# Advice on my new build



## FooArm (Oct 6, 2008)

LG 22X DVD±R DVD Burner with LightScribe Black SATA Model - OEM   -  $25.99

RAIDMAX ARES ATX-801WBP Black SECC Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case 450W Power Supply - Retail  - $56.99

Foxconn A7GM-S AM2+/AM2 AMD 780G HDMI Micro ATX AMD Motherboard - Retail   - $69.99

POWERCOLOR AX3870 512MD3-PH - $69.99

CORSAIR XMS2 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 - $19.99

OCZ Platinum Revision 2 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 - $24.99

ASUS Triton70 92mm Vapo Bearing CPU Cooler - Retail  - $14.99

AMD Athlon 64 X2 5400+ Brisbane 2.8GHz Socket AM2 65W Dual-Core black edition Processor - $ 77.00

Seagate Barracuda 7200.11  500GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM  - $64.99

Windows Vista Home Premium 64 bit - $35 (employee discount  )

Total Price With shipping and handling -  $473.76

any way to make a better rig budget is Dollar 0 - 500 

thank you


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## Fastmix (Oct 6, 2008)

Good price for a decent system.


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## spearman914 (Oct 6, 2008)

You mentioned 2 kinds of ram in ur post. Are you going to mix it? If you do what OS is it 32 or 64? Switch the HD to one of these. Same price and faster. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136178


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## FooArm (Oct 6, 2008)

spearman914 said:


> You mentioned 2 kinds of ram in ur post. Are you going to mix it? If you do what OS is it 32 or 64? Switch the HD to one of these. Same price and faster. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136178




yes i am going to mix it and i will have 64 bit


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## Fastmix (Oct 6, 2008)

FooArm said:


> yes i am going to mix it and i will have 64 bit



Personally I wouldn't mix and match ram, one pair is best with some timings, the other one isn't, you have problems running dual channel and so on.


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## JrRacinFan (Oct 6, 2008)

No offense FooArm, it would be worthwhile to spend the extra $5 and get another kit of the OCZ. That way you know you won't have ram compatibility issues between the 2 kits.

Also, may want to look around a bit more for that HD3870, I am kinda leary about PowerColor now from hearing about that HD4850 that caught on fire.

Also, PLEASE do me a favor and don't use the power supply included with the case.


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## FooArm (Oct 7, 2008)

Fastmix said:


> Personally I wouldn't mix and match ram, one pair is best with some timings, the other one isn't, you have problems running dual channel and so on.





JrRacinFan said:


> No offense FooArm, it would be worthwhile to spend the extra $5 and get another kit of the OCZ. That way you know you won't have ram compatibility issues between the 2 kits.





well i no what u mean but the RAM prices are after MAIL IN REBATE and i can only have one mail in rebate per household per product that is why


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## FooArm (Oct 7, 2008)

JrRacinFan said:


> Also, may want to look around a bit more for that HD3870, I am kinda leary about PowerColor now from hearing about that HD4850 that caught on fire.
> 
> Also, PLEASE do me a favor and don't use the power supply included with the case.



I am not rich so i cannot afford a extra power supply (super poor)


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## KBD (Oct 7, 2008)

FooArm said:


> I am not rich so i cannot afford a extra power supply (super poor)



DON NOT Cheap out on the PSU, it will cost you more in the longrun. As a general rule of thumb dont use a PSU that comes with a case as they are generally crap. There are some inexpensive and good PSUs out there, like this one:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139003


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## FooArm (Oct 7, 2008)

KBD said:


> DON NOT Cheap out on the PSU, it will cost you more in the longrun. As a general rule of thumb dont use a PSU that comes with a case as they are generally crap. There are some inexpensive and good PSUs out there, like this one:
> 
> http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139003




That's cheap to you WoW !!! 55 bucks its a lot here 

and i dont think so that the PSU is that crappy in the case that comes with the case or is it ??

