Second Build

todothis · 03-29-2009, 12:19 PM

Hey, my younger brother is getting his first PC and i convinced him to build his own. I built mine awhile ago and so im a little rusty, and was just wondering if this build i put together is compatible, or if any certain part will bottleneck the rest of the system; how upgradeable will it be 3 years from now? Id also like your personal opinion on whatever you see fit to comment on. The build is 1200 with shipping and thats about all he wants to spend. He will be using it for gaming/music/internet/school. Theres no posted hard drive because i have one in my rig that i dont use that im giving him (160gb western digital 7200rpm).

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16824254005
I dont like widescreen myself, but i do have a nice hanns g.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16812119012
(read that the monitor doesnt come with dvi cable anymore.)

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16811129021
Too small to work with? Ive got a full size thermaltake armor myself.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813128384
Looks like candy or legos or something.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16819103471
Amazing rating and comes comboed with the MB.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820231122
Ive got gskill and its pretty good for the price (as far as i know, heh)

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814130370
Isnt this one of the most powerful? They release new ones every week so i stopped following them.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817139006
Enough power? Fits video card color scheme.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16827106287
Does everything i guess.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16832116515
Need it for gaming or id force him to try ubuntu or something.

Then theres some ergonomic keyboard/mouse and some logitech speakers. Thanks in advance guys, youve helped me out alot in the past.

todothis · 03-29-2009, 01:22 PM

I must be stupid, i cant find the edit button. Anyhow, regarding the amd cpu and the nvidia card - will those two conflict?

**linderman** · 03-29-2009, 01:28 PM

all looks good to me

csc2000e · 03-29-2009, 01:39 PM

Looks pretty good. Except I'm not 100% sure about the power supply. You've got high-powered cpu, graphics card, etc. I think it would probably work. But it might be better to use the Corsair 850 watt power supply. Just for peace of mind.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817139009

Also, if you wanted to do upgrades in a few years then you would have the power to do so. One more thing, the motherboard is an ATI board. You shouldn't have any trouble running the Nvidia GTX 260 though. But the board won't support SLI. It only supports crossfire. So you couldn't run say two GTX 260s in it. But if you weren't ever planning to, then it won't matter for you. I would also suggest that you get Vista 64-bit. Because then you can access all 4 GB of your ram with a 64-bit OS. Also, Vista supports DirectX 10. But, if you want to wait till Windows 7 then that's your choice.
I think that's it, pretty good system if you ask me!

**wrench97** · 03-29-2009, 02:02 PM

The 750Tx will run a GTX260 no problem there, You don't need the DVI cable with that monitor it comes with both DVI and VGA cables.
3 years from now you'll be looking at AM3 maybe AM4 socket CPU's so don't count on upgrading maybe, maybe not.

todothis · 03-29-2009, 02:05 PM

I was under the impression that SLI wasnt supported for most games. Maybe that was two years ago, when i was building mine... And yes, the 4 gig was just such a good deal i figured get it now and use it all later (although i thought 32bit used 3.5 gigs?), i was going to have him upgrade to W7 later on and skip vista... hes mildly computer literate and i wanted to be able to help him with XP (what i have) and then have both of us migrate to W7. And yeah i switched the power supply to the one you posted. Thanks!

csc2000e · 03-30-2009, 04:58 AM

Personally, I'm not a big fan of SLI. I would rather upgrade to a bigger better card. Rather than run two of the same. Some games, like you said, aren't as good with dual cards as others. So, I don't think losing SLI capability is something to really worry about. As for the RAM in 32-bit, it does read 3.5 gigs. So you aren't losing a whole lot. But I can understand why you would want to skip vista. Windows 7 actually looks pretty good.

Phædrus2401 · 03-30-2009, 06:05 AM

SLI isn't much to talk about now, but it will probably gain in usefulness as time goes on. I think getting just one good card is the way to go now, but it won't hurt to have an extra PCI-E 2.0 slot on your motherboard as well, in case you ever decide to expand.

**wrench97** · 03-30-2009, 01:08 PM

One good card is the way to go, Since it came out I've been hearing it'll useful as time goes on, not going to happen if 1 more powerful card is more powerful now, 2 of this gens cards won't equal the faster next gen either.

