# Are my computer hardware choices good?



## nerv11 (Sep 2, 2009)

So I just wanna get a "pro" opinion if the following hardware will all work together, I looked at all the pieces and their details, and they seem to be all compatible, but I wanna be sure, thanks!

Case: http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119201

GPU: http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150439

RAM: http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820145260

MOBO: http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131621

CPU: http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115215

SSD: http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820227394


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## grimx133 (Jan 15, 2008)

Everything will work together. That said.....

What are you going to use for a psu?

Also wondering what you're using it for, if it's gaming, you could increase the
performance by getting more video card. To keep in the same budget, you'd
need to lose the ssd for a regular platter drive. Between the gpu and hdd, the 
gpu has the most impact on performance. Something like,
GTX 260 - http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130433 
WD Caviar Black 640GB - http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136319 

Of course, you really need decent power. I'm always a tad leery when someone 
doesn't mention the psu, seems like they're embarassed eh.


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## Tyree (May 10, 2009)

Good selection of parts but the SSD's are WAY overpriced, XFX products are of questionable quality and their support leaves much to be desired.
grimx133 has suggested very good alternatives. Add a SeaSonic or Corsair PSU and you will have a good build.


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## nerv11 (Sep 2, 2009)

Thanks for the replies. I forgot to post my PSU with the list last night, then the site 404'd. I just posted my main components, but I do have a WD caviar 640GB hard drive to go along with the SSD, I'm primarily gonna use it to system boot and programs for extra speed. There won't be much gaming going on, hence the middle-level graphics card, it had good reviews on it and seems like a decent graphics card so I chose it (and call of duty comes with it, woot)(I'll be doing a fair amount of video and photo editing though). I agree the SSD's are still expensive, I was going to go with a 160 earlier on for $400, but decided on the smaller one and get a regular 640GB HDD with that. 

Here's the PSU I'm looking at right now, let me know if I should get a higher-end one. But from reading the details, I'm assuming it should be enough. http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820227394

I'm also putting in http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16833166038 and http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827118030 as well. They should work flawlessly, right?~ Muahaha~


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## Tyree (May 10, 2009)

Your money-your choice on the SSD and the XFX GPU.
Your PSU link goes to a SSD.


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## nerv11 (Sep 2, 2009)

Crap, here http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817371016


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## nerv11 (Sep 2, 2009)

Also I just noticed this, but will the wifi card fit into my mother board? I can't seem to find the description of the slot for it. 

wifi http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16833166038
mobo http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131621


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## Tyree (May 10, 2009)

Antec PSU's are not recommended anymore since they changed their suppliers.
CORSAIR CMPSU-650TX $90
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139005

The Wi-Fi card is PCI and the Mobo you selected has twp PCI slots.
Wireless is OK if you absolutely cannot use wired.


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## nerv11 (Sep 2, 2009)

All right, I'm gonna take your word and take that one instead. With the 10 dollar mail rebate it'll only come out to 10 buck more. 

Will all of the card's pins fit in the PSI slot? It has three sections, or is it skipping some on purpose and the whole thing will fit snuggly in there.


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## Tyree (May 10, 2009)

You won't be disappointed and your hardware will live longer. Do a bench test before assembling in the case and you should have no problems. 
Any PCI card should fit in a PCI slot.


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## nerv11 (Sep 2, 2009)

Awesome, thanks for the help.

I'll probably pop back in here during construction hehe.

Oh, and does anyone know of any good guides on putting the components together? I have a general idea and read an article or two, but some step-by-step tutorials would be nice to, thanks.


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## shotgn (Aug 10, 2008)

Try this for buildiing, so a search on you tube, there are hundreds of videos on building a computer

Good luck with your build

How to bench test


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## Tyree (May 10, 2009)

Another building guide.
http://www.hardwarezone.com/articles/view.php?cid=19&id=1215&pg=4


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## milehile (Feb 17, 2006)

Antec 900 or 1200 over that Cooler Master. I like Antec and Lian Li cases better. My opinion though.


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## nerv11 (Sep 2, 2009)

Well after a bit of deliberation, I've decided to go with this PSU instead http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139004

The reason being I'm up here in Canada and the one specified above is not available in Canada right now, and they won't ship them from the US, and they're more expensive on other sites. This new one should do fine though. 550w should plenty to run my Hardware and another thing or two if I wanted right?


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## emosun (Oct 4, 2006)

You really should have a 600w or higher in there.


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## nerv11 (Sep 2, 2009)

Hmm, based on these (on watt power that I should have, and price range), which one would be the best? 

http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817371015
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817256012
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817341019


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## emosun (Oct 4, 2006)

None , this would be the cheapest unit on newegg.ca that I would use in that machine. The ones you chose either are not 80+ certified or don't have decent amperage on their 12v rails.

http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817341018


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## nerv11 (Sep 2, 2009)

Seems like a reasonable offer I suppose. What are the 12v ports for anyways?


