The Ultimate 'Build-A-PC' Thread. Complete With Pricings & Recommendations (06/06/10)

Well, I got almost all of my parts today and have them all set up now. All I have to do is put in the graphics card when it comes tomorrow.

I really, really hope I have everything installed correctly and I won't have to go back and fix things. There is only one thing that I think I may have screwed up on. When I was installing the CPU Fan, I had to adjust it a few times, so a little bit of thermal paste stuck to the top of the CPU. Would that hurt anything? It wasn't off of the CPU but for only a second or two.
 
[quote name='sotc1988']I know this thread wasn't made exactly for this but I figure it's appropriate nonetheless. Anyways, my little brother wants to get a pc laptop for his first year of college and he has a budget of $1000. He's looking for something with a good size screen but nothing massive and capable for gaming. If anybody knows a recommendation I'd be glad to hear it.[/QUOTE]

Amazingly, I think Best Buy has what you're looking for...

Product Features

* Intel® Centrino® 2 processor technology with interrelated Intel® Core™2 Duo processor P7350
Intel® PM45 chipset, 802.11b/g/n network connection and extended battery life capability.
* 4GB PC2-6400 DDR2 memory
* Multiformat DVD±RW/CD-RW drive with double-layer support
* 15.6" WXGA widescreen LED display
With a 1366 x 768 resolution brings your movies and games to life.
* 320GB SATA hard drive (7200 rpm)
* NVIDIA GeForce GTX 260M graphics
With 1GB of dedicated DDR3 graphics memory for powerful graphic performance. Azalia audio chip with built-in stereo speakers; HDMI output.
* Built-in 1.3-megapixel webcam
Makes it easy to send video mail to family and friends.
* 8-in-1 media reader
* 1 IEEE 1394 port and 4 high-speed USB 2.0 ports
* Built-in 10/100 Mbps Ethernet LAN with RJ-45 connector
* Illuminated keyboard
* Weighs 7.3 lbs. and measures just 1.6" thin
* Good battery life
Of up to 2 hours and 7 minutes.
* Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium Edition 64-bit operating system
With Service Pack 1 (SP1) preinstalled for a stable operating platform.
Click to expand...


Well, the resolution for the screen kinda sucks, but the graphic card is where it is at.
 
I'm going to order tomorrow or the next day. CoffeeEdge put together a build based off of his $400 one and we landed at around $612 before an optical drive and a OEM copy of Windows XP. Let me know what you guys think. I splurged a bit and upgraded the case to the Cooler Master Mystique. I want something that looks liked I wanted to build my own PC and not like I'm just a cheapass :cool:.

Impressions, comments?

(hmm seems like the video card rebate expires today.)


Edit: Well I am debating a purchase of Windows XP Home OEM or a Windows Vista (preferably a copy that has the free upgrade to windows 7). I've never ran Vista before and am kinda intimidated to because of all the bad things I've heard.

Anyone have a current pros n cons of XP vs Vista for new builds? I've always liked XP and never had any problems but man it is dated. If I get Vista any recommendations on which copy?

Edit 2: Also it's the end of the month and it seems $36 of rebates will end at 7/31 which is today. No big deal but I was wondering how often they attach new rebates to these various products? that's a kinda up in the air question but I'm sure someone has some sort of 'impression' of how this works.
 
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Well, this is my second post from my new machine and it is working great. I haven't had any problems yet.

My GTX 260 barely fit inside of my Centurion 5 case, and that is with my HDD to the lowest HDD bay slot. I am so glad it did though.

EDIT:

Ok, so my CPU's idle temp is about 42c and the temperature after playing Crysis for about 2 hours was like 52c-55c. Is that reasonable/normal?

EDIT 2:

Since I made that last edit, I have just been installing Steam Backups and browsing the web, and currently EasyTune6 is telling me that my CPU is running about 55c... I am getting worried about temps here since I would prefer them to be in the 40s if possible.
 
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I see your case has an 80mm front fan. Can you buy a 120 and fit it in there? Same as the back fan, might want to upgrade it if it isn't moving too much air. I tend to toss the stock fans for ones that I like. I don't know how yours are though.

