I am looking to build a computer for the first time. I have done some research and I think that I am pretty close to having every thing that I will need on my list of parts to buy. I would really appreciate any info, especially if any thing on this list will not work with the other components. Most of the parts will be bought at New Egg, but the processor I am planning to buy at Micro Center as they are having a very good sale on them right now. Any way, here is my build thus far: Case- 001BK Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - Retail - $74.99 HDD- Samsung Spinpoint F3EG HD203WI 2TB 5400 RPM SATA 3.0Gb s 3.5" Ineternal Hard Disk Drive- Bare Drive - $149.99 Monitor- Hanns-G HH-251HPB Black 24.6" 2ms HDMI Widescreen LCD Monitor - Retail $199.99 Power Supply- CORSAIR CMPSU-750TX 750W ATX12V / EPS12V SLI Ready CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS Certified Active PFC Compatible with Core i7 Power Supply $109.99 Memory- CORSAIR XMS3 12GB (6 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model HX3X12G1600C9 G $369.99 Motherboard- BIOSTAR T5 XE CFX-SLI LGA 1156 Intel P55 ATX Intel Motherboard $134.99 ProcessorIntel Core i7-930 Processor Boxed $199.99(Micro Center) Fan- COOLER MASTER Intel Core i7 compatible V8 RR-UV8-XBU1-GP 120mm Rifle CPU Cooler $59.99 Video Card- MSI R5770 Hawk Radeon HD 5770 1GB 128-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.1 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video Card Up to 20% overclocking w/ MSI Afterburner $159.99 Blu-Ray- LG Black 10X Blu-ray Burner - Bulk SATA Model WH10LS30 LightScribe Support - OEM $149.99 DVD- Samsung DVD Writer - Already Own. OS- Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit 1-Pack for System Builders - OEM $99.99 Total Build Cost - $1656.88 In regards to the motherboard, I also had/have the MSI P55-GD55 LGA 1156 Intel P55 ATX Intel Motherboard - $129.99 as an alternative. As for the processor, I was wondering if there were any difference between the model I have listed and the model for sale at New Egg - Intel Core i7-930 Bloomfield 2.8GHz LGA 1366 130W Quad-Core Desktop Processor Model BX80601930. By all comparisons, they look to be the same, but the Micro Center model says nothing about "Bloomfeild" (not even sure what it is or does, probably wouldn't need it any way), but the price difference is substantial enough for me to ask if I am missing something. Lastly, if all of the above works together and looks OK, am I missing any crucial component that I am not thinking of? wires, etc.. Any and all help will be greatly appreciated. Many thanks p.s. I already have a keyboard, mouse, printer
What will you be using the PC for? Consider LG W2353V-PF Black 23" 2ms for your screen as there have been some mixed reviews with the Hanns-G fading and producing a black screen. Have you considered a SSD? There quite expensive but is a with a i7 build such as yours its a crime not to have one if you can afford it. PSU is good (may be a little over the top, depends if you crossfire etc or want to have some spare power to future proof it). 12GB of RAM is also a hell of a lot, if you want to keep the costs down can you lower it to 8GB or 6GB triple channel, you prob wont even use that. That Biostar mobo WILL NOT fit that CPU, there different sockets. You can either change to a motherboard that supports LGA1366 socket or change to the i7-800 series that supports the LGA1156 socket. Its up to you and depends on what the pc will be used for. Personally I would switch socket to 1156. Also the Biostars boards are pretty low-end in my mind. You cant beat Gigabyte. If you change to 1156 socket consider a P55A-UD4P, its an excellent mid-range board that will pretty much do anything you ask it too. Alternatively, the P55's equal is the GA-EX58-UD4P, I wouldnt go under that with the X58 boards, if you are willing to pay the extra for a i7 you may as well go for the top of the line. If you want an i7 over a i5 thats fine but you wont notice much, if any improvment on a gaming rig. If you choose an i7 get the 930 like you suggested, but if you choose an i5 get the 860, anything over that jumps in price. The COOLER MASTER V8 is a physically heavy cooler, make sure you mount it correctly. There have been cases where that cooler has warped its own bracket and of course the mobo. Consider the lighter Cool Master Hyper 212+ or the Thermalright 120 Ultra (the best IMO), which does with one fan at 1.1k rpm what it takes the 212+ to do with two fans at almost 2k rpm. The 5770 is good, but weak for intensive games such as far cry & crysis, you wont be playing them at max settings on 1920 x 1080 res. If your going all out, or even if you are a gaming enthusiast you have to get at least a 5850. The rest looks good. It all depends on what you want out of the pc, these are only my suggestions. But its a place to start. *EDIT PS. You are getting confused between the two different CPU sockets that are available. The Bloomfield is the LGA1366 socket while the Lynnfield is the LGA1156 socket.
