# First computer build :D



## Refuse (Jul 29, 2007)

I've decided I need a new project, so I'm building a whole new setup completely from scratch...I've already bought a few of the parts, so I hope like hell I made the right decisions...I know a fair bit about hardware, but I am very open to suggestions. Anyway, here it is:

Green is what I have purchased, red is what I plan on getting.

Case: Silverstone SST-TJ05

PSU: Silverstone Olympia OP750, 750W

Keyboard & mouse: Logitech LX310 wireless desktop

Floppy drive: Generic 1.44MB, Internal, Floppy Disk Drive, Silver

Optical drive: Asus DRW-1814BLT DVD Writer

Card reader: 19-IN-1 Internal 3.5" Card Reader

Main hard drive (for OS, games, apps etc.): Western Digital Raptor WD740ADFD 74gb

Storage hard drive (for music, movies etc.): Seagate Barracuda ST3500630AS Hard Disk Drive, 500GB, 7200rpm, 16384KB Cache, SATA-2

Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-N680SLI-DQ6

CPU: Intel Core 2 Duo E6750

RAM: Corsair XMS2, TWIN2X2048-6400C4, 2x1GB, DDR2-800, PC2-6400, CL4, DIMM, EPP

Video card: XFX PV-T80G-GHF9 Video Card, GeForce 8800 GTS, 320MB

I've got all of the cheap peripherals and drives out of the way, now it's just down to the lengthy decision of what hardware to get...I would appreciate feedback on all of this, as well as better alternatives (if there are any). I just want a nice gaming machine for the newer games coming out as well as ones that are out, something future-proof and something I can play around with for a couple of years before needing to seriously upgrade again. Overclocking isn't a biggy, because I don't know crap about it, though I want to get into it and learn eventually.

Any feedback is good


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## Sasqui (Jul 29, 2007)

I'd say you got a really solid line-up, especially with the SLI-DQ6 MB and two different HDDs for apps/data.  Don't know much about the case and you should prob research cooling.  Luck.


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## pbmaster (Jul 29, 2007)

Yeah, good stuff. I would prolly go with an Antec case though, they are really good.


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## 3991vhtes (Jul 29, 2007)

What parts did you already buy? the ones listed in red or green? also, I think you should go with any asus board over gigabyte anyday. my friends say they have problems w/ their gb boards...just a suggestion tho.


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## pbmaster (Jul 29, 2007)

LOL people told me not to buy ASUS cause they had problems. ASUS has never done me any wrong, except for that one time my A8N died, but that was my fault. I also hear Gigabyte boards are good.


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## 3991vhtes (Jul 29, 2007)

pbmaster said:


> LOL people told me not to buy ASUS cause they had problems. ASUS has never done me any wrong, except for that one time my A8N died, but that was my fault. I also hear Gigabyte boards are good.



I have used asus and never had any problems LOL  except my CUW-AM board :shadedshu
but my friends tell me they regret getting gigabyte boards...


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## Refuse (Jul 29, 2007)

Oh crap, sorry guys, I forgot to specify what is what  I edited the post now. Green is what I have purchased, red is what I'm planning on getting.

This is the case also:

http://www.techwarelabs.com/reviews/cases/sundialmicro/

I got it in silver, sorta wish I got a black one now . It's really big, I'm thinking I may have gone over the top with it, aha. It is impressive to look at, though. I've also heard a lot of bad things about the 680i ASUS mobos on these forums, like over heating issues, crashing etc. Though that could just be due to people doing stupid things, I've been recommended Gigabyte by a couple of people. NOTHING is set in stone yet (except of course, the parts I already have), and I'm still researching a lot and then I'm just gonna have to commit and hope I got something good 

Keep the feedback coming!


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## Mussels (Jul 29, 2007)

asus used to have problems, but they are a lot better now. its only their striker extreme mobo thats a POS atm  the 650i models (such as mine) actually outperform and out-clock the striker in a lot of cases, its just that they dont have as many extra features.

As for the red items - screw that raptor. dont bother. Grab a samsung 500GB or a seagate 320GB perpendicular, they're just as fast and have a lot more storage for the same price.
That 74GB raptor has good access times, but in overall bandwidth its lacking comapred to the latest big drives, and its only sata 1, not sata-2

oh and i would be tempted to a GTS 640 instead of the 320, the 320 has been reported to be a bit weak for DX10 games, since they use a lot more viddie ram.


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## Refuse (Jul 29, 2007)

Mussels said:


> asus used to have problems, but they are a lot better now. its only their striker extreme mobo thats a POS atm  the 650i models (such as mine) actually outperform and out-clock the striker in a lot of cases, its just that they dont have as many extra features.
> 
> As for the red items - screw that raptor. dont bother. Grab a samsung 500GB or a seagate 320GB perpendicular, they're just as fast and have a lot more storage for the same price.
> That 74GB raptor has good access times, but in overall bandwidth its lacking comapred to the latest big drives, and its only sata 1, not sata-2
> ...



