The (new) Official PC building thread!

My FS10 box says this as part of the system requirements:

At poorlad,
Ditto what Mort says...
Did you notice you are listing two psus? The case you listed has a 430 Watt PSU in it.
An IDE DVD-ROM? Get a SATA DVD burner instead. This Samsung is excellent:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827151153
That way you can burn DVDs if you want to.

Opinion:
Get an E6850. Use that 1333FSB on that Abit board. Very few programs even use four cores. Do you know which programs use all four? If not then why the quad. I do video work with my quad core and only a couple of Nero programs will use 4 cores. I get most of my stuff from Newegg but for processors I go to www.mwave.com and save a few dollars and get faster shipping.

I'd get the Antec Sonata III case with the 500Watt Earthwatts PSU, only because I like the way they go together and the quality. The one you picked is fine though and probably cooler than the Sonata.
BTW the Cooler Master case without the PSU is this one:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119106

 

@PoorLad
Go with the PC Power & Cooling P/S that Mort recommended...By far the best P/S of the Bunch...$123 Free Shipping...

Here is a better buy on Memory...
Crucial Technology Ballistix BL2KIT6464AA804 1GB Kit DDR2-800 PC2-6400 Memory Retail
$69.95 with ***Free Shipping***
With $25 Rebate $44.95
Voltage: 2.2V
Memory Timings: 4-4-4-12
http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/ProductDetail.jsp?ProductCode=80061-3

Recommended Cases
Enermax ECA3052-B Chakra Mid Tower Case (Black) Retail
$69.99 ***Free Shipping***
Favorite Case for Cooling and Noise...Like the Stealth Drive Bays...
http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/ProductDetail.jsp?ProductCode=270413

Or this:
COOLER MASTER Mystique RC-632S-KKN1-GP Black Aluminum/ SECC ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - Retail
$79.99 ***Free 3 Business Day Shipping***
$59.99 after $20.00 Mail-In Rebate
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119129

Code:

[b]I saw that you picked the 8800GTS...
I do not think it will fit in the case you chose...
I know the Enermax Chakra will hold the 8800GTS 640MB...
I am not sure about the Mystique...
I would highly recommend the 640MB version over the 320MB card...Most current games the 320MB is Fine...However in the future you will want the extra memory...Well worth the extra Cash...[/b]

 

Any Opinions on this Brd & Processor...That can make me feel better or worse
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...ption=ASUS+CROSSHAIR+AM2+nForce+590&x=20&y=34
ASUS CROSSHAIR AM2 NVIDIA nForce 590 SLI MCP ATX AMD Motherboard
AMD Athlon 64x2 Dual-Core Processor 6000+ AM2 Socket

 

You can do better for the Cash...the Striker is expensive for the Performance...
I would Go with a Gigabyte M/B or a EVGA...if you want SLI...and an Intel Processor...

 

For anyone considering a budget build,here's a couple of new cpu options from AMD. HERE

Regards,Crowy.

 

I'm almost ashamed to even ask this as I should know. I need a ups for my pc, monitor, etc. How do I know what size to get? there's no amp rating on the back of my pc since it was built by me. all my system specs are in my sig. is a 335 - 350 watt ups big enough? tia.

 

Most UPSs are measured in VA, which isn't quite the same thing as Watts as I understand, I think you should get a 500VA UPS to be on the safe side, certainly if you want to run your monitor off it as well!

 

I don't really need to do a new build, but more of a rebuild for a friend. He had a PC built about 2 years ago I think, and started playing World of Warcraft about a year ago. No offense to his PC, but it's not a computer that I would want to play games on. I don't know the exact specs of it, but roughly it is a, P4 at 3.0 GHz (overclocked), 1 gig of ram, integrated graphics by ATI, a 120 gig SATA HDD, Asus motherboard, and what looked like a really cheap PSU.

Recently it started randomly shutting down, I looked at it and put SpeedFan on it, and it was running at 61 C idle, 75 C on a full load. I told him that was way too hot and the cheapest thing I could do was buy some air duster and get rid of the dust.

