The (new) Official PC building thread!

Especially read reviews on power supplies!!

There's some excellent reviews and advice here:

http://www.diy-street.com/forum/showthread.php?t=10854

These are power supplies recommended and not recommended for DFI boards,but would also be relevant to the majority of higher end boards out there.

 

But when I say reviews of course, I mean things like tom's hardware guide and anandtech reviews, I don't mean newegg customer comments!

 

EXACTLY!!! Most of the negative reviews are from SMACKTARDs that either don't have a clue or ordered the wrong part. My rule of thumb for newegg reviews is to add up the 5 and 4 EGG reviews and if the total goes above 90% you should have a good/decent product. If below 75% definitely do some more research. REMEMBER my rule of thumb.

....gm

 

lol but then there are those types who give it five stars when they hate it, because they clicked the wrong button.
lol@ the smacktard comment, haven't heard anybody else use that one for a while.

 

Has or does anyone use a Core 2 on a i945G chipset? Is a motherboard based on this chipset even worth considering? I've talked about it in the past about upgrading my motherboard, but since I'm trying to stick with my uATX case it seems there are only a handful of boards with 965 chipsets, with the bulk being either the VIA or lower end intel. Aside from Dual Channel support of the 945 chipset it is hardly different from my current VIA P4M890 chipset.

@jink

I was a bit more daring when I started building PC's..I broke 2 of my dad's computers, boy was he pissed, in the early days of computing. Once you get in there and realize that "if it fits, it should work" you are pretty much good to go. But with the internet these days, researching what works and what doesn't is a helpful tool. First you should ask yourself what you need your computer for, then how much you are willing to spend. From there you can follow mike or mort's shopping guide. Building a system using Newegg or other retailers shopping basket is always fun and can give you an easy way to create a list you can research. Like most things, your computer will run as fast as your slowest component, so try not to cheat yourself by saving a dollar or two.

 

It's not something I've really thought about, but I'd recommend going with 965 if you can, just because there aren't many doesn't mean there aren't any!
As it happens there are quite a lot, this looks good:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128024

 

Men are from Mars
Women are from Venus
Wonder where Jinkazuya is from
No disrespect intended but it seems their is no common sense here,or questions are being asked by an extremely young person,who might have difficulty in reading spec sheets

 

I think that's a little unkind, I just think you should do a bit of research yourself Jinkazuya, rather than expecting us to do it. There are however far fewer pitfalls today then there were even a single year ago.

 

I think I will do some research...Thanks for all the help anyway.

 

I hope this is ok guys. I posted this in the Dream Machine thread and got some good replies. This will be my final selection so let me know what you think. This is already at 5300.00 so don't be afraid to suggest something else if you think it will work. i don't upgrade everytime something new comes out. i usually buy the best in one big shot and leave it alone every 2-3 or 4 years. I mainly play games. I do plan on overclocking but being my first build I just want to get the setup right first.

CASE - Thermaltake Armor Series VA8003BWS Black Full Tower Case w/ 25CM Fan - Retail http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16811133021

SURGE PROTECTOR - CyberPower 880 8 feet 4 Transformer Spaced 4 Non-Transformer Spaced Outlets 2800 Joules Power Surge Protector - Retail http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16812120404

MOBO - EVGA 122-CK-NF68-A1 LGA 775 NVIDIA nForce 680i SLI ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16813188013

VIDEO CARD X2 - EVGA 768-P2-N831-AR GeForce 8800GTX 768MB GDDR3 PCI Express x16 HDCP Video Card - Retail http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16814130072

PAD - SteelPad 5L 20030 Mouse Pad - Retail http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16817114706

PSU - SILVERSTONE ST1000 ATX12V / EPS12V 1000W Power Supply - Retail http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16817256020

CPU - E6850 Conroe 3gh 1333mh 4mb dual core when it comes out should be around $300 I think

MEMORY X2 - CORSAIR Dominator 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 1066 (PC2 8500) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model TWIN2X2048-8500C5D - Retail http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16820145043

FLOPPY - SONY Black 1.44MB 3.5" Internal Floppy Drive Windows 98SE/ ME/ 2000/ XP - OEM http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16821103116

MAIN HD - Western Digital Raptor X WD1500AHFDRTL 150GB 10,000 RPM Serial ATA150 Hard Drive - Retail http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16822136035

STORAGE HD X3- Western Digital Caviar SE16 WD5000KSRTL 500GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - Retail http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16822136040

KEYBOARD - Logitech G15 Gaming Keyboard - Retail http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16823126179

