# NCIX Build?



## Oxidize (Sep 13, 2009)

Hi, I posted earlier about a computer I wanted to build with parts from a local shop and newegg. 

recently I stumbled across a certain online computer store that Interested me dearly, the pricing from what I see is great. 

I went To NCIX.com, I went to there BuyAPc section where you can customize parts of a prebuilt computer... is that a good idea? 

I picked out the Entra Home & Office A2000 computer and configured the specs like this...

*-(PC Assembly and testing + 1 Year warranty)

-(AMD Athlon II X2 250 Dual Core Processor Socket AM3 3.0GHZ 2MB Cache 60W Retail Box)

-(Gigabyte GA-MA78GM-US2H AMD780G mATX AM2+/AM3 PCI-E DDR2 SATA2 Video Sound GBLAN HDMI Motherboard )

-(Crucial Rendition 3GB 1X1GB PC2-6400 DDR2-800 240PIN DIMM Memory)

-(XFX Radeon HD 4770 750MHZ 512MB 3.2GHZ GDDR5 Dual DVI TV Out PCI-E Video Card)

-(Compucase 6C28B ATX Case Black 4X5.25 2X3.5 4X.3.5INT W/ Front USB & Audio No PS)

-(Corsair VX550W 550W ATX 12V 41A 24PIN ATX Power Supply Active PFC 120MM Fan)

-(Seagate Barracuda 7200.12 500GB SATA2 3.5IN 8.5MS 7200RPM 16MB Hard Drive OEM *3YR MFR Warranty)

-(Samsung SH-S223B/BEBE 22X DVD+-RW SATA DVD Writer Black OEM)

-(Mouse + Keyboard)

-(Asus 19inch Monitor)
*
It came to $811 dollars.

I have a couple Questions....
1. Would these parts work together? 
2. Can my psu handle all these? and would it connect to my desired gfx card.
3. would the gfx card fit?
4. is it a good buy?


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## Phædrus241 (Mar 28, 2009)

1.) Yes.
2.) Theoretically.
3.) Yes.
4.) No, not at all. 1GB of RAM? An XFX graphics card? A generic case? Crap PSU?

If you built it yourself you could get an E8500 3.16GHz, a Radeon 4870, a *quality* 650W PSU, and a nice mid-tower case for that price.

http://www.techsupportforum.com/f24...-are-6-suggested-models-with-spec-367415.html

First build, $822. Take out the Zalman 9700 fan and replace the 9800GTX+ with a Radeon 4870 and you have a high-end gaming machine for ~$800, versus the mid-range one you have there. And building a computer is easy.

Ah, I see that they throw in a monitor as well. Well, if you want a new monitor as well for under $800 then reduce the graphics card to a Sapphire Radeon 4850, the CPU to an E8400 or E7600, the PSU to a Corsair VX550W, and get this:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824254025&cm_re=Hanns-G-_-24-254-025-_-Product


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## Oxidize (Sep 13, 2009)

Sorry, let me fix that up.... it's 3GB of ram. 


as for newegg, there's really no point, shipping costs me well over $50.
~im in canada.


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## Oxidize (Sep 13, 2009)

Antec is crap? btw, $800 Canadian is like $700 American.


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## grimx133 (Jan 15, 2008)

Antec used to have their psu's built by seasonic, but changed a few years ago. As a result, some of their power supplies can be dodgy. They have started to return to seasonic built for some of the high end ones, the Earthwatts isn't one of them, last I heard. 
Personally, I like ncix, order lots of components from there. You are better off building your own, but some can find that a tad daunting. It's a decision you have to make, the prebuilts will most likely run fine, and if they do blow up in the first year, there's a warranty. Instead of the individual component warranties of a self built.


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## Phædrus241 (Mar 28, 2009)

Ah, didn't realize you were in Canada. In that case it's a decent price... You could probably build it a bit cheaper yourself, but you'd only save like $50 at most. 

Antec cases are nice, but their PSUs have not been good in several years. They used to be one of the leaders in power supplies, but then they started farming their manufacturing out to the lowest bidder, so... 

I'd suggest an Antec 200 or 300 case and a ~500-600W PSU from Corsair, SeaSonic, or PC Power and Cooling. It might be a bit more expensive, but it's worth it for the quality.