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## emosun (Oct 4, 2006)

12v rails power the cpu , graphics card , drives , fans , ect..


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## nerv11 (Sep 2, 2009)

This windows 7 home premium package will work right? http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Produc...windows_7_home_premium-_-32-116-766-_-Product

What's the difference between it and the OEM...?


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## grimx133 (Jan 15, 2008)

OEM is basically tied to the motherboard that it is originally installed on, you can't move it to a new system once it's been installed and activated. Retail can be moved, however it can only be installed on one system at a time, of course. If you are going to install the OS to one system, then use that until it's toast, then OEM is fine. If you're the type that upgrades a lot, constantly changing hardware, then get the retail. I've had to reactivate a couple of times in the last couple months, but my hardware changes often.


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## nerv11 (Sep 2, 2009)

So I got most of my parts in and I've started putting it all together. I just want someone to double-check my work, so far. I took pictures for easiness.

General shots:
http://i209.photobucket.com/albums/bb76/em_kay11/DSC_0507.jpg
http://i209.photobucket.com/albums/bb76/em_kay11/DSC_0508.jpg
http://i209.photobucket.com/albums/bb76/em_kay11/DSC_0512-1.jpg

Graphic card: The big port is a power port, I need to plug a 6-pin psie connector into it right?
http://i209.photobucket.com/albums/bb76/em_kay11/DSC_0505.jpg
And what is this smaller one for?
http://i209.photobucket.com/albums/bb76/em_kay11/DSC_0506.jpg

The peripheral connector for my case fan get plugged straight into the power connector from the PSU like this right?
http://i209.photobucket.com/albums/bb76/em_kay11/DSC_0509.jpg

EAT12XV: There was an 8-pin connector and a 4-pin connector available from the PSU, though the manual suggested the 8-pin go in, even though there was a little plastic piece blocking half of the receiver.
http://i209.photobucket.com/albums/bb76/em_kay11/DSC_0511-1.jpg

And all the PWR LED, RESET LED etc... switches here. Probably hard to see, but they should be fine.
http://i209.photobucket.com/albums/bb76/em_kay11/DSC_0510-1.jpg


Review of this would be much appreciated thanks!


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## grimx133 (Jan 15, 2008)

On your graphics card, yes the big one needs the 6 pin pci-e connector from the power supply. Couldn't see the small one, but it isn't power. If it's two pins, it's an s/pdif audio passthrough to send audio over hdmi cable, using the dvi - hdmi adapter.

Fans can be either plugged into the 4 pin molex that you have pictured, or connected to the motherboard's fan headers with the small 3 pin, if they have it. That way the motherboard controls the fan speed, plugged directly the fan will run at 100% speed, unless you have some sort of fan controller.

Use the eight pin for the cpu power, as long as you have the connector and socket, might as well. There is often a cover for half, leaving just four exposed. Many cpu's will run on the four, but again, eight is fine.

For the front panel connections, looks like you are using the Q Connector? They work well, very easy to hook up the case wires to, then connect them all in one shot. They are clearly labelled, as should the wires from the case, quite easy to connect that way. The power and reset buttons can be reversed, but the led's only work with the correct polarity.


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## nerv11 (Sep 2, 2009)

Ah yes thanks for the info. I did coincidentally find a 6-pin psie connector to two 3-pin peripheral connectors (even though 4 could fit in there), after I made my post, heh. I don't have a cable of the requiring pins. Does it mean I'll have to go out and purchase a 6-pin pcie connector that splits into two 3-pin male peripheral connector (also called molex right?)?

And for the small two-pin port on the side of the graphics card, does it need to plugged into something? Do I have the cable (if you can tell from the pictures) or will I need to buy one?
Sorry for the bad quality but here's two more pictures, didn't feel like getting fancy with the good cam.
http://i209.photobucket.com/albums/bb76/em_kay11/0203002027.jpg
http://i209.photobucket.com/albums/bb76/em_kay11/0203002026.jpg

And If I wanted the fan cables (don't know why there's two) to go into the motherboard, I'd have to buy a converter right? What kind?

Just one individual 2 gig ram card is sufficient for set-up as well right? I want to install 64-bit W7, and from what I understood I should but the second 2gig ram card after I do the BIOS boot-up, or is there no difference?

Thanks.


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## nerv11 (Sep 2, 2009)

Also, I'm wiring my DVD drive right now, and there isn't any more SATA ports. What are my options? Do I get a splitter for SATA ports?


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## grimx133 (Jan 15, 2008)

The small connector on the side of the graphics card is not required, unless you are trying to send audio over an hdmi cable. For the graphics card, there is one 6 pin pci-e connector required, that is all. Plug in one from your power supply, adapters are not a good thing to use. Pretend the other connector doesn't exist.