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811156070


it is almost the same thing has which u should me except it is 24 amps on the 12v 

34 amps on 5 v
28 amps on 3.3v 
and doesn't have the fancy mesh around the cables 


i don no all the amps are higher instead of the 12v and i am not sure if this will affect me that much 


and 55 bucks is a little to much for a psu ... i can do maybe 35 bucks


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## FatForester (Oct 7, 2008)

If you want a suggestion, this is what I would do for a more balanced system:

Thermaltake 430w, $40.99, $30.99 after MIR
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817153023

Rosewill Case, $26.99 (just a random case, if you spend up to $50, I'd buy the Antec Sonata III and ditch the Thermaltake, the Antec includes a reliable 500w PSU for a total of $80)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811147075

G.Skill 2x2GB DDR2 800mhz, $60
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231122

Here's a few keyboard / mouse combos that are pretty cheap. I've used an old regular Microsoft PS/2 keyboard on my desktop for years and I don't really see a need for anything nicer. As far as a mouse goes, you'll probably end up upgrading that over time.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...=2010290063 50001080 4093 1086107097&name=Yes
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16823109046

Even if you spend about $24 on the keyboard / mouse, you'll still come out the same assuming you would have spent $40 on a keyboard.


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## KBD (Oct 7, 2008)

FooArm said:


> That's cheap to you WoW !!! 55 bucks its a lot here
> 
> and i dont think so that the PSU is that crappy in the case that comes with the case or is it ??
> 
> ...



I'm just trying to help you avoid problems in the future. Having a crappy PSU will result in crashes, lockups and may fry your precious components. I bet you anything that the PSU in that case WILL NOT deliver the promised wattage and voltage. Most of low-end PSUs have this problem, I actually recomend you read some reviews of that PSU or any other you are considering. My advice to you, save until you have enought to buy a quality unit.


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## FooArm (Oct 7, 2008)

what do you think about this 
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817152028

it is one from raidmax

SLI  	Ready
CrossFire 	Ready
Modular 	Yes
Efficiency 	Up to 80%

Input Current  	10A
Output 	+3.3V@28A,+5V@34A,+12V1@20A,+12V2@17A,
-12V@0.8A,+5VSB@2.5A


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## FooArm (Oct 7, 2008)

FatForester said:


> If you want a suggestion, this is what I would do for a more balanced system:
> 
> Here's a few keyboard / mouse combos that are pretty cheap. I've used an old regular Microsoft PS/2 keyboard on my desktop for years and I don't really see a need for anything nicer. As far as a mouse goes, you'll probably end up upgrading that over time.
> 
> ...



i think i can get microsoft employee discount on the keyboard


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## KBD (Oct 7, 2008)

FooArm said:


> what do you think about this
> http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817152028
> 
> it is one from raidmax
> ...



i'm not familiar with that unit. Seems to have pretty good customer reviews. But chances are its quality is mediocre. I tried to find something for you on Newegg but all the good ones start from around $55-60. I would say read up on that model and see what the hardware publication reviews say or perhaps someone here on TPU had experience with it.

EDIT: You may want to look at this Antec Earthwatts, for $39 its a good PSU.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817371006


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## FooArm (Oct 7, 2008)

okay ill go with the CORSAIR seems like some thing i can reuse for my next build


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## KBD (Oct 7, 2008)

good choice, man


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## BrooksyX (Oct 7, 2008)

yeah the corsair 450vx should be fine, buy.com has it for the same price after rebate with free shipping:
http://www.buy.com/prod/corsair-vx-...-atx12v-eps12v-power/q/loc/101/205466485.html


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## BrooksyX (Oct 7, 2008)

also ditch the amd and go with intel, wouldn't cost too much more:

Core 2 duo e5200 $83:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819116072

Ecs P43 $69.99:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813135092


or if you want a higher quality motherboard, Asus p45 $100:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131333

edit: don't mix and match the ram, if you have to only get 2gb now and another 2 later (vista x64 will work with 2gb of ram). Also don't waste your money on that cpu cooler, use the stock cooler that comes with the intel cpu and then later on upgrade to a higher quality one such as xigmatek:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835233003


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## FooArm (Oct 7, 2008)

BrooksyX said:


> also ditch the amd and go with intel, wouldn't cost too much more:
> 
> [/url]



actually thats what i am planing to do here are new specs see 

intel which u said and mobo 

+ xfx 9800 GT 

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150316

+ mushkin 4 GB (2 X 2) DDR2 800 mhz 

+ Antec NSK4480B        CASE                   (comes with ANTEC EarthWatts 380W ATX12V v2.0 80Plus Certified power supply)

