First Build - Advice would be nice

F

foo2

New Member
Hello everyone,

Trying to build a cheap linux box: comes out to ~$290, and yes I did receive some motivation for this from slashdot.

Case + PS:$46
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811147140

Hard-drive:$48
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136098

Motherboard:$47
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813186200&Tpk=Foxconn A6GMV

CPU: $60
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103687

Memory: $25
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820148196&Tpk=1GB Crucial CT12864BA1339

Video card: $60
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150322

Will a 350W PS suffice for this? Video card requires 350W minimum but I understand power output decreases over time.
Is 1 GB enough? Linux distro's recommend 512 MB and 1 GB seems to meet min specs for most games.
Am I spending too much on the video card compared to the rest of the system? (I just want to play SC II =] ) Are there any well-defined heuristics to follow regarding the proportion of cost that each component should make up in system?
 
Not very powerful, but well balanced, are you having a CD/DVD burner? That would help when installing software, though I assume you are going to download your games. The GPU is outdated, but fine. As for the PSU... I would buy an empty shell case and purchase a decent brand (Rosewill are OK, but there is better brands of PSU [400W would be best]
The RAM isn't too shabby at that price (DDR3! :) ) The hard drive is fairly good value. Have you got a monitor, and peripherals?
 
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822152181

$7 extra, 120GB extra storage, double cache, faster hard drive in general.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150475

same price, but massively out performs the 9500GT.

1GB of memory should be ok, but don't be surprised if you see lag when there is alot going on. However, I would spend the extra $4 to get:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820211449

as it is faster and also has a heat spreader, which won't make a huge amount of difference, but will, in theory, keep the chips on the DIMM atleast slightly cooler.

I would agree with fastdude and say get a better power supply. 350W would suffice, a 300W would do, a GT 240 doesn't draw much power at all, same goes for a 9500gt.

you could get a cheap case:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811233061

and a decent PSU:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817171028

or

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817151086

for roughly the same price as your combo.
 
@fastdude101
Thanks, I'm probably going to try and snag an old CRT and keyboard off craigslist. Can't think of anything that I'll need CD drive for, I'll put OS on thru USB.

@Aastii
Trying to avoid price bloat, and video card you recommended has incredibly poor reviews.

I understand power supply's do not cause collateral damage when they fail so I may just wait for this one to bite the dust. The "better" alternatives are significantly more expensive.

Thanks guys
 
foo2 said:
@Aastii
Trying to avoid price bloat, and video card you recommended has incredibly poor reviews.

I understand power supply's do not cause collateral damage when they fail so I may just wait for this one to bite the dust. The "better" alternatives are significantly more expensive.

Thanks guys
Click to expand...

I wouldn't trust newegg reviews ;)

There are only 7 reviews, all say they had driver problems. There are reviews and benchmarks of the same card from when it came out, so the drivers worked, so the people reviewing either had no common issue, or the drivers they got were bad, or they were idiots with computers. Also note most of those reviews were from may/june, in nearly 2 months, driver revisions will have been released fixing compatability issues.

I can't find a 4770 on newegg, but if you can find one, that would be a better option as they are cheaper still and outperform the gt 240.

As to power supplies not causeing other damage when they blow, that is incorrect. Often, in fact the majority of the time, when a power supply blows it damages other compnents in your computer too, and the warranty of those components does not cover damage caused by other component failure, so you will have to get a new power supply, and replacements for the parts that blew, all for saving ~$10.

All together, those improvements will cost you an extra ~ $11-20, and it will be a much more stable and faster system
 
 
daisymtc said:
PSU - I don't recommend psu come with case. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139008&Tpk=consair 400w
Case - Just opt for a cheap case if you don't have money
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811147073

Memory - 1GB is not enough. Get at least 2GB
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820148221

Video card - 9500GT is not really a gaming card, worth considering 4670/ 9800GT for slightly more.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814131179&cm_re=4670-_-14-131-179-_-Product
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150323&cm_re=9800gt-_-14-150-323-_-Product
Click to expand...

I know we're all trying to help, but this guy is
on a tight budget... :P
 
Yes, I know, (PSU being very important) but you gotta' draw the line somewhere;
As for the GPU, the HD5670 (~$75) is as good as an HD4770 which is as good as a 9800GT
HD5670 uses less power, heat, and will have driver updates.
 
psu provides a solid backbone for your system, without a good psu you could have all kinds of problems including catastrophic failure, dont skimp on a psu, its just not a good idea, plus hell when you upgrade down the road, its one thing you wont need to change if you were wise about the psu choice
 
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