New Gaming PC - My First Build

[Boris teh Spider]

This is my first build and I need a little adivce on the parts. This PC will be used for gaming and some general use. I do plan to overclock the processor and possibly the video card. The overclocking that I will be doing will likely be relatively minor, and I probably won't be increasing voltage too much/at all as I have heard that the Operton 165 reaches around 2.4 GHz with stock volts and stock heatsink/fan.

Motherboard:
EPoX EP-9NPA+Ultra Socket 939 NVIDIA nForce4 Ultra ATX AMD Motherboard - Retail $105.00

CPU:
AMD Opteron 165. Already ordered on backorder with Monarch. Fine by me because I won't be getting the rest of the parts until early December anyway. $299

Memory:
Patriot PDC2G3200ELK 2GB Kit DDR400 PC3200 Dual Channel Eased Latency Memory Kit Retail ***Free 2nd Day*** $199.00

Video Card:
eVGA 256-P2-N516 Geforce 7800GT 256MB 256-bit GDDR3 VIVO PCI Express x16 Video Card - Retail $319.00

Harddrive:
IBM Hitachi Deskstar 7K250 160GB Serial ATA 7200RPM Hard Drive w/8MB Buffer *** Free 2nd Day *** $81.50

Optical Drive:
BenQ Black 16X DVD+R 8X DVD+RW 8X DVD+R DL 16X DVD-R 6X DVD-RW 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-R 32X CD-RW 48X CD-ROM 2M Cache IDE DVD Burner - OEM $39.99

Case:
COOLER MASTER CAVALIER 3 CAV-T03-UK Black Aluminum/Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - Retail $59.99


PSU: FSP Group (Fortron Source) AX450-PN ATX12V 450W Power Supply 115/230 V NEMKO, TUV, CSA, IEC, UL, CE - Retail $49.99

Is this sufficient or should I go with something better?

Speakers:
Logitech X-530 70 Watts 5.1 Speaker - Retail $53.99

Was going to go with the X-5300, but I don't care too much and I have my heart set on an Opteron and I am not waiting a month to get it so the 170 it is.

Sound Card:
Going to stick with onboard for a while, will buy Audigy 2 later.


Any other advice, especially on how to keep it quiet. Thanks for reading the huge post.

 

[Soccerman06]

Epox board

OCZ 2GB Platinum DDR 400 is more than enough for a light OC

I would recommend a 7800GTX or atleast wait until Nvidia releases the new 512mb version card because it could possible be much better than whats currently out. Or X1800XT.

5300e speakers will have noticable difference.

Newegg is one of the best, if not the best, site for computer hardware so dont worry about ordering from them.

 

[Azndude2190]

Go with the Epox board its cheaper and alot better then the ABIT...the OCZ Platnium should do for you even if you ever go hardcore ocing...as for the hardrive go for the Seagate Baracuda...for the optical go for the NEC and for the Speakers go for the X-530...this should be a good setup

 

[Boris teh Spider]

Oh, I am not worried at ALL about dealing with Newegg. I have dealed with them before for some upgrades for my current PC and I know they are great. I was more concerned with www.pcdirect.com as that is where the Audigy 2 ZS is considerably less than the price on Newegg. I have also never heard of www.case-mod.com, which is where I plan on getting the PSU from.

 

[Azndude2190]

Originally posted by: Boris teh Spider
Oh, I am not worried at ALL about dealing with Newegg. I have dealed with them before for some upgrades for my current PC and I know they are great. I was more concerned with www.pcdirect.com as that is where the Audigy 2 ZS is considerably less than the price on Newegg. I have also never heard of www.case-mod.com, which is where I plan on getting the PSU from.

You can also look into chiefvalue.com its like a newegg clone and has similar prices(some better then newegg) but thats my opinion...60% of that rig down in my sig was bought from chiefvalue there delivery is very fast

 

[Boris teh Spider]

I have also heard good things about them, but haven't dealed with them. I'll have to look into it.

 

[Boris teh Spider]

Originally posted by: Soccerman06
Epox board

OCZ 2GB Platinum DDR 400 is more than enough for a light OC

I would recommend a 7800GTX or atleast wait until Nvidia releases the new 512mb version card because it could possible be much better than whats currently out. Or X1800XT.

5300e speakers will have noticable difference.

Newegg is one of the best, if not the best, site for computer hardware so dont worry about ordering from them.

I would go with one of these cards, but I really don't want to pay that much for a card. Also my LCD only runs at 1280x1024 altough I do like to run it with AA and AF.

 

[aLeoN]

It's odd to me that you and I share the same plans for our next build (same budget range too). Perhaps the parts are good eh?

EpoX

I'm looking into a $152 3200+ Venice instead.

Ram i haven't decided yet but either OCZ should be fine.

I'm getting XFX 7800GT instead.

I'm actually looking at raptors but the seagate sounds better.

P-180 ftw.

I'm getting an Antec TP-II 480W for like $67..

