Trying to build my first computer myself, any help?

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I had already been thinking about getting one since the people who make processors don't always make (or give good versions of) fans. I had a laptop die once very sad day vowed never again (if I can help it) to allow my computers overheat. Gonna be about two weeks before I can get all the parts and start putting them together. Picked out my graphics I think it is a good one and if not then in a few years I'll change it lol. Ordered the antistatic strap and mat and some thermal compound. Also have the Case and the power supply coming, going to get OS next or everything all at once. Thanks everybody for the advice.

Speed-wise 4870 > 5770 > 4850.
The 4xxx only supports DX10.1 while the 5xxx supports DX11.

If you use the GPU for compute,
• 57xx has proper shared memory but has to emulate double precision
• 48xx has double precision but will slow to a crawl when shared memory is used
Generally, 57xx is faster in computer as double precision is not that important for programs that home users will likely use.

Personally, I'll get an after-market cooler, but only after I made sure everything is working with the stock one.

This is a nit, but hopefully your motherboard and case support front connections for USB and audio in/out.
It's a real pain to have to pull your case out every time you want to plug a USB stick or your headphones.

I have purchased a 16gb USB thumb drive for about $30 US at a local discount store.

Toshiba now has 30gb thumbs for about $70.

Hopefully your motherboard has WI-FI built in (B or N) as well as a jack for your CAT 5/6 broadband.

Above all, anything you get for your first computer project is a good place to start.

Have fun and enjoy putting it all together.

If you plan on servicing computers for others in the future, consider subscribing to the Microsoft Action Pack, the subscription costs $300 per year, but if you are going to be making enough money to pay for it it's worth it. You can learn more about it by going to the Microsoft Partner web site.

It doesn't have wifi built in but I don't like wifi for personal internet use and if I need it I'll grab a wifi connector. Looks like the mother board only has it on the back but I haven't bought the motherboard yet. I can change it but want it to be compatible with my current setup so nothing else has to change. Wondering how I can use the top usb's
Case
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 20Advanced

Mobo
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6813128438

boy that was stupid of me to over look.... Only looking to see if it was ATX compatible... I'm still new darn it...

Should fit fine but how will I connect to top HD and usbs? I'm very confused about that now...

My thoughts....

Case - Whatever floats your boat. So many decent choices out there. Note that you might want to buy extra case fans or replacements for what comes with your case. Better fans are quieter and hold up longer. Cheap cases usually come with cheap fans.

CPU - Not the latest or greatest, but most users never exceed what dual-core CPUs can do, so it looks good.

MB - Personally, I prefer brand names that stand for quality (e.g., Asus). I don't know the quality of Gigabyte, and I'd avoid an "open box" unit. Pay the little extra for the retail version so your product is warrantied.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6813131646 - Under $120.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6813131647 - Just over $100.

Food for thought. I didn't match stats line for line, but you can get a retail brand name for not much more.

RAM - A matter of taste. I had preferences in brand (Corsair is my preference), but if it has consistently high user reviews, I suppose any brand will do. DO Google "Memtest" and be sure to use it on every strip of RAM before you start loading software into the PC. Nothing worse than a transient bit error scrambling your data. Bad memory can sometimes pass a BIOS memtest at startup.

HDD - Seagate might be good. I prefer Western Digital. Again, if it has consistent good ratings, you may be happy. Tip, download a freeware HDD imaging program and get an external HDD. Restoring a crashed or infected HDD from image file is so much easier than reconstructing the hard way. Bare drives might save some money, but odds are you will get nothing with it (not even connection cables, but with a new MB, you might get what you need in that box). Keep in mind you won't even get mounting screws which might be an issue depending on what comes with your PC case.

Video - Nowadays, the cards are so ridiculously powerful that only state-of-the-art gaming will demand the latest and greatest.

DVD/CD - Do yourself a favor and pay for a DVD-RW unit. They aren't that much more expensive.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6827135204

Under $25, free shipping, ASUS, DVD-RW, Customer Choice Award

PSU - Maybe go with a more reputable brand. I love Asus and Antec. Stability on the 12v rail is critical, and a stable PSU makes better use of its rated wattage than a cheaper (but less stable) PSU which can fluctuate on the 12v rail once it hits 50% of it's rated capacity. You pay more, but once systems started getting more powerful, I found bargain PSUs not to be worth it. Why buy a 800w PSU to get 500w of reliable power when a quality 600w PSU will do the job AND save you power consumption in the long run?

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6817371030

Antec - 520w - $60

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6817371016

Antec - 550w - $60

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6817139004

Corsair - 550w - $85

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6817139001

Corsair - 520w - $100

Asus was good, but in recent years only the very top model of each product line has quality to match its reputation. Gigabyte is also known for quality. Unless you are picking Asus's premium models, I'll take Gigabyte every time.

And don't worry about the front USBs. The motherboard you chosen has 6 internal USB connectors. If your case has front USB, you connect the cables from your case to these internal connectors. See Fuzzy's post for details.

G.SKILL IMO is not a bad brand although it may not be as famous as Corsair. Unless you plan to play with overclocking, it should be fine.

As for harddisk, I also have more trust in Western Digital.

For PSU, my preference is Seasonic but its PSUs are expensive. Corsair and Antec both has good quality and value, with Corsair leaning more towards quality and Antec more towards value.

AMD socket uses a clip to secure the heatsink.
When installing the heatsink, first line it up with the socket, then hook the end of the clip with the lever to the lug on the retention frame. Next, push the other end of the clip down to secure to the other lug. Finally turn the lever to the installed position. Your CPU comes with a manual with illustrations, it should be clear when you get that in hand.
To remove the heatsink, just reverse the steps. It may be a little sticky and require a little more force than expected.

Before installing the new heat sink, you'll also want to clean the surface of the CPU. The ARCTIC COOLING cooler already has thermal paste applied. If you've bought the XIGMATEK cooler, you'll also need to apply some thermal paste.

The Asus DVD should be Win7 compatible on the hardware side. If it comes with any software, I can't say for sure if that is compatible with Win7, but the chance of problem is low.

Well four of my parts have been order 2 went to ###5 when my address is ###4 (my fault) and other two are as well but UPS man said he'd remember me and get them over to me and I changed my address on newegg to the real one it was last digit off so it didn't send him across town or anything just next door.... Oh and I got my OS $10 off b/c of a deal today pretty sweet since I was already going to order it