# New to custom computers - Build



## lilgigs918 (Jul 28, 2008)

So I am new to custom computers. I have tried to read the different posts around the forums, if a lot of my questions have been answered, can you point me in the direction of those posts?

I have had the same HP desktop for the past 6 years.

My budget is around $1000 dollars, I have looked at building my own but I don't know if I have the time to do it.

So I looked around at http://www.resellerratings.com/ and found that http://www.computerlx.com/ seems to have mostly positive reviews

9.73 6 month
9.48 lifetime

I came up with this build through computerlx.com


# Intel Core 2 Duo Processor E8400 3GHz 1333MHz 6MB LGA775 CPU
# INTEL STANDARD PROCESSOR COOLING FAN
# Asus P5B SE LGA775/ Core 2 Duo/ P965/ SATA2/ A&GbE/ ATX Motherboard
# OCZ OCZ2G8001GK 4GB (4X 1GB) Kit DDR2 PC2-6400 Gold GX XTC
# Western Digital WD2500KS 250GB SATA2 7200rpm 16MB Hard Drive
# SAMSUNG/LITEON 20X DVD-RW DUAL LAYER W/LIGHTSCRIBE (PROMO ITEM)
# nVidia GeForce 8800GT 512MB 2DVI/HDCP PCI-Express Video Card
# 6-CHANNEL DIGITAL SOUND ONBOARD
# ROSEWILL 10/100/1000 Mbps PCI Adapter
# BCC VOYAGER MID-TOWER ATX
# THERMALTAKE 600 WATT PUREPOWER ATX
# Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium 64BIT (DVD & LICENSE INCLUDED)

Total=$984 which includes $25 dollars for shipping


There are some options I had no idea what to choose though:

THERMAL PASTE (STANDARD PASTE INCLUDED) - Should I choose a better paste?
PROFESSIONAL WIRING - I chose nothing
MEMORY HEAT SPREADORS - I chose nothing
HARD DRIVE COOLERS - I chose nothing
CASE COOLING FANS - I chose nothing but I am pretty sure I am supposed to have 1 or 2 fans.
CASE EXHAUST FANS - ADDITIONAL COOLING - I chose nothing


As I was weighing over the option of building my own computer I looked through newegg and found that the OS that I wanted was $330 which made it seem like the better option for me would be to go through the computerlx site. As of right now I am weighing heavily towards having a company build my custom computer. Could someone give me some advice on the options I chose and the options I had no idea about? Also if there is a better site to custom build your computer, could you let me know, ibuypower and cyberpower had really low ratings so I got scared off by them.

I thank you all in advance for helping a beginner out.

My name is Tim.


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## linderman (May 20, 2005)

hello Tim


your spec builder isnt bad ........ far better than the majority of them 


I advise two things

have them revise your price to include the Gigabyte GA-EP35-DS3L motherboard instead of the Asus board you have listed ....... the P35 chipset is better than the P965 
this change should not make the price increase and if it does NOT by more than $10.00 to $15.00 dollars

next 

DONT get the Thermaltake PURE power power supply........ they are HORRIBLE

ask for the Thermaltake Toughpower 650 watt or Corsair TX-650 watt or Coolermaster REAL power PRO 650 watt (only real power pro) 

the rest looks real good


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## linderman (May 20, 2005)

btw : tell your spec builder they can get the Corsair TX-650 watt at provantage.com for $87.00 !


you "might" have to throw in $30.00 bucks into the upgrade column; but it will be the best $30.00 ever spent !!


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## lilgigs918 (Jul 28, 2008)

Thank you linderman for the quick reply.

If I get it through http://www.computerlx.com/ it seems the only motherboard they offer from gigabyte:

Gigabyte GA-965P-S3 LGA775 / P965 / DDR2 800 / A&GbE / RoHS / ATX Motherboard

the rest are ASUS

and for the power supply they do offer the toughpower but it is

THERMALTAKE 700 WATT TOUGHPOWER ATX

They also offer:

OKIA A-POWER 680 WATT ATX POWER SUPPLY

ROSEWILL 600 WATT SLI POWER SUPPLY

ROSEWILL 750 WATT SLI POWER SUPPLY

but I am sure the toughpower is the way to go correct?


If I choose from this computerlx site I could choose the lowest powersupply option then by one of the ones you suggested on the side and install it on my own.


Also in regards to these options from the computerlx.com site, are any of them important that I would need to select something for them? Case cooling fan seems the most important but maybe they are all important.

THERMAL PASTE (STANDARD PASTE INCLUDED) - Should I choose a better paste?
PROFESSIONAL WIRING - I chose nothing
MEMORY HEAT SPREADORS - I chose nothing
HARD DRIVE COOLERS - I chose nothing
CASE COOLING FANS - I chose nothing but I am pretty sure I am supposed to have 1 or 2 fans.
CASE EXHAUST FANS - ADDITIONAL COOLING - I chose nothing


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## MyKobalt (Feb 15, 2008)

upgrade your thermal paste to the Noctua NT-H1 paste. thats something that you don't want to be cheap on. and yes. go with the Toughpower.


