# My Barbone Kit, Compatibility



## jadonss (Jun 12, 2009)

A barebone kit from tigerdirect. They send me this system with these parts installed, except for the video card and the operating system. So I buy/install those two.

Asus M3N72-D SLI Barebone Kit - nForce 750a, AMD Phenom X4 9600, 4GB OCZ DDR2-800, 500GB Caviar Green HDD, Ultra Case, 650W PSU
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=4896929&CatId=31 $399

Comes with kit, pre-installed by professional.
Ultra X-Blaster Black ATX Mid-Tower Case
Asus M3N72-D SLI Motherboard
AMD Phenom X4 9600 Quad Core Processor
OCZ SLI-Ready Dual Channel 4GB PC6400 DDR2 800MHz Memory
Ultra LSP650 650-Watt Power Supply
Western Digital Caviar Green 500GB Hard Drive

All I need to get besides that are a graphics card and an operating system. I already have Windows Xp Pro SP3 with a valid key, and I'm not ready to dish out more for vista. Will this system work with XP? I realize I will not get DirectX 10 and such. I have both 64, and 32 bit XP disks. What are the pros/cons of a 64 bit OS?

As for the graphics card, I decided to get a budget card to run in this for now, and upgrade to a much better one at Christmas. (I'm only playing source engine games atm, hl2 ect.)

I'm thinking to start with this card:
Radeon HD 4650 1GB GDDR2 $50-60
or
Nvidia Geforce 9500GT 1GB DDR2$50-60

They are both around the same price. Can anyone give me some insight on performance? I'll be playing Half-Life 2 games on the source engine. Counter-Strike: Source, Team Fortress 2, Garry's Mod and such. Maybe some left for dead.

And at Christmas upgrade to:
EVGA GeForce 9800 GTX+ 512MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 and then a bit along the road, a second one in sli maybe. Does xp 64 support sli? Will this system run this card in sli fine? What do I need to do about cooling...


Will any three of these cards have problems running on this system, or windows xp 32/64 bit?


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## jadonss (Jun 12, 2009)

Here is an update.


Kit: $399 http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=4896929&CatId=31

Includes:
Ultra X-Blaster Black ATX Mid-Tower Case
Asus M3N72-D SLI Motherboard
AMD Phenom X4 9600 Quad Core Processor
OCZ SLI-Ready Dual Channel 4GB PC6400 DDR2 800MHz Memory
Ultra LSP650 650-Watt Power Supply
Western Digital Caviar Green 500GB Hard Drive

Not included:
Graphics Card: $56 HIS Radeon HD 4650 1GB 128-bit GDDR2 PCI Express 2.0 x16
Operating System: Windows XP 64 bit (I own)

Then this Christmas, update graphics card to EVGA 9800GTX+ 512MB ddr3 (maybe even 2 in SLI)

Will it all work fine?


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## Tyree (May 10, 2009)

A Dual Core CPU is a better choice for gaming.
Ultra PSU's are NOT good.
XP will work with no problems.
One good graphics card is all you need. You will not see enough increase in performance to justify the added expense of two.
The 4650 is a decent card. For ATI chipped graphics cards, I prefer Sapphire & PowerColor.


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## jadonss (Jun 12, 2009)

Thanks for the response. I guess I will choose another barebone kit then. Can you help me select one? I'd really like something that I would be able to upgrade later on.


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## jadonss (Jun 12, 2009)

I have $500 total as a budget. I know how to assemble a computer from parts, so I figured might as well save some money by getting a barebone. I'm not a hardcore gamer, I don't play farcry 2, crysis all the time. I play steam games like l4d, cod 4, hl2.


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## jadonss (Jun 12, 2009)

D: I think I'll just stick to the Quad Core, because the dual core kits come with more generic parts. Why do Ultra PSU's suck? (Got 3 year warranty)

I'm going to add two 120mm fans to the case for extra cooling, because my room gets warm sometimes.

So...Here is what I got ATM. All good? Worth the price? Runs source engine games fine? (Also I own bioshock, and never beat it. Will this run bioshock at all low?) Oh and I love my CRT, so I'm using 1024x768 for everything.