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## Oxidize (Sep 13, 2009)

Phædrus2401 said:


> Ah, didn't realize you were in Canada. In that case it's a decent price... You could probably build it a bit cheaper yourself, but you'd only save like $50 at most.
> 
> Antec cases are nice, but their PSUs have not been good in several years. They used to be one of the leaders in power supplies, but then they started farming their manufacturing out to the lowest bidder, so...
> 
> I'd suggest an Antec 200 or 300 case and a ~500-600W PSU from Corsair, SeaSonic, or PC Power and Cooling. It might be a bit more expensive, but it's worth it for the quality.


how do coolermaster cases sound? I already changed the psu as you can see.


-Corsair VX550W 550W ATX 12V 41A 24PIN ATX Power Supply Active PFC 120MM Fan

also, what are the good case company's?


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## Phædrus241 (Mar 28, 2009)

CoolerMaster and Antec both make excellent cases, Lian Li is another great manufacturer, Silverstone cases are alright, and some people like Raidmax and Xclio, though I don't.


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## Oxidize (Sep 13, 2009)

Phædrus2401 said:


> CoolerMaster and Antec both make excellent cases, Lian Li is another great manufacturer, Silverstone cases are alright, and some people like Raidmax and Xclio, though I don't.


okay..

Cooler Master Elite 335 Black ATX Mid Tower Case 4X5.25 1X3.25 6X3.25INT W/ ATX PS2 Front USB Audio


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## Phædrus241 (Mar 28, 2009)

Yeah, that's a good case, decent quality and reasonably priced. We usually recommend the Centurion 5, but it comes down to personal taste, really.


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## Oxidize (Sep 13, 2009)

Okay, So far.
*
-(PC assembly + 1 Year warranty)

-(AMD Athlon II X2 245 Dual Core Processor Socket AM3 2.9GHZ 2MB Cache 65W Retail Box)

-(Gigabyte GA-MA78GM-US2H AMD780G mATX AM2+/AM3 PCI-E DDR2 SATA2 Video Sound GBLAN HDMI Motherboard)

-( 3GB Crucial Rendition 1X1GB PC2-6400 DDR2-800 240PIN DIMM Memory)

-(XFX Radeon HD 4770 750MHZ 512MB 3.2GHZ GDDR5 Dual DVI TV Out PCI-E Video Card)

-(Cooler Master Elite 335 Black ATX Mid Tower Case 4X5.25 1X3.25 6X3.25INT W/ ATX PS2 Front USB Audio)

-(Corsair VX550W 550W ATX 12V 41A 24PIN ATX Power Supply Active PFC 120MM Fan)

-(Philips 190VW9FB 19IN Widescreen LCD Monitor Black 1440X900 8000:1DC 5ms VGA)

-(Seagate Barracuda 7200.12 500GB SATA2 3.5IN 8.5MS 7200RPM 16MB Hard Drive OEM *3YR MFR Warranty*)

-(Samsung SH-S223B/BEBE 22X DVD+-RW SATA DVD Writer Black OEM)

-(Logitech Deluxe 250 Keyboard USB)*


Grand total: $848


Is this a good go?


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## Phædrus241 (Mar 28, 2009)

I'd say so. Let's hear the other techs' opinions.


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## Oxidize (Sep 13, 2009)

Another question, is barebone pc building smart?

I could buy something like this
http://www.tigerdirect.ca/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=5205403&Sku=B69-1107

and get my gfx card etc from ncix.com


is this a good idea?


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## Phædrus241 (Mar 28, 2009)

Eeeh, usually they give you cheap, generic parts, and the ones that give decent quality are usually way-overpriced. Either build it yourself from parts or have someone build it for you--going halfway usually isn't worth it.


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## Tyree (May 10, 2009)

My opinions on Post #11
Why 3GB of RAM? I'd go with a matched pair of 2X1 or 2X2 GB.
I don't care for anything XFX. 
Samsung DVDRW--OK for general use but LG and Lite-On are better for burning.
Post #13The Tiger Direct build: Prebuilts generally pawn off cheap parts (Apex case & PSU) and Tiger Diect is not the most reliable parts source.


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## Oxidize (Sep 13, 2009)

I've also came up with this.