Arctic Silver and a non stock heatsink are always a good investment though. Is it just your cpu that's temps are going high or is it your video card also?
 
[quote name='ChernobylCow']I'm going to order tomorrow or the next day. CoffeeEdge put together a build based off of his $400 one and we landed at around $612 before an optical drive and a OEM copy of Windows XP. Let me know what you guys think. I splurged a bit and upgraded the case to the Cooler Master Mystique. I want something that looks liked I wanted to build my own PC and not like I'm just a cheapass :cool:.

Impressions, comments?

(hmm seems like the video card rebate expires today.)


Edit: Well I am debating a purchase of Windows XP Home OEM or a Windows Vista (preferably a copy that has the free upgrade to windows 7). I've never ran Vista before and am kinda intimidated to because of all the bad things I've heard.

Anyone have a current pros n cons of XP vs Vista for new builds? I've always liked XP and never had any problems but man it is dated. If I get Vista any recommendations on which copy?

Edit 2: Also it's the end of the month and it seems $36 of rebates will end at 7/31 which is today. No big deal but I was wondering how often they attach new rebates to these various products? that's a kinda up in the air question but I'm sure someone has some sort of 'impression' of how this works.[/QUOTE]

vista has a bad rap because of its rough start out of the gate. it runs very well now, and i prefer it over xp hands down. ive been running it on two computers with no complaints, havent had problems with hardware or games. if you can get a vista with a free windows 7 upgrade i say go for it.
 
[quote name='psionicjinx']I see your case has an 80mm front fan. Can you buy a 120 and fit it in there? Same as the back fan, might want to upgrade it if it isn't moving too much air. I tend to toss the stock fans for ones that I like. I don't know how yours are though.

Arctic Silver and a non stock heatsink are always a good investment though. Is it just your cpu that's temps are going high or is it your video card also?[/QUOTE]

I replaced the back fan with a nice Antec one. I don't think I could fit a 120mm fan in the front, it is a really tight fit. The GPU was running a little hot, but not too terribly hot.

The CPU is running about 50c idle, 62c while gaming and about 75c at max when running a Prime95 test.
 
You could turn off the smart CPU fan control option if your BIOS has one. That might help.

75 seems awfully high but different CPUs have different thresholds. I would grab an arctic cooler freezer pro or something. It will come with pre-applied paste. MX-1 I believe which is supposedly one step up from their arctic silver line.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835186134

I have the AMD version on my phenom ii and I'm overclocked by 600mhz and at full load it is 40c idle it is about 25-30c
 
[quote name='ChernobylCow']I'm going to order tomorrow or the next day. CoffeeEdge put together a build based off of his $400 one and we landed at around $612 before an optical drive and a OEM copy of Windows XP. Let me know what you guys think. I splurged a bit and upgraded the case to the Cooler Master Mystique. I want something that looks liked I wanted to build my own PC and not like I'm just a cheapass :cool:.

Impressions, comments?

(hmm seems like the video card rebate expires today.)

Edit 2: Also it's the end of the month and it seems $36 of rebates will end at 7/31 which is today. No big deal but I was wondering how often they attach new rebates to these various products? that's a kinda up in the air question but I'm sure someone has some sort of 'impression' of how this works.[/QUOTE]

Fixed link to your wishlist.

The setup looks good, though the weakest spot in your setup is the motherboard. Being a budget micro ATX board really do limit your upgradability in the future. In your particular situation, the GTX 260 will block off at least 1 SATA port. So say in the future you plan to have 2 optical drives and 2 hard drives, then that might be a problem. Both the CPU and video card are impressive choices for the price, though. If I were you I will probably downgrade the E7500 to an E7400 for a $30 saving, and use that cash toward a more decent GIGABYTE GA-EP45-UD3L motherboard ($90). Other than that, the build looks good and ready to rock some games.

As for rebates, it seems like an ongoing thing for many parts, so even if they end, another one probably pops up that will last for a month, and rinse and repeat. Even if and when the rebate seems to be gone completely, you can always find another GTX 260 for similar price on newegg.
 
