...at building a fresh new PC.
I think I shouldn't have done shopping late at night, I might've made some weird choices, not sure if some stuff are compatible.

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Specssss

Caaaaaaaaaase:
$50 - Cooler Master Centurion 541 RC-541-SKN1


Fans:
$13 - ENERMAX UC-8EB x2 (Exhaust)
$10 - Thermaltake A2329 (Input)
(CPU) AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA


Power Supply:
AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA


Processor:
$270 - Intel Core 2 Quad Q9400


Fatherboard:
$135 - GIGABYTE GA-E7AUM-DS2H

HARD Drive:
$55 - Seagate Barracuda (250GB)


Video Card:
$150 - PNY VCG981024GXEB-FLB GeForce 9800 GT


Memory:
$36 - Transcend 2GB 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM (2x2GB)
$40 - G.SKILL 4GB 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM (2x2GB)


Optikal Drive:
$18 - Sony NEC Optiarc Black

I'm having trouble with choosing a proper CPU fan and power supply.

Anyhow, I'm hoping a few people will recommend anything that is cheaper and/or better than any of the hardware shown above. I'm open to complete re-hauls if it results in a better and cheaper system.

Post has been edited 2 time(s), last time on Jan 7 2009, 5:19 am by FlyingHat.

Power supplies are pretty much interchangeable, just make sure that the one you purchase will fit the case properly and it doesn't have anything else weird about it.

This is a pretty good fan+heat sink for CPUs, I didn't look very hard, so you might find one cheaper, but this one will cool you very nicely.

No Falk, that is NOT a nice CPU cooler. However this http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835186134 and this http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835106123 are. And its currently out of stock, but since you're doing an aftermarket CPU fan anyway, you're better off with this: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115131R

Better:
RAM: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231122 Almost same price as the one you picked, but has heat spreaders and is 4GB.
Mobo: You picked a fucking GOD AWFUL motherboard man. Jesus christ. Go with this or the P35 version, but DFI makes good boards, and NEVER EVER go microATX unless you have to. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813136050
Case: Fail micro case was fail. Either go with this http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119137 or this http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119068 and if you go with the RC690 you don't need to buy any extra case fans as it comes with quite a few and is a beast anyway.

What OS are you getting? If you're getting XP, be sure to add the 3GB flag to the boot.ini so that applications can use all your memory properly.

For power supplies, make sure they have enough SATA connections. I wasn't too sure what I was doing when I built my first one, and that is one thing I'm unhappy about. The other being, I don't think my motherboard properly supports my g.skill ram, so it doesn't dual channel it.

You might just have to go into the BIOS and mess with some settings. Maybe even give the RAM a little voltage increase.

Ex, would you mind explaining to me why I shouldn't go m-ATX?
The case and motherboard you recommended seem like slightly bloated hardware to me.


In other news, I would love more input from other people, I really want a lot of options to choose from.

You don't want to go micro to have more breathing room, less wire tangle, as well as room for expansion. Video cards can be big ;o
What do you want as far as price range?

The price range I'm aiming for is around $750-950, I'm also looking to build something that is small, silent and powerful.

Choose two of those and I bet Ex can do something with that money. It'll take more effort with three .

Why small? <3 my massive case.

Micro ATX is less stable, less overclockable, and in general has more problems. Yes we're always trying to make nice small technological gizmos but when it comes to a desktop PC you don't fuck around unless you want problems. I'll create you a build for that price range later tonight.

The underside of this desk doesn't have a goodly amount of space, and I dislike things that don't look bloated or seem to take up space that isn't needed.

/me appreciates that

CPU: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115052
Case: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119137
Motherboard: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813136060
GFX: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814121276R
RAM: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231226
PSU: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139005
HDD: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822148288
CPU HS: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835186134
DVD: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827135176
Burner: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827106100

Unless you can supply me with a reason you need quad core over dual, because it isn't worth it right now for 80%+ of PC users, or any reason why you'd need any more fans than the ones already supplied in the case I've provided, which is a beast, as I have one sitting next to me, my work is done here.

With tax + ship: $885.61

That Case looks like a bit of overkill for the Mobo you gave him, but I guess it doesn't matter. He could get another van to put on that vent hole that doesn't have one

Sexy graphics card, btw I'm wondering, is that power supply necessary? It seems like more than he needs.

1. Case is large enough but not too large, mid tower, and has lots of fans, which he was worried about in his previous post.
2. Always try to leave room for upgrades, and PSU is usually a restrictive factor in upgrading because people don't plan for it.

This build looks okay so far, although I don't expect to be using the DVD burner anytime.

It's a good idea to replace PSUs often. They're only getting more efficient, and safer.

Case is bleh. It would work nicely for most people, yes, I won't lie. I just don't like the looks of it. Thermaltake cases were always fun for me.

You get Quad Core or i7 because the world will eventually use it. If you buy a computer now, and in two years you realize "Damn, Quad is useful now!", you'd throw in and waste some more cash.

A graphics card from Asus? Personally, I go with ATi stuff, mainly because Asus is expensive as hell. And not actual ati stuff either, but like... Gigabit or Powercolor.

8GB of RAM wont hurt you. I beleive Vista can use 8, and Ultimate can use 128.

And then you need lights, so whenever your computer processes information, or is tapped, the glow bar lights up.

8GB of RAM can't even be used by XP, and I don't see a reason for it on Vista.