*-(AMD Athlon II X2 250 Dual Core Processor Socket AM3 3.0GHZ 2MB Cache 60W Retail Box)

-(Gigabyte GA-MA78GM-US2H AMD780G mATX AM2+/AM3 PCI-E DDR2 SATA2 Video Sound GBLAN HDMI Motherboard)

-(Crucial Rendition 2GB 1X2GB PC2-6400 DDR2-800 240PIN DIMM Memory -4GB)

-(ATI Radeon HD 4670 750MHZ 1GB 900MHZ GDDR3 Dual DVI HDTV Out PCI-E Video Card) 

-(Cooler Master Elite 335 Black ATX Mid Tower Case 4X5.25 1X3.25 6X3.25INT W/ ATX PS2 Front USB Audio)

-(Coolermaster Extreme Power 550W ATX 12V V2.01 Silent Power Supply 20/24PIN 120MM Fan)

-(Philips 190VW9FB 19IN Widescreen LCD Monitor Black 1440X900 8000:1DC 5ms VGA)

-(Seagate Barracuda 7200.12 320 SATA2 3.5IN 8.5MS 7200RPM 16MB Hard Drive OEM *3YR MFR Warranty*)

-(Samsung SH-S223B/BEBE 22X DVD+-RW SATA DVD Writer Black OEM)

-(PC assembly + 1 Year warranty)

*

*Grand total = 817*

-Is this another good build?
-Should i save the $50 dollars and have them ship it to me without build?


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## Phædrus241 (Mar 28, 2009)

The first build was much better... The Coolermaster Extreme Power PSUs are not good.


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## Oxidize (Sep 13, 2009)

what about the 

PC Power & Cooling Silencer 610W EPS12V ATX V2.2 24PIN SLI Ready Active PFC 80MM Fan Power Supply

or 

Seasonic SS-500ET 500W EPS12V 20/24PIN ATX Power Supply Active PFC 80PLUS 6PIN PCI-E 120MM Fan OEM


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## Phædrus241 (Mar 28, 2009)

Yeah, those are both good units. I'd go with the PCP&C unit, personally.


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## Oxidize (Sep 13, 2009)

Could I just go with an antec? are they reliable?


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## Phædrus241 (Mar 28, 2009)

You can go with whatever you like. We're just giving our advice as to what we think is best.

Antec used to be reliable, as their PSUs used to be made by SeaSonic. Recently, however, they've been outsourcing their manufacturing to the lowest bidder, so whether or not you get a "decent" unit is anyone's guess. I'd steer clear, personally, but if you want to take the chance it's your call.


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## Oxidize (Sep 13, 2009)

Phædrus2401 said:


> You can go with whatever you like. We're just giving our advice as to what we think is best.
> 
> Antec used to be reliable, as their PSUs used to be made by SeaSonic. Recently, however, they've been outsourcing their manufacturing to the lowest bidder, so whether or not you get a "decent" unit is anyone's guess. I'd steer clear, personally, but if you want to take the chance it's your call.


Okay thanks..


well, I'm gonna be posting things like this and more ideas until I actually get my $800. Looking forward to all your help.


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## Oxidize (Sep 13, 2009)

Has anyone heard of Zippy PSU's? are they alright?


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## Tyree (May 10, 2009)

Never heard of Zippy PSU's. 
Once again, Seasonic & Corsair are quality PSU's.
Some other good PSU's are listed in Phædrus2401's signature located at the bottom of every post he makes.


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## Oxidize (Sep 13, 2009)

Another NCIX build I thought up of.
*
-(PC Assembly and Testing with 1 Year Limited NCIX System Warranty (PRE-CONFIG WIN. OS If Purchased) 

-(AMD Athlon II X2 245 Dual Core Processor Socket AM3 2.9GHZ 2MB Cache 65W Retail Box)

-(Gigabyte GA-MA78GM-US2H AMD780G mATX AM2+/AM3 PCI-E DDR2 SATA2 Video Sound GBLAN HDMI Motherboard)

-(Crucial Rendition 1GB 1X1GB PC2-6400 DDR2-800 240PIN DIMM Memory -2GB)

-(EVGA E-GEFORCE 9800GT Superclocked 55NM 650MHZ 512MB 1.9GHZ GDDR3 Dual DVI-I HDTV Out Video Card)

-(Coolermaster Elite 310 Black W/ Blue Trim ATX Mid Tower Case 4X5.25 6X3.5INT 1X3.5EXT No PSU)

-(OCZ StealthXStream 600W ATX12V 20/24PIN Active PFC ATX Power Supply 120MM Fan Black)

-(Seagate Barracuda 7200.12 320GB SATA2 7200RPM 16MB Hard Drive OEM)

-(Samsung SH-S223B/BEBE 22X DVD+-RW SATA DVD Writer Black OEM)


~


-(Microsoft Intellimouse Optical Mouse PS2/USB)

-(Logitech Deluxe 250 Keyboard USB)

-(Logitech Premium Stereo Headset W/ Noise Canceling Microphone & IN-LINE Controls)

Total = 692! WOW*



-Is this a good build? 

-Would this computer get hot? 

-Is the 9800GT OC a good choice for mainstream gaming for years to come?

-Is the psu reliable?


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