my first computer build, tips/help is appreciated =o

ok so a few people have convinced me to go ahead and build my own comp instead of buying an off the shelf one. ima make a list of all the parts ima use to build it with (mostly with some that jone reccomended in his thread) so any tips/reccomendations/help/notes/etc would be very much appreciated and needed =). keep in mind that this will be a gaming comp comp so i can play all my fav games on the highest settings with little to no lag at all. the comp i have now is crap, i need to take off the side pannel just for it to stay cool and not overheat and reboot itself. but even with the pannel off it still reboots itself regularly... and it cant handle most games and laggs like hell and is slow like hell and has like 480 MB of ram or around there. but despite all that maybe i can recycle old pieces from it and use for the new comp im building? but then again scratch that, all of the parts in here are old like from 2002 and the processor is AMD athlon XP 3200+ or something.

anyway enough about that, heres all the components ima get for my new one.


Computer Case: ABS Diablo ADV
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811215013
price: $109.99

Operating System: Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium SP1 64-bit for System Builders w/ Tech Guarantee - OEM
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16832116677
Price: $109.99. it has a free upgrade coupon to windows 7.


Motherboard: GIGABYTE GA-EP45-UD3P LGA 775 Intel P45 ATX Intel Motherboard
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128358
price: $134.99 (couldnt find a combo with processor, but if anyone knows a good combo with a good processor and good mother board so i can save money would be very appreciated)


Video Card: PNY VCGGTS2501XPB GeForce GTS 250 1GB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card - Retail with power supply combo
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.249307

Combo Price: $225 ($180 after mail in rebate)



Power supply: (see video card, comes with a 600w power supply)


Processor: Intel Core 2 Duo E8400 Wolfdale 3.0GHz 6MB L2 Cache LGA 775 65W Dual-Core Processor
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115037
Price: $167.99 (again if someone can find me a combo deal with mother board or something so i can save on money will be very apreciated. also i switched from the E8500 to the E8400.)

RAM: A-DATA 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model ADQVE1B16K
http://www.newegg.com/product/product.aspx?item=n82e16820211188
Price: $55


Harddrives: Western Digital Caviar Black WD6401AALS 640GB 7200 RPM 32MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive - OEM
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136319
Price: $75


LCD Screen: (still debating on what kind ima get, probally gonna go to a local hardware store and get one)

CD/DVD burner: LG Black 22X DVD+R 8X DVD+RW 16X DVD+R DL 22X DVD-R 6X DVD-RW 12X DVD-RAM 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-R 32X CD-RW 48X CD-ROM 2MB Cache IDE 22X DVD±R DVD Burner - OEM
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827136144
Price: $27.99


so thats all of it i think. if im missing anything or something pls tell me. also any reccomendations to reduced my price on these items or suggestions for better items would be needed =p.

so with all this stuff the price tag seems to be sitting around 995$-1000... well this is obviously dont seem right so this is why i made this thread to ask for some serious help =p

i did read the other guides but most of the stuff in the guides are out of stock or no longer available so i had to do search for other things and this is what i came up with =/ the thing is i dont want to spend much more then 700$ (even tho i can afford all these things in about a months time frame) but id like to get started asap because as i said before the comp i have now is utter crap...

or do u think its worth the money to build this comp with these components? will it work well with all these things or is it a huge waste of money?

Edit: forgot to include the games that ima mainly be playing. flyff, SC and SC2 when it comes out obviously, S4 league, a few random MMOs here and there. ill play other random games as they come and i just want to make sure my comp can handle those games with no lag and such.

 

Hi ,

i got nearly same setup . I also had in mind the E8500 processor but then decided on the E8400 wich overclocks better and is cheaper . For the motherboard there is also a better one and its cheaper . The motherboard is very good in overclocking

GIGABYTE GA-EP45-UD3P LGA 775 Intel P45 ATX Intel Motherboard
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128358

Intel Core 2 Duo E8400 Wolfdale 3.0GHz 6MB L2 Cache LGA 775 65W Dual-Core Processor
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115037

The graphics card is a beast btw .

Btw i have this ram you might want to check it out .

A-DATA 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model ADQVE1B16K
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820211188

 

ok thx, ill go with that mother board since it seems to be cheaper and the reviews for it seems good. ill also go with that processor u suggest.

anyone else with more suggestions? the more help the better =p

also i took another look at the case im getting and right now it seems that i might not need that cooler master fan at all. it has a 250mm fan in front and a 360mm fan on the side with 2 additional fans on the top... so will this be more then enought to keep my system and the coponents cool without me having to buy a extra fan like the cooler master or something? or do i still need that fan? cuz honestly i dont think i do and it will cut 50 bucks out of my build aswell...

also, i can PROBABLY recycle my HP dvd writer/CD writer and CD rom drives thats on my current comp. so that might cut off a extra 30 bucks aswell if im able to do that. but idk if it will be compatible or not. but its something to consider i guess.

Edit: oops... i just notice that the cooler master is a power supply and not a case fan -_- damn im stupid lol

 

If it's mainly for MMO games and Starcraft 2, I advice you to wait with buying anything. Since your current pc is so crappy, you obviously have had it for some time now. Starcraft 2 isn't coming out anytime soon, and most MMO games don't even nead nearly as high specs as other genres. So again: wait for Starcraft 2.

By the time that game comes out, the parts you want now will be a lot cheaper. New parts for the same amount will be much better. Just saying.

Further, Vista sucks. I advice you to wait untill Windows 7 comes out, then buy that right away. It'll probably be cheaper then Vista anyway, since you get a free upgrade if you buy Vista now. Oh well, your choice.