Case: 2/10 - sounds generic, and for that price, that's bad. Generic cases should not cost anywhere near that much. For the same money you can buy a decent case like an Antec Three Hundred Illusion. HDD: 3/10 - You don't want a 5400rpm drive as your only drive. They have huge storage capacity, but they're much too slow for loading windows and installing programs to. You should keep the 2TB but buy a proper drive, either an SSD like the X25-V or X25-M, or a fast drive like a WD Caviar Black, as your OS and Programs drive. Monitor: 3/10 - Hanns-G stuff is cheap. There's a reason for that. Do yourself a favour and buy one from a proper brand like Samsung, hp, Dell, NEC or LG. (and not Acer/Benq/Asus) PSU: 5/10 - A great PSU, but massive overkill for what you'll use. That PSU can capably run four of the graphics card you've chosen, and you're only using one. RAM: 10/10 - Ideal RAM for an i5 system. Motherboard: 8/10 (biostar), 8/10 (MSI) - both excellent boards, but limited to 8/10 due to I believe, the use of a Foxconn CPU socket which can be dangerous to use when overclocking. I'd recommend switching to a Gigabyte P55A-UD4 for safety reasons, above else. CPU: No, you can't use the i7 930 with Socket 1156, you need the i5 750. The i7 860 is also an option, but is less value for money. Cooler: 4/10 - Way too big, bulky and expensive for what it does. There are cheaper alternatives to this cooler's performance, or better coolers for the same size, such as the Noctua NH-U12P. GPU: 7/10 - A good card for low-end systems, but this is a high-end system. Are you sure you don't want to get something better than a midrange graphics card? If you play games, the graphics card is by far the most important factor for performance, not the CPU. Bluray drive: 10/10 LG make good stuff.
Thank you for all of your help. What I would ideally like this computer to do is be able to download, upload and convert all files effortlessly and quickly, be able to play games, stream movies and music throughout my house via media sharing and all at the same time, and be able to use functions such as Skype without a lag or interference. (from the computer anyway, when is google highspeed coming again?) I also want to be able to add and upgrade in the future without being constricted by outdated, insufficient hardware. This is the reason that only my DVD drive is making the switch. The reason that I have chosen the particular video card that I have is that I am not a huge PC gamer, but do like to be able to play a quality game once in a while. As was mentioned, its good but not great, and I am OK with that for right now. As for the MOBO I will definitely take your advice and go with the GIGABYTE GA-P55A-UD4P. I am also going to switch to the Noctua NH-U12P cooler due to concerns of breaking the mobo. Also, probably will switch the Antec 902. I know it is a little more expensive, but it looks like it will probably be better in the long run. (plus it looks really cool. As for monitor, I believe that I will probably go with the LG E2350V-SN Glossy Black 23" 5ms as the monitor recommended is currently out of stock with no sign of return. I am afraid that I will probably have to lose some RAM in order to make all of this happen, but from the sounds of it, I probably wont need it any way. Thank you again for your time, it is greatly appreciated.
4GB of RAM will be plenty for you, 8GB you will prob never use at all but go for what you want vs budget and changing to the 1156 socket will save some money for not that much of a real world improvment. Its a better decision, the i5 CPU's are a much better bang for your buck than the i7 and will handle everything you want plus more. Dont worry about the GPU. I'm getting the same and if things change, CF or sell the 5770 and get a 5850. Just out of curiosity what case did you originally pick? You didnt include the brand only a colour code. Are you sure the monitor is out of stock... Looks like there in now. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824005150&Tpk=E2350V-SN $280 LG E2350V-SN Glossy Black 23" 5ms -OR- SAMSUNG B2430H Glossy Black 24" 5ms http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824001388 240 One more inch for 40 bucks less.. You know what they say about size.. Good luck!
Hey, thanks again. The link that you sent me is for the monitor that I decided to switch to per your recommendations, but the original model that you sent me was LG W2353V-PF Black 23" 2ms. I am not really sure how much difference there is there, but just from looking at the response time, it looks like about a 3ms difference, not that I can ever see that being an issue. As for the case, it was a NZXT LEXA S LEXS - 001BK Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case. Again with the cost issue, as this case is about $60 cheaper than the one that I am planning to switch to, if you think that it will not be a problem, then I would probably prefer to stay with it. It seems that it should handle everything that I am planning to throw at it, but if you know better please let me know.
Heres a good read that may help the response time & what to look for when choosing a monitor. http://www.xbitlabs.com/articles/monitors/display/lcd-monitor-buyers-guide-spring2010_7.html#sect0 I haven't yet dealt with NZXT, but the build I'm about so start will be using that same case. The company gets good reviews as well as that case, its not what you would call 'top-end' but it has a lot top-tier features for a resonable price, and it looks pretty good. Theres a good review of it here. http://benchmarkreviews.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=411&Itemid=61 It seems there not the best for cable managment but I've seen some good examples of it, cant find them at the moment (get some cable sleeving to help out, can get them in UV if you wish http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...&cm_re=cable_sleeving-_-99-998-040-_-Product) A case is about the only thing I don't like to recommend, theres too many variables and designs out there and we all like different things. I can only comment on what I like so I'll leave it up to you. The main points are to look for compatibility, construction quality, airflow/cooling and a good mounting scheme.
The Antec 902 is really expensive for what it is, and is only a remodel of a previous very flawed case. A better option is the NZXT Tempest Evo, a better version of the same design.
I really appreciate all of the advice that you all have given me for my build. After reviewing the NZXT Tempest Evo, I believe that it is probably the best case for me at this time as it has all of the features that I am looking for as well as a price that is very reasonable. I will let you know if I decide to change anything before I buy it. Thanks again for all of your help.
No problem. I've used a number of NZXT cases and have always considered their design relatively good, though far from perfect, for the price they're about the best you'll find. Only problem is most cases are personal taste as to whether you like their looks or not.
