Have Some Ideas/Components, Need Help

SwgCrazy · 07-05-2009, 02:53 PM

1. Budget: How much money are you willing to spend on the new build?

Hopefully less than $1500, especially since I have some components already.

2. Brands: Are there any brands of components you want or don't want?

Would like to avoid fly-by-night companies. Prefer to stick to well known names.

3. Multitasking: Will you be multitasking with this computer and if so, how
much?

A lot of multi-tasking, this will be the main function of the computer.

4. Gaming: Will you be gaming and if so, how much and how new are the games?

Some gaming, would like it to handle new games well.

5. Calculations: Will you be doing any intense calculations or media encoding?

No.

6. Overclocking: Do you plan on overclocking and if so, how much?

No.

7. Storage: How much storage will you need and what will you be storing?

Not much storage, mostly music.

8. Legacy Support: Will you need support for older hardware like parallel, serial, or PS/2 devices?

No.

9. Operating System: Do you want Windows XP or Vista, or Linux compatibility?

Probably will go with Windows 7

10. Case: Do you want help selecting a case and if so, how big do you want it?

Yes, big case. I was thinking of perhaps buying one that included liquid cooling?

11. Accessories: Do you want a keyboard, mouse, or other items included?

No.

12. Recycled Components: Will you be reusing any components you already have?

Reusing sound card, wireless card, and possibly power supply?

13. Monitor: If you want a monitor, what size do you want and should it be widescreen?

Already have two monitors.

14. Stores: Do you have any online stores that you prefer to purchase from?

Preferably Newegg, but elsewhere if cheaper.

15. Location: What country do you live in?

US

Some footnotes:

I just bought a new 750 watt Corsair PSU found here.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817139006
If I could reuse it, I would certainly prefer that.

So far I have some ideas:

CPU: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16819115202
MB: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813130226
RAM: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820227365
HD: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820233087
I do have a few questions about SSDs as I am new to them. How hard are they to install? Can your main HD be a SSD or must you have a standard HD as well? (Keep in mind I need little storage).

I am really unsure of what I want in my video cards. I'd like something middle of the line, I think (as is the rest of the computer). I want to run two in SLI or Crossfire. No preference as to Nvidia or ATI.

I look forward to any suggestions as to changes I should make, the power supply, and cases. Suggestions about good fans, etc, are welcome as well. I appreciate any help!

**wrench97** · 07-05-2009, 03:15 PM

Pick one of these 2 for the MB Asus and Gigabyte are the 2 top tier manufactures.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...rchResult=True

SLI is marketing hype your better off using a single more powerful card then SLI or Xfire.
A HD4770, 4850, 4870 will handle any game out, as will the GTS250, GTX260 from Nvidia
What size monitors do you have? With SLI or Xfire only one monitor will work when the cards are linked.

SSD's can be used as the boot drive but at this point they are too pricey for the performance gain over 32meg Sata II drive lihe the WD Black editions, their big advantage is in laptops where the ruggedness(no damage when dropped) is a benefit.

Cases Antec 300 or 900 or the Coolermaster HAF or Centurion 5 series

No problem with using the 750tx with the Video cards above.

**wrench97** · 07-05-2009, 03:15 PM

Pick one of these 2 for the MB Asus and Gigabyte are the 2 top tier manufactures.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...rchResult=True

SLI is marketing hype your better off using a single more powerful card then SLI or Xfire.
A HD4770, 4850, 4870 will handle any game out, as will the GTS250, GTX260 from Nvidia
What size monitors do you have? With SLI or Xfire only one monitor will work when the cards are linked.

SSD's can be used as the boot drive but at this point they are too pricey for the performance gain over 32meg Sata II drive lihe the WD Black editions, their big advantage is in laptops where the ruggedness(no damage when dropped) is a benefit.

Cases Antec 300 or 900 or the Coolermaster HAF or Centurion 5 series

No problem with using the 750tx with the Video cards above.

SwgCrazy · 07-05-2009, 03:30 PM

So what hard drive/s should I get?
Just 1 video card then? I run 2x Viewsonic 22"s. So if I just got 1 video card I'd definitely need it to be able to handle 2 monitors (although they all do).
What do you think of a case that includes water cooling? Not worth it? Do fans come with the cases you suggested?

**wrench97** · 07-05-2009, 03:43 PM

I've been using these both are fast> http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16822136320

For 2 22" I would either use the HD4870 or the 216 core GTX260
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814130434
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814102815

The cases come with fans pick the style you like and we'll look at the fans.

Water cooling works well in a very hot environment or for high overclocks but requires some maintenance and I do not recommend for first time builders one little leak will take out some expensive components.

For moderate OC's and air conditioned spaces air cooling is fine.

SwgCrazy · 07-05-2009, 03:49 PM

I like the Antec 900 for the case. I'm thinking the Evga GTX 260 for GPU. So the 7200 RPM is quite fast? No need to go to 10k for the HDD?

SwgCrazy · 07-05-2009, 03:50 PM

Also, am I gonna need to buy any extra cables or will everything come with?