Kit: $399 http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=4896929&CatId=31

Includes:
Ultra X-Blaster Black ATX Mid-Tower Case (Adding two of THESE)
Asus M3N72-D SLI Motherboard
AMD Phenom X4 9600 Quad Core Processor
OCZ SLI-Ready Dual Channel 4GB PC6400 DDR2 800MHz Memory
Ultra LSP650 650-Watt Power Supply
Western Digital Caviar Green 500GB Hard Drive

Not included:
Graphics Card: $56 SAPPHIRE Radeon HD 4650 1GB 128-bit GDDR2 PCI Express 2.0 x16
Operating System: Windows XP 64 bit (I own)

EVGA 9800GTX+ 512MB ddr3 (Possible christmas upgrade)


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## Wrench97 (May 10, 2008)

Ultra are low quality PSU's that lack the quality internal protection circuitry of better PSU's, a lot of the time when they go bad they will take components with them.
The Ultra cases may look nice but are made very cheaply.

Another point to bring up while the Phenom II(x4 955) CPU's are are nearly as good for gaming as the Intel Core2Duo E8400/E8500 the older Phenom I(x4 9xxx) core is slower.

Have a look over this build as a starting point using quality parts and giving you room for future upgrades.
Link	Disc	Price	
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128378 GA-MA790XT-UD4P $139.99	-$15.00
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103674 PII x4 955	$189.00	
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820220410 ram	$85.99	
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102854 HD4670	$66.69	
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139005&Tpk=650tx 650TX	$99.99	-$20.00
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119068 Cent 5 Case	$49.99	
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136319 WD 640	$74.99	
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827140041 DVD Burner	$33.99	



$740.63	-$20.00
$720.63


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## Tyree (May 10, 2009)

proagony said:


> D: I think I'll just stick to the Quad Core, because the dual core kits come with more generic parts. Why do Ultra PSU's suck? (Got 3 year warranty)


Your choice on the Quad Core.
The 3 yr. warranty doesn't make the Ultra good quality and it doesn't cover any other hardware it takes with it when it fails.
The PSU is absolutely the one thing you do not want to skimp on.


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## jadonss (Jun 12, 2009)

I really appreciate the help guys, I just can't do 720 right now. And the other kits i found just aren't that great. What should I expect out of a computer for 500 anyways lol. 

Any comments on this one? Any bad parts? Will this thing last me awhile playing source games at 1024x768? Can I maybe upgrade it to a slightly better card, or is the PSU in it not enough?

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16883229117


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## Phædrus241 (Mar 28, 2009)

A new computer for $500? If it's just the hardware you're looking at medium-low end gaming performance at best. If it's hardware+operating system it'll be bottom-of-the-barrel gaming, or a mid-range office computer. The PC you've linked to looks alright, though I'm not extremely familiar with CyberpowerPC. It's about what you could build on your own for that cost, only with generic components instead of quality. It will give you medium-low settings in most games on an average resolution.

Barebones kits aren't worth it a lot of the time. As you've said, most of the "low end" (not ridiculously overpriced) ones have cheap, generic hardware. You could get much better results buying the case, motherboard, CPU, and RAM independently.


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## Wrench97 (May 10, 2008)

Do you have an existing PC to rob the DVD and hard drive from?
The x4 CPU can drop to the Phenom x2 550 and shave $87 off the price above.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103680
The DVD and hard drive another $109 to get you into the $500 ball park with a decent system.


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## jadonss (Jun 12, 2009)

I have Windows XP 32, and 64 bit OS already with valid keys. So OS is no issue. 
I also already have a DVD RW drive so that's out of the picture.

I'm looking for cheap good quality parts instead of expensive low quality parts.

I know $500 still is stretching it for a gaming computer. But like I've said I don't play the new games. I might play the single players, beat them, and quit. My BFG Geforce 6800GT OC played fallout 3 at 800x600 (which i dont mind) low settings getting 50fps. I had fun, and beat the game, and went back to my older games. My 3ghz P4, and my 6800GT and 2GB ram have been working fine for the games I play. So I don't see why I need expensive parts. I would like to be able to use something like and 8800GT or 9800GT just to run my old games a bit better.


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## jadonss (Jun 12, 2009)

Oh wrench, just read your message :O I already have a dvd drive and and OS. I have a harddrive, but it's IDE so i should probably get the sata. I will never fill 640GB though. I could settle for 160gb lol.


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## Wrench97 (May 10, 2008)

Drop the drive to a 250Gig(cheaper then a 160Gig) for $47.99
I also found a Combo deal on a gigabyte board and the CPU so have a look over this.