Yeah, I wasn't too sure on the Raptor. To be honest, I really don't think I could part with that much cash for a 74gb hard drive, haha. And I think I will take your advice on the 640mb card, cause it'd be nice to be able to play at a nice resolution, and have good performance with DX10. Won't be utilising DX10 for a while though, staying with XP for a good amount of time


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## 3991vhtes (Jul 29, 2007)

Refuse said:


> staying with XP for a good amount of time


That's a good idea . Too many bugs in Vista ATM :shadedshu


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## DrunkenMafia (Jul 29, 2007)

nice line up of parts there bro.

The newer gigabyte boards are great, so don't worry about that, and the 680 is a nice chipset.

If I were you I wouldn't go with the corsair ram though, they have been known to be putting cheaper ic's on there sticks.  You want  to purchase a set of ram with Micron D9's on them.  The most popular of these being the crucial ballistix tracer.  They are by far the most popular and best ocing ram sticks on the market in the DDR800 range.

Good choice of case and good PSU as well.  That will be a quick rig when its up n goin.


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## Refuse (Jul 29, 2007)

DrunkenMafia said:


> nice line up of parts there bro.
> 
> The newer gigabyte boards are great, so don't worry about that, and the 680 is a nice chipset.
> 
> ...



Ah yeah, I was going with Ballistix originally but changed my mind. I have been reading more good things about the Ballistix RAM so I will probably get me some of that. Though the Tracer type I cannot find from my supplier (I don't think they stock it ) I will probably have to get it from somebody else...


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## 3991vhtes (Jul 29, 2007)

Try a e-tailer like NewEgg ...  but, idk if they sell that ram, because I don't do business w/ the egg.


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## ex_reven (Jul 29, 2007)

Refuse said:


> Ah yeah, I was going with Ballistix originally but changed my mind. I have been reading more good things about the Ballistix RAM so I will probably get me some of that. Though the Tracer type I cannot find from my supplier (I don't think they stock it ) I will probably have to get it from somebody else...



try g skill, i think its cheaper and im pretty sure they use D9's
i love my ram.

the heatspreaders look sexy too


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## 3991vhtes (Jul 29, 2007)

NewEgg does sell Ballistix Tracer http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...E&DEPA=0&Description=Crucial+Ballistix+Tracer


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## Wile E (Jul 29, 2007)

Refuse said:


> Ah yeah, I was going with Ballistix originally but changed my mind. I have been reading more good things about the Ballistix RAM so I will probably get me some of that. Though the Tracer type I cannot find from my supplier (I don't think they stock it ) I will probably have to get it from somebody else...


The tracers don't really offer any advantages over the Ballistix, other than the pretty leds. lol.

My DDR2 800 Ballistix can do 1200Mhz @ 2.4v. I don't recommend running 2.4v 24/7 tho. lol


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## Refuse (Jul 29, 2007)

I live in New Zealand and buy all my parts from an NZ company...I'm not particularly confident in buying hardware overseas and paying\waiting for the shipping. I get free shipping and the parts come next day with the company I'm with now  Haven't had any problems with em either, except for the bent floppy drive they delivered to me!


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## DOM (Jul 29, 2007)

Refuse said:


> I live in New Zealand and buy all my parts from an NZ company...I'm not particularly confident in buying hardware overseas and paying\waiting for the shipping. I get free shipping and the parts come next day with the company I'm with now  Haven't had any problems with em either, except for the bent floppy drive they delivered to me!



do you have  website where you get your stuff ?


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## Refuse (Jul 29, 2007)

DOM_ATI_X800XL_PCI-E said:


> do you have  website where you get your stuff ?



Sure do.

www.ascent.co.nz

Lookin' at getting a 500gb hard drive, partitioning about 80gb for OS, games, apps etc. and leaving the rest for movies and music. I'm looking at going with the Western Digital Caviar SE 500gb. Good decision? I see everyone talk shit about every brand, so it's hard to decide what to do with, lol.


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## Wile E (Jul 29, 2007)

Refuse said:


> Sure do.
> 
> www.ascent.co.nz
> 
> Lookin' at getting a 500gb hard drive, partitioning about 80gb for OS, games, apps etc. and leaving the rest for movies and music. I'm looking at going with the Western Digital Caviar SE 500gb. Good decision? I see everyone talk shit about every brand, so it's hard to decide what to do with, lol.


WD's are good HDs. 