**wrench97** · 07-05-2009, 04:18 PM

The Antec 900 comes with 3 120mm tricool fans that's plenty and they are a great fan.

Cables come with the motherboard and case for 2 drives your good any more you'll need Sata cables for them.

The raptor drives are faster but miliseconds faster hardly worth the extra price or higher failure rate.

The GTX260 is a very good card I put one in my son's PC last month I haven't any game setting it won't take on a 24" HD display.

SwgCrazy · 07-05-2009, 04:37 PM

So, in conclusion:

Antec 900
i7 920
Gigabyte Ex58
Evga GTX 260
WD Caviar 500 GB 7200 RPM
OCZ 6 GB

Adding:
My sound card
My 5 in 1 media reader-thing
My CD/DVD RW
My 750W Corsair PSU
My wireless card

Anything else important I'm missing here?

Also: what's the best way to get the data from my old HDD to my new computer? Install the old HDD and transfer?

**wrench97** · 07-05-2009, 05:56 PM

Looks good.
Operating System?
What Sound card and wireless card do you have?
Yes installing the HD and transfering is the fastest way.

SwgCrazy · 07-05-2009, 09:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by wrench97

Looks good.
Operating System?
What Sound card and wireless card do you have?
Yes installing the HD and transfering is the fastest way.

I'm preordering windows 7 and i'll just use XP from the old computer. The sound card is SB XFI XtremeGamer Fatality. The wireless is some fancy Linksys Wireless N card.

**wrench97** · 07-06-2009, 01:11 AM

If your going to use 64Bit win7 make sure there 64 bit Vista or Win7 drivers available for both.
.
Windows 7 64 is very stable I've be running it for the past couple months.

Give this a shot before they pull the RC > http://www.microsoft.com/windows/win.../download.aspx

07-05-2009, 02:53 PM	#1 (permalink)
SwgCrazy Registered User Join Date: Feb 2008 Posts: 11 OS: XP SP2	Have Some Ideas/Components, Need Help 1. Budget: How much money are you willing to spend on the new build? Hopefully less than $1500, especially since I have some components already. 2. Brands: Are there any brands of components you want or don't want? Would like to avoid fly-by-night companies. Prefer to stick to well known names. 3. Multitasking: Will you be multitasking with this computer and if so, how much? A lot of multi-tasking, this will be the main function of the computer. 4. Gaming: Will you be gaming and if so, how much and how new are the games? Some gaming, would like it to handle new games well. 5. Calculations: Will you be doing any intense calculations or media encoding? No. 6. Overclocking: Do you plan on overclocking and if so, how much? No. 7. Storage: How much storage will you need and what will you be storing? Not much storage, mostly music. 8. Legacy Support: Will you need support for older hardware like parallel, serial, or PS/2 devices? No. 9. Operating System: Do you want Windows XP or Vista, or Linux compatibility? Probably will go with Windows 7 10. Case: Do you want help selecting a case and if so, how big do you want it? Yes, big case. I was thinking of perhaps buying one that included liquid cooling? 11. Accessories: Do you want a keyboard, mouse, or other items included? No. 12. Recycled Components: Will you be reusing any components you already have? Reusing sound card, wireless card, and possibly power supply? 13. Monitor: If you want a monitor, what size do you want and should it be widescreen? Already have two monitors. 14. Stores: Do you have any online stores that you prefer to purchase from? Preferably Newegg, but elsewhere if cheaper. 15. Location: What country do you live in? US Some footnotes: I just bought a new 750 watt Corsair PSU found here. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817139006 If I could reuse it, I would certainly prefer that. So far I have some ideas: CPU: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16819115202 MB: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813130226 RAM: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820227365 HD: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820233087 I do have a few questions about SSDs as I am new to them. How hard are they to install? Can your main HD be a SSD or must you have a standard HD as well? (Keep in mind I need little storage). I am really unsure of what I want in my video cards. I'd like something middle of the line, I think (as is the rest of the computer). I want to run two in SLI or Crossfire. No preference as to Nvidia or ATI. I look forward to any suggestions as to changes I should make, the power supply, and cases. Suggestions about good fans, etc, are welcome as well. I appreciate any help!

07-05-2009, 03:15 PM	#2 (permalink)
wrench97 Moderator, Hardware Team Join Date: May 2008 Location: S.E. Pennsylvania Posts: 18,689 OS: Win7	Re: Have Some Ideas/Components, Need Help Pick one of these 2 for the MB Asus and Gigabyte are the 2 top tier manufactures. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...rchResult=True SLI is marketing hype your better off using a single more powerful card then SLI or Xfire. A HD4770, 4850, 4870 will handle any game out, as will the GTS250, GTX260 from Nvidia What size monitors do you have? With SLI or Xfire only one monitor will work when the cards are linked. SSD's can be used as the boot drive but at this point they are too pricey for the performance gain over 32meg Sata II drive lihe the WD Black editions, their big advantage is in laptops where the ruggedness(no damage when dropped) is a benefit. Cases Antec 300 or 900 or the Coolermaster HAF or Centurion 5 series No problem with using the 750tx with the Video cards above. __________________ Power Supply and Selection

