Need advice from an expert computer builder!

ChrisAdan650 · Oct 28, 2004, 06:12 PM

I plan on building my first pc and was wondering if some computer building experts could give me some advice. I'm getting all my parts from www.newegg.com. Here's a list of the parts and I'll provide a link next to them.
CPU=http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProduc...103-426&depa=0
MoBo=http://www.newegg.com/app/viewProduc...130-449&depa=0
ATX Case=http://www.newegg.com/app/viewproduc...156-135&DEPA=1

I will also have 2 hard drives which consists of 1 80 gig 7200rpm/8mb cache and an WD 80 gig/7200rpm SATA. I also plan on using my 8x AGP ATI Radeon 9600xt along with 2 identical sticks of 512 mb Corsair 2.5 Cas Latency pc3200 DDR ram. With the above listed components, what other parts will I need in order to build my first pc? Cables, screws, hard drive mounts? Does the cpu's stock heatsink/fan come with a thermal pad or will I need to buy some Thermal paste? Does the ATX case already come with the correct screws and hard drive mounts for my hard drives and cd/DVD drives? Will that particular motherboard be compatible with the ATX case listed? In short, I need a list of the cables,screws, mounts that are NOT already included in the motherboard/case packages. Thanks in advance.

Lowfat · Oct 28, 2004, 06:42 PM

Case should come with screws. motherboard should come with all the nessesary cables, cpu's fan comes with a thermal pad.

HawgsHead · Oct 28, 2004, 07:21 PM

I will tell you this much Chris,I just got through building my 1st rig and THIS IS the place to be!I couldnt have done it w/o these guys here....And I couldnt get youre links to NewEgg to work.Thats where I got all my goodies and I dont think there's a better company anywhere.I had everything I ordered within a week.Listen to these guys and give them a little time.It may be 8 oclock in the morning where you are and 1 of them may be sleeping in the middle of the nite where they are.Everything I ordered came with ALL the hardware,cables and everything I needed for the build.......Good Luck!!!

ChrisAdan650 · Oct 29, 2004, 12:14 AM

Thanks for the replies! Great info you two gave me. I have some more questions though. The case comes with front usb/firewall/speaker connections. How would I go about connecting those to the mobo? Also, do the motherboards usually come along with all the needed cables or for example just 1 ide cable even though it supports 4 ide devices? Thanks again.

pr0digal jenius · Oct 29, 2004, 01:14 AM

the motherboard should come with 2 IDE cables, which will do 4 devices, and i'm assumign you mean 'firewire' not ;firewall' connector ont he front

those have plugs that plug straght into your motherboard...it's fairly simple so logn as your motherboard has a well written manual

~~HawK~~ · Oct 29, 2004, 02:34 AM

Would *if I were you* change the mobo brand, in my experience I never had a good computer part from them so i'd stay away from MSI
One thing though this socket 754 is a dead end, wich could give an future upgrade problem,
and so does the AGP port, just a thing you might wanne think over again...
further when building a computer; use a antistatic wrist-band, really!!

make sure you always have the connections/cables right, check and check again,
read thoroughly the Mobo manual!!,
And when in doubt ask in here again

eggs420 · Oct 29, 2004, 02:46 AM

He wants to use his AGP card still though and not upgrade that now..

eggs420 · Oct 29, 2004, 02:55 AM

http://www.tigerdirect.com/applicati...RCCODE=WEM777C

That looks nice.....

CDsDontBurn · Oct 29, 2004, 03:26 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by HawK

Would *if I were you* change the mobo brand, in my experience I never had a good computer part from them so i'd stay away from MSI
One thing though this socket 754 is a dead end, wich could give an future upgrade problem,
and so does the AGP port, just a thing you might wanne think over again...
further when building a computer; use a antistatic wrist-band, really!!

make sure you always have the connections/cables right, check and check again,
read thoroughly the Mobo manual!!,
And when in doubt ask in here again

MSI makes good stuff, you shouldn't make other people discouraged w/one or two bad experiences you've had. I've had several MSI boards, and they've all worked out great.

754 has some future in it left, but not too much. If you're going to go Athlon 64 get a socket 939 Athlon 64, preferable the 90 nanometer core if possible.

For AGP, you're fine if you're going to be getting yourself an ATI x800 series, or nVidia 6800 series graphics card. PCI-E doen't have too much of a performance increase in real time environments over AGP as it is right now. If you want to go PCI-E, wait until around March~May to get all the best stuff in PCI-E flavor.

Anti-Static wrist bands. HA! lol. jk. use it if you want, but i never have. Nothing ever happens so long as you touch your case before you grab any component. Even that is a bit over rated a little bit.

Yea, read the manual for any questions, it pretty much tells you what to do, especially when you gotta plug in those USB, Firewire, Power/Reset switches in the front of the PC. Those can be a pain to install sometimes.

