Yet another PC building thread

[Tokitoki]

Im going to start off with saying its been a LONG time since Ive entertained the idea of building a PC. The last time I had any clue what I was doing and built one was when FFXI was released back in 03. Needless to say any knowledge I had is completely out of date.

My goal this time is the same as last time. To build a decent gaming PC. I figure over the next few months Id buy the parts piece by piece as paychecks come in. So I started looking around newegg for what I thought sounded reasonable. This is what I came up with...

Newegg.com - Computer Parts, PC Components, Laptop Computers, Digital Cameras and more!
Processor: AMD Phenom II X4 955 Black Edition Deneb 3.2GHz Socket AM3 125W Quad-Core Processor
Video Card: XFX HD-489A-ZDFC Radeon HD 4890 1GB 256-bit DDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready

Newegg.com - Computer Parts, PC Components, Laptop Computers, Digital Cameras and more!
Motherboard: ASUS M4A78T-E AM3 AMD 790GX HDMI ATX AMD Motherboard - Retail
Case: Rosewill Wind Knight Gaming ATX Mid Tower Computer Case

Newegg.com - Rosewill RG700-S12 Single +12v Rail 80 PLUS Certified 700W Active PFC Power Supply - Power Supplies
Power Supply: Rosewill RG700-S12 Single +12v Rail 80 PLUS Certified 700W Active PFC Power Supply

Newegg.com - CORSAIR DOMINATOR 6GB (3 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Triple Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model TR3X6G1600C8D - Desktop Memory
Memory: CORSAIR DOMINATOR 6GB (3 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Triple Channel Kit Desktop Memory

Newegg.com - Western Digital Caviar Black WD6401AALS 640GB 7200 RPM 32MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive - Internal Hard Drives
HDD: Western Digital Caviar Black WD6401AALS 640GB 7200 RPM 32MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive

As far as monitors go Im not sure yet. Same with DVD drives. I figure Ill pick those out on the fly as nothing should be too different from anything else.

So if Im completely off base with any of this, or if there are parts I can swap out for cheaper alternatives please let me know. Im hoping this will last me a while, but Im sure with all the crap they keep coming out with it wont last nearly as long as Id like.

Edit:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboD...t=Combo.211675
This is a Dual Core Phenom II as opposed to a Quad Core. Its about $140 cheaper which is obviously a nice amount of money I could save. If I wanted to have my PC be good for several years could I get away with this? Or would spending the extra money be worth it in the long run? The Quad Core can be overclocked to 4.3GHz which would be just fucking amazing. Im not sure about this Dual Core

[Tokitoki]

Sorry for the double without any responses but Im bored and looking through this. This one is a cheaper Intel-based PC. The main differences are the processor and video card. The processor is a dual core and the video card is a cheaper HD4800.

Processor: Newegg.com - Intel Core 2 Duo E8400 Wolfdale 3.0GHz 6MB L2 Cache LGA 775 65W Dual-Core Processor - Processors - Desktops
Motherboard: Newegg.com - Intel BOXDG45ID LGA 775 Intel G45 Micro ATX Intel Motherboard - Intel Motherboards
Video Card: Newegg.com - SAPPHIRE 100266HDMI Radeon HD 4830 1GB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFire Supported Video Card - Desktop Graphics / Video Cards
Memory: Newegg.com - CORSAIR 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model TWIN2X4096-6400C5 - Desktop Memory
Power Supply: Newegg.com - Thermaltake Purepower W0100RU 500W ATX 12V 2.0 Power Supply - Power Supplies
Case: Newegg.com - Thermaltake V9 Black Edition ATX Computer Gaming Chassis with Dual Oversized 230mm Ultra-Silent Cooling Fans VJ400G1N2Z Mid Tower - Computer Cases

It seems to me that this setup would still have the power Im looking at for gaming, but save me about $300.

[Vuitton]

You should check out tomshardware.com for guides and comparison reviews of various components.

If you're going for Intel I suggest the i7 920 processor. Its the cheapest of the i7 line and is a very powerful quad-core.

[Tokitoki]

Thanks for the link. Its a lot of help.

[OzzofAsura]

Newegg.com - Computer Parts, PC Components, Laptop Computers, Digital Cameras and more!
This is a Dual Core Phenom II as opposed to a Quad Core. Its about $140 cheaper which is obviously a nice amount of money I could save. If I wanted to have my PC be good for several years could I get away with this? Or would spending the extra money be worth it in the long run? The Quad Core can be overclocked to 4.3GHz which would be just fucking amazing. Im not sure about this Dual Core

I was thinking about getting this processor also. Wondering if it's as good as the reviews say it is. What does it mean to unlock the 4 cores on it?

[Tokitoki]

Well from what I understand about the quad-core is that you wont be using all the cores most of the time because computer programmers dont program for a quad-core processor normally. Also when your computer is "idle" the processor will obviously be using less of the processing power. To unlock the 4 cores I take to mean you would actually be using all 4 cores as opposed to the one or 2 normally used depending on what you're doing.

Someone can correct me if Im wrong.

Edit: Btw the guys on the forums that Vuitton linked to are saying that if you want a good bang for your buck to go with the X3, a triple core (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16819103649).

[Akiyama]

Well from what I understand about the quad-core is that you wont be using all the cores most of the time because computer programmers dont program for a quad-core processor normally. Also when your computer is "idle" the processor will obviously be using less of the processing power. To unlock the 4 cores I take to mean you would actually be using all 4 cores as opposed to the one or 2 normally used depending on what you're doing.

Someone can correct me if Im wrong.