By the way, does anybody know if those new motherboards with the new BIOS replacement are out yet? I would search tech sites, but most of that goes beyond my knowledge. I heard that it wouldn't be compatible with older chips anymore, so I'm a bit reluctant to buy anything before the old BIOS motherboards are gone. Anybody got info on this?

 

well thats the thing. this comp is kinda dying out on me. its only a matter of time before it stops working altogether... i get blue screens and random auto reboots just about every day and numerous times a day. so even tho i can wait a little longer, i doubt i can wait till sc2 comes out because i still need my comp for other things aswell. especially since none of us dont know when sc2 will come out and its not even in beta yet. so ya i kinda need a new comp soon =/.

the only reason its staying alive now is because i recently got it "fixed" a few months by a computer teacher at my career center when i was in school. and its staying alive ONLY because of the fact that i took the side paneling off and letting my ceiling fan keep it as cool as possible and by keeping the room its in cool as possible... of course the idea of "ill just buy new fans for it or upgrade it/buy a new comp" came up but thats when i just got alot of recommendations that if ima do that i mind as well go build my own lol.

also, the games i mainly play do happen to be a MMO and sc, but i am a gamer so im more then likely going to buy/play alot high graphic demanding games aswell in the future. i was mainly a console person but im now getting into the pc games.

 

Why not buy a cheap used pc then? That should last long enough. I mean, are there any games you really want to play on a pc right now? Or do you also own a console?

Meh, I'm not really advising against buying a new pc now. It's just that if you plan on mainly playing Starcraft 2, then having a cheap piece of crap until then shouldn't be a problem.

 

well sc2 wont be the main game ill be playing, ill also be playing other games which i play today. i was going to buy off the shelf but thats when ALOT of ppl advised me to build my own which is wat brings me here lol (the ppl in sc2 forums weren't the only guys to advise me on building my own btw.)

one of the main games i play now my comp barely can handle it anymore and the random d/c and lagg is getting pretty annoying. + i have to go in full screen mode just to watch videos while im on msn (and im on msn all the time every day) because if a msn message pops up i crash while im watch the vid unless im in full screen mode watching the vid. and that gets very annoying.

so ya i was going to buy a cheap off the shelf comp, but i gave in to everyones advice and my rl friends advice and decided to try and build one.

 

Ballistix,

If you live in the US send me a pm and I can save you some money and time on this...

 

I would invest more in a power supply.

Something more like this.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817341016

Course there are alot more acceptable choices..

http://www.tech-forums.net/pc/f76/read-first-updated-power-supply-guide-137927/

jone: its better to give reccomendations on the open forum that way if people have the same question we can point them to older threads.

Other components suggested above are ok..

 

ya i think i accidentally included 2 power supplies which is why my price tag went so high... ima go over the list again before i do something stupid.

and ya i do live in the US.

 

Heres a list you can just copy and paste.

Operating system:
Motherboard:
CPU:
Memory:
Power supply:
Video card:
Harddrive(s):
Optical Drive(s):
Case:
Case fans:
Mouse:
Keyboard:
Speakers:
Monitor:

If you already have some items just say it instead of a link..

 

Or let Jon handle it.

 

I'll post his build once he and I have gone over it. That way you'll all know EXACTLY what he's running...

MUA HA HA HA HA!

 

Better to have more than 1 person check things over and make suggestions..

 

Agreed. I'll post it before it's ordered.

 

ummmm....
errrrr....
yea u should prolly wait until next year, well into next year. but i have a kewl comp fer u to look at in the meantime
http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?skuId=9999115400050010&type=product&id=pcmprd115500050010

its bestbuy's flagship machine

 

well my comp is all built and its running smoothly and super fast. no lag what so ever when playing games like pw on all high settings. all i need now is a good LCD monitor. thx all for the help and advice/tips =).

took me awhile to build and get everything set up/installed and i made a few simple and idiotic mistakes like forgetting to connect certain things to the power supply or putting in the power led and HDD led backwards >.>; but i got by it and its a beauty.

the only thing that bugs me about it is that the fans. im using the abs diablo advance case and when i try to adjust the 360mm and 250mm side and front fan speeds i dont notice a increase or decrease in the speeds. but they work fine i just dont know if the increase/decrease in the fan speed work or maybe i hooked something up wrong regarding that. but they DO work so meh im good. its probaly something i have to talk to the manufacturer about but its no big deal right now, its just aggravating. and the 2 top fans work as well including the fan speed for both of the top 2 fans.

btw, that cases manual was WORTHLESS as ****. actually **** has more worth then that manual. it looked to be written by monkeys or ppl that didnt know how the **** to speak english. so i had to basically use the little tags they put on the wires to hook everything up right and a bit of common sense. it took me awhile but i managed to hook up most things from the case to the right spots without using the case manual and all the LEDs/fans on it work (except for front and side fan speeds which i cant notice if its increasing/decreasing fan speed at all which i explain at top). but ya i got passed all the bumps and hills and i is happy now =)


EDIT: it seems like the 360mm side fan does increase in speed, but its still barely noticeble... but it doesnt matter cuz since it has 4 fans and 2 of them are HUGE my case is pretty cool either way =)

 

Sweet. And you did it all by yourself. How about some stats or a benchmark?

Also: try using speedfan to regulate your fan speed. A quick google should get you there.

 

pretty sure speedfan will only work if the fans are directly connected to motherboard. via the 3 pin connector..

Im not sure if it even works then.. Didn't for me, then again that was 3 years ago.

 

And a dozen of updates ago. Also, it's free software. Why not at least try it