~~HawK~~ · Oct 29, 2004, 04:56 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by CDsDontBurn

MSI makes good stuff, you shouldn't make other people discouraged w/one or two bad experiences you've had. I've had several MSI boards, and they've all worked out great.

Well I don't see any MSI in your Sig.....but for a few bucks more why not get a mobo from Abit or Gigabyte.

Quote:

Anti-Static wrist bands. HA! lol. jk. use it if you want, but i never have. Nothing ever happens so long as you touch your case before you grab any component. Even that is a bit over rated a little bit.

Oh yes good advice you give to a newbie in computer building, because you know what to do everyone does??,
maybe he's going to build it on a nylon carpet how would you know, ever seen the damage that static can do, I have; 1mobo a cpu & 512mb memory tingled to an early grave, and he doesn't know yet what to avoid,
so keep your "Iknoweverything" to yourself if you can't see the consequences

ChrisAdan650 · Oct 29, 2004, 06:57 AM

Thanks for all of your replies again! I am extremely careful when handling my computer components. I always lay them on top of newspaper and I touch the inside part of the ATX case at least 3 times before handling them. I've installed hard drives, cd/dvd drives, memory, video cards, and pci based devices but I have not fully built a custom pc. I was wondering, should I purchase this mobo, http://www.newegg.com/app/viewProduc...157-035&depa=1 since it supports both 754 and 939 socket cpu's? I really want to buy the AMD Athlon 64 3400+ with the 1 mb cache over a 939 based cpu with only an 512 L2 cache. I plan on staying with agp for 2 more years so I don't mind having my mobo not being pci-express based. Tell me what you guys think of this idea. Thanks in advance.

pr0digal jenius · Oct 29, 2004, 11:16 AM

on the note of static, don't assemble yer machine in socks either

drakesteakn · Oct 29, 2004, 11:41 AM

my MSI is great. rock solid K8T neo FSR. i run at 230 fsb with a 1:1 ratio. cant do that with most 754 mobos, not without changing the ratio. this a64 MSI boards are good quality.

Vampyromaniac · Oct 29, 2004, 12:52 PM

Fixed your links in 1st post

The A64 heatsink comes with thermal paste already applied.
And I wouldn't get that 2-socket board, since it uses a low-end chipset.

swimtech · Oct 29, 2004, 01:32 PM

I wouldn't get the combo socket board (ASRock) - the MSI is a better choice.

Having chosen to go with a 754 socket board to hold the 1Mb Clawhammer AMD64 3400+ is a good choice, the only downside being lack of future upgradability.

Spread out on a large flat table, get good lighting, keep a flashlight handy, and be especially careful when inserting the motherboard into the case on the standoffs so as not to scratch the bottom of the mainboard when installing it. The other touchy procedure is attaching the heatsink (with whatever thermal coupling - pad or grease) to the processor. Follow the instructions that come with your retail processor carefully.

The rest you already know about...

Your choices should run any software (game or otherwise) you can possibly buy (with a good video card and a Gig - ideally - of good ram) for years to come.

OldBuzzard · Oct 29, 2004, 05:09 PM

I'm with Hawk on this one. For just a couple of $$ more you can get the Abit KV8-Pro, which is just about as good a 754 board as you can get.

Abit has a very good reputation, and I liked the 'extras' that I got with my MAX3: Rounded IDE & Floppy cables, SATA cable, etc, etc.

I don't see a DH review of the KV8 Pro but there is one at HardOCP: http://www.hardocp.com/article.html?art=NjQ3

All above is just MHO, and I know that there others that would disagree.

CDsDontBurn · Oct 29, 2004, 05:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by HawK

Well I don't see any MSI in your Sig.....but for a few bucks more why not get a mobo from Abit or Gigabyte.

Oh yes good advice you give to a newbie in computer building, because you know what to do everyone does??,
maybe he's going to build it on a nylon carpet how would you know, ever seen the damage that static can do, I have; 1mobo a cpu & 512mb memory tingled to an early grave, and he doesn't know yet what to avoid,
so keep your "Iknoweverything" to yourself if you can't see the consequences

I've had several MSI boards in the past, and each one served me well. Now my sister has my old MSI kt333 board, my gf has my old MSI kt4 ultra, and i'm building my friend a system using an MSI km3m-v.

I do agree if you spend a little bit more, you get a better performing board, but if you just need something that works great for what you do, and don't plan on doing any overclocking, then and MSI board will suit the user just fine.

And i do know the consequences of not properly grounding myself, i burn up all my pretty shiny expensive toys

.

BTW......about your "'Iknoweverything'" statement, I don't know everything; i jst say what i know, not what i don't know.

~~HawK~~ · Oct 30, 2004, 02:22 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pacman

BTW......about your "'Iknoweverything'" statement, I don't know everything; i jst say what i know, not what i don't know.