+ASUS V-60 92mm Vapo Bearing CPU Cooler - Retail 


and all of this + vista 64 bit for $ 553. 50


i know it is 50 bucks more of my budget but i think that this will give me better performance and last me longer 

is 380 watts enough for a 9800 gt + E5200 ... i plan to overclock the CPU to 3.5 GHz and 1.31V with a 1333 FSB (10.5 x 333) and the 9800 GT from 600 mhz to about 650 mhz

i think i can get the corsair 450vx also but will have to postpone the new LCD my a month (already have 19" LCD so its okay)


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## BrooksyX (Oct 7, 2008)

ditch the asus cpu cooler. Use the stock one until you can shell out for this one:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835233003

380 watts might be cutting it kind of close with a 9800gt

oh and don't get that xfx version, I heard that type of cooler is very loud and can't be changed via rivatuner/etc.

get this evga one instead:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130380

its $5 cheaper upfront and the same after MIR, free shipping also.


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## FooArm (Oct 7, 2008)

okay i will do the modifications except i think i will go with the palit

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814261024

better cooler =s more overclocking =s me happy 


and are u sure with the XIGMATEK HDT do u have past experience and/or no friends

http://extreme.outervision.com/PSUEngine - i went to that sight and did calculation and it said 332 watts is enough with overclock so i think i am good


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## KBD (Oct 7, 2008)

380W PSU wont be enough, i beleive most modern video cards require 400W minimum

at least get the v430W version i suggested earlier


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## FooArm (Oct 7, 2008)

FooArm said:


> http://extreme.outervision.com/PSUEngine - i went to that sight and did calculation and it said 332 watts is enough with overclock so i think i am good



yah but are you sure because i dont want to waste money


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## KBD (Oct 7, 2008)

FooArm said:


> yah but are you sure because i dont want to waste money



dont go by PSU calculators they are usually wrong.


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## FooArm (Oct 7, 2008)

rly ?? dam i am so confused so the 450 watt from corsair too


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## BrooksyX (Oct 7, 2008)

FooArm said:


> and are u sure with the XIGMATEK HDT do u have past experience and/or no friends



I don't have one but I wish I did, its one of the most recommended air cpu coolers on the market right now. Just the fact that it has almost 500 reviews on newegg shows that it is a really popular one. 

The asus one won't give you any benefits over the stock intel one. Might even be worse than the stock one.


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## KBD (Oct 7, 2008)

FooArm said:


> rly ?? dam i am so confused so the 450 watt from corsair too



 what the hell are u talking about?


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## FooArm (Oct 7, 2008)

i dont knoow you say i need more than 380 watts and calculator says i need less than 380 watt 

and the antec PSU that comes with the case is a really good one


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## BrooksyX (Oct 7, 2008)

FooArm said:


> i dont knoow you say i need more than 380 watts and calculator says i need less than 380 watt
> 
> and the antec PSU that comes with the case is a really good one



you could probably get by with the 380watt psu for a while but I would recommend that you don't do any overclocking at all until you get a psu with a lot more juice.


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## KBD (Oct 7, 2008)

FooArm said:


> i dont knoow you say i need more than 380 watts and calculator says i need less than 380 watt
> 
> and the antec PSU that comes with the case is a really good one



You may not need more than 380W, but i wouldnt recomend going with that one, get at least 430W. Like BrooksyX sed if you gonna overcklock that will require a lot more juice.


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## FooArm (Oct 7, 2008)

okay so i will get the 380 for now and when i plan to overclock/save money ill go with the 430


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## Castiel (Oct 7, 2008)

Why are you having 2 kinds of RAM? Why don't you just get one of the other x2?


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## FooArm (Oct 7, 2008)

FooArm said:


> actually thats what i am planing to do here are new specs see
> 
> intel which u said and mobo
> 
> ...




did you read this


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## spearman914 (Oct 7, 2008)

Mixing 4 sticks is a bad idea since u will have more problems. But 2x2GB kits. Much better running dual channel, faster and cheaper.


