Making a computer. (Calling all computer making Pros)

[Sieg Reyu]

So I am building my first computer from scratch. My previous ones have been hand me downs that I've modified with assistance. As such, I need some help making sure I didn't miss anything. Here is the wishlist of items. I would much appreciate if you would peruse it to make sure everything is compatible and that I have everything I need. If you can spy any ways to save me money or get me upgraded for cheap, that would be good to know. I already have 1.25TB of hardrive, so I'm not worrying about more harddrive yet.
Compiled list


Also, I would like to be able to play vidja gaems, more specifically my gamecube, on my monitor. It has DVI, VGA, and HDMI capabilities. It would also be kind of keen to be able to hook it up so I could watch TV on it as well, though it's not as important. What piece of hardware would best serve those needs, while being reliable and cheap.

[Evil Jim]

Dude, get a Dell.

[Whitmore]

She looks good all except for the Case/Video card section.

You could do MUCH better.

For that money you could grab a ATI Radeon 5770 and then find a nice case by Thermal Take, the V3 is nice.

EDIT: Also, why do you need a 6 core processor? Great quads are getting cheaper.

Remember, combo offerings are not always better.

[Sieg Reyu]

She looks good all except for the Case/Video card section.

You could do MUCH better.

For that money you could grab a ATI Radeon 5770 and then find a nice case by Thermal Take, the V3 is nice.

EDIT: Also, why do you need a 6 core processor? Great quads are getting cheaper.

Remember, combo offerings are not always better.

One fan, are you kidding me? I'm sticking with the Antec. I love it's elegance.

What is the point on the cost for performance curve where things gets pricey. I looked around and similar prices on video cards and it seemed like they were all downgrades or tradeoffs.

As for the processors, the 4 core there were reasonably priced were 3.2GHz while the six core was 2.8. The way I figured it 3.2x4= 12.8 2.8x6 16.8 That's a difference of 4GHz. I doubt it actually works like that, and I'll be surprised if it does. It was just the criteria I used to decide which to go with.

[Keab42]

With multi-core setups the frequency doesn't really matter. What's important is how well the CPU can balance its load across the cores and for what you get for your money quad-core is still the way to go.

The current crop of ATI graphics cards work out far better in terms of performance for your dollars than the Nvidia ones. As Whitmore said the 5770 seems to be the one to go for right now.

[Whitmore]

Well as high performance as your 6 core beast is gunna be, you're gunna be hard pressed to find a game where 6 cores benefits performance more than a Direct X 11 card.

Go for the 5770.

[Whitmore]

With multi-core setups the frequency doesn't really matter. What's important is how well the CPU can balance its load across the cores and for what you get for your money quad-core is still the way to go.

The current crop of ATI graphics cards work out far better in terms of performance for your dollars than the Nvidia ones. As Whitmore said the 5770 seems to be the one to go for right now.

I Love you, Keab.

[Smidge]

A 6 core AMD cpu will not give you alot of speed boost in games over dual or quad core. Maybe a Core i5 661 or i5 750 ( which cost about the same ) is a better choice?

[Whitmore]

An i5 and a 5850 is an overclocker's dream.

[Sieg Reyu]

Updated list

[Whitmore]

Very nice.

You're gunna pwn with this beast.

[falthazar]

First thing I wanna warn you about, is that case (and most Antec cases for that matter) doesn't have a side fan, but it does have a whole, which I would recommend covering up or getting a fan for (probably a filtered one, as the rest of the fans are).
And most importantly, no offense, but your power supply is crap. You don't need that many watts, its much more important to get a respectable company, then a bunch of watts. I recommend Corsair Thermaltake, Antec, or OCZ. Get maybe a 500 or 600 watt power supply, tho I think even thats more then you need. (For reference, I have a core i7, 4 HDD's and a Nvidia GTX 260, with a 600watt power supply) I nearly guarantee you that that power supply will probably break in a year.

EDIT: oh! two more things. First, there are power supply calculators online you can look at, and secondly, you may want to look at modular ones, there a lot easier to manage.

another edit: uhh, also be careful about blu-ray drives, they kinda suck software wise on PC's. Power DVD isin't the greatest of programs. And if you wanna rip blu-rays, anydvd is another 60-100 dollars iirc. Just a caution really. Blu-ray on PC's kinda suck for the moment.

[GreigKM]

Built this PC 2 years ago and it runs great, personally I see no use for top of the line hardware, It is always less stable and the boost you get is negligible. Building a PC is not just about getting what's best, but about getting what works and is stable. It's a lot like customizing a motorcycle, you could poor tons of cash into a top of the line, ultra fast bike, but you're just gunna crash it in a few days. I have little else to suggest, just don't be tempted by the shiny new will-mess-stuff-up type hardware. And as for the current list, it's nice, same GPU I have and almost same CPU (I updated my rig a bit, not much) a little overkill on the PSU, but a good price for it.
EDIT: Mid-towers are best, I got a Full-tower, looks cool, but it's a big son of a bitch.

