what I'm really looking at.

7. IF YOU plan on overclocking or run the system at default speeds.

I have no idea on how to overclock, so default speeds.

8. What resolution YOU plan on gaming with.

I am guessing this will depend on my monitor? Right now I game on 1280x800, but I'm assuming that's out of date.

9. WHEN do you plan to build it?

Within the next couple months



I'm asking for advice on where to begin and what parts to start with so I can go from there. I know everything needs to be compatible and I am going to take my time building it. If it takes me 3 days to get it together, that's fine. I'm in no hurry and plan on learning a lot through this process.

I know that this might seem like a waste of a thread, but hey, we all got to start somewhere. Thanks.

 

[Davidh373]

I'll have a build ready in moments.

 

[Davidh373]

Case
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...-042-_-Product

PSU
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...9005&Tpk=650TX

CPU
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...-067-_-Product

Motherboard
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...-299-_-Product

Graphics Card
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...-320-_-Product

RAM
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...-308-_-Product

OS/App Drive
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...-542-_-Product

Storage Drive
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...-185-_-Product

Optical Drive
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16827106274

Total: $1144.85

 

[tenfour]

David that's great, thank you. It's almost as if you had a search function where you just plugged in the price and boom! Might I ask how you came up with that so quick, it's all overwhelming to me to make sure everything is compatible. Again, thanks, this provides a great basis on where to start.

*edit* Also, these might be silly questions, but 3.5 floppy drives are no longer in use, correct? And what about a sound card - is the onboard audio good enough?

 

[Davidh373]

I help out a lot on here with part upgrades and builds, so I know generally what parts cost by memory. So when somebody gives me your kind of budget I know what they can afford. You also might consider with the money saved getting a PC building tool kit and some thermal paste. You'll want to have the right supplies to build, because whether or not you think so nerves will always get you on your first build.

 

[ther00kie16]

Onboard audio has come a long way. DO you need a new monitor in that budget? You mentioned sound card. Do you require anything regarding audio?

I would recommend this combo
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboD...t=Combo.520660
because it has more features, including PATA, which you would need for the optical drive David linked.

 

[muskie32]

Do you have a windows license to? Or some other OS?

 

[mfenn]

David's build looks fine with the exception of the IDE optical drive. SATA ones are the same price, and less hassle.

For the mobo, I would probably spend a little more and get a full ATX one that has USB3.0 like the GA-P55-USB3 (combo with CPU).

 

[tenfour]

Do you have a windows license to? Or some other OS?

I've got windows 7 which I just purchased for my computer I'm using now. So that won't be included in the cost.

 

[tenfour]

I've got a question about the CPU - Intel Core i5-760 Lynnfield 2.8GHz 8MB L3 Cache LGA 1156 95W Quad-Core Desktop Processor

The one listed doesn't support hyper threading technology, is that a big deal? I noticed this one which is similar (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=19-115-215), a lower operating frequency at 2.66Ghz vs 2.8Ghz, but it supports hyper threading technology. Back in the day the hyper threading was the "in" thing, not sure if this has changed.

 

[mfenn]

I've got a question about the CPU - Intel Core i5-760 Lynnfield 2.8GHz 8MB L3 Cache LGA 1156 95W Quad-Core Desktop Processor

The one listed doesn't support hyper threading technology, is that a big deal? I noticed this one which is similar (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=19-115-215), a lower operating frequency at 2.66Ghz vs 2.8Ghz, but it supports hyper threading technology. Back in the day the hyper threading was the "in" thing, not sure if this has changed.

Neither the 750 nor the 760 support HT. You have to go up to the i7 800 series and above to get a quad with HT.

HT isn't really relevant for gamers though. Games just don't spawn enough threads to make HT worthwhile.

 

[fffblackmage]

If you mean back then as in the Pentium 4 days, you only had a single core to work with. Now, you have 4 real cores to work with. With 4 cores, who still needs HT?

 

[Davidh373]

I can't believe I missed that! O_O