Trying to build my first computer myself, any help?

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Ok here it goes.... These links are to the parts that I'm thinking about using to build myself my first PC (never done it before always wanted and planned too) But since I am very inexperienced and their is so much information I'm concerned that I may have chosen some things incorrectly or they won't work properly with another part because they don't fit or have proper power supplied to them. This is really just a starter I don't want to deck it all out at once just want a good base that I can upgrade over time and built myself also I intend to scavenge parts that I can if I so chose. Anyone who thinks they can help I would really appreciate it

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6817148008 -PSU

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6811156063 -Case

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6819103687 -Processor

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 813128438R -Motherboard

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6820231275 -Some Memory

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6822148395 -Hard Drive

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6814102870 -Video Card

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6827131061 -CD/DVD reader

Think the parts will work ok together as they are all from the same suplier they can confirm that. Make sure you have an anti-static strap when you assemble it especially when handling the motherboard and memory,
Might be an idea to get a burner rather than a DVD ROM as they are not much dearer nowadays.

Have fun

Looks like it'll work together from a quick glance over. As iceb says, making sure you're earthed is important. When you pick up a stick of memory, hold it by the ends only - don't touch the chips on the sides of it, also don't touch the pins on the CPU. Also be sure that the CPU is properly bonded to its heatsink (if it comes already connected that's good, otherwise you need to join it up with gunk.) You should not need to apply great force to any component at any point (though having said that, fans can be a b***h to put on sometimes - but hopefully not.)

About the earthing - it's not a case of "if you don't earth yourself and touch the component, the component will fail", it's more a case of "if you don't earth yourself and touch the component, there's a small chance that it will fail, and if it does fail, it costs a lot to replace."

Yeah the grounded thing in all the things I've read have been very specific about how to do it. I'll get the anti static wristband I have that on amazon ready to order. I'm really excited because the things I chose as a base don't cost me a $1000 dollars just the part even out below $600 I'm just worried they won't all mesh properly.

As for the burner I don't ever burn discs never have but if I do I have bays to make the expansions, it is really looking fun and I've taken a few apart and put them together again (broken beyond repair and thrown away) hoping to find some 2gb memory stick never did though....

I do want to know this though do I have to buy any networking cards or anything for internet? Thx for quick reply in a month or two (after reading my computer books and saving enough) I'll make the necessary purchases along with a table as I don't have one big enough.

Oh do I need to know anything about installing an OS? If I have to do that I can easily pick one up and install it just haven't been able to confirm that either way.

Sometimes cards can be a pain in the ass to push in (yes I know that you shouldnt put a card in an incompatible slot, I am talking about when slots are just a bit too snug.) My trick for that is to 'rock' it into the slot, don't put a lot of pressure on them either.

As for anti-static wristbands/mats, they are not a necessary as one might think. As long as you discharge yourself on a grounded object before handling parts AS WELL as handling/holding the parts correctly, you should be fine. As a rule, dont touch the contacts and chips on the boards. hold them by the edges if at all possible.

Most CPUs come with a thermal compound already applied BUT i still recommend you get a tube of it (the site should have some for order). Make sure to spread it evenly on the areas where the base of the heatsink will contact the CPU.

make sure to put the little risers into your case as well as using those "contact washers" as I call them, before mounting your motherboard. These are needed to help prevent shorting out the MoBo on the case.

MAKE SURE TO READ YOU MOTHERBOARD MANUAL BEFORE HOOKING UP THE FRONT PANEL AND POWER SUPPLY CONNECTORS. You want to make sure these are hooked up right or you WILL cause damage.

Some pointers:

* For better, overall performance, get some faster memory (DDR3 goes up to 2000Mhz) and more of it. if you can afford and fit 12 GB on your mobo - you wont regret it.

* A 2TB disk isn't that expensive. Even if you do not torrent stuff, installing a few games/apps, setting up virtual machines and downloading a few Linux distros will eat that 500 GB drive in notime.

* You could also get a Blue Ray combo reader/other writer (Read BR, Write DVD/CD) now, but i suspect they will drop in price in a while.

* The chassi looks good, but it probably isn't. If i were you i'd get a "Boeing 747" chassi, i.e. something that force in air to cool the system down. Something like this:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6811103011
I have a similar chassi, with one large fan on the side, and it keeps the airflow optimal and the system cool and stable.

* The GPU, when it comes under load, could probably cause some problems by eating all the energy from the PSU. I'd get a 700W one, with modular slots so you can configure it as you want. (I remember my first PC, it had a whooping 145W PSU... WTF happened??!?!?)

* If you're going for games, go 64 bit Windows 7. Don't bother with 32 bit, most of my games run fine on 7/64. Same goes for all 32 bit Linux stuff.

* Cooling paste is important. Get a silver-ish type. It can lower the overall CPU temperature by up to 10'C, and by extension, prolong your system life. On the other hand, given the rate that home builders update their system, you will probably replace it before it breaks...

And i cannot stress the importance of ESD safety enough - like the previous posters have pointed out: get a wrist armband that you attach to the ground and keep yourself grounded at all times. Such an armband probably cost something like $3-5 in the US, and that's a cheap insurance to not break your stuff.

Good luck!

You can get onto the internet through a USB 3G connector. At least if you live in a somewhat populated area.




Installing an operating system, regardless of what OS it is, is basically this: Enter, enter, enter, enter, enter, enter, enter, enter, enter, enter, enter, enter, enter, choose display settings, choose password, enter, enter, enter, enter, enter, enter. Done.

