First time building

Saladz · 07-12-2008, 07:32 PM

So it's my first time building a computer and any advice or comments would be nice.

Here's what I've come up with so far.

(All Canadian dollars)

PROCESSOR: Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 Processor HH80562PH0568M - 2.40GHz, 8MB Cache, 1066MHz FSB, Kentsfield, Quad-Core,
OEM, Socket 775, Processor
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applicati...=CP2-DUO-Q6600
$199.97

VIDEO CARD: Visiontek Radeon HD 4850 Video Card - 512MB GDDR3, PCI Express 2.0, CrossFireX Ready, (Dual Link) Dual DVI, HDTV,
HDMI Support, VGA Support
http://www.tigerdirect.ca/applicatio...757&CatId=3670
$223.99

MOTHERBOARD: EVGA nForce 750i SLI FTW Motherboard - NVIDIA nForce 750i, 45nm Support, Socket 775, ATX, PCI Express 2.0, SLI Ready,
Gigabit LAN, S/PDIF, USB 2.0, Firewire, Serial ATA, RAID
http://www.tigerdirect.ca/applicatio...&Sku=E145-2038
$223.99

RAM: OCZ Platinum Revision-2 2048MB PC6400 DDR2 800MHz Dual Channel Memory (2 x 1024MB)
http://www.tigerdirect.ca/applicatio...&Sku=O261-8070
$43.99

HARD DRIVE: Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 250GB Hard Drive - 7200, 16MB, Serial ATA-300, OEM
http://www.tigerdirect.ca/applicatio...389&CatId=2458
$73.99

DVD DRIVE: Sony DRU190A 20X DVD Rewritable Drive - 20x DVD±R, 8 DVD+RW, 6x DVD-R, 8x DVD±R DL, ATAPI/EIDE,Black
http://www.tigerdirect.ca/applicatio...API/EIDE,Black
$29.99

CASE + POWER SUPPLY: Apevia Black/Black X-Plorer ATX Mid-Tower Case with Clear Side, Fan Controller, Front USB and
Firewire Port, PowerUp 800-Watt PSU
http://www.tigerdirect.ca/applicatio...&Sku=TC3J-2341
$146.99

CPU COOLING: Thermaltake TR2-R1 / AMD Socket AM2/939/754 / Aluminum / 92mm Fan / CPU Cooler
http://www.tigerdirect.ca/applicatio...&Sku=T925-1168
$18.99

First off, is it all compatible? Secondly, have I made good decisions and if not what should I change?

One other thing i want to know is do I really need a motherboard as expensive as the one I've picked? A friend of mine recommended it.
Oh and also, should I get a separate sound card?

**grimx133** · 07-12-2008, 09:07 PM

Well, your heat sink fan will not fit on your cpu. It's for amd sockets, you need to look for an LGA 775 compatible one.

You might want to consider a larger hard drive, ncix has one on sale right now which is an excellent choice. http://www.ncix.com:80/products/inde...4&promoid=1088 It's 500GB, same brand and all that.

Case and power supply combos usually aren't a good idea. The PSU is generally substandard, sure they're cheap, but it really is a case of getting what you pay for.

Unless your a real audiophile, the onboard sound will be fine. If not, you can pick up a sound card anytime. I'd wait and see what you think of the onboard before grabbing a sound card.

You don't need to spend that much on a motherboard, unless you want to, of course. I'd suggest going with something by Asus or Gigabyte, can't go wrong with them. What you pay depends on what features and chipset you want. Whatever you do eventually decide on, make sure that you do some research and find out how others got on with them. A little bit of time can save a lot of trouble down the road.

I don't know if you are a loyal tigerdirect buyer, but, you should look at www.ncix.com too, grab the best deals from both places. Like that's a really good price on the Q6600, don't think you're going to beat that anywhere in this country. Other things you might be able to save some cash on. As you probably surmise, I get all my stuff at ncix. They ship from Richmond BC, so can take a bit, for me it's 5 or 6 days, by ground, to northern ont.

dai · 07-12-2008, 09:33 PM

buy the case and power supply as seperate items,Apevia are low quality and not recommended

Saladz · 07-13-2008, 07:44 AM

Thanks Grim, you've helped a lot. Changed the fan, PSU, and motherboard (Asus one) but now I'm not sure what to do for the case. Does anyone have a suggestion as to what case I should get? I'm not really sure what I should be looking for. Full tower? Mid tower?

dai · 07-13-2008, 07:50 AM

i prefer full towers with plenty of h/drive slots

Saladz · 07-13-2008, 08:03 AM

Things I've changed...