[quote name='SOSTrooper']So say in the future you plan to have 2 optical drives and 2 hard drives, then that might be a problem.[/QUOTE]

I ordered already but thanks for your response. Luckily, I don't believe this will be an issue for me. I just don't see myself getting another harddrive in the future (I have 2 externals total 500gb) and I'm just going to buy the cheapest Samsung DVD drive. Thanks for your analysis.

I also bought Vista Home Premium 64 bit (came with free upgrade to Windows 7 and free release client) so it'll be my first system on Vista.
 
Hey guys, I'm thinking about building a (CAG friendly) HTPC.

I'm thinking in the 400 to 500 range before ram, hard drive, disc drive, and case.

If anyone could point me in the right direction, that would be awesome. Thanks!
 
[quote name='MillerTime2523']Hey guys, I'm thinking about building a (CAG friendly) HTPC.

I'm thinking in the 400 to 500 range before ram, hard drive, disc drive, and case.

If anyone could point me in the right direction, that would be awesome. Thanks![/QUOTE]

Well, we would like to know which case you have in mind that you want or already have, because based on that we can recommend either 1) ATX or micro ATX motherboards, 2) low profile or regular video cards, and 3) power supply or no power supply. Until you provide more information I can't make a recommendation.
 
Oh, I didn't know the case mattered on the build. It doesn't matter to me. I'd like an HTPC case, but after checking newegg and seeing the 100+ dollar price point on all of them, I'd just say anything that looks okay and is on the cheap. I'd really like to get a case like the HTPC ones, but I'd like to focus more on the tech than the looks. I'd appreciate if you could point out both a cheap case to use for the time being then an HTPC case that would be compatible if I chose to upgrade in the future. Thanks!
 
Okay, let's do this! I need a new computer for College, and if I knew how, I would list the specs of my current computer right here. Let's just say...it's very outdated, as well as every other computer in my household. The latest computer I have is from the 6th grade. I don't really know exactly what to say, in order to help myself further, in terms of building it. I know I want "new" technology, such as SATA, Modular PSU's, SD HDD, etc. I wont be using it for gaming, I have 360/PS3/Wii for that. I do hardcore multi-tasking, such as Internet Explorer/Firefox/Opera/Chrome all open, with atleast 100+ tabs. I am a frequent user of VMWare's products, so I assume more than...8GB of RAM will be required? I would also like to hook up my computer, to a TV (don't have one at the moment), so I can watch videos on the bigscreen. Is that enough information? I guess a sleek, modern, quiet business computer would describe my wants.

I sold my Macbook to Goomba478, so when he sends the funds, that will be my budget. It will be about ~900. Keep in mind, I'm starting over with everything, new monitor, new mouse, new mouse-pad, keyboard, etc.
 
[quote name='MillerTime2523']Oh, I didn't know the case mattered on the build. It doesn't matter to me. I'd like an HTPC case, but after checking newegg and seeing the 100+ dollar price point on all of them, I'd just say anything that looks okay and is on the cheap. I'd really like to get a case like the HTPC ones, but I'd like to focus more on the tech than the looks. I'd appreciate if you could point out both a cheap case to use for the time being then an HTPC case that would be compatible if I chose to upgrade in the future. Thanks![/QUOTE]

Here's a build that I did with AMD X3 processor and ATI 4870 video card for $700 after rebates and before an optical drive: Linky.

Here's something in the middle of the road, Intel E7400 with ATI 4850 video card for $600, including case and everything, just throw in an optical drive yourself: Linky.

Here's an ultra cheap build with Intel E5200 and ATI 4650 video card for $400 before an optical drive: Linky.
 
[quote name='Riyonuk']
I sold my Macbook to Goomba478, so when he sends the funds, that will be my budget. It will be about ~900. Keep in mind, I'm starting over with everything, new monitor, new mouse, new mouse-pad, keyboard, etc.[/QUOTE]

Let's just set aside $250 or so for your monitor, mouse, keyboard, and whatever peripherals you need. So that brings your budget to about $650.

Here's a build in the range of $650 - $700 that I drew up that meets your requirement. The motherboard has a good onboard video, which will allow you to hook up to your monitor via DVI port, and to your TV via HDMI port. You won't need to buy a separate video card until you want to play intensive games (such as Crysis) on your computer.
 