I was thinking more with my CAT5 network cord for simplicity if and if I want more I can add it later.

Yeah I didn't think the OS would be hard just needed to confirm I needed one and yeah I was going to get a 64bit as the one I have is 32 and I'm forced to downplay a bunch of addons I bought later.

What really has my worried is connections and the thermal compound I'm worried I'll put it on wrong too little/too much and spend more money :/
I decided that the case which was pointed out to me is better and I'll be getting that one along with this new PSU

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6817371026 -PSU

And I'm only going to get 1 pair of 2 gig memory sticks because they cost alot and it would take me a while long when what I have will let me use computer while I wait.
It can handle 4 sticks and 16 gigs in all so there is room to improve if I choose. Thx everybody.

Considering the performance of the rest of his computer he really doesn't need 12GB of RAM, 4GB is well enough, hard drive is easy to upgrade over time, for performance I would actually suggest multiple smaller hard drive and set them up in RAID 0 if he doesn't do anything on his computer where conservation of data happen to be critical since RAID 0 while increasing performance is more prone to failure to data lost, through not to the point it cause trouble in a regular usage.

Second he doesn't need a 700W PSU with the hardware he got, what he got is plenty enough even if under full load, but I will admit a better PSU would be a good idea if he intend to upgrade and add stuff at later time.

For his RAM he cannot go much faster then 1333 ram has it is max non-OC on his motherboard and he already took a ram with better Latency then the usual one. He could go with 1866 ram but limit him to only use 2 of his 4 ram slot.

For cooling I would suggest to get a custom CPU heatsink/fan but that not really required if he doesn't intend to overclock, but if he does indeed plan to overclock it is a must I agree to get new heatsink/fan for the CPU with a decent thermal paste, especially if he lucky enough to have a CPU with unlockable stable core.



Question for the OP:

What is your intended use for the computer ? Just asking to get a better idea on hardware suggestion I could give.

Well I usually use my computer to browse the internet and play some high end graphic video games. I plan in the long run to use it for online gaming and playing dvds/music on it. I just want to build them and learn how mostly.

Edit: I do have another question though, would it be okay to buy the parts a few at a time or should I just order them all at once?

Last edited by KingofKaboom on 17 Sep 2010, 7:12 pm, edited 1 time in total.

If you plan on gaming then I would suggest to look for a better video card, the model you got is more suited for video editing.

If you wanna stick with the ATI 5000 series it would suggest to at least get a 5770.

Could not find anything at the same exact price but for a bit more I think these model would be better suited for gaming since of better pixel fillrate.

Nvidia 9800 GT or GTX+
Nvidia GTS 250
ATI HD 4850 EDIT: made a mistake earlier and wrote Nvidia instead of ATI sorry. =p

P.S. The 9800 GT model benchmark lower then your current card choice but still think it is better for gaming since of the fillrate and the 256bit memory bandwidth.

And after rechecking video card stat I would say a 5750 could also be good for gaming but the price different between it and the 5770 is so low that I don't think it is worth it.

Last edited by iniudan on 17 Sep 2010, 8:30 pm, edited 3 times in total.

4 G works but i have that in my old (emphasis on OLD) games box which runs games adequate. Sure he can get the memory sticks later on, but i have discovered that even "identical" memory sticks from the same manufacturer isn't quite as identical as you'd think. Then you end up throwing away the sticks and getting new ones. But it is his wallet.




Well, why not then just get a PCI-E Revodrive? It beats the s**t out of a regular SSD drive, also 7200 RPM SATA drives, 15000 RPM SCSI drives, 10K Velociraptor's, and SAS drives (etc).




Yes he do. Have you built a system lately? Some new graphics cards refuse to work with less than 450W (which it needs under a heavy workload) and with 50W to spare, that doesn't leave much for the CPU and other components that could be fitted. Add a few mechanical devices and cooling and you're way past the 500W.




Faster > more memory = Better gaming experience. Or he could get a slightly better mobo as well.




Prolonged life-expectancy of the system isn't "required"? Stability isn't "required"? There are more factors to deal with that OC.

I would like to say that my funds are limited as I'm a college student and work part time...

I know it is not identical, but you making suggestion for high end system, would say the guy on a budget from what he said until now, but I think since he now answered it is for gaming I would say a set of 4x2GB would be a good idea if he want to have 8GB at the best price, but still think 2x2GB is plenty for what currently available on the market, and it still leave him room for an other set at later date even if not has good has a real 3x/4x set.



With hardware he posted it is plenty enough, through since he said it was for gaming in answer he gave earlier, I admit something better then the 520W he posted is needed since he will need a better video card then what he posted for gaming.



Yes but he seem to be on a budget, not really gonna suggest him to get a 890 mobo.



Yes but he doesn't have a high power CPU (it is only 65W) it will not run at high temperature if he doesn't overclock. If it was a 125W I would tell to get better cooling right away.

Guessed that you were limited budget thus why I am a bit against Ichinin suggestion, even through they are good for someone who would not have limited budget.


EDIT:

For the case I admit my choice would be Cooler Master 890 Advanced II, which is 10buck more then what you posted if we don't consider the special.

Video review of it:
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ed4RC6r2NTk&feature=player_embedded[/youtube]


But my real case of choice is Cooler Master ATSC 840, but I think that out of your budget.

Video review of it:
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r8_1cQkYTO4&feature=player_embedded#![/youtube]