Please Advise New Builder

Samuel1941

Samuel1941

Member
About a year ago I looked into building a computer and never did because I couldn't figure out what parts to get.

I just want a solid, quality computer to net surf and do minimal video and photo editing.

OK, I've taken a deep breath and am going to try this again!! I've been lurking on this board, other boards, and NewEgg for a while now and have come up with the following parts list.

(I will be using existing monitor [27" Dell], mouse, key board, speakers.)

Please take a look at the list and advise me if something will not work or there is a better way to do it. (Also, I need advice on an optical drive CD/DVD that would go well with this build. Too many numbers and technical abreviations on them for me to figure out. i.e.; CD/DVDRWX10Z15X2CVDXT...etc. What??????) Thanks in advance!!

CASE: GIGABYTE Triton 180 Black 0.7mm SECC Steel ATX Mid Tower
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811233016

PSU: CORSAIR CMPSU-620HX 620W ATX12V v2.2 and EPS12V 2.91 SLI Certified CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS Certified Modular Activ
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139002

CPU: Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 Kentsfield 2.4GHz 2 x 4MB L2 Cache LGA 775 Quad-Core Processor
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115017

MOBO: GIGABYTE GA-EP45C-UD3R LGA 775 Intel P45 ATX Intel Motherboard
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128364

RAM: CORSAIR DOMINATOR 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 1066 (PC2 8500) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820145214

GPU: GIGABYTE GV-R485ZL-512H Radeon HD 4850 512MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFire Supported Vide
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...38&Tpk=GIGABYTE GV-R485ZL-512H Radeon HD 4850

OS: Microsoft Windows XP Professional SP3 for System Builders
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16832116515

HD: Western Digital Caviar GP WD5000CSRTL 500GB 7200 RPM 16MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb-s Hard Drive
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136334

And, lastly, please recommend a CD/DVD reader/burner.

How am I doing?
Thanks for your input!! :)
 
Your gonna be wasting .75 of those 4gbs if you get that OS> 32 Bit XP can only handle 3.25 GB of ram. I would recommend using the 64 bit.


The rest looks pretty good.
 
Yeah looking pretty good, I don't know of any good CD/DVD readers/writers so I can't recommend any.

How much would all this add up to in $total$ ?
 
i would go vista home premium 64 oem ($99.99) to use that ram. Since you have no sli on that mobo you may want to consider going with a 1g or 4870, that depends on what your gaming/video needs are though. To save a little money I would buy cheaper ram, that ram is over priced imho. That HD comes in a 32mb cache version and I think cost is pretty close. I just bought a Lite-On DVD-R/CD-R/Lightscribe, works great and cheap.
 
Like yourself, I'd considered building my own system for awhile, but was afraid of ordering $1400 worth of parts and ending up with a non-working system. But, my first build, about a month ago, posted first try and runs great. It went so well that I built another system last week for my Wife's work, and it too runs great. The second system was very similar to your proposed build. A P45 NB, Corsair RAM and PSU, and a similar case. Looking at your list I can't find much to criticize. It looks like you've done your homework and have chosen quality components. You'll want an aftermarket CPU cooler too. That was a tough choice for me - so many to chose from. I went with a Roswell, http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835200026, because it wasn't huge or heavy, and seems to have been a good choice. I like the memory choices on the motherboard - able to upgrade to DDR 3 when price comes down. My only suggestion would be a 64bit OS. I switched over to Vista 64 and really like it - very intuitive with many new features like 3D Flip. Good luck on your first build. Take your time and read all the manuals.
 
Thanks for your comments so far...greatly appreciated!

Ambushed asked, "How much would all this add up to in $total$ ? "

Pricing the parts I've listed from NewEgg, without tax or shipping, but with the rebates figured in, the price is $931.

Anyone else who can recommend an optical (CD?DVD) drive for this system??

Recommended so far: LITE-ON Black 22X DVD+R 8X DVD+RW 8X DVD+R DL 22X DVD-R 6X DVD-RW 12X DVD-RAM 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-R 32X CD-RW 48X CD-ROM 2MB Cache SATA 22X DVD Burner with LightScribe!!! Now is that an impressive title for only one little drive...Wow! All that (whatever it means) for $26...I guess at that price I can try a couple of different ones.

And all you guys who keep saying "build your own"...is it really that easy? I ain't no dummie, but it sure is intimidating the first time! :(

Jevery posted: "Take your time and read all the manuals."
I've been reading some of the manuals posted on line...most of it seems pretty logical, but some of it is like rocket science!! :)
 
Irishwhistle posted: "You can save a lot by buying OEM products."

Thanks for that input...I did notice that the OEM products were less expensive, but I understand that with the OEM you get no manual or small parts and cables. Being a first time builder, I wanted to make it easier on myself and be sure I have everything I need with the product. :)

I've only gotten one recommendation for a CD/DVD drive. If no one has any suggestions for a specific drive, does anyone have any tips on what to look for or to avoid?? :confused:
 
I'd get a Sumsung. At Newegg the Lite-On and Samsung sell the best by far. The Lite-On has 78% excellent or good rating, the Samsung has 87%. I've bought four of them lately.
 
Yes Samsung are good ones, and lately LG was good to me too, no failures out of anout 20 of them. I usually get cheapest LG or Samsung with Free Shipping I can get.
Also a while ago Maximum PC reviewed Q6600 vs Q9300 and Q9300 won back there. Even with small er cache it was still better, and cooler. May be you will reconsider and get a better CPU like Q9400 or Q9550 which went on sale recently. Better save money on that overpriced dominator and get normal memory like G-Skill or ADATA, they are the same or better - I have used both so many times and was never dissapointed. Mobo is really good. For the CPu cooler I like Freezer 7 but I don't know how it compares to yours. And also you can get Sapphire 4850 512Mb for $125 with free shipping - check like slickdeals.net or something for a coupon. Sapphire is the biggest ATI manufacturer. At least thats what they say
 
BlackRat.......

I had planned to get the Freezer 7 CPU cooler, but it is currently out of stock at NewEgg.

And the reason I like Gigabyte over Sapphire is that the reviews are overall more positive for Gigagbyte.

Samsung vs LG vs LiteOn...guess I will just throw a dart or something to choose. Those all seem to be good drives and very similarly priced.
 
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