New Computer - First Time Builder

[Meatshield]

OK so! im planning on spending in and around 2000 dollars on a new pc... mainly for gaming.

Ive never done this before so im just triple checking all the things that i need/want/have/whatever.

Since this is my first time, ill go relatively slow, and i need anybody that responds, to go slow for me to... cuz im stupid...ANYWAY here is what i have so far:

Case - ASPIRE X-Dreamer II ATXB4KLW-BK Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case 420W Power Supply - Retail

Motherboard - ASUS A8N-SLI Deluxe Socket 939 NVIDIA nForce4 SLI ATX AMD Motherboard - Retail

Video Card - eVGA 256-P2-N376-AX Geforce 6800GT 256MB GDDR3 PCI Express x16 Video Card - Retail

Sound Card - CREATIVE Sound Blaster Audigy2 ZS SB0350 8 (7.1) Channels PCI Interface Sound Card - OEM

Processor - AMD Athlon 64 3700+ San Diego 1GHz FSB Socket 939 Processor Model ADA3700BNBOX - Retail

Memory- OCZ 2GB (2 x 1GB) 184-Pin DDR SDRAM DDR 400 (PC 3200) Unbuffered Dual Channel Platinum System Memory Model OCZ4002048ELDCPE-K - Retail

Internal Harddrives - Western Digital Raptor WD740GD 74GB 10,000 RPM Serial ATA150 Hard Drive - OEM

(probably going to get an external one too, to hold all the music and crap i already have... ill save the internal fast one for games and such)

cd/dvd rom burner whatev - Pioneer Black IDE DVD Burner Model DVR-109 BK - OEM

floppy drive - I/O MAGIC Black 1.44MB 3.5" Internal Floppy Drive Windows 98SE/ ME/ 2000/ XP - Retail

PSU - Rosewill RE501-BLK ATX 500W Power Supply - Retail

Fans/Heatsinks - ZALMAN RESERATOR 1 Fanless Water Cooling System (Reservoir+Radiator+Water Pump) - Retail

MASSCOOL FD08025S1M4 80mm Sleeve Cooling Fan - Retail

MASSCOOL WhisperRock II 5F263B1M3 80mm Ball Cooling Fan - Retail

Monitor - Polyview V17E Silver-Black 17" 14ms LCD Monitor - Retail

..... i think thats everything on my list on Newegg.com

What i REALLY need to know is:

Is this my best deal?
What else do i need?
What else should i have?
....What else in general??



more newb questions about building:

Is it difficult?

How log does the process take?

What equipment do i need?

Will i need to buy extra wires or will they come with the hardware i buy?

What else in general?

do i need all those fan things? is the water cooling system ok?


BASICALLY.... i r teh sooper newb at building computers... this will be my first time, i have most of the hardware i need, and i have no idea what im doing.

any advice?


Meatshield

OH and the total price (with everything listed here) comes to $2000.03 (im willing to go to about 2200... but if i could keep it at 2k i would be very happy)

 

[biostud]

Buy a Thermalright XP90C combined with a panaflo 92mm fan instead of watercooling.
Use the saved money to get a 19" monitor and/or a 7800GTX
For PSU I would choose a seasonic S-12 500W (can't you get a case without PSU to save some $$$)
Probably go with some cheaper OCZ memory.

 

[Meatshield]

what about the wires and junk, i dont really know what im doing. i checked out google for 'Building my own pc' and it came up with a couple of sites that were decent... but i wouldnt really know, since ive never done it.

Will i need more wires?
what about those anti static wristband things?
will the cpu overheat w/o the water thing?
why does my head hurt?
will it go away?



anyway, thanks for the advice u posted

 

[Shortass]

Originally posted by: Meatshield
what about the wires and junk, i dont really know what im doing. i checked out google for 'Building my own pc' and it came up with a couple of sites that were decent... but i wouldnt really know, since ive never done it.

Will i need more wires?
what about those anti static wristband things?
will the cpu overheat w/o the water thing?
why does my head hurt?
will it go away?



anyway, thanks for the advice u posted

No, the retail deals will give you all the wires you need. You MIGHT need to get some cables if you get extra HD's or so, but you should be fine.

No, the anti static wristbands are a waste of money IMO. I've built 3 comptuers (not much, but still) and had no problems. Just build on a hard floor like linolium, tile, or wood... rugs are a bad idea.

No, it should be fine with a normal heatsink and a fan.

Aliens.

Perhaps.

