First Build Ever

Mombasa2 · 02-04-2009, 07:41 PM

This is my first time building a PC, and I'd like to know if everything here fits together. my current budget is ~$400 and I'm pretty sure I have everything I need. If you have any improvements to suggest, input is welcome. If links are needed, I can provide them (All prices and parts from newegg.com)

Rosewill R226-P-BK ATX Mid Tower /w 120mm Fan - $32
AMD Athlon 64 X2 5600 2.9GHz AM2 65W Dual-Core CPU - $69
ECS A780GM-A AM2+/AM2 AMD 780G HDMI ATX AMD Motherboard - $70
Sapphire Radeon HD 4830 512MB GDDR3 - CF Enabled - $95
Logisys 575w ATX 12v SLi Ready Power Supply - $30
GeIL 2GB 240-pin DDR2 800 RAM (x2) - $46
Seagate Barracuda 320GB 7200 Rpm SATA HDD - $55
ZEROtherm ZT100 thermal grease - $6

*I'm pretty much at my limit here at $403.00. I'm considering upgrading to a triple core AMD.

Brands: Doesn't really matter to me, I guess AMD/ATi

Multitasking: While gaming, just the game I'm running + Xfire/Steam. Otherwise Google Chrome/Firefox + Xfire/Steam + Irc or Blender/Maya/Endorphin.

Gaming: Lots of gaming (World of Warcraft, Fallout 3, Far Cry 2, Team Fortress 2, Left 4 Dead, Oblivion, Supreme Commander) at just a step above 1024 x 768, I'm okay with running anything at lower settings.

Calculations: Rendering with Blender and Maya.

Overclocking: Not unless I know it's safe.

Storage: The HDD I have seems okay. Mainly games, music, and large applications.

Legacy Support: Maybe just for the mouse or keyboard.

Operating System: Vista or Windows 7

Case: If a better one can be found then yes I would like help. LEDs, LCD displays and all the extras are unneeded. I just want it to be able to fit everything without turning into an oven.

Accessories: No

Recycled Components: Cd-Rom drive, External Sony DVD-Rom/RW drive, keyboard, mouse, and monitor + speakers.

Monitor: Nope

Stores: Newegg

Location: Florida, in the United States

**emosun** · 02-05-2009, 05:14 AM

Welcome to tsf.

It all looks good except the powersupply which is junk. You got the wattage right at 550w or higher , although the brand is terrible , which is apparent in the price. Idealy it should be at least over 60$ for a 550w.

Mombasa2 · 02-06-2009, 08:20 AM

Is there a certain brand of power supply I should lean towards?

**emosun** · 02-06-2009, 08:35 AM

Corsair , silverstone , coolermaster , pc power and cooling , thermaltake's toughpower , or antec's trio.

**koala** · 02-06-2009, 08:37 AM

If you're going to be 3D rendering and playing games with a HD4830 and dual core CPU, I would go for a good quality 650W PSU.

Corsair 650W - $80

Also, there have been some recent problems with the latest models of the Seagate Barracuda hard drive. They have released a firmware update to fix the problem, but if you want to avoid this you might want to look at another brand. Just make sure it has a 32mb cache. 16mb would be ok, but don't go for 8mb.

02-04-2009, 07:41 PM	#1 (permalink)
Mombasa2 Registered User Join Date: Feb 2009 Posts: 9 OS: XP Home (for now)	First Build Ever This is my first time building a PC, and I'd like to know if everything here fits together. my current budget is ~$400 and I'm pretty sure I have everything I need. If you have any improvements to suggest, input is welcome. If links are needed, I can provide them (All prices and parts from newegg.com) Rosewill R226-P-BK ATX Mid Tower /w 120mm Fan - $32 AMD Athlon 64 X2 5600 2.9GHz AM2 65W Dual-Core CPU - $69 ECS A780GM-A AM2+/AM2 AMD 780G HDMI ATX AMD Motherboard - $70 Sapphire Radeon HD 4830 512MB GDDR3 - CF Enabled - $95 Logisys 575w ATX 12v SLi Ready Power Supply - $30 GeIL 2GB 240-pin DDR2 800 RAM (x2) - $46 Seagate Barracuda 320GB 7200 Rpm SATA HDD - $55 ZEROtherm ZT100 thermal grease - $6 I'm pretty much at my limit here at $403.00. I'm considering upgrading to a triple core AMD. Brands: Doesn't really matter to me, I guess AMD/ATi Multitasking: While gaming, just the game I'm running + Xfire/Steam. Otherwise Google Chrome/Firefox + Xfire/Steam + Irc or Blender/Maya/Endorphin. Gaming: Lots of gaming (World of Warcraft, Fallout 3, Far Cry 2, Team Fortress 2, Left 4 Dead, Oblivion, Supreme Commander) at just a step above 1024 x 768, I'm okay with running anything at lower settings. Calculations: Rendering with Blender and Maya. Overclocking: Not unless I know it's safe. Storage: The HDD I have seems okay. Mainly games, music, and large applications. Legacy Support: Maybe just for the mouse or keyboard. Operating System: Vista or Windows 7 Case: If a better one can be found then yes I would like help. LEDs, LCD displays and all the extras are unneeded. I just want it to be able to fit everything without turning into an oven. Accessories: No Recycled Components: Cd-Rom drive, External Sony DVD-Rom/RW drive, keyboard, mouse, and monitor + speakers. Monitor: Nope Stores: Newegg Location: Florida, in the United States Last edited by Mombasa2; 02-04-2009 at 07:45 PM.*

02-05-2009, 05:14 AM	#2 (permalink)
emosun Moderator Hardware Team Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: usa Posts: 6,963 OS: xp pro sp2 My System	Re: First Build Ever Welcome to tsf. It all looks good except the powersupply which is junk. You got the wattage right at 550w or higher , although the brand is terrible , which is apparent in the price. Idealy it should be at least over 60$ for a 550w. __________________ Gpu Benchmarks Cpu-Z Power supply information and selection Gpu-Z Video card quick list

02-06-2009, 08:20 AM	#3 (permalink)
Mombasa2 Registered User Join Date: Feb 2009 Posts: 9 OS: XP Home (for now)	Re: First Build Ever Is there a certain brand of power supply I should lean towards?

02-06-2009, 08:35 AM	#4 (permalink)
emosun Moderator Hardware Team Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: usa Posts: 6,963 OS: xp pro sp2 My System	Re: First Build Ever Corsair , silverstone , coolermaster , pc power and cooling , thermaltake's toughpower , or antec's trio. __________________ Gpu Benchmarks Cpu-Z Power supply information and selection Gpu-Z Video card quick list

02-06-2009, 08:37 AM	#5 (permalink)
koala Moderator Hardware Team Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: UK Posts: 12,352 OS: XP/7/Ubuntu My System	Re: First Build Ever If you're going to be 3D rendering and playing games with a HD4830 and dual core CPU, I would go for a good quality 650W PSU. Corsair 650W - $80 Also, there have been some recent problems with the latest models of the Seagate Barracuda hard drive. They have released a firmware update to fix the problem, but if you want to avoid this you might want to look at another brand. Just make sure it has a 32mb cache. 16mb would be ok, but don't go for 8mb. __________________ New members: Subscribe to your thread (Thread Tools) to receive an instant email notification when you get a reply. TSF Folding@Home Team 85015 - details here