Link	Disc	Price	
MotherBoard CPU Combo deal GIGABYTE GA-MA785G-UD3H & X2 550 
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.254089 PII x2 550	$181.99	
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820220410 ram	$85.99	
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102854 HD4670	$66.69	
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139005&Tpk=650tx 650TX	$99.99	-$20.00
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119068 Cent 5 Case	$49.99	
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136161 WD250	$47.99	




$532.64	-$20.00
$512.64


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## jadonss (Jun 12, 2009)

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103688 
AMD Athlon II X2 240 2.8GHz

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128394
GIGABYTE GA-MA785GM-US2H

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822148395
Seagate Barracuda 500GB 7200 RPM 16MB

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820145256
CORSAIR DOMINATOR 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 1066 

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811129042
Antec 300 Case

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817371020
Antec TruePower ATX12V V2.3 / EPS12V V2.91 80 PLUS BRONZE

All for* $374.*..And all *free shipping* because they are all in combos....
Do any of those suck?

I have like $130 left for a graphics card.

Wrench, just saw you posted, going to read it now.


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## jadonss (Jun 12, 2009)

I don't really need the phenom, a dual core athlon is fine for what I play. I've got a ton of help from you guys! I really appriciate it.

My question now is, are any of the parts i listed above bad quality? any known problems? As long as they don't blow up when I put them together I don't care. 

Those parts plus a SAPPHIRE Radeon HD 4830 512MB 256-bit GDDR3 (kind of over kill for what i play) but I would like to be able to beat the newer games on single-player once.

All together was like $500 (including shipping)


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## Wrench97 (May 10, 2008)

The Antec PSU is not what they once were we have all seen issues over the last couple of years with them.

The Athlon II 240 is quite a bit slower then the Phenom II x2 for gaming.

Micro Atx boards usually don't have the as good a set up for chipset cooling as Atx boards important factor on AMD boards.


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## jadonss (Jun 12, 2009)

NOOO DREAMS = CRUSHED

I know the athlon ii 240 is slower, but i dont need an uber fast one for source games/ diablo 2 / warcraft 3 (those games from from 2004 and before) and when i play newer games its just for a couple hours a day to beat the game. 

Will these parts work together though? And without any immediate issues? I can add an extra fan to keep them a bit cooler...

My computer (P4 Prescott 3GHz, 2GB ram, geforce 6800GT) runs everything I play totally fine. It was all going good until my 6800GT fan broke. Now it runs hot. So Instead of upgrading that old comp, i wanted to get a newer, but still low-end computer. So as long as these parts are compatible with each other and better than my old system, I'm happy as can be.


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## Wrench97 (May 10, 2008)

Yes they are all compatible, but I would pass on the Antec PSU.
What PSU do you currently have?


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## jadonss (Jun 12, 2009)

My current one is an OLD (2005) 520 watt.

BUT I just realized I took your advice from earlier and put the http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139005 in my cart, so the $500 (with shipping) included that PSU you linked...So this will all work fine? I know it will fit my needs.


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## Wrench97 (May 10, 2008)

Yes it will work well for you.


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## jadonss (Jun 12, 2009)

Awesome! Thanks for the help Wrench! Thanks Tyree and Phædrus!

I'll post back when It's all together and working


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## jadonss (Jun 12, 2009)

Decided I would make the full list 

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811129042 Antec 300 Case

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102822 Radeon 4830 512MB GDDR3

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139005 CORSAIR 650W ATX12V/ EPS12V SLI/CrossFire Ready 80+

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.258870 CORSAIR 4GB DOMINATOR DDR2 1066 RAM

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.258870 GIGABYTE GA-MA785GM-US2H MOBO

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.258870 AMD Athlon II X2 240 2.6GHZ

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.258870 Seagate Barracuda 7200RPM 16MB

Regular Price: $630 (PLUS SHIPPING)
My Price after combos and discounts:$500 (FREE SHIPPING)

Hope this works out


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## Tyree (May 10, 2009)

Be sure and build it on the bench before installing in the case and you should be good.
Best of luck and enjoy!


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## jadonss (Jun 12, 2009)

Hmm I have never assembled a computer compliantly from scratch. I have upgraded every part of it, so I know where it all goes, and I know how to apply thermal grease (if its not already on there) but I just never had the parts to build from scratch.

I don't know what you mean by bench. I do know about motherboards and cases like frying everything if they are done wrong. I was told ground the electricity by holding something metal or something lol..

Can someone link me a video or guide on how to do it? I think I could definitely do it now, and nothing mess up, but I want to be safe :O


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## Wrench97 (May 10, 2008)

By bench testing we mean to set up the motherboard, CPU & heatsink, ram, video card with the motherboard on top of the cardboard box it came in. hook up the power supply and boot it up, like shown here in lindermans benchtest> http://www.techsupportforum.com/f255/how-to-bench-test-your-system-171424.html

I usually build them like this even installing the OS and then assemble into the case.


