[socal986]

Alright since people seem to be pretty helpful and knowledgeable on this site I thought it'd be a good idea to post the components I want to get for my new system before I throw down the money to actually get them. I plan on using this system for high-end gaming, vids, music, that kind of thing... so it's got to be a decent system. BUT I'm on a pretty strict budget and I'm hoping to keep this under or around $1000. The prices are all from tigerdirect.com I know I can probably find each component slightly cheaper at a number of different sites, but I wanted to get them all at once to save on shipping.

CASE. looks good (IMO), well ventilated, and relatively inexpensive at $69
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=986327&sku=Q131-3202

VIDEO. need something good for gaming, yet affordable. $320
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=1549681&sku=B52-1030

MOBO. I like the 4 mem slots, nvidia 4 chipset, and has a great onboard sound card. good price too at $179 considering I wont need an additional sound card.
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=1218400&sku=M452-2806

CPU. Good speed, decent price, and has Fan. Always had AMD, no need to switch now. $239
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applicat...-details.asp?EdpNo=1366613&sku=CP1-A64-3500 E

MEMORY. I like corsair, and I already have one of these, so this one will make 1gig of RAM $49
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=427379&sku=C13-3904

POWER. 500w should be more than enough. And I like the look. Also has rebate if I ever remember to do it (which I wont). $59 (before rebate).
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=876412&sku=ULT31558

Ok, so thats what I'm thinking. The total after tax/shipping is $965.78 which will leave me some room to get another HDD (like a smaller 10k RPM to boot from. none I like on tigerdirect though)

Any compatability probs? any suggestions? comments?

My first build, and I haven't bought any of this yet... just what im planning on.

 

[Tumbleweed36]

Hi,

Looks like you are on the way to a decent rig for gaming. There are a couple of things that I would look at:

1) Check NewEgg.com and/or ZipZoomFly.com for price savings...and be sure the shipping price is calculated on what you buy.

2) I would not walk away from that power supply, but I would break out in a full run away from it. In my opinion, you need to be looking at either a 500 to 550 watt power supply for this unit that would be made by either Enermax or Antec, or you will certainly curse the day that you put in a lower quality power supply.

3) Third thing, don't bet that the memory will be a match for what you have. I would purchase the gig like you want as a UNIT, and then sell your old chip to someone on Ebay. In today's great computers, the matching chips are the only way to go....not matching numbers (which may work some times), but a SET of chips that are purchased from the same supplier as a matched pair that is guaranteed to work together.

Other than that, don't have too many other comments and this should be a nice unit.

 

[socal986]

thx tumbleweed,

The power supply there actually Is a 500w, are you saying its just not a good brand?

And the memory I have in my system now is actually the exact same as the one I have listed, same make/model/size, so shouldn't have any compatability issues there.

Ill go check out those sites now, thanks for the tip. still 3 things I need that I didnt see on tiger: HDD, Floppy, and optical drive. none of these i NEED to upgrade (so I may not get them right away), but I actually just want the colors of the floppy/opt drive to match the case. even though there's a door covering them. im anal like that. :laugh:

 

[Tumbleweed36]

thx tumbleweed,

The power supply there actually Is a 500w, are you saying its just not a good brand?

And the memory I have in my system now is actually the exact same as the one I have listed, same make/model/size, so shouldn't have any compatability issues there.

Ill go check out those sites now, thanks for the tip. still 3 things I need that I didnt see on tiger: HDD, Floppy, and optical drive. none of these i NEED to upgrade (so I may not get them right away), but I actually just want the colors of the floppy/opt drive to match the case. even though there's a door covering them. im anal like that. :laugh:

Hi again,

The power supply you have chosen is not a high quality supply. The mistake a lot of people make is that they see a power supply that says 500 watts and they think all power supplies that say 500 watts actually put out the same power and that is far from the truth.

An anology that I like is somewhat like a garden tractor (say a little simplicity Sovereign garden tractor that has an 18 HP motor that weighs about 800 pounds. They are a great little tractor and all that, but then here comes this New Holland or a John Deere Utility tractor (weighs about 3500 lbs) and it is listed as an 18 HP tractor. The Simplicity tractor will pull a hitch weight of about 400 pounds and the John Deere with the same listed HP will pull about 3000 pounds at hitch weight. Which would you want to do a big job? By the way, I have both those tractors, so know about that stuff.

The moral of this story, cheat someplace else (maybe even a cheaper video card), but never shortchange the power supply, that is the heart of your unit. The names of great, but reasonably priced (around 100 bucks) power supplies are ANTEC or ENERMAX....and if into gaming, don't settle for anythng else unless you have bigger bucks and want a PC Power and Cooling unit. I can tell you this, if you aren't willing to spend that kind of money on a power supply, you will probably regret it when your unit gets BSOD's reboots, random shutdowns, etc.

Unless you buy a set (set of 2) of memory, they might not work well together even if the same number. My recommendation would still be to do that and forget trying to match.

Also, you didn't talk drives so I didn't comment. You need to also consider that issue with a gaming machine.

Addendum: The two places I listed (IMO) have better prices, faster service, great return records, and a better stock than the one you listed. I can not say anything bad about your chosen supplier, but just feel the other two will save you more money and get you going qucker.

 

[socal986]

wow. the cpu was $20 cheaper on zipzoomfly and the mobo was $10 cheaper. with that extra $30 Ill have no problem getting a better PS. And I haven't even looked at the other components. Thanks for the info. A lot.

And thanks for that Great analogy about tractors! (it actually made sense to me) :smile:

 

[Tumbleweed36]

wow. the cpu was $20 cheaper on zipzoomfly and the mobo was $10 cheaper. with that extra $30 Ill have no problem getting a better PS. And I haven't even looked at the other components. Thanks for the info. A lot.

And thanks for that Great analogy about tractors! (it actually made sense to me) :smile:

Hi,

Another tip, some times you can find something on someplace and the shipping will say five bucks. Then, you go to zipzoomFly or Newegg and it also five bucks. Then look closely at the shipping method. For example, many of those on the two I mentioned are either express or FedEx 2nd day compared to Snail Mail on some of the other companies. All shipping is not created equal either.

Let me know If I can help further and I am sure you will get a lot of other personal opinions also from other techs.......and, if new at building, it is best that you get a wide range of comments before you jump in and buy something that won't work together or even buy from someone who won't let you return a faulty item. All of us who work at computers have different experiences and that is the strength of this forum.

Good Luck.