New Computer Time! First time builder

[SebC]

So since some of you seem to love spending your time giving free advice to random strangers, I figured I'd canvas you for your thoughts on my next computer (decided not to put this in Ro's thread). Especially as I know there's a fair bit of expertise here.

Basically, I'm replacing a laptop that's pretty much dead and I think I'd like to build my computer this time (or at least get a custom system and have someone else build it for me). Can't base my usage on current usage as the system I'm replacing is 5 years old and dieing.

For me, it should multi-task well. I tend to have a ton of Firefox windows open, a media player, and bit-torrent if I can, so I'm pretty big on RAM. Doesn't have to be top of the line for gaming, but it will be decent for games and I'd probably use it for games. Will probably start learning Photoshop as well at some point.

Planning to run 32-bit XP with 4 Gb of RAM even though I know it'll only see ~3. Designed so that I can upgrade to 64-bit Vista though once driver support / software etc. is ready for it.

Right now the plan it to get everything from Memory Express and might pay the 40 bucks for hardware assembly. Might do it myself just to learn about it though.

I've been told I don't want to get into overclocking, but it looks as though some of the components I've selected would probably be well suited for it so if I can learn enough it could be a possibility. Maybe when I'm getting close to the next one and warranties are all expired would be a good time to start learning? Comments here would be useful.

So here's the system as I've currently got it configured:

Case: Antec P182

Rationale: I like the styling, variable fan speed, 3 x 120 mm fans with room for two more. Should be fairly cool and quiet. Not aluminium though, wish it was.

Power Supply: OCZ 600W StealthXStreme

Rationale: Relatively cheap, should meet system demand, quality brand.

Processor: Intel Q6600 Quad Core, 2.4 GHz

Rationale: should be good for multi-tasking, GHz is a bit low for a gaming build, but that's the trade-off I'm making. 8 Mb cache is a plus.

Motherboard: ASUS P5K WS

Rationale: going purely on the recommendation of a friend here. Although reading about some BIOS issues with Asus means I'm trying to find a good alternative. Highly doubtful that I'd need an SLI board, but might it be a good idea to go with an nVidia chipset anyways? Your thoughts here in particular would be appreciated.

Memory: OCZ 2x2 Gb PC2-6400 Vista Performance Platinum

Rationale: 5-4-4-15 latency is a bit better than standard. Wanted to go with OCZ Reaper or Corsair Dominator kit but they're both out of stock.

Hard Drives: 2 x Seagate 1 TB

Rationale: Probably going to mirror these. Data security is important for me, although I will probably back up the most important things (i.e. my photographs) on an external drive. System partition for Windows + apps, data partition for movies/music/documents/program installation files etc. Don't want to have to offload everything to an external to do a clean install for Vista. This is another thing I'm a bit undecided on. Is it worth it getting a separate system drive? Can I stripe my system partition and mirror my data partition?

Optical Drive: Samsung 20x DVD writer w/ Lightscribe

Rationale: Nothing fancy here, but I can always through in a Blu-Ray later if I decide it's worth it. Right now though I just want to get this thing built.

Video Card: XFX GeForce 9800 GTX 512 Mb

Rationale: 1 Gb is more expensive and takes away from my RAM. Video card can borrow RAM from system if it needs to. Might upgrade this if/when I go to Vista.

So yeah, go ahead and critique away. Thanks guys!

PS: Yes, I realize I should have just bought FanIn80s build. Hindsight is 20/20.

[psicodude]

Good job on researching the parts. Pretty much bang on for your needs, IMO.

As for your question about the hard drives - I have always found a small performance boost in putting the OS on a seperate drive, but your system is going to be so quick anyway that I am not sold you will even notice. Yes, you should be able to stripe 1 volume and mirror another, although I am not 100% familiar with that mobo or it's RAID capabilities.

The only thing I would mention, is to be careful with the quad core processor. If you plan on running this bad boy for another 5 years, then go for it. But if you plan on upgrading in 2 or less, just go for a high Mhz dual core. No software really uses quad effectively today.

All told though, real nice rig. And build it yourself dude. It really isn't very hard.

[SebC]

Originally Posted by psicodude

And build it yourself dude. It really isn't very hard.

Thanks for the feedback! It's not so much the construction itself that would have me get them to build it. If I get them to build it, they'll update the Bios, optimise it, and check the system for stability. That could save me a lot of hassle if for whatever reason I get a defective part.