Oh look he's offended tss, well by ridiculing a good advise you'd need to be flamed, this is not the off-topic where you can blabber you hearts delight, people here asking serious questions, and want serious answers!!

Every day this whole DH-forum starting to look more & more like a kindergarten to me and i'm not the only one it seems....

CDsDontBurn · Oct 30, 2004, 02:53 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by HawK

Oh look he's offended tss, well by ridiculing a good advise you'd need to be flamed, this is not the off-topic where you can blabber you hearts delight, people here asking serious questions, and want serious answers!!

Every day this whole DH-forum starting to look more & more like a kindergarten to me and i'm not the only one it seems....

I don't mean to offend anybody, like you said, he wanted advice, and i gave the guy my two cents. But your earlier statement of you not liking MSI MoBos just caught my eye and i decided to quote you.

~~HawK~~ · Oct 31, 2004, 08:47 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by CDsDontBurn

I don't mean to offend anybody, like you said, he wanted advice, and i gave the guy my two cents. But your earlier statement of you not liking MSI MoBos just caught my eye and i decided to quote you.

Well since we prob. scared the guy away already...
Giving me a chance to mutter on..:
No wasent talking about MSI, I don't like them, You do? that's ok if you like them fine by me, anyone is entitled to have his opinion.
This is what made me jump:

Quote:

Originally Posted by pacman

Anti-Static wrist bands. HA! lol. jk. use it if you want, but i never have. Nothing ever happens so long as you touch your case before you grab any component. Even that is a bit over rated a little bit.

touch the case to get rid of the static? if one is building a computer then there should be no powercord attached right? so where does the static go?
Unloading it self to the new Mobo you insert? or back to you?
Beliefe me.. static can ruin alot!! if you dont beliefe me.. do a memory change with you bare hands on a warm day and a thunderstorm hanging in the air..

CDsDontBurn · Oct 31, 2004, 01:02 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by HawK

Unloading it self to the new Mobo you insert? or back to you?Beliefe me.. static can ruin alot!! if you dont beliefe me.. do a memory change with you bare hands on a warm day and a thunderstorm hanging in the air..

I have done that already. nothing happened. call me lucky i guess

.

ChrisAdan650 · Oct 31, 2004, 11:01 PM

Can you guys recommend a the best cpu for under 300 that would last for a good 2 years and is great for games and encoding/decoding music and video files? Also, can anyone also recommend a great motherboard for overclocking that certain cpu? The hardware that is going in the new computer is a 120 gig sata hd, an 80 gig ide hd, a 9600xt, and a gig of pc3200 corsair DDR ram. Thanks in advance.

technonerd · Oct 31, 2004, 11:28 PM

Chris, in my opinion those selection you found at the beginning are great choice. I've beening building computer for 10 years, the company I buys part sells only MSI, Abit, Gigabytes and ECS mobo. I recommend MSI alots, MSI treats me very well, so I recommended MSI. The one you pick has good features and they're great choices. I also like Abit KV8 MAX-3.

Here's a good review for mobo on A64 http://www.motherboards.org/ranking/motherboards/AMD64/

I brought computer part for myself couple weeks ago :
I got this mobo http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProduc...130-434&depa=0 and I love it.

Many motherboard include everything it'll say on the box what's in it like : IDE cable, usb 2.0 cable, manual how to install your hardware, many , I love that stuff), sata cable, IEEE cable. MSI motherboard include D-Bracket (Help you detect hardware problem easier

Many case include extra screws .

AMD A64 include heatsink and Thermal past. If you want to overclock, I suggest get a better heatsink or liquid cooling system. Also any AMD A64 are the best for gaming system.

As for ASrock, I never heard of it. It might be a little risky.

Other thing, DO RESEARCH

that's the most important thing to do then just asking us. I know it's a pain in the ass, that's how I become very happy with my system. When asking many people might be close mind and say ECS is better than ASUS, who know's unless you do research.

Like go there:

http://sharkyextreme.com/ and checking out buyer's guide, and reviews on motherboard, etc.

http://www.motherboards.org/ for motherboards review, check out rating at the top.

http://www.tomshardware.com/ for guides on motherboards, video card, cpu, etc

GOOD LUCK

ChrisAdan650 · Oct 31, 2004, 11:55 PM

I was either thinking about buying this mobo, http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProduc...180-061&depa=0 or wait for the nforce4 based mobo's. If I go for the socket 754 mobo, I will most likely end up buying the AMD Athlon 64 3400+ with a 1mb cache. If I decide to wait for the nforce 4 based mobo's, I'm thinking about buying the 939 socket based 90mm AMD Athlon 64 3000+ and hope that it overclocks to at least 2.4 ghz. Only thing is, will that 1 mb cache within the Athlon 64 3400 cpu be impartant in the future especially when "Longhorn" is released? Last of all, thanks so much for the info technonerd, I really appreciate it. vbmenu_register("postmenu_478657", true);