Edit: Btw the guys on the forums that Vuitton linked to are saying that if you want a good bang for your buck to go with the X3, a triple core (Newegg.com - AMD Phenom II X3 720 2.8GHz 3 x 512KB L2 Cache 6MB L3 Cache Socket AM3 95W Triple-Core Black Processor - Processors - Desktops).

From the two days I've had it, I can vouch that it's a very nice CPU. Works for the gaming I've done, and is sooo much better than the piece of shit I was using before. D: Temps aren't a problem with stock cooling, but I don't overclock as I'm too cautious about breaking stuff. I *do* know that the X3 720 is a VERY good overclocker as I think you could probably hit 3.4-3.6GHz on a cheaper aftermarket cooler.

[Tokitoki]

Yea I'm afraid to overclock it myself. Theres someone that used to work in my office at school who is better with computers than I am. I was gonna see what he thinks about overclocking it. That forum up there said to get a Vendetta II cooling system and you can overclock it to 3.5GHz.

Edit: Changed the powersupply now... I think this is my final setup. Now I have to convince myself that spending the money is a good idea even though my laptop runs fine.

Processor: AMD Phenom II X3 720 2.8GHz Socket AM3 95W Triple-Core (139.00)
Motherboard: ASUS M4A78T-E AM3 AMD 790GX HDMI ATX AMD (139.99)
Video Card: ASUS EAH4870 DK/HTDI/1GD5 Radeon HD 4870 1GB 256-bit (159.99)
HDD: Western Digital 650GB Internal Hard Drive (74.99)
Power Supply: Thermaltake PSU 600W PFC Crossfire 80+ (109.99)
Memory: G.SKILL 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 (64.99)
DVD Drive: LG Black 22X DVD+R 8X DVD+RW 16X DVD+R (24.99)
Case: COOLER MASTER Mystique RC-632S-KKN1-GP Black Aluminum (79.99)
Monitor: Acer P224Wbd Black 22" 5ms Widescreen LCD Monitor (179.99)
Total Price: 968.92 - 35 rebate = 933.92

[orinthia]

Browse around for combo deals involving parts you're gonna buy anyway. Like there's a combo for your cpu and mobo that has a $54 discount: Newegg.com - Computer Parts, PC Components, Laptop Computers, Digital Cameras and more!

You can probably find a fair combo for psu/case as well depending on what kind of case or psu you might want.

[Tokitoki]

Yea Im getting the mobo and CPU because of the combo discunt. Theres also a discount with the Video Card and a different case I found. Ive also been looking at deals with PSUs but most of them are for cases which I already have a deal for.

Anyway each time I go back to the site I change at least 1 of the parts... I should just decide already and get ordering otherwise Ill convince myself I dont want any of it.

[orinthia]

I was the same way for a couple weeks into putting one together myself. Problem for me was I should have waited one more week or so... a lot of what I bought dropped in price.... Much rage but that subsided when everything worked perfectly on first boot.

Just get your stuff now. Buyers' remorse only lasts so long if you're making a huge upgrade like I was heh. Went from an amd64 3400+ I think, 768mb ram, and an old ati 9500 non-pro 128mb (softmods perfectly to work at 9700 performance), to wonderful, near current gen goodness.

[Tokitoki]

Yea I literally JUST ordered everything.

Got the Phenom II X3 720 2.8GHz + ASUS 790 GX Mobo combo, ASUS Radeon HD4870 1GB 256-bit + Thermaltake case combo, WD 640GB HDD + 6GB RAM combo, Rosewill chrome finish w/ blue LED fan 600W PSU (its purty ), LG DVD-Burner, and a 23" ASUS VH236H LCD Monitor. With combo discounts and rebates the whole thing comes to about $830 which is pretty good Id say for a complete build.

Now the killer is waiting for all of it... At least Ill get a nice surprise mid-week with a bunch of boxes on my doorstep.

[Akiyama]

TBH, you're doing better than me. I had to order things slowly and basically one to two at a time. Like.. my PSU and Memory came at the same time, my monitor came early (and I used it with my other crappy DELL that's 8 years old), my Case came earlier, so it just sat in the box in the other room, my video card came by itself, etc. Overall, ordering everything took about 2-2.5 weeks or so due to my lack of fundage.

Anyway, you got good stuff. I got lucky with my Phenom II X3 720 being $119.99, my CPU that was $109.99 (the Gigabyte UD4P 780X) board that supported AM3 and all that, but I got it on the day of the Mobo 10% discount so it was only like 99 bucks. I went with a Radeon HD4850 as the XFX 4870 I wanted went out of stock before I went through with the purchase, etc, so I got the HD4850 for like $112 with the 10% discount. Also went with the Modular 520W Corsair PSU, so I spent a little more there than you I *think*. Great deals though!

You got a good setup there for sure. Can't wait to see how it turns out after you build it.

@orinthia: I was the same way. My DELL was from 2002. I had a Intel Pentium 4 @1.99GHz Single core, an ATI Radeon Pro 9500 (that was shitting out on me as I couldn't really run anything), 768MB of mismatched RAM that didn't really perform up to par, and what not, and went to the build I'm on now. It's like Night and Day.

[Minions]

If you surf newegg for a 3-4 week period you could pick up all your parts for 10-20 bucks off. So far I've seen 10% off memory, hard drives, and the like depending on the weekly promotion.

[fishstix]

The Phenom II line is pretty well done imo, you can overclock it nicely with air cooling. I have the Phenom II x4 940 and when it idles or I'm doing something not intensive, it goes down to 800mhz.