[quote name='SOSTrooper']Here's a build that I did with AMD X3 processor and ATI 4870 video card for $700 after rebates and before an optical drive: Linky.

Here's something in the middle of the road, Intel E7400 with ATI 4850 video card for $600, including case and everything, just throw in an optical drive yourself: Linky.

Here's an ultra cheap build with Intel E5200 and ATI 4650 video card for $400 before an optical drive: Linky.[/QUOTE]
Would the $700 build be able to handle newer games and HD movies / videos without issue? I'm really interested in that, thanks for the reccomendation.

Also, are there any other parts you could reccomend as a nice addition to an HTPC system down the road? Such as a TV tuner or anything like that? If I'm going to spend the money on it I'd like to get the most out of it that i possibly can. Thanks!
 
[quote name='MillerTime2523']Also, are there any other parts you could reccomend as a nice addition to an HTPC system down the road? Such as a TV tuner or anything like that? If I'm going to spend the money on it I'd like to get the most out of it that i possibly can. Thanks![/QUOTE]

If you want to record TV shows, you can definitely drop in a TV tuner such as this one. It comes with a remote and is a good balance between price and specs, and of course most importantly it is an ATSC tuner that supports DTV signal.

Other than that, I suppose if you don't have a PS3 or a standalone Blu-ray player, you can always drop a Blu-ray drive into your HTPC. But seeing you have a PSN screen name, you have a PS3, so I dont think you'll need a Blu-ray player. Though other people might find this a good alternative if they already have a decent computer and would like to get this drive instead of shelling out $400 on a PS3 or $150-$200 on a standalone player.
 
[quote name='SOSTrooper']Let's just set aside $250 or so for your monitor, mouse, keyboard, and whatever peripherals you need. So that brings your budget to about $650.

Here's a build in the range of $650 - $700 that I drew up that meets your requirement. The motherboard has a good onboard video, which will allow you to hook up to your monitor via DVI port, and to your TV via HDMI port. You won't need to buy a separate video card until you want to play intensive games (such as Crysis) on your computer.[/QUOTE]

What about the case? Also, MillerTime2523 asked you about another $700 build you made, is that better? I always seem to judge on pictures (I know, so retarded), and I noticed the motherboard had a combo PS/2 thingie on the back, WTF? Nobody uses those things anymore, I'm sure I could save money removing that (if you can order with parts removed). I wish I wasn't so retarded.
 
[quote name='Riyonuk']What about the case? Also, MillerTime2523 asked you about another $700 build you made, is that better? I always seem to judge on pictures (I know, so retarded), and I noticed the motherboard had a combo PS/2 thingie on the back, WTF? Nobody uses those things anymore, I'm sure I could save money removing that (if you can order with parts removed). I wish I wasn't so retarded.[/QUOTE]

Oops I guess I did forget the case. I suppose you can pick one that looks nice to you :)

The $700 system I recommended to MillerTime is strictly for computer gaming, because it has a dedicated $150 video card. Your build does not, but it has a more powerful processor (quad core vs triple core) than MillerTime's build. Also you have 8GB of memory like you requested. So basically MillerTime's computer is better for games, but your computer can handle more simultaneous tasks.

Most motherboards still come with the PS/2 ports, so its not something you can avoid at this point. Some more expensive motherboards do away with them and replaced them with USB ports. Basically you have to pay MORE to get a motherboard without the PS/2 ports. Weird aint it? haha
 
[quote name='SOSTrooper']Oops I guess I did forget the case. I suppose you can pick one that looks nice to you :)

The $700 system I recommended to MillerTime is strictly for computer gaming, because it has a dedicated $150 video card. Your build does not, but it has a more powerful processor (quad core vs triple core) than MillerTime's build. Also you have 8GB of memory like you requested. So basically MillerTime's computer is better for games, but your computer can handle more simultaneous tasks.