MONITOR - SAMSUNG 226BW Black 22" 2 ms (GTG) DVI Widescreen LCD Monitor - Retail http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16824001096

MOUSE - Logitech G7 Black 6 Buttons Tilt Wheel USB RF Wireless Laser Mouse - Retail http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16826104203

HEADSET - SENNHEISER PC 150 2 x 3.5mm Connector Circumaural Headset - Retail http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16826106346

CD/DVD - LITE-ON 20X DVD±R DVD Burner With 12X DVD-RAM Write Black SATA Model LH-20A1S - Retail http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16827106057

SOUND CARD - Creative 70SB046A00000 7.1 Channels PCI Interface Sound Blaster X-Fi XtremeGamer Fatal1ty Professional Series - Retail http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16829102005

WEBCAM - Logitech 961403-0403 QuickCam Fusion 1.3MP Effective Pixels USB Interface WebCam - Retail http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16830108129

CPU COOLER - ZALMAN CNPS9500 LED 92mm 2 Ball Cooling Fan with Heatsink - Retail http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16835118223

MEMORY FAN - CORSAIR CMXAF1 Fans - Retail http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16835704001

SPEAKERS - Creative GigaWorks S750 700 Watts 7.1 Speaker - Retail http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16836116142

UPS - powercom King Pro KIN-2200AP 2200VA 1320 W UPS - Retail http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16842106116

Arctic Silver 5 Thermal Compound - OEM http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16835100007

BELKIN F8E066 Professional Computer Tool Kit (36-Piece) - Retail http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16899888202

BELKIN F8E093 Anti-Static Wrist Strap - Retail http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E168998882

 

looks amazing! most of the time you dont need an anti static wrist strap, but when your dealing with 300 dollar + parts then its a good idea to buy one, just make sure that you DONT have your monitor anywhere near you when your using it, you could be killed if you touch it with that wrist strap on!!!!

all of the parts will work well with each other, and that mobo has a very good chipset, i have the 650 and it has been very good, but if you try to install windows xp without sp2 it will not work, even if you upgrade to SP2 later. You may also have to make a flopy with some drives if you plan to use windows xp.

 

It's awesome. Can you stretch to a Dell 2407FPW? That will kick far more ass than a 22", and will actually make good use of a PC that powerful.

 

looks like an awesome setup. only suggestions I can make is maybe upgrade the cpu hsf to a zalman 9700led or thermalright ultra 120 extreme (you need a 120mm fan if you go with the thermalright.

also personally I don't think any desktop pc speakers sound better than klipsch

 

My Z-5500s are rated for the same sort of output, around 120dB max, but above 110dB the tweeters are completely unresponsive since they're phase plugs, so for volume quality when it really gets loud the Klipsch unit may be slightly superior. A Dual driver subwoofer? How does that work?
Personally I'm very fond of my speakers. I don't recommend them to anyone else because they have a fundamental design flaw with the shielding. However, at home the problem is almost non-existent compared to university, where I'd get pops very often indeed.

 

senseitx,
I'm gonna give you some other cases to look at. NOT that the one you chose is bad, I like the features of these others as well. Take a look at the different links.

Enermax Uber Chakra

XCLIO Windtunnel

XCLIO A380PLUS

Thermaltake Armor Series VA8003SWA Same as the case you chose but Aluminum.

...gm

 

Ugh, I dislike both of those Xclio ones, in fact to be quite honest I'm not a fan of any! lol
All personal taste I suppose.

 

YOU do realize that those cases weren't for you.

He just seemed to want something with LOTS of wind and that's what I provided. Tried get some with better "reviews", like they matter. ;D

I like this case but prolly won't get it on my next build. DON'T make fun of me cause I like the color. hehehe.

...gm

 

The total airflow of an Antec 900 is higher, as is that of a lot of cases. Just because the fans are big doesn't mean they push loads of air. I know they weren't for me, but I was just pointing out they're fugly.

 

sam,

thanks for the feedback. After reading some reviews on the board at T.H.G. it appears that the Gigabyte board and many uATX boards don't OC all that well. Does the "G" 965 hinder OC'ing by that much, as opposed to the "P?" Could it potentially be heat related since the "G" has built in onboard graphics? Aside from chipset, I guess manufacturers don't think many will OC on a uATX platform. Bummer!! Oh you recommended the Gigabyte GA-965P-S3 to Jink. Do you own or have you worked with one? I've been reading good things about it, but just want some personal feedback.

 

I only recommended it on the strength of the DS3, it seems similar in construction, but you'd have to disable the integrated graphics.