**linderman** · 03-30-2009, 01:14 PM

and to make things worse............ gaming titles are now focusing their attentions and programming budgets on gaming consoles ............ so I wouldnt expect to see much happening on the PC side of things & gaming ........... the needed muscle is there now; with the single high end cards ........... as a company you dont invest huge amounts of money to meet the wants of 10% of your target audience .......... how many would you guess are going to use SLI vs standard system configuration ?

todothis · 04-02-2009, 07:26 PM

Sorry for the bump but all his parts just came in today and i had a question about the oem windows. I actually have the oem windows xp home edition and before installing it wanted to make sure that it, uhm, worked... as in do i need the retail edition? Theres nothing on the hard drive and we are obviously building it, and sorry this is most likely confusing to read so could somebody outline the oem vs. retail for me please?

**grimx133** · 04-02-2009, 08:37 PM

Oem is tied to the first motherboard that it's activated on, though a new activation can be had in special circumstances, like replacing a fried and no longer available motherboard, if you can convince MS of that.
Retail can be moved to a new board, as long as it is uninstalled from the first. Nice to have, but expensive and not worth it unless you constantly upgrade for the sake of upgrading.

todothis · 04-02-2009, 09:01 PM

Alright, thats what i needed to know. Thanks.

**linderman** · 04-03-2009, 07:19 AM

there are different levels of OEM cd's........... the OEM cd supplied with a system like DEll, gateway, HP , emachines etc is VERY strictly tied to that system and that motherboard, as stated by Grim, in that circumstance you can only get activation for a motherboard swap thru replacement of a defective part, which we realize this is not :(

if you bought this Win XP CD from a vendor like newegg as an OEM cd .......then YOU are the OEM manufacturer, but if this copy was activated in a different machine, chances are you will struggle to get activation

IMHO the best way to fly is a new copy of Win XP OEM or Vista OEM your choice

I am still favoring Win XP Pro OEM $139.00 as of this time, am waiting for Win 7

todothis · 04-03-2009, 03:52 PM

Hrm im having a problem getting XP installed. I start up the system, mobo screen, then post screen, keeps repeating that. I can go into the bios... ive never really messed with those much unless instructed to do so though. Anyways it wont read the CD and start up the installation process. Anyone know anything about that?

**wrench97** · 04-03-2009, 03:56 PM

Is the CD Drive listed in the Bios?

todothis · 04-03-2009, 04:09 PM

Yes. It is listed as ide channel 2 master. The hard drive is listed as ide channel 3 master. Both are sata hookups if that means anything... Oh, also, i can hear the disk spin in the Rom drive... but it stops after ten or so seconds.

**wrench97** · 04-03-2009, 04:49 PM

Do you have any other bootable CD's to test with, just to see if it will read the cd?

todothis · 04-03-2009, 05:03 PM

hmmm...what do you mean? I have another windows xp disc from a different build. ill go try that, assuming its what you were talking about.

todothis · 04-03-2009, 05:06 PM

Nope, didnt work. Should i try another dvd drive? I think i have one...

03-29-2009, 12:19 PM	#1 (permalink)
todothis Registered User Join Date: Aug 2008 Posts: 66 OS: xp, sp3	Second Build Hey, my younger brother is getting his first PC and i convinced him to build his own. I built mine awhile ago and so im a little rusty, and was just wondering if this build i put together is compatible, or if any certain part will bottleneck the rest of the system; how upgradeable will it be 3 years from now? Id also like your personal opinion on whatever you see fit to comment on. The build is 1200 with shipping and thats about all he wants to spend. He will be using it for gaming/music/internet/school. Theres no posted hard drive because i have one in my rig that i dont use that im giving him (160gb western digital 7200rpm). http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16824254005 I dont like widescreen myself, but i do have a nice hanns g. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16812119012 (read that the monitor doesnt come with dvi cable anymore.) http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16811129021 Too small to work with? Ive got a full size thermaltake armor myself. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813128384 Looks like candy or legos or something. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16819103471 Amazing rating and comes comboed with the MB. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820231122 Ive got gskill and its pretty good for the price (as far as i know, heh) http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814130370 Isnt this one of the most powerful? They release new ones every week so i stopped following them. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817139006 Enough power? Fits video card color scheme. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16827106287 Does everything i guess. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16832116515 Need it for gaming or id force him to try ubuntu or something. Then theres some ergonomic keyboard/mouse and some logitech speakers. Thanks in advance guys, youve helped me out alot in the past.

03-29-2009, 01:22 PM	#2 (permalink)
todothis Registered User Join Date: Aug 2008 Posts: 66 OS: xp, sp3	Re: Second Build I must be stupid, i cant find the edit button. Anyhow, regarding the amd cpu and the nvidia card - will those two conflict?