[Hack&Lube]

Originally Posted by SebC

Thanks for the feedback! It's not so much the construction itself that would have me get them to build it. If I get them to build it, they'll update the Bios, optimise it, and check the system for stability. That could save me a lot of hassle if for whatever reason I get a defective part.

That's the thing, that is all marketing/selling BS. It's largely a scam. There is no such thing updating the bios unless they actually flash it which practically no store will ever do because a bad flash can actually ruin a motherboard.

There is also no such thing as optimizing a new system. What Futureshop/Best Buy do is that they have their techs install windows and then press OK on Windows Update when it asks to download the newest updates. Then they say it's "pre-optimized" and sell it for $200 mark-up. $40 isn't bad and I guess for a Mem Ex product, that's okay.

If they aren't charging you extra for it, then go ahead, but if it's extra or built into an inflated price, this is all BS.

[Vulcan]

I don't know much about the P5K WS but I have a P5k C motherboard and it seems pretty good and it's easy to over clock after finding a couple of instructions on the net. I'd suggest getting an aftermarket PCU cooler fan if you may want to OC in the future. It's a good idea to watch your core temperatures while doing this but I've heard good things about your case for cooling. I use Core Temp to monitor temperatures. Great video card.
I've heard there are better PSUs than OCZ . Here is a good place for PSU and other reviews and do as much reading as you can. You've made good choices as far as I know.

http://www.hardwarecanucks.com/forum...ly-review.html

I guess I was wrong about the power supply.

http://www.hardwarecanucks.com/forum...ly-review.html

[psicodude]

Originally Posted by Hack&Lube

That's the thing, that is all marketing/selling BS. It's largely a scam. There is no such thing updating the bios unless they actually flash it which practically no store will ever do because a bad flash can actually ruin a motherboard.

There is also no such thing as optimizing a new system. What Futureshop/Best Buy do is that they have their techs install windows and then press OK on Windows Update when it asks to download the newest updates. Then they say it's "pre-optimized" and sell it for $200 mark-up. $40 isn't bad and I guess for a Mem Ex product, that's okay.

If they aren't charging you extra for it, then go ahead, but if it's extra or built into an inflated price, this is all BS.

Couldn't agree more.

Just make sure you get the latest driver from the manufacturer site (don't use the CD that comes with the part) and come here for advice on performance tweaks. Some easy ones off the top of my head are - force the pagefile size, make the change in your boot.ini to access the >2gb of ram, turn off automatic updates.

[BlackArcher101]

I use to be a fan of OCZ, but lately their quality has seemed to have dropped once they started mass producing everything in larger quantities. I reccomend the corsair line of power supplies. I purchased the 620W that has modular cables. Very handy and keeps everything clean. Highly rated among it's users and nearly whisper quiet.

Corsair HX 620W Modular Power Supply w/ Triple +12V

Is there a reason you are going for a quad core? I picked up a 3.0 Ghz core 2 duo 45nm that works perfectly. Not a lot of use for a quad core at the moment. At least not until more software utilizes it.

As well, I would try to get 8500 memory instead of 6400. A little faster, but pricier of course. I use the Crucial Ballistix 1GB x 4.

Great case selection btw. Antec makes extremely durable ones with lot's of room for expansion. I know what you mean about the aluminium, mine must weigh at least 40 lbs.

My ASUS P5K has been rock solid. Unfortunately I can't tell you how it is with overclocking and/or raid since I haven't tried either yet on my system.

As for building it yourself or having a ME tech doing it... I would have them assemble the motherboard with the cpu, fan and memory. They will usually do this for free and is only a 10 minute wait, and they even run a quick test on it. Then all you have to do it mount the power supply, drives, and motherboard into the case.

[Bobblehead]

Originally Posted by psicodude

Couldn't agree more.

Just make sure you get the latest driver from the manufacturer site (don't use the CD that comes with the part) and come here for advice on performance tweaks. Some easy ones off the top of my head are - force the pagefile size, make the change in your boot.ini to access the >2gb of ram, turn off automatic updates.

Don't force the pagefile size. Microsoft has many very smart, highly paid engineers that have invested a lot of time into figuring out how to best use the pagefile. If you are a Windows kernel guru, then optimize away. Otherwise, don't play with the pagefile.

