You ever read so much your mouth salivates? Now I need your guys opinions!

[Vogina]

So I have been doing just that; reading & researching.
I am going to build my very first computer & for gaming! WooHooo!!!

It is not going to be an overnight purchase all my parts deal. It will be more like a 2-3 month process picking up a really nice, GREAT DEAL, part here & their.

I have two computers at home that just sit here. One was home built by a friend almost 10 years ago and the other is a 5year old emachines .. So I plan on opening them up, going over your forums[thanks OMEGA] how to build a computer step by step here: http://www.computerforum.com/104641-how-build-computer-step-step-photos.html in order for me to get a feel for when I actually get my fingers on all my parts and ready for the build. I have installed optical drives, ram, GPU's and sound cards before.

So here is what I have processed myself from reading online, forum posts, product reviews, and so on.

1) If I am going to build part by part, I must start with the mobo/processor. Every other part needs to be compatible with it.
2) AMD has slacked on their latest line. Quad Core is more for graphics, while Duo is more for gaming. i5, i7,. . . are the newest line. I really don't know which to pick, i'm sure they all have their pluses, but to help you-help me, I will need something for lots of ram, and a huge HDD. I still don't know if that is a problem with compatibility but maybe with that you can help me narrow it down. And also only 1GPU.
3) Don't go under 700W for a power supply?
4) Corsair and Antec kick ass.
5) GPU's radeon, nvidea/gforce.. Ill just go by reviews when a good deal pops up I guess, unless you guys think different.


And after all that, knowledge and all. I am still worried. What about quality of the component, do I buy name brand or a sub brand that is exact same component just manufactured different. All the little details that I can remember back when just buying my GPU's!

Finally, going back to deals. I get hesitant but as time goes, and with this post replied to I can finally start pulling triggers on some things. DEALS COME AND GO BUT YOU GOT TO PULL THE TRIGGER TO GET SOMETHING A couple things I have missed so far were:

OCZ ModXStream 600 Watt Pro Power Supply + Cooler Master CM Storm Scout Mid Tower Case for $130 - $30 Rebate - $35 Rebate = $65 with free shipping. DEAL EXPIRED 11/30

Costco has HannsG HH-281HPB 28" Wide 1080P LCD Monitor for $250 with free shipping DEAL EXPIRED 11/30

But a current deal:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ..._-NA&Item=N82E16817341017&Tpk=N82E16817341017

Newegg has OCZ ModXStream Pro OCZ600MXSP 600W Power Supply for $60 - $30 Rebate = $30 with free shipping.

Anyways, I hope this gave you all a pretty well rounded view of where I am sitting at right now.
THANKS AHEAD OF TIME! CHEERS!

 

[Jamin43]

1) If I am going to build part by part, I must start with the mobo/processor. Every other part needs to be compatible with it.

Right

2) AMD has slacked on their latest line. Quad Core is more for graphics, while Duo is more for gaming. i5, i7,. . . are the newest line. I really don't know which to pick, i'm sure they all have their pluses, but to help you-help me, I will need something for lots of ram, and a huge HDD. I still don't know if that is a problem with compatibility but maybe with that you can help me narrow it down. And also only 1GPU.

AMD hasn't slacked as much as intel kicked it's arse in the latest premium chips - so AMD responded by lowering it's price to compete. For a Value build - the AMD Phenom II is still a good CPU - but can't compete with Intel's multi-threaded ability where core i7 that can run 8 threads off 4 cores.

Dual core isn't better for gaming - as much as there is a point at which current games don't use more than 2 cores in their design. Over time - this will change as technology curve moves ahead as it always does.

Currently, virus scanners and video editing take advantage of multiple threads to speed up performance - and I'm sure there are a few others - must most applications haven't caught up to the hardware technology yet.

3) Don't go under 700W for a power supply?

Never hurts to have more - but your PSU needs are based mostly on your CPU and GPU you choose. If you want to run 2 Video cards - or the fastest - while overclocking everything on your PC - the more the merrier. 700W is more than capable for most builds though.

4) Corsair and Antec kick ass.

Both quality brands for PSU

5) GPU's radeon, nvidea/gforce.. Ill just go by reviews when a good deal pops up I guess, unless you guys think different.

as a Newbie GPU's are kindof difficult to look at side by side and make sense of. It's best to pick a price point - and figure out what kindof games < if you're a gamer > you want to play - and how futureproof you want to be. If your needs are higher than your pricing point - you may need to bump it up a bit.

This is a good starting point for choosing a grahpics card. When you think you have your card picked out - ask questions of others on this site to make sure it's what you want.