[iEatNinjaZ]

Looks pretty good.

I suggest you go back to the 1055T and leave the 965 alone.
The 1055T begs to be overclocked, get it to 3.5ghz or if you have the balls go to 4 (which it will do) and it will be great. It outperforms everything in its price range at higher speeds clock for clock.

Shame the combo is a 790 instead of a new 890 chipset but it should be decent.

Some recommended a 4870 over the 5770, I've used both and they are nearly identical speeds. The only difference is eyefinity. Get the 4870 and save some money with the combo with the case.

You don't need anywhere near a 1000w psu for this system, you can probably run it with only a 500. Grab a nice quality psu from corsair if you have the money, a 650 should be more than enough for you.

[UnspeakablePat]

Dude, get a Dell.

I sincerely hope that was a joke.

[Sieg Reyu]

You don't need anywhere near a 1000w psu for this system, you can probably run it with only a 500. Grab a nice quality psu from corsair if you have the money, a 650 should be more than enough for you.

The calculator I used told me at least 640 watts, and I want some play room. But I took it in advisory.

Updated once more.

[Sieg Reyu]

Also, what specs do I look for to make Environment heavy games run smoothly, namely MMOs and Sandbox games like Saint's Row 2. I'm guessing its Video Card Ram, but I'm not sure.

[Fuzzyfreaker]

Looks pretty good to me, save for the graphics card, as already said. I wish you'd asked this about 2 weeks in the future though, because my Computer Compiling program would be in beta, and this would be an ideal time to try it out...

[Sieg Reyu]

Looks pretty good to me, save for the graphics card, as already said. I wish you'd asked this about 2 weeks in the future though, because my Computer Compiling program would be in beta, and this would be an ideal time to try it out...

It's been changed. Check again.

[TomBrend]

I'd definitely go for an i5 or i7 over an AMD processor right now. They tend to get better real performance in games for the dollar. The architecture is superior, clock rate be damned.

[davefp]

I think what you've got there right now is pretty damn good. You can argue all day over minor differences in cpus, video cards etc. but when it comes down to it that build is a good solid gaming build with lots of room for upgrades later on. Go buy it!

[Evil Jim]

Dude, get a Dell.

I sincerely hope that was a joke.

I sincerely hope it was obvious.

[Smidge]

When looking for a powersuply, I always look at the Inrush.
This is the power spike that happens when turning the system on.

If the Inrush is high, this can slowly damage your components.
From tests I have seen Coolmaster PSU's perform really well.

However if you have a system that pulls 400 watt, and your psu is 1000 watt, you'll get a higher Inrush than you would with a system that actually pulls 700 to 800 watt which needs that 1000 watt.
The efficiency of a PSU is for a specific watt range. So if it has a 80Plus gold certification, it's all nice and dandy, but that is only for it's given watt.

By the looks of your system I'd say go for a 700 to 750 watt psu.

I have a Thermaltake thoughpower 750 watt PSU here and it is silent and stable.

Oh and whatever you buy, be sure the shortcircuit features of the PSU work.
Some tested models ( even of big brands like corsair ) sometimes have crappy protection.
For example the Corsair, HX850W, which didn't have it's 5v line protected.

Oh and for optimum airflow in your case go for a modular psu.


So to recap.

Inrush ( lower is better )
Efficiency ( higher is better but make sure it's on par with your usage )
Short Circuit protection
Modular ( keeps your system alot cooler )

[Dutch guy]

When it comes to psu's just get a good respectable brand. I recently upgraded my PC with some parts left over when my roommates brought new rigs and I bought an ATI 5440 GPU to get me enough graphics power (And the 5440 seems to provide a lot of bang for buck) The PSU I had was rated at 600 Watts so I figured I could just keep running on that no problem. Then PSU started crapping out on me at random it seemed. A few simple monitoring programs and a wattage meter showed that the 5 and 12 volt lines started crapping out as soon as the PSU pulled more than about 290 watts!! The local student ICT shop had a 390 Watt Coolermaster PSU on sale so I went with that. It runs super smooth again after that change.

Crap PSU's often can't even reach the rated Wattage and crap out. I've seen a good 600 Watt PSU on a computer from a friend pull almost 40 watts more before finally shutting the system down. And then it just restarts no problem.

[Metcarfre]

Question; What sort of skills do you need to build a computer? And tools? Is it simple screwing-things-together, do you solder a few wires, or is it involved electrical work? Is it something you shouldn't attempt without help or experience?