# My First Computer Build



## Cdx (Jan 23, 2009)

Hey,

Just browsing around at newegg and I want to build myself a new PC, currently have a dell xps 710 and I am not satisfied with it.

Here are the specs, please let me know if there is anything wrong with it or if something is incompatible. Thanks :wave:

*Case*
139.99 Case, Cooler Master - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119160

*Motherboard*
209.00 Mobo, EVGA 121-BL-E756-TR LGA 1366 Intel X58 Micro ATX SLI Micro Intel Motherboard - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813188051

*Power Supply Unit*
239.99 PSU, Corsair 1000W - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139007

*Processor*
319.99 Processor, Intel Core 2 Quad Q9650 3.0GHz 12MB L2 Cache LGA 775 95W Quad-Core Processor - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115130

*RAM*
134.99 - RAM, Patriot Viper 6gb DDR3 - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820220365

*Video Card*
274.99 - Video Card - EVGA GTX 275 - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130476

*Hard Drive*
119.99 - HDD - Western Digital 1.5 TB - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136351

*Sound Card*
94.99 - Sound Card - Creative Sound Blaster - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16829102006

*CD/DVD Burner*
31.99 CD/DVD Burner - Samsung - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827151188

*Thermal Paste*
6.99 Thermal Paste - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835100007

*Operating System*
99.99 Windows Vista - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16832116488

Total: $1672.90

What do you guys think? This is my first build ever. For gaming/high performance.


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## Phædrus241 (Mar 28, 2009)

You've got a few problems there...

EVGA motherboards aren't very good. Furthermore you've picked out an LGA1366 (for Core i7) motherboard when you have an LGA775 processor, which are incompatible. Also, you chose MicroATX for some reason? I would suggest an Asus P5Q series board or Gigabyte GA-EP45-UD3 board. This would be a good fit, I think:
Asus P5Q Pro Turbo:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131377

Also you'll need DDR2 RAM (you can get LGA775 motherboards that support DDR3 but they're way overpriced, and DDR3 offers no improvement over DDR2 until you get to the 1600MHz range, and at that point you're breaking the bank). I run this set in a similar board and it's very nice: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820227298

Also, quad core processors aren't the greatest for games. Games need clock speed more than they need extra CPU cores, so I would recommend an Intel Core 2 Duo E8x00 CPU: the E8400, E8500, or E8600. The E7600 isn't bad either if you want to save some money. Those processors will give you a lot more bang for your buck than a quad core.

Additionally, though the Corsair HX1000w is a great power supply, it's more than you need. With a GTX275 you could get away with the Corsair tx850w or PC Power and Cooling 910w.

You don't need the sound card unless you have a 7.1 surround speaker setup, most onboard audio is good enough for up to a 2.1 setup, and the audio on the P5Q boards will work well even for a 5.1 setup.

I would also spend another $10 to get a version of Vista with a free upgrade to Windows 7. 

The CPU heatsink should come with its own thermal paste/pad already applied, so you don't need the AS5. However it will lower your CPU temp by ~1-4C compared to the stock grease. One idea: with the money you'll be saving you could pick up an aftermarket CPU heatsink. We recommend the Arctic Freezer Pro 7 (for mild overclocking, or just a quieter PC), Zalman 9500, Zalman 9700, Thermaltake V1, or Zalman 9900. I've also heard good things about a certain Noctua cooler, don't remember the model though.

Finally, the Samsung DVD burners aren't that great. They're fine if you're just going to be reading disks, but they burn fairly slow compared to some others. We recommend LG or Lite-On.


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## Cdx (Jan 23, 2009)

Alright, First I'd like to thank you for your support fellow TSF team member, =).

I am fairly new to hardware, i have only taken one hardware class and that was very basic, so i was not aware of the microatx mobo.

For the Processor, I'm looking towards this:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115054

I have a surround sound Logitech setup for speakers, well, i believe it is surround sound at least. It has 5 speakers and the sub, so is that a 5.1 setup then?

Alright and for the windows 7 free upgrade, vista 64 bit
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16832116677

And i will also purchase the Arctic Freezer Pro 7:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835186134&Tpk=Arctic Freezer Pro 7

And for the DVD Burner, I will choose the LG
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827136167

For the Mobo:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131377

Hows that look?


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## Phædrus241 (Mar 28, 2009)

Glad to help, and hardware can be confusing at first, yeah. :wink:

Five speakers and a sub is 5.1, yes. The onboard audio on the P5Q should be fine, the Sound Blaster card might be a "little" better, but it's your call if you want to spend the extra $94. I will say that if you're going to be doing audio recording, definitely get a separate sound card, as I have yet to find a motherboard with decent audio recording quality.

