Where's all the "New PC" Threads? Here's one.

[Morbo666]

Bored at work. The results of boredom.

Case
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16811119077

HD
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16822148316

Video Card
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814150292

RAM
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820145194

CPU
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16819115036

OS
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16832116488

Motherboard
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813131232

A friend will be making it but I'm looking at what I want. The Mobo looks like it only has 2 RAM slots. I'd like to have 4 slots for a future upgrade, otherwise there's no point for 64 bit Vista. These aren't all the exact parts so I don't how compatible they are. I'm just getting a general idea of what I want, what I'm willing to spend on each part, and a grand total. With all the other stuff I'm looking at about $1200. I'm trying to keep it underr $1500. It will mostly be used for graphic design/animation stuff for school, FFXI, CoD4, and Diablo 3 when it comes out in 2040.

[Isiolia]

That mobo has 4 RAM slots, they're just two different colors.

Any particular reason for going with an SLI motherboard though?

Obviously you would also need a power supply, optical drive, etc.

[Shuemue]

Would get an ATI GPU atm personally. 4870 maybe?

[Isiolia]

Would get an ATI GPU atm personally. 4870 maybe?

Seconded, though a 4850 would provide the same price point. 4870 would be about $100 more.

[Shuemue]

True, but I think with the E8500 they'd find it an extra hundred bucks well spent. Obviously it increases the PSU needs a tad too, but they're going to need to sink decent cash into PSU and cooling for that box regardless.

[Morbo666]

I see the RAM slots now, this monitor is crap. I don't know what would work best, I'm sure the guy building it will change some stuff. I probably don't need an SLI Mobo, one GPU is good enough. He has a GeForce GTX 280 1GB card in his PC. I was playing CoD4 on it and it looked pretty nice. Those ATI cards are almost $300.

[Shuemue]

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814161235

Zing! $165 after MIR

It's not the 4870, but it'll be a damn fine card.

[Shuemue]

Do something like this maybe, get a combo deal:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814121253
+
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813131299

$277.98 after MIR for that pair.

[geno]

I just got a new computer a few weeks ago (made a thread about 64bit vs 32bit as a matter of fact) with a 4870. So far, I'm loving this card. I haven't had any lag at all in anything I play with maximum settings, but that's probably more indicative of my computer gaming library than the card (HL2/TF2 are the extent of my heavy graphics games). What I HAVE noticed that has made a big difference is 4GB of RAM. God I love being able to multitask and alt+tab out of games instantly.

[Demosthenes]

Get an Antec case and PSU. I've yet to have any problems with any Antec things I own.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16811129032

You can pry find it for cheaper elsewhere. It's one of the best cases I've ever owned, the only problem is the blue led for the hdd is super bright. Go with this unless you are really intent on having a window on your case.

[Morbo666]

Got it all sorted out, just deciding between a 9800gx2 or a 4870. I saw some benchmark videos using Crysis, and the 9800 had a few more fps than a 4870. How much of a difference does the extra 512 mb play, and also how much of a difference between GDDR3 and 5? I did notice the 50-100% increase in the memory bandwidth with a GDDR5, but also not sure how important these all are. If money wasn't an issue which would it be?

[mootsfox]

They are pretty equal in some cases. But when the 9800GX2 fails, it does hard. The HD4870 is a better buy because it runs cooler, uses less power (and therefore money) and does better with AA.

I see no reason to buy a 9800GX2 at this point in time, if you really MUST go nvidia, the GTX280 is a better idea.

But, buy the HD4870, you'll love it.

[RPGTyrant]

I figured this would be the best thread of any to get opinions on a build I just ordered.

Case
Tagan Aplus CS-EL Diablo Black 0.8mm SECC ATX Full Tower Computer Case - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/product/produc...82E16811294003

CPU
INTEL|C2Q Q9300 2.5G 775 6M R
http://www.newegg.com/product/produc...82E16819115043

CPU Cooling
Masscool 8WA741 / Socket 775 / Copper Core/Heatpipes / CPU Cooling Fan
http://tinyurl.com/6mgd6f (url was hueg like xbox)

Mobo
GIGABYTE GA-X38T-DQ6 LGA 775 Intel X38 ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/product/produc...82E16813128068

RAM
CORSAIR XMS3 DHX 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory
http://www.newegg.com/product/produc...82E16820145200

PSU
Corsair TX650W 650-Watt Power Supply - ATX, 120mm Fan, SLI-Ready, SATA-Ready

Video Card
Sapphire Radeon HD 4850 Video Card - 512MB GDDR3. PCI Express 2.0 x16

HDD
Seagate Barracuda 7200.11 500GB Hard Drive - 7200RPM, 32MB, SATA-300, OEM

DVD
Sony DRU-V200S/BR DVD Rewritable Drive SATA

OS
Vista Ultimate

[Cephius]

I really don't see the point to using DDR3 memory yet until they come down in price. They're better than DDR2 for sure but the price/performance ratio isn't quite there yet. You could have scaled that down a bit. I've never seen or heard of that heatsink before either, and it seems kind of cheap, hopefully it'll get the job done.

[jurjur]

Pick up this cooler:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16835233003

Use this retention bracket (if push pins make you uneasy):
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16835233019

Grab some of this thermal compound:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16835186020

Apply with these directions:
http://benchmarkreviews.com/index.ph...1&limitstart=5

I would suggest Western Digital 640GB (faster, quieter)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16822136218

Everything else looks good, good choice on PSU

[Shuemue]

Actually with regard to the PSU, I built a new box with the 620W Corsair modular variety, was really nice to work with.

[RPGTyrant]

So I built the computer with the components I specified, and the PSU doesnt turn on. When I do the paperclip check as suggested by the company (Corsair), it works. I put the mobo together on a tile floor after ensuring I didnt have any static in effect.

I did have some trouble putting in some spring screws on the northbridge and slipped with a screwdriver, but it didnt seem to do any damage. The only two other things I can think of was using a screwdriver with a magnetic tip on the spring screws for the northbridge, and when I was installing the processor I was pressing down and it slipped the other direction and I heard a very faint metal scraping sound.

Any suggestions or am I fucked and have to get myself a new mobo and processor?

[Shuemue]

Sounds like the board was DOA. RMA it

[levish]

+1 RMA the mobo, the chip is likely fine

[RPGTyrant]

So I can probably pull back that lever and carefully pull the chip out?

As a side note, when im installing a processor I place it in the slot in the right orientation and gently press down, and then I flip the metal cover over onto it. At this point I flip the lever, when im flipping the lever it feels like a lot of pressure, is this right?