03-29-2009, 01:28 PM	#3 (permalink)
linderman Moderator, Hardware Team Join Date: May 2005 Posts: 20,441 OS: win 2000 pro / Win XP pro My System	Re: Second Build all looks good to me __________________ I still know nothing and I respect that fact, striving to improve and, along the way, help anyone that comes from the place that I used to be! Power Supply Selection LEARN TO BACK-UP YOUR DATA FREE & EASY YouTube - Runtime Software DriveImage XML tutorial

03-29-2009, 01:39 PM	#4 (permalink)
csc2000e Registered User Join Date: Sep 2008 Posts: 340 OS: Vista Home Premium SP1 My System	Re: Second Build Looks pretty good. Except I'm not 100% sure about the power supply. You've got high-powered cpu, graphics card, etc. I think it would probably work. But it might be better to use the Corsair 850 watt power supply. Just for peace of mind. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817139009 Also, if you wanted to do upgrades in a few years then you would have the power to do so. One more thing, the motherboard is an ATI board. You shouldn't have any trouble running the Nvidia GTX 260 though. But the board won't support SLI. It only supports crossfire. So you couldn't run say two GTX 260s in it. But if you weren't ever planning to, then it won't matter for you. I would also suggest that you get Vista 64-bit. Because then you can access all 4 GB of your ram with a 64-bit OS. Also, Vista supports DirectX 10. But, if you want to wait till Windows 7 then that's your choice. I think that's it, pretty good system if you ask me!

03-29-2009, 02:02 PM	#5 (permalink)
wrench97 Moderator, Hardware Team Join Date: May 2008 Location: S.E. Pennsylvania Posts: 18,681 OS: Win7	Re: Second Build The 750Tx will run a GTX260 no problem there, You don't need the DVI cable with that monitor it comes with both DVI and VGA cables. 3 years from now you'll be looking at AM3 maybe AM4 socket CPU's so don't count on upgrading maybe, maybe not. __________________ Power Supply and Selection

03-29-2009, 02:05 PM	#6 (permalink)
todothis Registered User Join Date: Aug 2008 Posts: 66 OS: xp, sp3	Re: Second Build I was under the impression that SLI wasnt supported for most games. Maybe that was two years ago, when i was building mine... And yes, the 4 gig was just such a good deal i figured get it now and use it all later (although i thought 32bit used 3.5 gigs?), i was going to have him upgrade to W7 later on and skip vista... hes mildly computer literate and i wanted to be able to help him with XP (what i have) and then have both of us migrate to W7. And yeah i switched the power supply to the one you posted. Thanks!

03-30-2009, 04:58 AM	#7 (permalink)
csc2000e Registered User Join Date: Sep 2008 Posts: 340 OS: Vista Home Premium SP1 My System	Re: Second Build Personally, I'm not a big fan of SLI. I would rather upgrade to a bigger better card. Rather than run two of the same. Some games, like you said, aren't as good with dual cards as others. So, I don't think losing SLI capability is something to really worry about. As for the RAM in 32-bit, it does read 3.5 gigs. So you aren't losing a whole lot. But I can understand why you would want to skip vista. Windows 7 actually looks pretty good.

03-30-2009, 06:05 AM	#8 (permalink)
Phædrus2401 Hardware Tech Team Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: New Orleans Posts: 3,837 OS: Vista Ultimate x64 SP1 + Ubuntu 9.04 My System	Re: Second Build SLI isn't much to talk about now, but it will probably gain in usefulness as time goes on. I think getting just one good card is the way to go now, but it won't hurt to have an extra PCI-E 2.0 slot on your motherboard as well, in case you ever decide to expand.

03-30-2009, 01:08 PM	#9 (permalink)
wrench97 Moderator, Hardware Team Join Date: May 2008 Location: S.E. Pennsylvania Posts: 18,681 OS: Win7	Re: Second Build One good card is the way to go, Since it came out I've been hearing it'll useful as time goes on, not going to happen if 1 more powerful card is more powerful now, 2 of this gens cards won't equal the faster next gen either. __________________ Power Supply and Selection

03-30-2009, 01:14 PM	#10 (permalink)
linderman Moderator, Hardware Team Join Date: May 2005 Posts: 20,441 OS: win 2000 pro / Win XP pro My System	Re: Second Build and to make things worse............ gaming titles are now focusing their attentions and programming budgets on gaming consoles ............ so I wouldnt expect to see much happening on the PC side of things & gaming ........... the needed muscle is there now; with the single high end cards ........... as a company you dont invest huge amounts of money to meet the wants of 10% of your target audience .......... how many would you guess are going to use SLI vs standard system configuration ? __________________ I still know nothing and I respect that fact, striving to improve and, along the way, help anyone that comes from the place that I used to be! Power Supply Selection LEARN TO BACK-UP YOUR DATA FREE & EASY YouTube - Runtime Software DriveImage XML tutorial