Most motherboards still come with the PS/2 ports, so its not something you can avoid at this point. Some more expensive motherboards do away with them and replaced them with USB ports. Basically you have to pay MORE to get a motherboard without the PS/2 ports. Weird aint it? haha[/QUOTE]

Well, I'm not to sure about picking a case with adequate airflow. Also, can I run 3 4GB RAM sticks in tri-channel mode? Is DDR3 only for tri-channel?
 
[quote name='Riyonuk']Well, I'm not to sure about picking a case with adequate airflow. Also, can I run 3 4GB RAM sticks in tri-channel mode? Is DDR3 only for tri-channel?[/QUOTE]

Antec Three Hundred should probably do the job with airflow and not breaking the wallet at the same time.

You can run triple channel if the motherboards that support it. Currently the only consumer level motherboards that support triple channel are the boards running on Intel X58 chipset. As of right now 3x4GB DDR3 memory kit will run you $400. You can run DDR3 in single and dual channel too. DDR2 can only go up to dual channel, not triple channel.
 
Ahhhhhhhh! I got all of the parts in today! They were waiting for me after a 3 and a half hour drive. I told my girlfriend that we would put it together tomorrow afternoon once we were done with work but I think we'll be assembling this suckah tonight. Thanks for all the help and advice guys. If I run into problems I'm sure you'll see me up here nagging.
 
Awesome. I installed my Dark Knight heatsink last night, and now my idle temps are down from ~50c to ~30c. However, I also happened to have nuked my windows install trying to install Linux, so I haven't gotten a chance to do some load testing yet.
 
Can you guys recommend any good, perhaps "stackable" SATA 3.5 hard drive enclosures? I just bought a 1.5 tb baracuda and decided against getting the rocketfish enclosure since I thought I might be able to get a nicer one for cheaper.


And also, I need a new desktop in the 2 grand range (I got a lot of options but I'm not sure what to pick out). I do a LOT of gaming and I watch quite a bit of HD movies. I already have a Razer Lachesis but I need a keyboard and monitor. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. (And normally I'd be all for building it, but time is short and I wouldn't mind a warranty of some sort.)
 
OK, girlfriend and I pretty much got the rig together but we had some trouble with the wiring which led to a 'no start'.

I consulted the mobo manual and feel pretty confident that the umbilicals are in place: power sw, reset sw, hdd led, et al.

I have the PSU plugged into the four prong (square) ATX12V.

CPU fan is plugged in. Video card (used an adapter) is plugged in w/power, HDD too.

I think my problem is with the case fans. I'm in the dark here. The Cooler Master mystique manual is terribly brief and doesn't really even refer to it's own fans (inward fan and exhaust). The mobo manual isn't very helpful either. There is a place on the mobo labeled system fan and I have the rear (exhaust) fan plugged into that three prong slot. I plugged the last Molex into the optical drive which doesn't really leave me anything to plug the front fan into except those free slots dangling from the optical drive->psu wire.

But I did make sure to flip the PSU switch when i tested it! ;)


Edit: OK I rearranged wires and made sure I had everything in what seemed to be working order together. I get power on the PSU and when I click the power button on PC I get a flash of light and nothing happens/or roars to life. The onlything I am unsure about are the front and rear case fans and where to plug them in. The rear has a white 4 prong plug but a Molex adapter (sorry if Molex is wrong word). The front fan has the molex adapter on it. I won't be able to mess with this again till monday evening so I'll patiently wait to see if anyone has any input. Let me know if you need more info.
 
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Alright, thanks SOS. Just a mere consumer here trying to make a bargain for myself! Not much tech background to speak of but I'm a patient person who can read manuals.

Entire view ( the green and white wire at the bottom is the case LED and I'm unsure about where to plug that also):
3801194062_57f2dbafa6.jpg
Closer full view
3801194662_7262805a10.jpg
Optical IDE and 24 pin power
3801195170_9dd939e9c1.jpg
Back of optical drive and leftside shows the top of case USB ports
3801195658_26059fc19b.jpg
mobo cpu fan
3801196676_d725c08df8.jpg

big mobo view
3801198268_af042755b7.jpg
video card and HDD
3800380317_1d41548282.jpg
 
[quote name='ChernobylCow']OK, girlfriend and I pretty much got the rig together but we had some trouble with the wiring which led to a 'no start'.