And after all that, knowledge and all. I am still worried. What about quality of the component, do I buy name brand or a sub brand that is exact same component just manufactured different. All the little details that I can remember back when just buying my GPU's!

I was in the same boat as you 6 months ago - almost exactly. I started with a window of 6 months - and it shortened to a month or two til I started my build - and I too was nervous b/c the parts were expensive for a first build < to me >

Try building a few PC's in Newegg's cart and get a feel for prices of your build. As you look at the prices - you can adjust the build to your wants / needs. Also, check out there deals at Fatwallet.com ( saved me 80 bucks on my CPU and gave me an idea of what are good prices for sales in recent months through search function ) , Newegg, and a couple other places. Also, sign up for Newegg's weekly email flyer. They have deals emailed out on PC parts every Thursday - and Combo discounts jump around all the time.

Finally, going back to deals. I get hesitant but as time goes, and with this post replied to I can finally start pulling triggers on some things. DEALS COME AND GO BUT YOU GOT TO PULL THE TRIGGER TO GET SOMETHING A couple things I have missed so far were:


But a current deal: Newegg has OCZ ModXStream Pro OCZ600MXSP 600W Power Supply for $60 - $30 Rebate = $30 with free shipping.

Anyways, I hope this gave you all a pretty well rounded view of where I am sitting at right now.
THANKS AHEAD OF TIME! CHEERS!

Those are nice deals - but they come and go all the time at Newegg. Start by honing in your budget and figuring what PC you want to build - and what parts cost - and keep an eye on the deals as they come out on the sites listed above. If you are familiar with prices - you will know what prices are too hot to pass up on - and which ones will come and go and come back again.

The only 2 deals I got for my build that were < can't miss > were the V8 cooler that I just got around to buying on Black Friday - and Somehow I was able to pick up 6GB DDR3 Ram for 85 bucks. Haven't seen either of those prices since - but I knew the general prices of the items well before purchasing them - so I knew when to pounce.

 

[Vogina]

AMD hasn't slacked as much as intel kicked it's arse in the latest premium chips - so AMD responded by lowering it's price to compete. For a Value build - the AMD Phenom II is still a good CPU - but can't compete with Intel's multi-threaded ability where core i7 that can run 8 threads off 4 cores.

Dual core isn't better for gaming - as much as there is a point at which current games don't use more than 2 cores in their design. Over time - this will change as technology curve moves ahead as it always does.

Currently, virus scanners and video editing take advantage of multiple threads to speed up performance - and I'm sure there are a few others - must most applications haven't caught up to the hardware technology yet.

So buy an iSeries if I want to future proof my build or go with what might be considered the standard, and go with AMD for a price saver. And other factors too. . .

This is a good starting point for choosing a grahpics card. When you think you have your card picked out - ask questions of others on this site to make sure it's what you want.

Life saver. Thanks for the linky!

Those are nice deals - but they come and go all the time at Newegg. Start by honing in your budget and figuring what PC you want to build - and what parts cost - and keep an eye on the deals as they come out on the sites listed above. If you are familiar with prices - you will know what prices are too hot to pass up on - and which ones will come and go and come back again.

The only 2 deals I got for my build that were < can't miss > were the V8 cooler that I just got around to buying on Black Friday - and Somehow I was able to pick up 6GB DDR3 Ram for 85 bucks. Haven't seen either of those prices since - but I knew the general prices of the items well before purchasing them - so I knew when to pounce.

Completely agree.

I was in the same boat as you 6 months ago - almost exactly. I started with a window of 6 months - and it shortened to a month or two til I started my build - and I too was nervous b/c the parts were expensive for a first build < to me >

Try building a few PC's in Newegg's cart and get a feel for prices of your build. As you look at the prices - you can adjust the build to your wants / needs. Also, check out there deals at Fatwallet.com ( saved me 80 bucks on my CPU and gave me an idea of what are good prices for sales in recent months through search function ) , Newegg, and a couple other places. Also, sign up for Newegg's weekly email flyer. They have deals emailed out on PC parts every Thursday - and Combo discounts jump around all the time.

A cart builder on newegg is smart. I am going to start giving that go to get a ballpark $$.
Fatwallet.com is good, may I direct you to slickdeals.net. It is a smoother and I think more up to the minute.

After looking at your build and from what you have said, it seems like I am where you were at and from the look of it, I might end up being where are at now with slight differences.

Hear me out on this so I can either learn from it, get slapped by it, or reafirm that I have learned something from the last two weeks of reading HAHA!