04-02-2009, 07:26 PM	#11 (permalink)
todothis Registered User Join Date: Aug 2008 Posts: 66 OS: xp, sp3	Re: Second Build Sorry for the bump but all his parts just came in today and i had a question about the oem windows. I actually have the oem windows xp home edition and before installing it wanted to make sure that it, uhm, worked... as in do i need the retail edition? Theres nothing on the hard drive and we are obviously building it, and sorry this is most likely confusing to read so could somebody outline the oem vs. retail for me please?

04-02-2009, 08:37 PM	#12 (permalink)
grimx133 Mentor Hardware Team Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Canada eh Posts: 3,153 OS: xp mce sp2, xp pro sp2, windows 7 beta My System	Re: Second Build Oem is tied to the first motherboard that it's activated on, though a new activation can be had in special circumstances, like replacing a fried and no longer available motherboard, if you can convince MS of that. Retail can be moved to a new board, as long as it is uninstalled from the first. Nice to have, but expensive and not worth it unless you constantly upgrade for the sake of upgrading. __________________

04-02-2009, 09:01 PM	#13 (permalink)
todothis Registered User Join Date: Aug 2008 Posts: 66 OS: xp, sp3	Re: Second Build Alright, thats what i needed to know. Thanks.

04-03-2009, 07:19 AM	#14 (permalink)
linderman Moderator, Hardware Team Join Date: May 2005 Posts: 20,441 OS: win 2000 pro / Win XP pro My System	Re: Second Build there are different levels of OEM cd's........... the OEM cd supplied with a system like DEll, gateway, HP , emachines etc is VERY strictly tied to that system and that motherboard, as stated by Grim, in that circumstance you can only get activation for a motherboard swap thru replacement of a defective part, which we realize this is not :( if you bought this Win XP CD from a vendor like newegg as an OEM cd .......then YOU are the OEM manufacturer, but if this copy was activated in a different machine, chances are you will struggle to get activation IMHO the best way to fly is a new copy of Win XP OEM or Vista OEM your choice I am still favoring Win XP Pro OEM $139.00 as of this time, am waiting for Win 7 __________________ I still know nothing and I respect that fact, striving to improve and, along the way, help anyone that comes from the place that I used to be! Power Supply Selection LEARN TO BACK-UP YOUR DATA FREE & EASY YouTube - Runtime Software DriveImage XML tutorial Last edited by linderman; 04-03-2009 at 07:21 AM.

04-03-2009, 03:52 PM	#15 (permalink)
todothis Registered User Join Date: Aug 2008 Posts: 66 OS: xp, sp3	Re: Second Build Hrm im having a problem getting XP installed. I start up the system, mobo screen, then post screen, keeps repeating that. I can go into the bios... ive never really messed with those much unless instructed to do so though. Anyways it wont read the CD and start up the installation process. Anyone know anything about that?

04-03-2009, 03:56 PM	#16 (permalink)
wrench97 Moderator, Hardware Team Join Date: May 2008 Location: S.E. Pennsylvania Posts: 18,681 OS: Win7	Re: Second Build Is the CD Drive listed in the Bios? __________________ Power Supply and Selection

04-03-2009, 04:09 PM	#17 (permalink)
todothis Registered User Join Date: Aug 2008 Posts: 66 OS: xp, sp3	Re: Second Build Yes. It is listed as ide channel 2 master. The hard drive is listed as ide channel 3 master. Both are sata hookups if that means anything... Oh, also, i can hear the disk spin in the Rom drive... but it stops after ten or so seconds.

04-03-2009, 04:49 PM	#18 (permalink)
wrench97 Moderator, Hardware Team Join Date: May 2008 Location: S.E. Pennsylvania Posts: 18,681 OS: Win7	Re: Second Build Do you have any other bootable CD's to test with, just to see if it will read the cd? __________________ Power Supply and Selection

04-03-2009, 05:03 PM	#19 (permalink)
todothis Registered User Join Date: Aug 2008 Posts: 66 OS: xp, sp3	Re: Second Build hmmm...what do you mean? I have another windows xp disc from a different build. ill go try that, assuming its what you were talking about.

04-03-2009, 05:06 PM	#20 (permalink)
todothis Registered User Join Date: Aug 2008 Posts: 66 OS: xp, sp3	Re: Second Build Nope, didnt work. Should i try another dvd drive? I think i have one...