Another n00b builder...got some Q's.

C

Cabanaboy

New Member
So, I'll try to do this the most organized and least random way possible.

Intent of computer: Mid level gaming and graphics computer with accents on gaming and graphics speed delivery.

Computer Hardware (at this time):
TOWER: XCLIO A380BK Fully Black High Gloss Finish SECC 1.0mm thickness ATX Full Tower Computer Case

MOTHERBOARD: ASUS P5N-D LGA 775 NVIDIA nForce 750i SLI ATX Intel Motherboard

GRAPHICS: EVGA 512-P3-N873-AR GeForce 9800 GTX+ 512MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card

PROCESSOR: Intel Core 2 Duo E8500 Wolfdale 3.16GHz LGA 775 65W Dual-Core Processor Model BX80570E8500

MEMORY: G.SKILL 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model F2-6400CL4D-4GBPI

HARD DRIVE: Western Digital Caviar SE16 WD6400AAKS 640GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s

DVD DRIVE: LITE-ON 20X DVD±R DVD Burner Black IDE Model DH-20A4P-08

Ok, so now starts the questions:
1.) Do you believe my goal will be achieved with this setup?
2.) I have a 480watt power source...will this be enough for this combo, or will and upgrade be necessary? (also, I might be having a conflict with 20 pin powersource on a 24 pin MoBo)
3.) Word is my MoBo reliability is like flipping a coin. I figured the 750i chipset woul work well with my 9800GTX, but there are issues with Nvidia drivers... any ideas?


I'm just at a loss and I'd really prefer not shelling out money (at $100 an hour) for advice and or services, plus I like learning new things. I have been reading up on stuff, but am leary of BIOS and flashing a 32 bit MoBo (can't be flashed in 64 bit or it self destructs from what I read). I'm hopefully going to be running Windows Vista Ultimate 64 bit.

EDIT: Another crappy thing....ASUS just pulled support for the E8500 CPU I just ordered, so when I get all of my components, I have to send back my Motherboard for an exchange already. God, ASUS has gone to suck. Any suggestions for a reliable, steady, gaming oriented motherboard?
 
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just a noob said:
get a p45 chipset, if you aren't going to sli a pair of 9800gtx+'s
Click to expand...

Ok, I'm dumb , I'll admit it. a p45 chipset? What board carries them? Also, I just found the required BIOS upgrade (V 701) on the download, so I'm a bit confused as the ASUS Forum said it was down. I'll be trying the setup, but let me know what uses the p45 chipset in case I need a different MoBo. Thanks :)
 
I'm still awaiting the final verdict on my Processor Vs. MoBo, but most are saying it will indeed end up being plug and play. If it is, I'm cheap and I'll go that route until I have more money to upgrade to a higher end board. I also got ahold of a BNIB 700W powersource with a 24 PIN ATX setup so I'm happy about that (Best Buy hookup got me a 120 dollar discount haha).

Aside from that, I'm flipping around the idea of getting Vista Ultimate or just Home Premium 64 bit...
 
Alright, so my biggest fear ame to reality... I got a dead motherboard on arrival. I am RMA-ing it this morning before work, but I ordered the new motherboard last night and am one day shipped it so it should be here no later than Tomorrow sometime.

I used an online checklist to try and get the board to post. Starting from full build, I slowly removed every peripheral until I had the absolute bare essentials (which includes a graphics card since there is no on-board). I didn't even get so much as one beep. PSU was good, when I disconnected the IDE DVD drives, all of a sudden the drives got power and worked fine, but plugged in they wouldn't even power up...weird. Same for the hard drive, it didn't spin up when in the SATA port, but disconnected with only power run to it, it spun up on start then throttled down.

Final test was I pulled the 9800GTX card to see if I could get the VGA error code beep. Not a sound, and we made sure the speaker was plugged in and working fine. Nothing was grounding on the case as all 9 bolts were secured as instructed with no loose wires touching. Went over all our jumpers thrice with no culprit found.

Anyways, I decided to get a refund and go with a Tpower 45 775 from Biostar ( linky : http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813138118 ). Nothing but great reviews on the motherboard as far as mid level gaming builds go, and I have only read one DOA case from newegg.com, and that could have been just shipping damage. I am going to leave the actual build to a friend who does private PC building as a hobby, and has built many successfully posting and booting PC's haha.

I'm hoping to have the PC up and running before Sunday EST, but for now I am going to borrow a freinds tower.
 
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