07-05-2009, 03:15 PM	#3 (permalink)
wrench97 Moderator, Hardware Team Join Date: May 2008 Location: S.E. Pennsylvania Posts: 18,689 OS: Win7	Re: Have Some Ideas/Components, Need Help Pick one of these 2 for the MB Asus and Gigabyte are the 2 top tier manufactures. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...rchResult=True SLI is marketing hype your better off using a single more powerful card then SLI or Xfire. A HD4770, 4850, 4870 will handle any game out, as will the GTS250, GTX260 from Nvidia What size monitors do you have? With SLI or Xfire only one monitor will work when the cards are linked. SSD's can be used as the boot drive but at this point they are too pricey for the performance gain over 32meg Sata II drive lihe the WD Black editions, their big advantage is in laptops where the ruggedness(no damage when dropped) is a benefit. Cases Antec 300 or 900 or the Coolermaster HAF or Centurion 5 series No problem with using the 750tx with the Video cards above. __________________ Power Supply and Selection

07-05-2009, 03:30 PM	#4 (permalink)
SwgCrazy Registered User Join Date: Feb 2008 Posts: 11 OS: XP SP2	Re: Have Some Ideas/Components, Need Help So what hard drive/s should I get? Just 1 video card then? I run 2x Viewsonic 22"s. So if I just got 1 video card I'd definitely need it to be able to handle 2 monitors (although they all do). What do you think of a case that includes water cooling? Not worth it? Do fans come with the cases you suggested?

07-05-2009, 03:43 PM	#5 (permalink)
wrench97 Moderator, Hardware Team Join Date: May 2008 Location: S.E. Pennsylvania Posts: 18,689 OS: Win7	Re: Have Some Ideas/Components, Need Help I've been using these both are fast> http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16822136320 For 2 22" I would either use the HD4870 or the 216 core GTX260 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814130434 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814102815 The cases come with fans pick the style you like and we'll look at the fans. Water cooling works well in a very hot environment or for high overclocks but requires some maintenance and I do not recommend for first time builders one little leak will take out some expensive components. For moderate OC's and air conditioned spaces air cooling is fine. __________________ Power Supply and Selection

07-05-2009, 03:49 PM	#6 (permalink)
SwgCrazy Registered User Join Date: Feb 2008 Posts: 11 OS: XP SP2	Re: Have Some Ideas/Components, Need Help I like the Antec 900 for the case. I'm thinking the Evga GTX 260 for GPU. So the 7200 RPM is quite fast? No need to go to 10k for the HDD?

07-05-2009, 03:50 PM	#7 (permalink)
SwgCrazy Registered User Join Date: Feb 2008 Posts: 11 OS: XP SP2	Re: Have Some Ideas/Components, Need Help Also, am I gonna need to buy any extra cables or will everything come with?

07-05-2009, 04:18 PM	#8 (permalink)
wrench97 Moderator, Hardware Team Join Date: May 2008 Location: S.E. Pennsylvania Posts: 18,689 OS: Win7	Re: Have Some Ideas/Components, Need Help The Antec 900 comes with 3 120mm tricool fans that's plenty and they are a great fan. Cables come with the motherboard and case for 2 drives your good any more you'll need Sata cables for them. The raptor drives are faster but miliseconds faster hardly worth the extra price or higher failure rate. The GTX260 is a very good card I put one in my son's PC last month I haven't any game setting it won't take on a 24" HD display. __________________ Power Supply and Selection

07-05-2009, 04:37 PM	#9 (permalink)
SwgCrazy Registered User Join Date: Feb 2008 Posts: 11 OS: XP SP2	Re: Have Some Ideas/Components, Need Help So, in conclusion: Antec 900 i7 920 Gigabyte Ex58 Evga GTX 260 WD Caviar 500 GB 7200 RPM OCZ 6 GB Adding: My sound card My 5 in 1 media reader-thing My CD/DVD RW My 750W Corsair PSU My wireless card Anything else important I'm missing here? Also: what's the best way to get the data from my old HDD to my new computer? Install the old HDD and transfer?

07-05-2009, 05:56 PM	#10 (permalink)
wrench97 Moderator, Hardware Team Join Date: May 2008 Location: S.E. Pennsylvania Posts: 18,689 OS: Win7	Re: Have Some Ideas/Components, Need Help Looks good. Operating System? What Sound card and wireless card do you have? Yes installing the HD and transfering is the fastest way. __________________ Power Supply and Selection

07-06-2009, 01:11 AM	#12 (permalink)
wrench97 Moderator, Hardware Team Join Date: May 2008 Location: S.E. Pennsylvania Posts: 18,689 OS: Win7	Re: Have Some Ideas/Components, Need Help If your going to use 64Bit win7 make sure there 64 bit Vista or Win7 drivers available for both. . Windows 7 64 is very stable I've be running it for the past couple months. Give this a shot before they pull the RC > http://www.microsoft.com/windows/win.../download.aspx __________________ Power Supply and Selection