You can't go wrong with a Seagate Barracuda 7200.10, either. I prefer the Seagate, personally.


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## Refuse (Jul 29, 2007)

Wile E said:


> WD's are good HDs.
> 
> You can't go wrong with a Seagate Barracuda 7200.10, either. I prefer the Seagate, personally.



Yeah, I have a Seagate 320gb in this machine at the moment, it's been going strong for longer than I can remember.


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## Mussels (Jul 29, 2007)

i have a seagate 320 in my gaming system, its VERY loud at seek compared to the various samsungs in my storage system.

Go a seagate if you want speed, samsungs are 80-90% as fast so they arent a slouch either (the samsung 500 is as good as the seagate 320 for speed, from my testing)


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## choppy (Jul 29, 2007)

Refuse said:


> Won't be utilising DX10 for a while though, staying with XP for a good amount of time



well what would be the point of buying a £200+ card when you have no need for it, spend £100 on a 1950pro and save your money for when you actually want a dx10 card (upgrade to vista) as by that time the dx10 market will have settled down and we may start to see value for money


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## Refuse (Jul 29, 2007)

choppy said:


> well what would be the point of buying a £200+ card when you have no need for it, spend £100 on a 1950pro and save your money for when you actually want a dx10 card (upgrade to vista) as by that time the dx10 market will have settled down and we may start to see value for money



Hmm, true. What would be a card that would perform the same or close, and isn't DX10 capable?


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## Darknova (Jul 29, 2007)

Refuse said:


> Lookin' at getting a 500gb hard drive, partitioning about 80gb for OS, games, apps etc. and leaving the rest for movies and music. I'm looking at going with the Western Digital Caviar SE 500gb. Good decision? I see everyone talk shit about every brand, so it's hard to decide what to do with, lol.



Nothing wrong with WD, I know some people have had problems (like every company), but all in all it's a very good company.

Personally though I don't like the idea of partitioning. I think you should take the money you were going to spend on the raptor, and spend some of it on a seperate HDD, say a 250Gb and use that as your main drive. Again this is my personal preference, but I do feel that you should get a seperate drive.

Use one for storage, and if your main drive wears out, you don't lose everything.



Refuse said:


> Hmm, true. What would be a card that would perform the same or close, and isn't DX10 capable?



I just bought a 1950XT for £130 and it ROCKS, it really does. Not DX10, but still a great card.


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## choppy (Jul 29, 2007)

Refuse said:


> Hmm, true. What would be a card that would perform the same or close, and isn't DX10 capable?



a recent review comparing the top performers of dx9

http://www.xbitlabs.com/articles/video/display/geforce7950gt.html


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## Refuse (Jul 30, 2007)

Hmm, after a bit of reading round the X1950 Pro seems like a nice card to go with. A couple of hundred bucks cheaper than the 8800 GTS I was looking at too, haha. I am thinking of going with the Powercolor X1950 Pro as found here:

http://www.ascent.co.nz/productspecification.aspx?ItemID=355927

Good decision?


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## choppy (Jul 30, 2007)

that new zealand dollars right? it comes out to £140 which is quite expensive tbh as its around £100 here in uk but im guessing stuff is generally more expensive out there?

in terms of the card, its a mint card and really cant do better than that with dx9. should eat up any game you throw at it


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## Refuse (Jul 30, 2007)

choppy said:


> that new zealand dollars right? it comes out to £140 which is quite expensive tbh as its around £100 here in uk but im guessing stuff is generally more expensive out there?
> 
> in terms of the card, its a mint card and really cant do better than that with dx9. should eat up any game you throw at it



Yeah, hardware is pretty freakin' pricey out here. It's just how things are I guess. We always get the sharp end of the stick with technology. Always a little behind, always really expensive


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## choppy (Jul 30, 2007)

damn i feel sorry for you guys! i thought it was bad enough in the uk we're newegg-less, but theres a few good shops online so its ok though i cant find a 3600+ and biostar tforce550 anywhere


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## Ravenas (Jul 31, 2007)

Get the Antec 900 case.


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## Refuse (Jul 31, 2007)

Ravenas said:


> Get the Antec 900 case.



Naw too pricey, I picked up the Silverstone one for about $250 less. Really nice case, imo.


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## Mussels (Jul 31, 2007)

antec 900 doesnt even cost $250 in aus... the P192 is the expensive one.


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## Darknova (Jul 31, 2007)

choppy said:


> damn i feel sorry for you guys! i thought it was bad enough in the uk we're newegg-less, but theres a few good shops online so its ok though i cant find a 3600+ and biostar tforce550 anywhere



CCLonline is the only place that stocks Biostar boards in the UK. And Scan is the best place to get AMD chips, although the new 65nm chips seem to have dried up.


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