I consulted the mobo manual and feel pretty confident that the umbilicals are in place: power sw, reset sw, hdd led, et al.

I have the PSU plugged into the four prong (square) ATX12V.

CPU fan is plugged in. Video card (used an adapter) is plugged in w/power, HDD too.

I think my problem is with the case fans. I'm in the dark here. The Cooler Master mystique manual is terribly brief and doesn't really even refer to it's own fans (inward fan and exhaust). The mobo manual isn't very helpful either. There is a place on the mobo labeled system fan and I have the rear (exhaust) fan plugged into that three prong slot. I plugged the last Molex into the optical drive which doesn't really leave me anything to plug the front fan into except those free slots dangling from the optical drive->psu wire.

But I did make sure to flip the PSU switch when i tested it! ;)


Edit: OK I rearranged wires and made sure I had everything in what seemed to be working order together. I get power on the PSU and when I click the power button on PC I get a flash of light and nothing happens/or roars to life. The onlything I am unsure about are the front and rear case fans and where to plug them in. The rear has a white 4 prong plug but a Molex adapter (sorry if Molex is wrong word). The front fan has the molex adapter on it. I won't be able to mess with this again till monday evening so I'll patiently wait to see if anyone has any input. Let me know if you need more info.[/QUOTE]

Honestly, I think it might something with the power switch, because it sounds like a problem I had on an old computer build.

Are you sure that you have the power switch plugged into the right pins and with the right polarity? They can be very finicky sometimes, and you really have to get them just right.

I highly doubt this has anything to do with the fans, since they shouldn't prevent your computer from booting. If you are wondering though, I have both my fans connected to a Molex 4-pin power connector, and NOT to the pins labeled system fan, and they work just fine.
 
Well after talking to Darthbudge, I checked the polarities on my power switch, hdled etc, those little buggers and I think I made necessary changes. I double checked teh mobo 4 pin and 24 pin. I hit the power button and the CPU fan and rear fan jumped a little with the case lighting up briefly but nothing more. I have to turn on/off the PSU again before hitting the power button will do anything. So once I hit the power button on the PC nothing will hapen until I turn off/on the PSU.
 
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You didnt add an extra motherboard standoff that would be shorting the motherboard right?

How about if you hold the power switch for 2 seconds rather than a quick press and release to power the system on?

Can you try shorting the black and green wires on your power supply to see if the power supply will stay on after you've shorted the 2 pins? Make sure before doing this you disconnect the 4 pins wire going next to the CPU and the 6 pins going to your video card as well, but leave the hard drive power and any case fan power plugged in. See if the fans and hard drive will stay on.

I'll try to think up other possible things you can try to diagnose the problem.


*EDIT* Cow, can you switch one of the molex connectors for your video card like what this picture is showing? Unplug one of the molexes and plug the free-hanging one. I'm not sure if that'll make a difference, but it's worth a try. I'm actually surprised that the power supply didn't already come with two 6 pins PCI-e power connectors.

cowpc-1.jpg
 
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[quote name='SOSTrooper']
*EDIT* Cow, can you switch one of the molex connectors for your video card like what this picture is showing? Unplug one of the molexes and plug the free-hanging one. I'm not sure if that'll make a difference, but it's worth a try. I'm actually surprised that the power supply didn't already come with two 6 pins PCI-e power connectors.
[/QUOTE]

Hey, man you're, well, the man. The jiggy you were pointing to! That worked. My girlfriend and I unplugged it. Cermoniously pressed the button and presto! There was a quiet beep. ( I have a single stick of ram in). And all of the fans were running! I can't even remember what the next step is now! ;) :applause::applause::applause::applause:

Edit: However, the video card fan isn't spinning? It seems that molex -> PCI-E adapter is shorted. Maybe I should get another. Everyone seems really surprised that the stealthxtreme doesn't have 2 pci-e's.

Quadruple edit: Anyways, SOSTrooper, I flipped those two molex's and now it's stable and the video card fan is spinning too. I hope that I just had it done incorrectly and that this isn't a sign of a underlying problem with the psu molex or the molex->pci-e adapter.
 