The rest I didn't mention weren't on my list of priorities and therefore totally undecided in those categories. If you're not sure about reseller ratings and such, try pricegrabber.com. I'm getting more than half of the parts from zipzoomfly (free shipping and NO NJ tax) and other from newegg.

Are you getting a new monitor too man? I'm looking at a 17" 8ms Hyundai LCD for $233 after shipping and tax.

Edit: doh by the time I wrote that you said something about your LCD

 

[Boris teh Spider]

That Antec powersupply looks good, but are they noisy? I might as well just scrap the quiet idea since the 7800 is going to be a noisy beast ;-).

 

[aLeoN]

Well it has a 120mm fan instead of an 80mm one, theoretically it'd be quieter while moving more air. As for sound sure it can be rated by decibels but it's our individual tolerance to them that counts. I honestly can't say what db and up starts to annoy me but I'd rather have some whine from the case than none and a melting silicon smell (especially in the case of the 7800gts). Our case can have multiple 120mms with fan controllers so it shouldn't be that much of a problem.

 

[Shizzle]

What Currency is the pricing in? AUS, US dollars, etc?

 

[aLeoN]

USD.

 

[Reiniku]

As far as your Seasonic I've bought from Case-Mod several times and they served me well. Even grouped up orders for me for a single drop off.

 

[Boris teh Spider]

Originally posted by: aLeoN
Well it has a 120mm fan instead of an 80mm one, theoretically it'd be quieter while moving more air. As for sound sure it can be rated by decibels but it's our individual tolerance to them that counts. I honestly can't say what db and up starts to annoy me but I'd rather have some whine from the case than none and a melting silicon smell (especially in the case of the 7800gts). Our case can have multiple 120mms with fan controllers so it shouldn't be that much of a problem.

That is true, but I don't even think I care too much about the noise anymore because I don't know if I have the money/patience to get all the quiet parts so I have likely scrapped that idea anyway. I may go with the Antec, or may still go with the Seasonic as I have heard very good things about them too.

 

[ribbon13]

Good choice on the Opteron 165.

The Epox board seems to have gotten quite a lot of good reviews and lots of sales.

The G.skill is some good bang for your buck, and is ideal for overclocking the Opteron 165 with it's low multiplier of 9.

The S12-500 will serve you well, it's powerful, efficient, and quiet, and is definately worth every penny of it's cost. The power supply is the most important part of your computer. Don't skimp on it. Case-mod.com is fine, I point everywhere one there for Seasonic PSUs. A $60 PSU in a $1200 box is not smart in my opinion.

BenQ DW1640

 

[aLeoN]

Price doesn't always imply quality though, not saying there's anything bad about the S12-500. From what I've read Antec's just having trouble with the new Neo HE's and maybe another series (some other neo-modular ones?) but not the TruePower-2. Would 20W more for $~40 more justify the cost? Sure there's going to be OC but no SLI. I know it might not be as simple as 20W as you have to see the ratings on each rail and stuff but if I had the budget I would be looking at a PC Power & Cooling PSU. Any other reccommendations?

 

[Boris teh Spider]

Bump. Now I am just deciding between memory, hard-drive, and speakers.

 

[Finns14]

I love my seagate save yourself the couple extra bucks also I hear WD's are a little moe noisy and you def want DDR400

 

[Boris teh Spider]

Damn the Opteron 165 is sold out now. Monarch doesn't except to have them untill December 4th, and Mwave says nothing about when it will be back in stock. Should I just go with the 170? It's $90 more, but at least it has a 10x multiplier. I dunno, I really want the Operton instead of the X2... Ahh this blows... I'll probably just end up getting the 170 because I am selling my current rig this Friday.

 

[harobikes333]

hmmmmmmmm whats the 10x multiplier and what does it do?...............:\

sorry I just am wondering

 

[gozulin]

Originally posted by: Boris teh Spider
Damn the Opteron 165 is sold out now. Monarch doesn't except to have them untill December 4th, and Mwave says nothing about when it will be back in stock. Should I just go with the 170? It's $90 more, but at least it has a 10x multiplier. I dunno, I really want the Operton instead of the X2... Ahh this blows... I'll probably just end up getting the 170 because I am selling my current rig this Friday.

MWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!

 

[Boris teh Spider]

Bastard! Lol, well hell I might as well just wait at this point for the Operton 165, but one month is a little long. Oh well... Then I guess I will be able to get some sale prices on stuff after Thanksgiving at least haha.

 

[t3h l337 n3wb]

Your current parts list looks very good. Check resellerratngs.com for retailer reliability.

 

[Boris teh Spider]

Bump.

 

[Soccerman06]

Originally posted by: harobikes333
hmmmmmmmm whats the 10x multiplier and what does it do?...............:\

sorry I just am wondering

10x multiplier refers to the HTT. Say you have a multiplier of 10x and a FSB of 200mhz, that gives you a 2000mhz core. The way AMD ups its speed is by raising the multiplier up 1x or by cache (if you didnt know that already). Only the FX processors have the ability to change the multiplier, maybe Opterons I dont know.