The PSU was covered in dust so I started to dust it out first when I noticed liquid coming out of the air duster can. Although this pissed me off that a product designed for that use would do that, I didn't hurt anything. We took the heatsink off and dusted it out really good, it was caped in dust.

After removing nearly all the dust, we booted back up and he played World of Warcraft for about an hour, and I don't think it got above 42 C.

Here is where the rebuilding part comes in. After doing all of this matence, he decided that he wanted to upgrade some things on his computer. For one thing, his PC is louder than an Xbox 360 with an intercooler (if you know what that sounds like). So he said he wanted to do something about that. After running it with the side of the case off and listening I decided it wasn't the CPU fan, but the PSU fan. Then I notice that he is lagging really bad while playing World of Warcraft, and he asked me what he could do about that. I told him that his processor should be fast enough, and he should have enough ram to play it perfectly, but that he would need a better GPU. I had an old 7300 LE that I told him he could have, and that I thought it should atleast run World of Warcraft decently. I put that card in, and the computer wouldn't give me anything but a black screen through either of the VGA ports, and I enabled PCI-E and onboard video. When I took the card out, intergrated worked again. I told him I thought that the PSU might not have enough power to power up that GPU.

He told me to find a good PSU from newegg and he would buy it. I recommended this one to him, I don't know much at all about PSUs, but I figured 500 Watts would be enough, and I had heard that Thermaltake was good, so I recommended this.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817153052

Overall I guess I could have skipped all of the above, but it gives you some background information. But my final question is, how well will his computer run World of Warcraft with a 3.0 GHz P4, 1 gig of ram, 7300 LE GPU, and 120 gig SATA HDD? If it won't run that great, what can you do to make it run better.

By the way, I recommended the 7600 GT to him, but I didn't know if he would even need a card that good for World of Warcraft, so I thought the 7300 LE might do it.

If you took the time to read all of this, thank you very much.

 

awesome, after looking all of it over, the mwave place was like 9 bucks cheaper... if I ordered all this through newegg at the same time, would it be shipped in one box, or at the same time in seperate packages?

as for quad core... Im going to be using autodesk products alot, especially the 3d modeling programs inventor and revit... not sure if they support that or not, will have to look into it. as for overclocking, not entirely sure if I want to, if what I have is fast enough at the time.

in any case, how much wattage should I get for the psu? (wasnt sure which was better, didnt notice they came w/o)
and for ram, which brand is best? I was wanting to go for an upgrade later on... so possibly one 2gig stick or is there some reason for that to not be such a great idea?

about the case, is there something that I need to look into that will make sure everything fits?

answers always appreciated.

 

@poorlad
The PC Power & Cooling that Mort recommended is the Best P/S Listed...Do not waste your time looking at the others...they are not as good on any spec...Now if you want something better...upgrade to the PC Power & Cooling Quad 750...
http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/ProductDetail.jsp?ProductCode=10005613...

Newegg...Packages will usually be separate...

Memory...You need (2) sticks to Run in Dual Channel Mode...There is No Best...The Consistent Good Brands are...Corsair...Crucial...OCZ...G Skill...and a few others...

 

Mort81,

Not sure a 500VA UPS will work for you. I have a similar system as you, E6600, 2 gigs memory, 2 burners, 4 HDD, and a low wattage GPU card, and a 600 watt PSU. Anyway, my 700VA UPS went north on me the other month and I replaced it with my wife's 500VA (I have 2, but the other one was not charged), which she uses on her laptop, and all it did was beep constantly and not power up my desktop and monitor, so I assumed it had not enough wattage to power up.

Anyway, bought a 900VA just to be on the save side, and all is well again.

 

Spenman91: I know all about what a 360 sounds like without an intercooler, let alone with one. I won't go into it much here, but suffice to say they're a complete con, and if you've got one, get rid of it before it damages your 360, they make the cooling far worse, not better. Think about the science of how they're supposed to work.
The Thermaltake 500W PSU is good, that'll serve you well, you don't need a top-end PSU to run that sort of gear.
World of Warcraft isn't the most demanding of games because of its age, a 7300LE would probably suffice. You made the right decisions all round.