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Glad you found a solution to your problem, ChernobylCow.

Also I am very impressed with your troubleshooting skills SOStrooper, I looked over those pictures for quite a while, and I couldn't notice anything helpful in them.

Did the issue lie in which rail he had his graphics card plugged into or too little power?

(Sorry if I am overlooking something stupid, I am on my iPhone and it is late. :lol:)
 
I think it has to do with the lack of amps that just one 12v molex line can provide. I think the ideal way to plugging the molex connectors to those 2-to-1 PCIe Y adapters is to use 2 molex connectors from 2 different rails/lines to achieve higher amperage that the video card requires.
 
Well I am installing Vista atm. The thing hasn't blown up yet! But I am worried about this PSU situation. In the grand scheme of things the PSU was only $60. Should I just get another that has more than enough "juice" and has the proper ammount of PCI-E's?

The EVGA GTX 260 says :"Minimum 500W (36A on 12V rail) power supply with two 6-pin PCI Express supplementary power connectors, or 4 available hard disk power connectors...

StealthXStream says: "+12V1/18A, +12V2/18A".

I'd rather do this RIGHT early on before I get lazy and let the thing run with what it's got until it explodes. What do you guys think?
 
The power supply is fine. The 36A requirement from the video card is basically including the entire system's usage. I think you could have gone 600W on your setup just to be very safe. I overlooked that part when I was skimming over your build. 500W is perfectly fine though, it won't explode on you.
 
Hmm, Chernobyl, what stealthxstream do you have?
I have the OCZ StealthxStream 600w and it has 2 pci-Es

1 6 pin and 1 6+2 pin

Although looking at newegg it looks like the 500w and 400w only have 1 pci-e.
 
Well since the build is several pages back I guess I'll put it here:
Motherboard - GIGABYTE GA-G31M-ES2L LGA 775 Intel G31 Micro ATX Intel Motherboard
CPU - Intel Core2 Duo E7500 Wolfdale 2.93GHz LGA 775 65W Dual-Core Processor
Memory - OCZ Reaper HPC Edition 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400)
Graphics - EVGA 896-P3-1257-AR GeForce GTX 260 Core 216 Superclocked Edition 896MB 448-bit GDDR3
OS - No OS installed yet
Hard Drive - Western Digital Caviar Blue 500 GB / 7200 RPM
Power Supply - OCZ StealthXStream OCZ500SXS 500W ATX12V / EPS12V
Case - COOLER MASTER Mystique

With Vista installed I think my next steps are:
Install chipset drivers
Install video drivers (oops I did that first:roll:)
Install a firewall and AVG free
Go online and download updates for Vista (sp2 anyone?)

I found the .pdf file from tweakguides.com to be very useful. He has tons of useful tweaking info for vista/xp and specific guides for various games. Fallout 3, Oblivion, Crysis... Those games have tons of tweaking options and it's difficult to know what options you're messing with.

Edit: Well I am having some issues in updating Vista. When I click Windows Update in the start menu. That window freezes habitually.
 
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[quote name='ChernobylCow']Well since the build is several pages back I guess I'll put it here:
Motherboard - GIGABYTE GA-G31M-ES2L LGA 775 Intel G31 Micro ATX Intel Motherboard
CPU - Intel Core2 Duo E7500 Wolfdale 2.93GHz LGA 775 65W Dual-Core Processor
Memory - OCZ Reaper HPC Edition 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400)
Graphics - EVGA 896-P3-1257-AR GeForce GTX 260 Core 216 Superclocked Edition 896MB 448-bit GDDR3
OS - No OS installed yet
Hard Drive - Western Digital Caviar Blue 500 GB / 7200 RPM
Power Supply - OCZ StealthXStream OCZ500SXS 500W ATX12V / EPS12V
Case - COOLER MASTER Mystique

With Vista installed I think my next steps are:
Install chipset drivers
Install video drivers (oops I did that first:roll:)
Install a firewall and AVG free
Go online and download updates for Vista (sp2 anyone?)

I found the .pdf file from tweakguides.com to be very useful. He has tons of useful tweaking info for vista/xp and specific guides for various games. Fallout 3, Oblivion, Crysis... Those games have tons of tweaking options and it's difficult to know what options you're messing with.