MOTHERBOARD: ASUS P5Q Pro ATX LGA775 P45 DDR2 2PCI-E16 Crossfire 3PCI-E1 2PCI SATA2 Sound GBLAN eSATA Motherboard
http://www.ncix.com/products/index.p...ustomerReviews
$151.44

CPU COOLING: Masscool 8W553 / Socket 775 / Aluminum / CPU Cooling Fan
http://www.tigerdirect.ca/applicatio...&Sku=S457-1035
$24.99

POWER SUPPLY: OCZ StealthXStream 600W ATX12V 20/24PIN Active PFC ATX Power Supply 120MM Fan Black
http://www.ncix.com/products/index.p...ustomerReviews
$54.99

CASE:Ultra Black Aluminus ATX Mid-Tower Case with Clear Side, Front USB, Firewire and Audio Ports
http://www.tigerdirect.ca/applicatio...8&Sku=ULT31824
$85.73

Looking at the case, I did try and find a full tower but they're a little out of my price range. I'm trying to keep this all under $1000 before tax. When I looked at the reviews people were saying it's awfully big to be considered a mid tower.

Oh, and Grim I will be looking at the NCIX site some more to compare prices, see if I can get it down a bit.

**grimx133** · 07-13-2008, 10:03 AM

That is a fine looking case, but (yes, the inevitable but eh), it doesn't come with any fans and that'll add some bucks to the cost. When I looked at the page at tigerdirect, they had a their most popular cases down on the left there. The NZXT Apollo caught my eye, as I had considered that case previously, but went for something a tad less flashy. The Antec 900 is also a nice one, however it's quite pricey.

Great deal on the psu. Here's a link to the newegg page on that one, they have a good layout and I usually look up info on components at newegg before I order in canada.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817341010

Couldn't find many reviews on the Masscool HSF, so don't know what to say about that one. Does look quite similar to the stock intel fan though. Might want to look around a bit if your going to be doing any overclocking, if not OC'ing the Masscool will be fine. FrostyTech is probably a good place to start looking around at different HSF's.
http://www.frostytech.com/

Excellent choice on the motherboard, was I to be in the market for one right now, that'd be way up there on my list.

Saladz · 07-13-2008, 01:44 PM

For now, I don't plan on OC'ing as I don't know much about it, so I'll stick with that masscool. I'll keep in mind those Frosty tech ones if I decide that I do want to OC in the future.

Also, I'll pick up that NZXT Appolo case instead of the Aluminus ATX one, not having fans on it makes it a no. The Antec 900 will put me at my price limit, and ideally I'd like to stay under ($1000 before tax, that is)

**grimx133** · 07-14-2008, 01:20 PM

I know you've probably already though of this. You need some sort of thermal pasted between the cpu and the heat sink. Might get some with the HSF, but a good idea to both have some around in case you ever remove it. Also the manufacturer's stuff may not be all that high quality. Arctic Silver 5 and Arctic Coolings MX-2 are the most popular ones. I have both and they seem to work equally well.
Here's how arctic silver says to apply it.
http://www.arcticsilver.com/arctic_s...structions.htm