A molex is 4 pins, that's the one you pictured to plug the fan into, a yellow(+12), red(+5),orange(+3.3), and the black common ground. The 3 pin for a fan to the motherboard is very small, about a 1/4 inch across, not that I've ever bothered to measure one. They are the same as the small fan connector that powers the cpu heat sink fan, the motherboard has other fan headers aside from the CPU_FAN header, they look similar and will be labeled CHASSIS_FAN, or PWR_FAN or something similar. 

How can you be running out of SATA ports? You need to have one hard drive and one optical drive connected. Period, at this point. Once your OS is installed, then you can add drives, if you want. There are no splitters for sata ports, one device per port. 

How about a complete list of everything you have. Make and model, as well as a link. The fans too, there isn't much to putting in fans. Sounds like you are overcomplicating things, so I really think you are in great need of building this on the bench, get it working, then put it into the case.
http://www.techsupportforum.com/f255/how-to-bench-test-your-system-171424.html


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## nerv11 (Sep 2, 2009)

I've already went over the guide before, but I guess it'd be helpful if I went over it again, though not any one single guide can answer all questions.

I have three input SATA connectors on my MOBO. One is being used by my SSD, the second is for my optical drive, the third is connected to a port on the back of the case for an e-SATA connector. The fourth one, my 7200RPM hard drive, is the one I want to input right now. I mean I could unplug the e-SATA connector, but then I wouldn't be able to use it later on, which I don't mind too much at this point.

I connected a 8pin CPU connector (which only has 6 connectors in it)
to my 6-pin graphics card, so that's taken care of.
I'll get a complete list later since I need to do a few things now, thanks.


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## nerv11 (Sep 2, 2009)

Ok, so I found the other 6 SATA ports, that are facing the front of my computer and not visible from a top view, man do I feel dumb lol. So I did the bench test, and set the default setting, and each time I boot up it takes me to the black screen where it tells me to choose a booting device. So next I gotta hook up my drives and get the OS.


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## grimx133 (Jan 15, 2008)

Yep, that's exactly what you're looking for. Connect the hard drive to port 0 of the six, the manual will give the orientation. Those are your main ports, hook the OS drive to the lowest numbered, the dvd drive to the highest. Once the OS is in, first off install your drivers from the motherboard disc, starting with chipset, or use the InstAll or whatever to do them all. Then windows updates, followed by your video drivers. After that, you can install your normal software at your leisure. And additional hardware like more hard drives for data etc.


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## nerv11 (Sep 2, 2009)

I'm getting my OS very soon. Before that though, on the small issue of my fan, its currently being powered straight from the PSU, so it runs high all the time. I want to connect it to my mother board so its regulated. It has a molex end (and another connection halfway that's a 3-pin something... What do I do to connect my case fan to the motherboard? Thanks.


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## grimx133 (Jan 15, 2008)

The little one in the middle connects to the motherboard fan headers, molex would go straight to the psu, full speed only that way. Some fans come with the three pin to molex adapter connected, some as a separate piece. The only fans I connect by molex are ones that have a speed controller, such as the antec tri-cool fans.


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## NewPCGuy (Nov 11, 2009)

Other then the xfx card i like it all. XFX tends to be known for "spotty" at best products, that being said it could be a hit or a miss... and their customer service is laughable if you get a miss.


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## nerv11 (Sep 2, 2009)

All right, I found a 3-pin fan connector on the MOBO, so the fan should be regulated by the comp now.

Thanks for the like lol. The XFX seems to doing all right, installed the drivers, haven't really played any intense games on it yet cause I'm still waiting for my new OS (http://www.techsupportforum.com/f217/64bit-onto-32bit-462347.html). It has a windows experience index of 5.9 (EVERYTHING is 5.9 actually).

I'm hoping some of them go up a bit more once I get W7 on there, install *all* the hardware drivers, and get the other 2GB RAM card in there.


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## nerv11 (Sep 2, 2009)

Finally got my new W7 OS, install went fine.

I changed my hard drive SATA inputs around. I put my SSD into the SATAII/SATA6Gps #1 input, and my regular HDD into SATA 3Gps #2. Each time I load the computer it gives me the message like "marvell adapter bios version, SATA disks, lists my SSD and how much storage it has. It hasn't done that since I plugged I the SSD into the new port like I said. (Which should give me higher transfer speeds in the 6gps SATA slot then the 3gps SATA slot, right?)

I have all 4GB of RAM installed now, but the rating in the windows index went down to 5.5 when it was 5.9 before. (Before I installed Vista). The numbers are now CPU 7.3, RAM 5.5, GPU 6.9, Gaming GPU 6.9, and primary hard dis 6.9. Should the RAM be a little big higher or no? (In the system it says I have 4GB, but only 1.99GB is usable, is there some setting for this?)

Thanks again.


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