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## spearman914 (Oct 7, 2008)

FooArm said:


> i dont knoow you say i need more than 380 watts and calculator says i need less than 380 watt
> 
> and the antec PSU that comes with the case is a really good one



Most calculators are inaccurate. It says u need 380 so what ur gonna overclock anyway. Maybe......  but u get the point.


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## FooArm (Oct 7, 2008)

spearman914 said:


> Most calculators are inaccurate. It says u need 380 so what ur gonna overclock anyway. Maybe......  but u get the point.



well it said 337 with cpu over clock to 3.5 ghz and 1333 fsb


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## atarist (Oct 7, 2008)

never use the p.s.u. that comes with any case if you intend on makeing a good p.c. with all that 
new expensive herdware you have mentioned in your top post it would make good sense in the long
Run. you have 2 remember that most p.s.u.s that come with cases are just cheap crap made 2 make
the case look good for what you are paying for it.
i have a p.s.u that come with a case what i am using just as a (temporary measyre) in one of my old
p.c.s i have thats just runing old crapy p.c. hardware so if it ever whent bang i would not lose any sleep over it lol.


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## spearman914 (Oct 7, 2008)

FooArm said:


> well it said 337 with cpu over clock to 3.5 ghz and 1333 fsb



Yea but did u read the first line. "Most calculators are inaccurate" and as mussels said if u are going on building a good pc NEVER use the PSU that comes with a case. I did that once when I found out my PC was dead in 8 months.


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## BrooksyX (Oct 7, 2008)

atarist said:


> never use the p.s.u. that comes with any case if you intend on makeing a good p.c. with all that
> new expensive herdware you have mentioned in your top post it would make good sense in the long
> Run. you have 2 remember that most p.s.u.s that come with cases are just cheap crap made 2 make
> the case look good for what you are paying for it.
> ...



Were not talking about a raidmax or rosewell case here. He is getting an Antec Case which happens to come with an antec psu. Antec is known to have pretty decent Power Supplys so he shouldn't have any problems with it.



FooArm said:


> okay so i will get the 380 for now and when i plan to overclock/save money ill go with the 430



I hope you mean the Corsair 450 watt one. I had that thermaltake 430 watt one and it did not have enought amps for an 9800gt. The Corsair 450 watt should be perfect for you and doesnt cost that much.

Make an updated list off all the parts you plan on getting.


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## KBD (Oct 7, 2008)

spearman914 said:


> Yea but did u read the first line. "Most calculators are inaccurate" and as mussels said if u are going on building a good pc NEVER use the PSU that comes with a case. I did that once when I found out my PC was dead in 8 months.



yea, spearman, it doesnt look like he gets, a few people, including myself told him to a) not to trust PSU calculators and b) dont get a PSU that comes with a case as for  the most part they are crap.

Though the Antec Earthwatts is not a bad PSU for the money, its actually a Seasonic OEM and their stuff is usually good, but 380W is not enough for his needs.


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## atarist (Oct 7, 2008)

BrooksyX said:


> Were not talking about a raidmax or rosewell case here. He is getting an Antec Case which happens to come with an antec psu. Antec is known to have pretty decent Power Supplys so he shouldn't have any problems with it.



o right if that case has a good p.s.u. go for it then.
i just by cheap cases and the p.s.u.s in them things are just poo.


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## BrooksyX (Oct 7, 2008)

KBD said:


> yea, spearman, it doesnt look like he gets, a few people, including myself told him to a) not to trust PSU calculators and b) dont get a PSU that comes with a case.
> 
> Though the Antec Earthwatts is not a bad PSU for the money, its actually a Seasonic OEM and their stuff is usually good, but 380W is not enough for his needs.



But understanding that he is one a limited budget, the 380 watt psu should get him by for a few months as long as he is not doing any overclocking. Most 500 watt psus are really about 350 watts. Thats why a 500 watt psu is recommended for a 9800gt when the whole system only really needs like 300 watts. Considering that it is a seasonic psu, it should be rated correctly at 380 watts and honestly he would probably be completely fine with it for the life of the computer as long as he does not overclock his system.