**linderman** · 07-15-2008, 07:24 PM

NICE work GRIMX

**grimx133** · 07-15-2008, 07:50 PM

Thanks much

07-12-2008, 07:32 PM	#1 (permalink)
Saladz Registered User Join Date: Jul 2008 Location: Ontario, Canada Posts: 4 OS: Vista Home Premium	First time building So it's my first time building a computer and any advice or comments would be nice. Here's what I've come up with so far. (All Canadian dollars) PROCESSOR: Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 Processor HH80562PH0568M - 2.40GHz, 8MB Cache, 1066MHz FSB, Kentsfield, Quad-Core, OEM, Socket 775, Processor http://www.tigerdirect.com/applicati...=CP2-DUO-Q6600 $199.97 VIDEO CARD: Visiontek Radeon HD 4850 Video Card - 512MB GDDR3, PCI Express 2.0, CrossFireX Ready, (Dual Link) Dual DVI, HDTV, HDMI Support, VGA Support http://www.tigerdirect.ca/applicatio...757&CatId=3670 $223.99 MOTHERBOARD: EVGA nForce 750i SLI FTW Motherboard - NVIDIA nForce 750i, 45nm Support, Socket 775, ATX, PCI Express 2.0, SLI Ready, Gigabit LAN, S/PDIF, USB 2.0, Firewire, Serial ATA, RAID http://www.tigerdirect.ca/applicatio...&Sku=E145-2038 $223.99 RAM: OCZ Platinum Revision-2 2048MB PC6400 DDR2 800MHz Dual Channel Memory (2 x 1024MB) http://www.tigerdirect.ca/applicatio...&Sku=O261-8070 $43.99 HARD DRIVE: Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 250GB Hard Drive - 7200, 16MB, Serial ATA-300, OEM http://www.tigerdirect.ca/applicatio...389&CatId=2458 $73.99 DVD DRIVE: Sony DRU190A 20X DVD Rewritable Drive - 20x DVD±R, 8 DVD+RW, 6x DVD-R, 8x DVD±R DL, ATAPI/EIDE,Black http://www.tigerdirect.ca/applicatio...API/EIDE,Black $29.99 CASE + POWER SUPPLY: Apevia Black/Black X-Plorer ATX Mid-Tower Case with Clear Side, Fan Controller, Front USB and Firewire Port, PowerUp 800-Watt PSU http://www.tigerdirect.ca/applicatio...&Sku=TC3J-2341 $146.99 CPU COOLING: Thermaltake TR2-R1 / AMD Socket AM2/939/754 / Aluminum / 92mm Fan / CPU Cooler http://www.tigerdirect.ca/applicatio...&Sku=T925-1168 $18.99 First off, is it all compatible? Secondly, have I made good decisions and if not what should I change? One other thing i want to know is do I really need a motherboard as expensive as the one I've picked? A friend of mine recommended it. Oh and also, should I get a separate sound card?

07-12-2008, 09:07 PM	#2 (permalink)
grimx133 Back to the grind Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Canada eh Posts: 411 OS: xp mce sp2, xp pro sp2 My System	Re: First time building Well, your heat sink fan will not fit on your cpu. It's for amd sockets, you need to look for an LGA 775 compatible one. You might want to consider a larger hard drive, ncix has one on sale right now which is an excellent choice. http://www.ncix.com:80/products/inde...4&promoid=1088 It's 500GB, same brand and all that. Case and power supply combos usually aren't a good idea. The PSU is generally substandard, sure they're cheap, but it really is a case of getting what you pay for. Unless your a real audiophile, the onboard sound will be fine. If not, you can pick up a sound card anytime. I'd wait and see what you think of the onboard before grabbing a sound card. You don't need to spend that much on a motherboard, unless you want to, of course. I'd suggest going with something by Asus or Gigabyte, can't go wrong with them. What you pay depends on what features and chipset you want. Whatever you do eventually decide on, make sure that you do some research and find out how others got on with them. A little bit of time can save a lot of trouble down the road. I don't know if you are a loyal tigerdirect buyer, but, you should look at www.ncix.com too, grab the best deals from both places. Like that's a really good price on the Q6600, don't think you're going to beat that anywhere in this country. Other things you might be able to save some cash on. As you probably surmise, I get all my stuff at ncix. They ship from Richmond BC, so can take a bit, for me it's 5 or 6 days, by ground, to northern ont. Last edited by grimx133 : 07-12-2008 at 09:11 PM. Reason: speeling

07-12-2008, 09:33 PM	#3 (permalink)
dai Manager, Hardware Forums Join Date: Jul 2004 Location: west australia Posts: 42,034 OS: vista 32x ultimate retail	Re: First time building buy the case and power supply as seperate items,Apevia are low quality and not recommended __________________

07-13-2008, 07:44 AM	#4 (permalink)
Saladz Registered User Join Date: Jul 2008 Location: Ontario, Canada Posts: 4 OS: Vista Home Premium	Re: First time building Thanks Grim, you've helped a lot. Changed the fan, PSU, and motherboard (Asus one) but now I'm not sure what to do for the case. Does anyone have a suggestion as to what case I should get? I'm not really sure what I should be looking for. Full tower? Mid tower? Last edited by Saladz : 07-13-2008 at 07:48 AM.