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## lilgigs918 (Jul 28, 2008)

MyKobalt said:


> upgrade your thermal paste to the Noctua NT-H1 paste. thats something that you don't want to be cheap on. and yes. go with the Toughpower.


They offer these two options for paste:

OCZ ULTRA 5+ SILVER THERMAL COMPOUND

ZEROTHERM ZT100 THERMAL GREASE


In regards to the motherboard, you said the p35 chip was better, I was going over the Asus ones they offer:

ASUS P5K SE CORE 2 QUAD/ INTEL P35/ FSB1333/ DDR2-1066/ A&GBE/ - $16 upgrade

ASUS P5K CORE 2 QUAD/ INTEL P35/ DDR2-1066/ CROSSFIRE/ A&GBE - $56 upgrade

ASUS P5KC CORE 2 QUAD/ INTEL P35/ DDR3+DDR2/ CROSSFIRE/ A&GBE - $61

ASUS P5K-E CORE 2 QUAD/ INTEL P35/ FSB 1333/ DDR2-1066/ CROSSFIRE/ A&GBE/ ATX MOTHERBOARD - $63

They have more but they keep going up in price.




How many case cooling fans would be best?

The options for case cooling fans are:

VANTEC DELUXE CASE COOLER
THERMALTAKE ULTRA-QUIET CASE FAN
OKIA HEAVY DUTY CASE FAN
OKIA 80MM CASE COOLER

Are case exhaust fans necessary?


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## linderman (May 20, 2005)

toughpower is the ONLY one they offer thats any good

but you must evaluate the angles ????? it may be cheaper to get the lowest cost PSU then as soon as you get the system upgrade the PSU

any of those P5K boards are a better option ......... the P5K is decent so is the P5KC & P5K-E ................... I have sold alot of P5K-E they are hassle free ....... but I expect so are all the P5K's ?

cooling fans .......... you want at least one x 120mm intake air and one x 120mm exaust 

but dont sweat that one ..... case fans are cheap to add later ..... around $12.00 each for high quality versions ?

go for the OCZ thermal paste ....... I am fairly confident its just rebranded Artic Silver-5 which is a good thing


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## lilgigs918 (Jul 28, 2008)

Ok so here is my system with changes made.


# Intel Core 2 Duo Processor E8400 3GHz 1333MHz 6MB LGA775 CPU

# INTEL STANDARD PROCESSOR COOLING FAN

# OCZ Ultra 5+ Silver Thermal Compound

# Asus P5K-E Core 2 Quad/ Intel P35/ FSB 1333/ DDR2-1066/ CrossFire/ A&GbE/ ATX Motherboard

# OCZ OCZ2G8001GK 4GB (4X 1GB) Kit DDR2 PC2-6400 Gold GX XTC

# Western Digital WD2500KS 250GB SATA2 7200rpm 16MB Hard Drive

# SAMSUNG/LITEON 20X DVD-RW DUAL LAYER W/LIGHTSCRIBE (PROMO ITEM)

# nVidia GeForce 8800GT 512MB 2DVI/HDCP PCI-Express Video Card

# 6-CHANNEL DIGITAL SOUND ONBOARD

# 10/100 ETHERNET ONBOARD

# RAIDMAX SMILODON-eXTREME CASE

# THERMALTAKE ULTRA-QUIET CASE FAN

# THERMALTAKE DELUXE CASE COOLING SYSTEM

# THERMALTAKE 700 WATT TOUGHPOWER ATX

# Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium 64BIT (DVD & LICENSE INCLUDED)


It is up to $1256. Is that overpriced for what is in the system or is that about average?


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## linderman (May 20, 2005)

that is about the average cost of the spec you listed with labor to assemble and waranty service 

you can price all those parts yourself on newegg to verify


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## linderman (May 20, 2005)

lilgigs918 said:


> Ok so here is my system with changes made.
> 
> 
> # Intel Core 2 Duo Processor E8400 3GHz 1333MHz 6MB LGA775 CPU >>>$180.00
> ...





you can save money with the corsair TX-650 for $87.00 thats 40%


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## lilgigs918 (Jul 28, 2008)

Thanks Linderman for all your help, yeah I am deciding what I should do with the parts that I could get cheaper.

Building and installing components on my own has me a little worried.

Especially the power supply.


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## linderman (May 20, 2005)

power supply is very easy to install for most anyone........ i dont know how mechanically inclined / expereinced at upgrades you are ?????


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## lilgigs918 (Jul 28, 2008)

Ok I am fairly competent just have never really worked extensively on computers.

I think I will actually order the power supply separate.

This is the one you are talking about correct?
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139005


In regards to the motherboard, should I get a ddr3 compatible board for future upgrades?


Since I am going to buy the power supply separate, you mentioned buying the fans separately as well. 

Do you have suggestions for one x 120mm intake air and one x 120mm exhaust?


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## lilgigs918 (Jul 28, 2008)

I just saw that you said this in another post.

Stay away from DDR3 memory and DDR3 boards = WAYYYYYY over priced


that answer one of my questions.


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## linderman (May 20, 2005)

yes the corsair newegg power supply link is the one




this is my fav case fan

http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/searchtools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=925072


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