My computer build

Sorry for taking so long to post some pics! I've been installing software and playing Oblivion (which looks beautiful, by the way)!

Anyway, first off I just want to thank everyone here who has helped me in the past few months. When I first started posting here, it was to ask about a Dell that I was considering buying. But then, thanks to your encouragement and advice, I finally decided to try to build it myself, and it really was as easy as you all said it is! I'm very excited about it.

Now on to the computer....here are my components:

Case: Antec P182 (with plastic protectors still on it)


Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-EX38-DS4


Processor: Intel E8400


Graphics: nVidia GeForce 8800GT


Sound: Creative SoundBlaster Xtremegamer


Monitor: LG L226WTQ-BF


Mouse: Logitech MX-400
Keyboard: Microsoft Digital Media Pro
(These two are actually pretty good. I really like the keyboard, even though I thought I might not.)

RAM: Kingston ValueRAM (1GB x 2)
HDD: Seagate Barracuda 7200.11 500GB
Optical: Samsung 20x DVD Burner
PSU: Corsair HX620
Speakers: Logitech X-230
OS: Windows XP Home

And here are a few pics of the build, including the aftermath in my living room.

A nice, empty case. Full of nothing but potential...


The first thing I did was pull out all the PSU wires and try to think it through.


The backside of the case, plus all my stuff surrounding me.


Inside the case, once I finished. I should mention that after these pics were taken, I did a little extra cable management, so that none of the cables (except the audio cable that stretches across the motherboard) are sticking out into the main area. I stuffed them into the empty drive bays.






The clearance between the PSU cables and the bottom fan, in case anyone is wondering how close they are.


The back of the case. Again, I cleaned this up a little more because when I put the side panel back on, it bulged a little. So I flattened out the layout a bit.


The final setup.


And the chaos I still haven't cleaned up yet.


I'm really happy about how everything turned out. I had some trouble installing the Arctic Cooling Freezer 7 Pro and had to resort to the stock cooler, but so far, even after a couple of several-hour-long sessions of Oblivion, neither the CPU fan nor the GPU fan have gotten any louder. I can't hear anything coming from the case.

Once again, thank you all for making this possible!

that looks awsome man congrats nothing like a new computer.. But you know what bothers me is that.. the GPU faces down and i have a window and all i see its the back i want to be able to see the other side... i notice yours does that too but you dont ahve a window so i guess it doesnt bother u as much.

Nice build, grats. I like your wood/tile floor... looks nice. Nice monitor as well.

How much did all this stuff cost?

How does she sound?

What CPU are you using?

can't wait to build mine!

Instinct5 said:

that looks awsome man congrats nothing like a new computer.. But you know what bothers me is that.. the GPU faces down and i have a window and all i see its the back i want to be able to see the other side... i notice yours does that too but you dont ahve a window so i guess it doesnt bother u as much.

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Yeah, when I first saw the inside of a PC, that was something I noticed. I guess it has to do with the design of the fan or something.

Jesse said:

Nice build, grats. I like your wood/tile floor... looks nice.

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Heh heh, thanks! I built it there purposely so I wouldn't have to worry about carpeting and static.

Nice monitor as well.

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Thanks. It really is great. I was so worried about choosing a monitor, but it's really excellent. Bright, vibrant colors, no dead pixels. Only slight light bleeding but, as usual, you can't see it unless the screen is utterly dark. Even dark colors don't show it.

How much did all this stuff cost?

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Oh yeah, I forgot to mention that. I still want to go through all my receipts and figure out the grand total, with taxes and all that, but the cost of components was about $1800. [Edit: This figure is probably closer to $2300!]

How does she sound?

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Utterly quiet. Even when I had the side panels off and was testing it, I had to lean my head into the case to hear the fans. At first, I was worried that they weren't even spinning!

What CPU are you using?

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Intel E8400 (there's a pic up there). Very nice chip, and so far the stock cooler has worked great. I don't hear it at all.

Intel E8400 (there's a pic up there). Very nice chip, and so far the stock cooler has worked great. I don't hear it at all.

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Woops sorry... the pic didn't load on my comp.. idk why

Jesse said:

Woops sorry... the pic didn't load on my comp.. idk why

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No problem. The box doesn't actually say what CPU it is anyway, for whatever reason.

was all of the wiring hard to do? I may be starting my first build soon.

Nice, great choice in monitor

It's all worth it in the end.. the building process can get you aggravated at times

Put The Monitor On The Wall! That Would Be Awesome. Its Like 30 Dollars For A Wall Mount. Just Ordered One. Ill Post Pics When It Comes In

Nice Job!

ThatGuy16 said:

Nice, great choice in monitor

It's all worth it in the end.. the building process can get you aggravated at times

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Boy that's the truth. But the thing is, the only hitch in building involved an item that I originally didn't even plan to use. I had planned all along to use the stock cooler, but then I decided to try an aftermarket cooler.

So the actual building of the *real* components went very easily.

mortonman1 said:

Put The Monitor On The Wall! That Would Be Awesome. Its Like 30 Dollars For A Wall Mount. Just Ordered One. Ill Post Pics When It Comes In

Nice Job!

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Not a bad idea. I'm still deciding on if I'll leave the PC on my desk or put it underneath, which would probably change the position of the monitor.

Jesse said:

was all of the wiring hard to do? I may be starting my first build soon.

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No, not at all. It's literally just hooking stuff up, even though I was worried about doing it.

With this particular case (P182) however, some forethought is required. Since you don't have to feed all the PSU cables up that center hole (instead, you put them through the back of the motherboard tray), you kind of need to stop for a minute and think about which directions you want them all to go and which of the three holes you want them to come back out of around the motherboard.

As long as you take a few minutes to think about the best path for them (using common sense, no technical knowledge required!), then it's just a matter of plugging in.

The only tricky thing could be if you have large hands and you need to reach into the case to plug in the small stuff (power switch, LEDs, etc.) because, at least in my case, the connectors on the motherboard were near the sides of the case, so I didn't have much room to work with. Luckily, I have small hands.

The most important thing is just to be patient and don't rush the build. Don't be aggressive because you just *have* to finish it tonight!

Veddy nice.

fortyways said:

Veddy nice.

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::bow::

i like it, can i have it?

pc-tech said:

i like it, can i have it?

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Heh heh, I'm too in love to part with it. But maybe for the generous price of $5000 I could be persuaded? I accept PayPal.

I'm guesing the fitting problem is the northbridge? I remember fitting mine and it only having a couple of milimetres between it and the northbridge heatsink. Your's looks to be much wider as well.

PabloTeK said:

I'm guesing the fitting problem is the northbridge? I remember fitting mine and it only having a couple of milimetres between it and the northbridge heatsink. Your's looks to be much wider as well.

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No, it wasn't an issue of not fitting. Size-wise, it fit perfectly. I just couldn't get the thing snapped in place properly. It could easily have been my own fault, even though I followed all the directions.

The stock cooler used the same method (pins) and I got it installed in seconds. That was after spending two days messing around with the F7 Pro, so maybe I just got better at it.