Final Build (ordering today)

F

FBJ

New Member
Hey,

I'm going to be ordering my parts for my rig and just wanted to run it past you guys. There's a couple of questions I'd like to clear up as well.

Firstly, what is the difference between an OEM operating system and a Retail Boxed OS. I know that the OEM one can only be installed on one computer, but if I say changed my CPU would I have to buy a new OS disk if I bought the OEM one?

Secondly, I heard that ATI graphics cards run best with AMD CPUs and Nvidia best with Intel. Is this true?

Anyways, here is my system:

CPU
AMD Phenom II X4 955 Black Edition Socket AM3 3.2 GHz 8MB L3 Cache Retail Boxed Processor

MOBO
MSI 870A-G54 Socket AM3 8 Channel Audio ATX Motherboard

GPU
Sapphire HD 5830 1GB GDDR5 DUAL DVI-I HDMI Display Port Out PCI-E Graphics Card COD MW2 Game Edition
or
Gigabyte GTX 460 OC 1GB GDDR5 OC Edition Dual DVI HDMI PCI-E Graphics Card
What sort of cable do I need to connect the Gigabyte to my monitor? An HDMI? Mini HDMI or VGA or DVI? Thanks =)

PSU
Antec EarthWatts 650W PSU - 80Plus Certified 12cm Fan 3x 12V Rails

HDD
Samsung HD103SJ Spinpoint F3 1TB Hard Drive SATAII 7200rpm 32MB Cache - OEM

Optical drive
Sony Optiarc DDU1681S 18x DVD-ROM SATA Optical Drive - OEM Black

RAM
Corsair 4GB (2x2GB) DDR3 1333MHz Memory Kit Unbuffered CL9

Case
Antec 900 Nine Hundred - Gaming Case with 200mm Top Fan - No PSU

I think that's it. I hope you can answer my questions. Any help is appreciated.

Thanks. =)
 
Unless you plan on running crossfire with the 5830 later, which I would not suggest with a 870 board. The 460 would be the better choice. See if you can find DDR 1600 in your price range. Retail vs. OEM. The retail comes with box and manual. Plus OEM is tied more to the motherboard, if you do alot of upgrades to reactivate you will need to tell them its the same computer, you just had to change some parts out.
 
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I would look for 1600 but to be honest im already £250 over budget. So I won't be able to run SLI with the Nvidia unless I go Intel? (which I'm not going to do).

And thanks Aaron =D
 
Nope, AMD/ATI chipsets only do crossfire. If you want to SLI you would need a Nvidia 900/980a series chipset.
 
Chipset being the mobo?

Also, which cable is best to use for the Gigabyte to connect to the monitor?
 
Oh gotcha.

One last quesion =/
Can I clip the anti static wrist band to a metal part of the case and be grounded?
 
Yes.

Also, there are driver hacks available to make SLI work on AMD chipsets. (like my board for example)
 
You can get most of your parts, or comparable parts, cheaper from Scan (who usually have cheaper shipping than ebuyer too and better service):

GTX460: http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/1GB-...-Clock-1350MHz-336-Cores-2x-DL-DVI-I-MiniHDMI

Antec 900: http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/72An...Ultimate-Gamer-Case-with-200m-Top-Fan-w-o-PSU

MSI 870A-G24: http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/MSI-...R3-1800-2000(OC)-SATA-III-6Gb-s-SATA-RAID-ATX

2x2GB Corsair 1333MHz: http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/4GB-...6-(1333)-Non-ECC-Unbuffered-CAS-9-9-9-24-150V

Corsair TX650W: http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/650W...l-80plus-Efficient-120mm-Quiet-Fan-ATX12V-v22

To your questions:


Firstly, what is the difference between an OEM operating system and a Retail Boxed OS. I know that the OEM one can only be installed on one computer, but if I say changed my CPU would I have to buy a new OS disk if I bought the OEM one?

Secondly, I heard that ATI graphics cards run best with AMD CPUs and Nvidia best with Intel. Is this true?
Click to expand...

OEM gets bound to the motherboard. You change your motherboard, it won't work without a new key. Retail you can install again.

Not true about video cards. AMD make ATi cards, so people assume AMD and ATi work best together, and nVidia doesn't work as well with AMD, so must work better with Intel. However the processors and the chipset don't affect the performance of the card, you can use nvidia cards in AMD setups or ATi in Intel and they will work just as well.

Oh gotcha.

One last quesion =/
Can I clip the anti static wrist band to a metal part of the case and be grounded?
Click to expand...

yes, however unless you are working on carpet with just socks on, you shouldn't have to worry, just touch the bare metal of the case before you handle any components
 
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