 

[Meatshield]

ah ok awesome.

Now, looking at all my stuff, plus the stuff i swap out (heatsink/cooler/monitor/whatever)

will i need certain types of software? an OS perhaps?

Am i Missing anything?

should i Add anything? u know... for good measure?

thx

 

[biostud]

For a first time builder I would strongly advise against water cooling. Only enthusiast who want to tweak their computer to a maximum or an ultra silent system choose water cooling. 99.9% uses some kind of aircooling.

 

[biostud]

Originally posted by: Meatshield
ah ok awesome.

Now, looking at all my stuff, plus the stuff i swap out (heatsink/cooler/monitor/whatever)

will i need certain types of software? an OS perhaps?

Am i Missing anything?

should i Add anything? u know... for good measure?

thx

OS: WinXP Pro, I would advise against getting WinXP 64-bit, not very good driver/software utilization ATM.
you want to buy some Artic Silver Thermal Paste for your CPU aswell

 

[villageidiot111]

more newb questions about building:

Is it difficult?

How log does the process take?

What equipment do i need?

Will i need to buy extra wires or will they come with the hardware i buy?

What else in general?

do i need all those fan things? is the water cooling system ok?

Building a computer is a relatively simple process. I used MechBgon's building guide as a starting reference. The only tool I needed was a nonmagnetic phillips head screwdriver. The first time took me an hour and a half, but subsequent times have been much shorter. I would reccomend having somebody help you your first time, just to make sure things go alright.

Your list of supplies looks good, however unless you really need the floppy I would just skip it. I would also advise against water cooling for a first time builder.

 

[Meatshield]

xp pro and thermal paste... check.

now... the thermal paste...

will that come with instructions? or should i ask somebody here...

hardwood floor/table... check.

is this going to be difficult? b/c a lot of people say that its easy...

 

[Meatshield]

woops missed the earlier post... thx everybody!

this might actually work!

p34ce

 

[AndrewZorn]

I would not get an Aspire case and I would spend more on the power supply... unfortunately, the power supply does have the power to destroy every part in your comptuer...

i like the hard drive choice though youll love it

EDIT and after youve picked the parts, you are over the most difficult part BY FAR.

 

[biostud]

Originally posted by: Meatshield
now... the thermal paste...

will that come with instructions? or should i ask somebody here...

yes, otherwise just apply a razor thin layer, some uses a credit card or similar to spread it.

 

[Operandi]

Aspire is junk you don't want that...

For a first build Antec make great case & PSU bundles. The SLK1650B would be a good choice.

Or if it where my system InWin + Seasonic.

Or.. if you have want to spend the money; Lian Li V1100.

Lastly MASSCOOL = no.

 

[Powermoloch]

I would really recommed, really really really really really really really really really really reallly really really really really really really ask an advised on anyone (in your area, if you knew 'em) to guide you and help you on building a comp.

 

[Meatshield]

well...yea... oh and instead of MASSCOOL, what should i get?

 

[AndrewZorn]

agreed, even if he just stands over your shoulder

to make sure nothing happens

 

[Operandi]

Originally posted by: Meatshield
well...yea... oh and instead of MASSCOOL, what should i get?

Well I see you have the Zalman Reserator listed in your specs.... that will cool your CPU (and graphics?) so you don't need anything else there.

As for fans the Antec, InWin and Lian Li both come with good quality fans so you don't really need anything else. If you want to upgrade Panaflo, Yate Loon, and Delta are some good ones to consider.

I would also look into a better brand for your monitor. Dell runs great deals on their LCDs all the time, give that a look.

 

[t3h l337 n3wb]

Case: Get rid of that. I'd go with a nice Antec or Cooler Master case.

Motherboard: SLI is completely useless. A ~$575 7800GTX performs about equally to 2 SLI'd 6800 Ultras, which would cost about $1000. Go with a MSI Neo4 Platinum, Asus A8N Deluxe, or the DFI Lanparty Ultra-D.

Video Card: The X800XL performs similarly with the 6800GT, but the X800XL can be had for about $250.

Memory: Go cheaper on the memory. High quality LL memory affects performance by only like 2%. Get some good value stuff, like Corsair Value Select or OCZ Value VX.

HDD: The Raptor is a bit too expensive and you won't really see much of a performance increase. The 74GB Raptor costs $130 more than a normal 80GB drive. That's $130 you could be spending on your video card or CPU or something else. Also, its best to keep all your hard drives internal, except for ones that you use for backup. USB/Firewire is a lot slower.