The E8600 is a fine processor, but we usually suggest the E8500 instead. See, notice the speed and cost of these processors:
E8400: 3.00GHz $167.99
E8500: 3.16GHz $189.99
E8600: 3.33GHz $269.99
I consider the .16GHz increase between the E8400 an E8500 to be worth the extra $22. But the same .16GHz difference between the E8500 and E8600 is *not* worth $90, in my opinion, especially when you can overclock the E8500 to 3.4GHz on stock cooling and to 3.6GHz with the AFP7 heatsink you're getting. With high-end air cooling you could get 4.0GHz, easy. Though an E8600 might make it to 4.2GHz on air cooling. Again, you seem to be willing to spend some serious coin on this rig so if you want to shell out for the best, the E8600 is your best bet without going for an i7 950 or Core 2 Extreme setup. Just warning you, the price-performance ratio gets really ****ty around that point.

And don't forget a nice set of DDR2 RAM. Usually you run a RAM configurator to double-check that your RAM and mobo are compatible, but I have that OCZ set I linked to earlier running in the P5Q Pro (earlier version of the Pro Turbo) and it works great, and I recommended it to another user using that board and have yet to hear a complaint. So I assume it's compatible.


Should be a pretty good setup, overall. At stock clocks you should be able to handle every game at the market at its highest settings at a 1900x1200 resolution without ever having the frame rate drop below 30. Maybe even 40, hard to say.


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## Cdx (Jan 23, 2009)

Awesome, yes i was going to get the ram u suggested, but 8gigs total just for the hell of it, i know i only need 2-4gb for gaming but i just want to deck it out.

RAM: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820227298

=)


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## Phædrus241 (Mar 28, 2009)

Sure thing, though you probably won't use all 8GB for another couple years, hah. :wink: One word of warning, nearly all motherboards run into RAM voltage issues when you fill all four DIMM slots, so you may need to go into BIOS and set it to the RAM's rated voltage manually, then see if it's stable in Windows. If not try raising the voltage by .2V and try again. Repeat as necessary until it feels stable (try running some memory-intensive programs like VirtualBox running four operating systems at once :wink, then see if it passes an hour or two of Memtest86+. If so you're golden. Odds are you'll only have to raise the voltage .2V or .4V at most, so don't worry too much.


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## Cdx (Jan 23, 2009)

Roger that i will be buying this build shortly, so i will let you know how it works out. Thanks for all your help.


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## Tyree (May 10, 2009)

4 GB of RAM is more than sufficient.


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## Cdx (Jan 23, 2009)

Thanks Tyree, i am going to start with 4gb, maybe go to 6 in the future for fun.

However, i am not too pleased with the coolermaster case, it looks promising but i want a case that looks attractive.

I found this brand, called XCLIO, just wanted to know your guys thoughts on this brand and or specific case.

Also, if it is compatible with the mobo i am getting above. Which is not the EVGA, but the asusthe case said it is compatible with standard atx)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131377

Case:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811103029

Thanks.


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## Tyree (May 10, 2009)

The CoelerMaster Case you had originally chosen is a rock solid case and very easy to work in. I've never used any XCLIO cases but that one certainly looks flashy and LOUD.
Either case will accept a full sized (ATX) Mobo.
This Mobo is $15 cheaper: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131375
Anything over 4GB of RAM of a waste of money......but it's your money. :grin:


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## Cdx (Jan 23, 2009)

But i like the flashy stuff! Its so attractive!

=)


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## greenbrucelee (Apr 24, 2007)

I agree with all the above points and also the e8400 3GHz is very overclockable too, I got mine at 3.91 and have even had it a 4.2 but got concerned with my temps being 63 degrees.


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## Cdx (Jan 23, 2009)

Do you guys think the EVGA GTX video card is okay? i used a BFG right now and it isnt bad, but Phaedrus you mentioned the EVGA mobo brand is not very good. I want to make sure the graphic card is reliable as well.


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## greenbrucelee (Apr 24, 2007)

EVGA are ok for graphics cards, personally I preffer BFG.


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## Cdx (Jan 23, 2009)

Well, i bought the parts, it runs great, windows rates it 5.7/5.9.

8gigs of ram
gtx 260
the asus mobo
1000w corsair psu
e8600 intel duo core 3.3ghz cpu

Thanks for all the help guys.

Case is great btw.


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## fastz28camaro81 (Aug 28, 2008)

Cdx said:


> Well, i bought the parts, it runs great, windows rates it 5.7/5.9.
> 
> 8gigs of ram
> gtx 260
> ...


Did you buy that XCLIO case? Just because I was looking at that, and it does look pretty cool, and the cooling would be great too, but I read numerous complaints from people that had the case for like 6 months and ALL THE FANS DIED!

if it wasn't for that, I would probably get that one.


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## Cdx (Jan 23, 2009)

Yeah i did buy the XCLIO 777 case, the fans look pretty flimsy but they are running good so far. No complaints, case is easy to work in to.


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## Cdx (Jan 23, 2009)

Heres some pics! Red Dell XPS 710 was my old comp.


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## fastz28camaro81 (Aug 28, 2008)

Cdx said:


> Yeah i did buy the XCLIO 777 case, the fans look pretty flimsy but they are running good so far. No complaints, case is easy to work in to.


Well hopefully your fans don't all die, lol I hope they don't

but in 6 months to a year if they do, could you let me know...because if it happens to you as well, then I think I wont get the case, lol

I'll probably have another computer with a case already bought by then anyways.


Good luck with your computer (and your case) lol


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