The rest I tend to agree with. Put the /3GB switch in the Boot.ini. This allows your applications to access 3GB of RAM (Otherwise they are limited to 2GB, no matter how much memory you have). Personally I turn off autoupdate just so I can control when it runs, but BITS (background intelligent transfer service) works pretty well and you usually won't even realize it is downloading updates in the background.

And that Corsair PS that BA linked, it is highly regard on many sites I visit.

[hatty]

Originally Posted by Hack&Lube

That's the thing, that is all marketing/selling BS. It's largely a scam. There is no such thing updating the bios unless they actually flash it which practically no store will ever do because a bad flash can actually ruin a motherboard.

There is also no such thing as optimizing a new system. What Futureshop/Best Buy do is that they have their techs install windows and then press OK on Windows Update when it asks to download the newest updates. Then they say it's "pre-optimized" and sell it for $200 mark-up. $40 isn't bad and I guess for a Mem Ex product, that's okay.

If they aren't charging you extra for it, then go ahead, but if it's extra or built into an inflated price, this is all BS.

Memory express should mount the CPU and flash the bios for you for free when you buy all the parts for your computer, i know i've had them do it at no charge and once the motherboard was actually defective, and it was caught, and they got me a new motherboard on the spot

[Vulcan]

Here's a link for system building your own computer.

http://forum.ncix.com/forums/index.p...t=45&subpage=1

[llama64]

Originally Posted by hatty

Memory express should mount the CPU and flash the bios for you for free when you buy all the parts for your computer, i know i've had them do it at no charge and once the motherboard was actually defective, and it was caught, and they got me a new motherboard on the spot

I don't know if they actually preform the flash, but they will mount the CPU and Memory for you.

Good piece of mind considering one screw up and you're out 200-500$.

[psicodude]

It is pretty much impossible to screw up mounting the processor and ram these days, but you might as well take advantage of the free service.

[BlackArcher101]

Originally Posted by psicodude

It is pretty much impossible to screw up mounting the processor and ram these days, but you might as well take advantage of the free service.

For a first timer, it is quite easy to put too much or not enough thermal paste on a cooler. Poof goes cpu.

[psicodude]

Originally Posted by BlackArcher101

For a first timer, it is quite easy to put too much or not enough thermal paste on a cooler. Poof goes cpu.

Unless you are purchasing a $5 cooler, it will come pre-pasted (yeah, that's not a word). All processors these days come with heat alarms anyway. In 2008, you almost have to put effort into screwing up before you will cause any major damage.

I am just trying to let the OP know that building a computer is not rocket science, and can actually be quite rewarding the first couple of times.

[Burninator]

Originally Posted by psicodude

It is pretty much impossible to screw up mounting the processor and ram these days

I wouldn't go that far...

[Bobblehead]

Originally Posted by Burninator

I wouldn't go that far...

How is your system working now?

[Burninator]

Originally Posted by Bobblehead

How is your system working now?

It's working great. No problems what so ever.

[SebC]

Thanks for all the help so far. Done some more research and I have another question now:

Can anyone tell me which will perform better between 2 x 8800 GT or 1 x 9800 GTX? I'm struggling to find this out.

Would be switching the motherboard to a 780i chipset to make this work (but might do this anyways) and the PC-8500 memory is back in stock so I'll be buying that instead. Might have to bump up the PSU as well, but that's okay. Or maybe just splurge on the 9800 GX2 instead, and cut down on the PSU and mobo?

[Hack&Lube]

Originally Posted by BlackArcher101

For a first timer, it is quite easy to put too much or not enough thermal paste on a cooler. Poof goes cpu.

New CPUs all come with high quality paste pre-applied in microdots for you.

[Hack&Lube]

Originally Posted by SebC

Thanks for all the help so far. Done some more research and I have another question now:

Can anyone tell me which will perform better between 2 x 8800 GT or 1 x 9800 GTX? I'm struggling to find this out.

Would be switching the motherboard to a 780i chipset to make this work (but might do this anyways) and the PC-8500 memory is back in stock so I'll be buying that instead. Might have to bump up the PSU as well, but that's okay. Or maybe just splurge on the 9800 GX2 instead, and cut down on the PSU and mobo?

2 x 8800GT in SLI will be much cheaper and get you better performance than a single 9800GTX, especially at higher resolutions.