Edit: Well I am having some issues in updating Vista. When I click Windows Update in the start menu. That window freezes habitually.[/QUOTE]

Actually install Vista SP2 first and then install your GPU drivers.
 
zipzoomfly has 20% bing.com cash back.Buying my PC in pieces.How often do mother board prices drop?
 
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[quote name='aihuman']zipzoomfly has 20% bing.com cash back.Buying my PC in pieces.How often do mother board prices drop.[/QUOTE]

Is that a question at the end? ZZF actually RAISED their prices on the popular items to 'reflect' the cashback you would be getting. At the end you may still pay less, but it's not a lot less than everyday price on Amazon or Newegg. And you have to wait 60 days for the CB to come through IF you did it right in the first place.

If you really need to buy something now, compare the prices first, then buy. ZZF's stock is running low fast. I ordered the WD 1TB Green hard drive this morning for $90 + $9 tax - $15 rebate - $18 cashback = $66 end amount. Now they raised the starting price to $95.
 
Hi, trying to help a friend who wants to put together a gaming PC under a budget. We were considering going with this build in the OP:
http://secure.newegg.com/WishList/PublicWishDetail.aspx?WishListNumber=10287205

I'm curious of a few things:
Is there anything in general that should be known about this hardware? (I would have done AMD vs. Intel, but there was no AMD linked in the OP. So I guess for the budget we'd probably need to go wit this?)
How well would this run TF2/L4D.
Would this likely be good enough for L4D2?
What are the highest-end games it can run on the lowest possible settings?
How upgradable is this machine?
What changes should be made to let the upgrade process go smoother down the line?

PM me if you'd prefer. I'm very new to this. Thanks.
 
[quote name='Porygon']Hi, trying to help a friend who wants to put together a gaming PC under a budget. We were considering going with this build in the OP:
http://secure.newegg.com/WishList/PublicWishDetail.aspx?WishListNumber=10287205[/QUOTE]

[quote name='Porygon']Is there anything in general that should be known about this hardware? (I would have done AMD vs. Intel, but there was no AMD linked in the OP. So I guess for the budget we'd probably need to go wit this?)[/QUOTE]
On the low budget CPUs, I think AMD and Intel are head to head in terms of price and power, so you can swing both ways. Socket 775 is at the end of its life in terms of future support, but there are still plenty of powerful 775 CPUs that would be sufficient for many users for another 3 to 4 years.

[quote name='Porygon']How well would this run TF2/L4D.[/QUOTE]
Probably high details @ 1680x1050. It will run those games well.

[quote name='Porygon']Would this likely be good enough for L4D2?[/QUOTE]
Probably the same, L4D2 runs on the old HL2 engine as well.

[quote name='Porygon']What are the highest-end games it can run on the lowest possible settings?[/QUOTE]
Any game, including Crysis, but why torture yourself with low details? It should run the upcoming Diablo III and SC2 too, maybe at medium details.

[quote name='Porygon']How upgradable is this machine?[/QUOTE]
For CPU, you can upgrade to a Quad core in the future, like the Q9550. For video card, you can basically install any video card at your disposal, 4890, GTX 275, etc. You can always replace the power supply to something more efficient and with more wattage. You won't be able to upgrade the memory very much, however, but 4GB is plenty enough.

[quote name='Porygon']What changes should be made to let the upgrade process go smoother down the line?[/QUOTE]
Not much you can do with that budget. Maybe get a full ATX motherboard such as this instead of a micro ATX, but that's strictly for spacing and expanding issues (more available SATA ports, more expansion slots) than functionality. Of course, that'll also mean you have to pay more.
 
Thanks for the reply.

Alright, so the only significant advantage to that motherboard would be make adding more ram and harddrives, correct

And should we probably go Vista or XP with this machine? We're likely to play an assortment of new/old (last 3-5 years I'd say) games, and I'm just wondering what is more likely to be the better option, or if it doesn't really matter.
 
like it or not windows 7 (and vista) is the future. but if you find that some games run better on xp, then just make a small partition and set up a dual boot.
 
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