# New Gaming/Media PC Build



## Jared37 (Jun 30, 2007)

My budget is approximately $1200...give or take $100 and whatnot. I'm thinking of building my first system. MY tech level is more specialized to software than hardware, and that is my worry. I've installed ram, video cards, optical drives, and hard drives before...but never processors or motherboards. How hard is to to build a PC from the ground up? I'm worried about my ability to diagnose problems that arise and whatnot.

Here's a sample of things I've picked out, all from New Egg...because I've delt with them in the past.




 $145 MSI P6N SLI Platinum LGA 775 NVIDIA nForce 650i SLI ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail

$223 Intel Core 2 Duo E6600 Conroe 2.4GHz LGA 775 Processor Model BX80557E6600 - Retail 

$316 Intel Core 2 Duo E6700 Conroe 2.66GHz 4M shared L2 Cache LGA 775 Processor - Retail

$119 OCZ GameXStream OCZ600GXSSLI ATX12V 600W Power Supply - Retail

$89 G.SKILL 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model F2-6400CL5D-2GBNQ - Retail

$99 EVGA 256-P2-N615-TX GeForce 7600GT 256MB GDDR3 PCI Express x16 Video Card - Retail

$79 Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 ST3320620AS (Perpendicular Recording Technology) 320GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM

$149 Thermaltake Armor Series VA8000BWS Black Aluminum / Steel ATX Full Tower Computer Case - Retail

$31 Sony NEC Optiarc Black 18X DVD+R 8X DVD+RW 8X DVD+R DL 18X DVD-R 6X DVD-RW 12X DVD-RAM 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-R 32X CD-RW 48X CD-ROM 2MB Cache E-IDE / ATAPI DVD Burner - OEM

$100-$150 Win XP or Vista....if I decide




I know I've listed 2 processors, is the $93 worth it for the faster clock speed on the e6700? 

Any other suggestions? I don't do a lot of heavy gaming, but I want the SLi option there, and later I mat decide to double my video cards, or add more RAM/HDDs.


Thanks all! I appreciate the help.

EDIT- Are there any detailed and easy to understand online guides available for building your first PC? I've looked a bit...but I've been unable to find everything I want in the same easy guide.


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## TheMatt (May 9, 2006)

Hi Jared, and welcome to TSF! :wave:

That looks good. IMO The only thing I would change is the video card. You might as well get the 8600GT for the price, or even an 8600GTS.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130085
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127284

Also, the E6600 is a better deal, but if you can wait for the E6550, then get that. It will have the 1333 MHz FSB and will be cheaper than the E6600 is now. So consider that. :wink:

One more thing. The Antec Trio 650w is $10 more and is a good choice to considder if you will plan on going SLI with the 8600GT or GTS.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817371001


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## sensei6375 (Jun 29, 2007)

Jared,

I am in the same boat as you. Seen em done but have not done my own yet. I am building mine soon though. Here are a few sites I have found. Hope these help.

http://www.buildeasypc.com/
http://www.pcmech.com/byopc/
http://www.buildyourown.org.uk/
http://www.tigerdirect.com/static/html/pcbuildingtips.html
http://www.tomshardware.com/2006/11/20/how_to_build_part_1/
http://www.hardwarecentral.com/hardwarecentral/reports/article.php/3580681


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## Jared37 (Jun 30, 2007)

Thanks guys. I've upped my video card to an evga 8600GTS, and I also changed the mobo to support full 16x, 16x Sli. So when I get a second video card it will fully support it.


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## TheMatt (May 9, 2006)

Did you get the P6N Diamond from MSI?


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## Jared37 (Jun 30, 2007)

No, it was a bit too expensive on newegg. If it's cheaper anywhere else though I'd definitely consider it. On newegg it's $280. I hate spending more on the mobo than the processor. :tongue:

I chose the Asus P5N32-E SLI Plus. IT's only $180 and it supports full x16 x16 SLI!

Any other suggestions are welcome though. I also decided on the Antec Nine Hundred Case. I like the design better, and it's a mid tower.


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## TheMatt (May 9, 2006)

I like the case, but I would stay away from Asus. There was a reason that board was so cheap. Take a look at this as an alternative:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813186113

They were even nice enough to include round ribbon cables. :smile:


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## Jared37 (Jun 30, 2007)

Stay away from Asus entirely? Or just that particular board? I've always thought they were a good company. They get a lot of sales. I've never heard of Foxconn....MSI I know has a good rep though.


One more question...when building my new machine, can I simply use the hard drive with all my material and my OS and just put it into the new system as the main drive? I don't want to run Vista yet, and it would be awesome to be able to keep everything without having to transfer. It's only 2.5 years old anyway. It's an 80 GB, but I have a 320 GB for extra space.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...31153,N82E16813188019,N82E16813186113&bop=And

^Those are the ones I am now deciding on. I kinda like the Evga boards too. The Foxconn looks nice but I've never heard of the brand.


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## TheMatt (May 9, 2006)

Asus was doing great in terms of quality during the Socket 939 era, but they started to loose ground in the Socket M2/LGA775 era. That is why I would personally go for another brand until they start building better boards.

Foxconn is also a less known brand but they are still trusted by a lot of computer techs. Remember, reading the reviews on boards is the best thing you can do because the majority of issues are noticed within the first week of getting them.

As for the hard drive, it will be difficult but not impossible. You can't just import your boot drive because it has all the drivers from the previous system. I will check on how to use a drive from another system.


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## Jared37 (Jun 30, 2007)

Ok, thanks for all the help. I'll go with MSI or Evga or Foxconn. I actually read another topic about the HD switch. On another forum they said it was more or less not possible and to keep the hard drive they needed to format it inside the new machine.

I just didn't want to lose 2+ years of data if I could get around it. It will take days to reinstall everything. Although I do have it all saved.


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## TheMatt (May 9, 2006)

The Foxconn has the best cost/performance/quality ratio, so I would go with that.

Take a look at this for hard drive importing:
http://www.pcstats.com/articleview.cfm?articleid=1755&page=5


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