07-13-2008, 07:50 AM	#5 (permalink)
dai Manager, Hardware Forums Join Date: Jul 2004 Location: west australia Posts: 42,034 OS: vista 32x ultimate retail	Re: First time building i prefer full towers with plenty of h/drive slots __________________

07-13-2008, 08:03 AM	#6 (permalink)
Saladz Registered User Join Date: Jul 2008 Location: Ontario, Canada Posts: 4 OS: Vista Home Premium	Re: First time building Things I've changed... MOTHERBOARD: ASUS P5Q Pro ATX LGA775 P45 DDR2 2PCI-E16 Crossfire 3PCI-E1 2PCI SATA2 Sound GBLAN eSATA Motherboard http://www.ncix.com/products/index.p...ustomerReviews $151.44 CPU COOLING: Masscool 8W553 / Socket 775 / Aluminum / CPU Cooling Fan http://www.tigerdirect.ca/applicatio...&Sku=S457-1035 $24.99 POWER SUPPLY: OCZ StealthXStream 600W ATX12V 20/24PIN Active PFC ATX Power Supply 120MM Fan Black http://www.ncix.com/products/index.p...ustomerReviews $54.99 CASE:Ultra Black Aluminus ATX Mid-Tower Case with Clear Side, Front USB, Firewire and Audio Ports http://www.tigerdirect.ca/applicatio...8&Sku=ULT31824 $85.73 Looking at the case, I did try and find a full tower but they're a little out of my price range. I'm trying to keep this all under $1000 before tax. When I looked at the reviews people were saying it's awfully big to be considered a mid tower. Oh, and Grim I will be looking at the NCIX site some more to compare prices, see if I can get it down a bit. Last edited by Saladz : 07-13-2008 at 08:04 AM.

07-13-2008, 10:03 AM	#7 (permalink)
grimx133 Back to the grind Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Canada eh Posts: 411 OS: xp mce sp2, xp pro sp2 My System	Re: First time building That is a fine looking case, but (yes, the inevitable but eh), it doesn't come with any fans and that'll add some bucks to the cost. When I looked at the page at tigerdirect, they had a their most popular cases down on the left there. The NZXT Apollo caught my eye, as I had considered that case previously, but went for something a tad less flashy. The Antec 900 is also a nice one, however it's quite pricey. Great deal on the psu. Here's a link to the newegg page on that one, they have a good layout and I usually look up info on components at newegg before I order in canada. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817341010 Couldn't find many reviews on the Masscool HSF, so don't know what to say about that one. Does look quite similar to the stock intel fan though. Might want to look around a bit if your going to be doing any overclocking, if not OC'ing the Masscool will be fine. FrostyTech is probably a good place to start looking around at different HSF's. http://www.frostytech.com/ Excellent choice on the motherboard, was I to be in the market for one right now, that'd be way up there on my list.

07-13-2008, 01:44 PM	#8 (permalink)
Saladz Registered User Join Date: Jul 2008 Location: Ontario, Canada Posts: 4 OS: Vista Home Premium	Re: First time building For now, I don't plan on OC'ing as I don't know much about it, so I'll stick with that masscool. I'll keep in mind those Frosty tech ones if I decide that I do want to OC in the future. Also, I'll pick up that NZXT Appolo case instead of the Aluminus ATX one, not having fans on it makes it a no. The Antec 900 will put me at my price limit, and ideally I'd like to stay under ($1000 before tax, that is)

07-14-2008, 01:20 PM	#9 (permalink)
grimx133 Back to the grind Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Canada eh Posts: 411 OS: xp mce sp2, xp pro sp2 My System	Re: First time building I know you've probably already though of this. You need some sort of thermal pasted between the cpu and the heat sink. Might get some with the HSF, but a good idea to both have some around in case you ever remove it. Also the manufacturer's stuff may not be all that high quality. Arctic Silver 5 and Arctic Coolings MX-2 are the most popular ones. I have both and they seem to work equally well. Here's how arctic silver says to apply it. http://www.arcticsilver.com/arctic_s...structions.htm

07-15-2008, 07:24 PM	#10 (permalink)
linderman Moderator, Hardware Team Join Date: May 2005 Posts: 14,060 OS: win 2000 pro / Win XP pro My System	Re: First time building NICE work GRIMX __________________ If you cant be polite and friendly; then please be silent.

07-15-2008, 07:50 PM	#11 (permalink)
grimx133 Back to the grind Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Canada eh Posts: 411 OS: xp mce sp2, xp pro sp2 My System	Re: First time building Thanks much