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## jadonss (Jun 12, 2009)

Ah yes, I've see that tutorial before. I was going to build on the motherboard box. Didn't know it was called benching though. Thanks =D

The point of it is to see if everything work before going through trouble of putting into case I guess? That makes sense


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## Wrench97 (May 10, 2008)

Yes you know if it all works, then if you install it and it does not work it's almost certianly a shorting issue with the case, like a standoff out of place or the back plate out of position.


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## jadonss (Jun 12, 2009)

Awesome. I will do that.

By the way, I switched out the 4830, with a Sapphire 4850 512mb gddr3, it ended up same price because the 4850 had free shipping. On that note, has anyone had any known problems with the 4850? :O


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## Phædrus241 (Mar 28, 2009)

Unless you're using Fedora 10 Linux, nope.


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## jadonss (Jun 12, 2009)

MIGHT BE A PROBLEM?

The motherboard:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128394
Needs an 8-pin cpu power connector

The power supply:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139005
Has a 4-pin cpu power connector

Please look at the links and see the pics and info and stuff D= is this a problem? The parts came in a combo, so it shouldn't! Parts will be here friday.

*EDIT:
12V(4/8Pin)
my bad D=*


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## Wrench97 (May 10, 2008)

The 8 pin is only needed with a Quad core, but as you have seen the 650TX has a 4+4 to use as the 8 pin.


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## jadonss (Jun 12, 2009)

Wait...I have 8 pins, but they are for quad core?

Should I just use four, or should I do the full 8?


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## grimx133 (Jan 15, 2008)

Either way is fine, I'd use all 8, if only to not have a 4 pin hanging there loose.


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## jadonss (Jun 12, 2009)

Ok, just wanted to be sure it wouldn't cause problems because of the dual core cpu.


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## jadonss (Jun 12, 2009)

Ordered all the parts on September 15th 09, (Tuesday), and I just got the case today! (Friday) =]

The antec 300 is bigger than I expected, looks like an awesome case. It brings up a question though. If I decide to add the two 120mm fans in the front of the case, should it be blowing in air, or air out? Also if I add a fan to the side of the case, does it blow air out, or air in on the graphics card?

Hoping to either get the rest of the parts tomorrow (Saturday) if they deliver on Saturdays, or Monday.


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## Phædrus241 (Mar 28, 2009)

The front fans should be blowing in. You want to have a front-to-back airflow in the case. Front and side fans should be blowing in, back and top fans should be blowing out.


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## jadonss (Jun 12, 2009)

Ok that clears up a lot. Thanks


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## jadonss (Jun 12, 2009)

What are precautions I need to take regarding static electricity =o

Also, I have some arctic silver 5 laying around, what's the best method to remove the current thermal paste, and put the arctic on my CPU? Would it make a difference?


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## Tyree (May 10, 2009)

Be sure to touch the metal on case before touching anything.
Personally, I would leave the stock paste in place. It works quite well.
If you do fel the need to replace the thermal pad, use 90% Isopropyl Alcohol to thoroughly remove all of the paste on the CPU & heatsink and avoid touching them with your bare hands after they are cleaned.


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## jadonss (Jun 12, 2009)

So touching the case will remove the static from my hands so I can assemble the parts? Cool

Stock paste is fine for now


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## jadonss (Jun 12, 2009)

All parts got here today. First build so excited 

Put it all together in couple of hours, only ran into one problem. Getting the sata drive configured in the BIOS right.

The PSU I got is a monster :O It's huge and has tons of connectors...haha nice.

Everything working 100% all temps are running cool 20-32C range.

Only thing is with the motherboard. If you look at the pictures: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128394

The ram are coloured like YELLOW YELLOW RED RED

most mobo's ive seen are like YELLOW RED YELLOW RED so I know for the dual channel i put the 2 ram sticks in yellow.

For this one I tried YELLOW YELLOW, and when it loads, it detects all 4GB ram, but it says the type is "unganged"

I tried YELLOW RED and it is still "unganged"

=/ Does it not support dual channel? what is ganged/unganged anyway :O


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## Wrench97 (May 10, 2008)

The Phenom has a dual memory controller one for each channel, ganged, unganged has to do with ganging the controller together to act as one or letting it work separately as 2 unganged is the faster mode you want, put 1 stick in yellow and 1 in a red slot for dual channel.


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## jadonss (Jun 12, 2009)

wrench97 said:


> The Phenom has a dual memory controller one for each channel, ganged, unganged has to do with ganging the controller together to act as one or letting it work separately as 2 unganged is the faster mode you want, put 1 stick in yellow and 1 in a red slot for dual channel.


It's unganged right now, so that's the faster? Ok good.


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## Wrench97 (May 10, 2008)

Yep unganged is what you want.


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