Poorlad: A good cover-all PSU is a Corsair HX 520W or an OCZ StealthXstream 600W unit. There are a few good brands of RAM, Corsair, G-Skill, Patriot, Crucial, pick something that's PC6400 CAS4 from any of those brands and you should be alright.

Lp: I hardly think you should be making people shell out on unnecessary PSUs. Granted, the PSU is the most important component in a system, but there are more good power supplies out there than just those made by PC P&C, they're not exactly cheap either.

Neverhap: 900VA is probably what I'd recommend in truth, a 500VA UPS can run this PC:
X2 4200+ SKT939 (Water cooled)
2x512MB PC3200 CAS2
X1900XT-X
DFI Nforce 4 Ultra D

but with that PC and a 24" monitor, It will shut everything down.

 

You know what's FUNNY is the Corsair unit you reference is the same price as the PC Power & Cooling 610W unit Lp links to. The OCZ unit is only $20 cheaper before savings so I don't think that Lp is out of line at all sam. I do agree there are GOOD psu's out there besides the PC Power & Cooling units but I REALLY like the premise behind them and the QUALITY they have and the customer satisfaction is extremely high as well. jm2c....

....gm

 

Fair enough, the Corsair and OCZ units are cheaper over here in the UK.
Besides, nobody who I know that has a Corsair PSU (that is a few people) isn't satisfied, and they're much quieter than the PCP&C Silencer units, which I obviously like!

 

OCD mean anything to you buddy!!

I think the 2 PSU's you mentioned are great btw, BUT in all fairness to Lp in particular they are similar in price and customer satisfaction. That was the only point I had sam. We can go round and round all day but the 3 psu's we're talking about are GOOD without question.

...gm

 

@poorlad,

I've gotten quite a few orders from Newegg and they always put the CPU, Video Card, RAM, Motherboard, CPU cooler, HDD, Optical Drives etc in one box and the case will come in it's own. They will let you know if something will be delayed. The exception to this is if something comes from a different warehouse than the main one in CA. They have one in Louisville, KY as well.

This is a PC I assembled for my sister-in-law's small business:

The case box was a bit beat up but the case was fine.


All the parts:

 

Just thought I would add a little bit about the Intercooler. It actually uses the power going to your xbox to power itself, so all the parts in your xbox don't get enough power. This ends up messing up your parts.

 

Hadn't thought about that one, but I imagine there's a bit of overhead on the power brick just in case, so I doubt it causes many issues.

 

@sammorris

The P/S were all in the same price range...In fact it was cheaper then some...The PC Power & Cooling P/S will mop the floor with the other P/S listed...All the others were multi rail units which are inferior to a single rail P/S...I do not care if a P/S has Modular cables or Led lights...Those are all marketing gimmicks...that do nothing for performance...

The PC Power & Cooling P/S is all about performance... they are not noisy as you have inferred...I do not know where you came by that information...Because it is absolutely wrong...

Poorlad is looking at a Quad core with (2) 8950GTX's which at this point are unknown entities...the 8950's power consumption is unknown...however it is safe to assume they will be equal or more then 8800GTX's...which would make the 750 Quad(4 PCI-E connectors) the only P/S of the bunch that would meet his needs...

My feeling are Once you break the $100 range on a P/S...you should look at a PC Power & Cooling P/S...If you can afford the extra cash...As you said...

so why would you feel that I am misleading poorlad...You have to admit the PC Power & Cooling P/S is superior in every single spec listed on the P/S...Plus they have a better reputation then any of the other P/S manufactures that were listed...Its always Cheaper to Buy Once vs Buying Twice..

 

I have nothing against PC Power & cooling, but I know the Corsair and OCZ are proven units for reliability. Granted, the single rail system is superior to multi-rail, but if the Corsair 620W can run two 8800GTXs with a quad core CPU, I don't see why modular units are such a problem, provided they're well made.
I forget where I read the info on the 610w being above the noise level of the Corsair unit, I was certain I read it at SPCR, but can't find the link.