PSU: Rosewill is crap. Get a PSU from Antec, Fortron, Sparkle, XClio, OCZ, Enermax, or some other reputable manufacturer. The 450W Xclio with dual +12V rails is only like $50 and Newegg, and it's a great PSU.

Don't get watercooling. Stock HSF is fine.

 

[Meatshield]

ok wait, why is the SLI board useless? i thought it was like top of the line today...
i dunno i havent really done a LOT of research into this yet, but, for the cooling systems, i dont know anything about these. this pc is mainly going to be for gaming, i figured that was a good motherboard.

Does a fan come with the processor or am i going to need a better one? should i get another one to go along with that stock one? or what should i do there?

should i stick with this harddrive or should i just grab a bigger, slower one for the same price.

as far as finding somebody who knows how to build a pc.... anybody have friends like that in Delaware? nobody i know can do this...

 

[biostud]

Originally posted by: Meatshield
ok wait, why is the SLI board useless? i thought it was like top of the line today...
i dunno i havent really done a LOT of research into this yet, but, for the cooling systems, i dont know anything about these. this pc is mainly going to be for gaming, i figured that was a good motherboard.

It's a good motherbaord, but you could save some money buying the Ultra version.

Does a fan come with the processor or am i going to need a better one? should i get another one to go along with that stock one? or what should i do there?

Thermalright XP90C combined with a panaflo 92mm fan, some of the best aircooling. If you're not going to overclock you can stick with the stock cooling (it's a bit noisier as well).

should i stick with this harddrive or should i just grab a bigger, slower one for the same price.

Depends, do you need the space? or would you rather have the extra speed. For most I would recommend a bigger slower. But I'm going to buy the raptor myself.

as far as finding somebody who knows how to build a pc.... anybody have friends like that in Delaware? nobody i know can do this...

Sorry live half way around the world

 

[t3h l337 n3wb]

You won't notice much of a speed increase with a Raptor. Just get a bigger drive. And once again, SLI is useless. You don't need it. The stock heatsink/fan is perfectly fine, and you can still get a decent overclock with it (I'm running my 2.0Ghz Venice at 2.5Ghz and temps are 37C idling, 50C under load). If you want it to be a bit quieter, you can get a Zalman HSF, but stock HSF really isn't very noisy... My DVD burner is much louder An XP-90 is only if you want really high air overclocks.

 

[Meatshield]

now that is a term that i've seen a lot... but am not familiar with... =( i dont know how to overclock... but i think i understand what it means, like going faster than specified or something like that... how would i go about overclocking something...

 

[t3h l337 n3wb]

You just need to tweak some options in the BIOS. It's really quite simple. Just make sure you know what you're doing. Read some overclocking guides, ask people, etc.

 

[Meatshield]

ok after all these suggestions i've re-worked most of my previous specs... here they are:

Case: Thermaltake Armor VA8000BWS Black Aluminum/Steel ATX Full Tower Computer Case - Retail

Motherboard: ASUS A8V DELUXE Socket 939 VIA K8T800 Pro ATX AMD Motherboard - Retail

Video card: ASUS EAX800XL/2DTV/256 Radeon X800XL 256MB DDR PCI Express x16 Video Card - Retail

Power supply: Antec NeoPower ATX 480W Power Supply - Retail

Processor: AMD Athlon 64 3700+ San Diego 1GHz FSB Socket 939 Processor Model ADA3700BNBOX - Retail

Memory (x2): CORSAIR ValueSelect 1GB (2 x 512MB) 184-Pin DDR SDRAM DDR 400 (PC 3200) Unbuffered Dual Channel Kit System Memory Model VS1GBKIT400 - Retail

HDD: Western Digital Caviar SE WD3000JB 300GB 7200 RPM IDE Ultra ATA100 Hard Drive - OEM

CDDVDWHATEV: Pioneer Black IDE DVD Burner Model DVR-109 BK - OEM

Sound Card: CREATIVE Sound Blaster Audigy2 ZS SB0350 8 (7.1) Channels PCI Interface Sound Card - OEM

Cooling : THERMALRIGHT XP-90C Heatsink - Retail
and
Panasonic Panaflo FBA09A12M1A 92mm Hydro Wave Case Cooling Fan - Retail

ALSO

Revamp these to make em better if you would =) im gonna be here till 3am (11oclock now) so specs and training and research is what i'll do

if i'm missing anything tell me

 

[Meatshield]

t3h bump