First Time Trying to Build a Computer

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Xtlk

New Member
Well my last desktop died after 3 years and I wanted a new gaming computer, so my friend convinced me to build my own. 2 days ago I had no clue how to do that but 2 days of research and I think I'm actually starting to get it o.O

I wanted to ask if theres anything I'm missing with what I have so far, or if any of these are bad picks compared to other options. While I do plan to game with this computer, I'm a college kid so I'll be doing a lot of other things on there (comp hardware eng major) and I'm running on a budget of around $1,500.

All input welcome!


My current ideas of what to get:

Azza Solano 1000

Seagate Constellation 500gb 7200 RPM HDD

Corsair 750W i7/AMD compatible

Sapphire Radeon HD 6870 1gb GPU

Kingston Hyperx 8gb 240-pin DDR3, 1600mhz RAM

AMD Phenom II x4 970 Black Edition CPU

Asus average DVD Burner


I'm not really sure which motherboard to go with..I know they're the component you're supposed to be willing to spend the most on. I think my 3 choices are:

ASRock 890GX AM3 AMD

MSI 890FXA-GD65 AM3 AMD

ASUS Crosshair IV Formula AM3 AMD 890FX

or are there better choices out there?

I know theres cheaper HDD's out there, but my friend suggested that one as its supposed to be very good quality.

How does this look?
 
Everything looks pretty good, good choices. But have you looked into Nvidia for your video card? I prefer those over ATI for power as well as much better video drivers. And any one of those motherboards look good.
 
Ty for the responses!

claptonman said:
Everything looks pretty good, good choices. But have you looked into Nvidia for your video card? I prefer those over ATI for power as well as much better video drivers. And any one of those motherboards look good.
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Its funny because I've always used nvidia, but my friend suggested this card and I've heard a few times that ati is better for gaming, I figured why not :P after some research, people say this card can handle all but the most intensive games on max. I normally don't play those types of games, like crysis..more mmorpgs and fps like tf2 or battlefield. Are there better nvidia for around the same price?

Everything looks pretty good,
As for HDD the one you chose is Sata 3.0gbps, here try this Sata 6gbps it would be faster and also is cheaper and WD Caviar Blacks are great drives.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16822136794


And as for motherboards,the boards you selected are pretty good,but this one is futureproof
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813157248

you can upgrade to Zambezi when it is released .
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Oh, I do plan to upgrade often, future proof sounds good haha. What's zambezi?
 
I would recommend Intel's Sandy Bridge line, they are more expensive, but the Phenoms are already about a generation old, with AMD's new line coming out soon. I would either wait for the new generation to come out, or get the Core i5 2500k or the Core i7 2600k.

Also, those kingston RAM are quite good, but I would choose corsair for RAM: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820233147

And the HD could be a bit bigger, like one of the Western Digital 1TB 7200 RPM, or even their 2TB 7200 rpm with a 32mb cache.
 
Well I went with the RAM stranglehold suggested, and a SATA 6.0gb/s hdd, and the ASrock 890fx Deluxe5. Thank you for the suggestions :)

However, I now can't get the computer to turn on...I believe I have everything correctly connected, but when i flip the switch to 1 and hit the power button, nothing happens. Instead, the mobo power and reset buttons flash red. Anyone know what that means? Can't seem to find an explanation in the booklet.
 
Did you put all the standoffs under the board in the right places. Have you got the 4/8 pin CPU power connector plugged in?

And what do you mean by, flipped the switch to 1?
 
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Just put standoffs under the grounded holes on the board. That board should have 10. 4 in the front, 3 in the middle and 3 on the back end. Glad you got it fired up.
 
Xtlk said:
This must have something to do with it, because i just hooked everything back up outside of the case and now its running :P I guess a standoff was causing a short?
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Good to know it worked for you.Its a real bummer when a new build does not work.
And you went with AM3+ motherboard right??
 
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