1) I noticed you are running an i9 series. I have heard that it is only beneficial if you are crossfiring(which I am not entirely sure what that is yet but guessing having raid0 or having multiple units of something, i.e GPU's) So considering you have that GPU and a TV tuner, is that considered to be two GPU's? I ask because I too was looking for a gamer/tv/cable/media center build because I'll be moving out soon and would like to have it all in a nice package which would last.

2) Going back to what we both agreed on. Buying a CPU/MOBO first. How do I go about making sure things are compatible. By the "suggested things people bought when also purchasing this item" or simply coming back here to ask? What did you do? I am a bit confused still on the best route.

3) Lastly I noticed your WD500GB Black Cav x 32 cache. What was your decision on this? Since everything else you have done looks like something, at this point, I would do, why didn't you go for a TB, or something @500 with 64 cache? Isn't more cache the better?

Thanks again Jamin43!!

 

[Jamin43]

1) I noticed you are running an i9 series. I have heard that it is only beneficial if you are crossfiring(which I am not entirely sure what that is yet but guessing having raid0 or having multiple units of something, i.e GPU's) So considering you have that GPU and a TV tuner, is that considered to be two GPU's? I ask because I too was looking for a gamer/tv/cable/media center build because I'll be moving out soon and would like to have it all in a nice package which would last.

TV tuner - I found the least info re: this hardware online - so kindof winged it in choosing an inexpensive tuner with reviews of a good picture quality. I got lucky and am pretty happy with the picture on mine running an analog signal off my Comcast tuner split from TV output on both a 15inch Old dell monitor - and even better on my 22" ASUS on widescreen mode. There is some kindof processing going on with the tuner card chip - they get warm - but Mine doesn't have any heatsink or fan - so I would think it's no where near the power draw of a gaming GPU.

Corsair power supply calculator

There was no i7 860 when I built my PC - and no i5 either. If I had to build again today - I don't know if I'd go with the 860 or 920, b/c I doubt I'd ever run SLI or Crossfire. But I have the flexibility if i want it. The biggest difference I'm aware of that's relevant < to me > is the 9series 1366 socket has planned a 6 core high end CPU - and the 1156 socket will have more mainstream options moving forward. I have no clue what the price point will be for the 6 core - or if I would ever be interested in it ( again - no i7 8xx when I built ).

The other difference is triple channel RAM with i7 9xx series vs dual channel. If I ever want to do video editing as something I get into later - I think the triple channel will be beneficial. Nothing that makes a difference with my current uses today though.

Others cold probably better expand on the issues listed above as to pros / cons of 860 vs 920. Both have multithreading capacity though.

2) Going back to what we both agreed on. Buying a CPU/MOBO first. How do I go about making sure things are compatible. By the "suggested things people bought when also purchasing this item" or simply coming back here to ask? What did you do? I am a bit confused still on the best route.

Pick CPU first - and the socket of your CPU will back into your motherboard. core i5, i7 860 = x55 chipset socket 1156 / core i7 920 = x58 chipset socket 1366. I wanted some flexibility for future add ons with pciex16 < one of which I'm using for TV tuner b/c my pciex1 slot was blocked by heatsink >. My build is probably more than I need right now - but I'm set for 4 or 5 years - where I can overclock if needed - and add on my PC interests w/o being bogged down b/c of my CPU / MOBO restrictions. I know I'll be upgrading my GPU at least once ( the 5850 looks sweet after the price comes down to about half what it is today ) - but what I've got allows me to play the 3 games I own with a TV on my second monitor.

3) Lastly I noticed your WD500GB Black Cav x 32 cache. What was your decision on this? Since everything else you have done looks like something, at this point, I would do, why didn't you go for a TB, or something @500 with 64 cache? Isn't more cache the better?

Thanks again Jamin43!!

32 cache - My understanding on that is small bits of information will be stored in the cache for faster performance for web browsing. 32MB cache is the highest I've seen. The Black Caviar has 2 extra years warranty ( possibly a little tighter build tolerance. ). I didn't go 1TB - b/c I don't have a need and was building on a budget ( although mine grew from initial estimate a bit ). I may add second drive later if I need it.

 

[Vogina]

An acquaintance of mine suggested that the next opportunity that arises, I should go with him to a computer expo. He has told me that more often then not, retailers will strike extremely unbeatable bargain deals, albeit the customer pays in cash. A true free market, while the booth next to you offers you cheaper or more gimmicks, Hah!

Thoughts for those of you familiar with going out to expos?