However he does plan on overclocking so I think the antec psu will do a good job holding him over until he can get at least a corsair 450 watt psu.


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## KBD (Oct 7, 2008)

BrooksyX said:


> But understanding that he is one a limited budget, the 380 watt psu should get him by for a few months as long as he is not doing any overclocking. Most 500 watt psus are really about 350 watts. Thats why a 500 watt psu is recommended for a 9800gt when the whole system only really needs like 300 watts. Considering that it is a seasonic psu, it should be rated correctly at 380 watts and honestly he would probably be completely fine with it for the life of the computer as long as he does not overclock his system.
> 
> However he does plan on overclocking so I think the antec psu will do a good job holding him over until he can get at least a corsair 450 watt psu.



yes, i understand what u r saying and that hes on a budget. But he himself said he wants to overclock so he'll be needing something with more juice. I havent read reviews on this PSU, i only know that jonnyguru recomended the 500W version of it for budget systems, however it is still possible that it will not delever all thats promised on the label, this is why i take a cautious approach. Furthermore, when shopping for a PSU its always a good idea to get to a little more than you need, you dont want your unit to be running near or at its full capacity all the time. Thats why as i general rule i suggest that people get whatever they need plus 100W or so so it will give em some overhead.

What i would do is sacrafice on another component in favor of a better/higher wattage PSU, he can get a cheaper case, video card, less fans, etc. Also shopping around for parts is a good idea, he can check out the TPU for sale section or ebay, those are good places to save money.


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## BrooksyX (Oct 7, 2008)

KBD said:


> yes, i understand what u r saying and that hes on a budget. But he himself said he wants to overclock so he'll be needing something with more juice. I havent read reviews on this PSU, i only know that jonnyguru recomended the 500W version of it for budget systems, however it is still possible that it will not delever all thats promised on the label, this is why i take a cautious approach. Furthermore, when shopping for a PSU its always a good idea to get to a little more than you need, you dont want your unit to be running near or at its full capacity all the time. Thats why as i general rule i suggest that people get whatever they need plus 100W or so so it will give em some overhead.



I agree that it is always a good idea to have plenty of headroom when it comes to your psu. So i guess in his case he could wait another month or two to save up some extra cash or risk it I guess. I know myself, being on a pretty limited budget, have ran some systems on psus that were most likely a little to low but never really had any problems.

Also another good idea would to go back to the 3870 and get a crossfire motherboard (p35/p45). Then get another 3870 and better psu later on. That build should have no problems running on that setup with a 3870, its a lot less power hungry than the 9800gt.


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## KBD (Oct 7, 2008)

BrooksyX said:


> I agree that it is always a good idea to have plenty of headroom when it comes to your psu. So i guess in his case he could wait another month or two to save up some extra cash or risk it I guess. I know myself, being on a pretty limited budget, have ran some systems on psus that were most likely a little to low but never really had any problems.



you summed it pretty good: either take a chance or save. 

Or he can do what i suggested, shop around, sacrifice on other parts.

I know that systems can be run on a PSU not designed to power em, i've done it before, but i would really hate to see him lose his components he paid his hard earned cash for because of a crappy or underpowered PSU. But in the end, it is obviously his choice, all we can do is steer him in the right direction.



BrooksyX said:


> Also another good idea would to go back to the 3870 and get a crossfire motherboard (p35/p45). Then get another 3870 and better psu later on. That build should have no problems running on that setup with a 3870, its a lot less power hungry than the 9800gt.



Agreed, good idea


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## FooArm (Oct 7, 2008)

yes i am getting the Corsair 450 but after a while


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## BrooksyX (Oct 7, 2008)

FooArm said:


> yes i am getting the Corsair 450 but after a while



do you have an updated list of items your planning on getting so we can approve/disapprove of them lol


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## FooArm (Oct 7, 2008)

actually thats what i am planing to do here are new specs see

intel E5200 

Elite group P43

+ palit 9800 GT

+ mushkin 4 GB (2 X 2) DDR2 800 mhz

+ Antec NSK4480B CASE (comes with ANTEC EarthWatts 380W ATX12V v2.0 80Plus Certified power supply)

+ASUS V-60 92mm Vapo Bearing CPU Cooler - Retail


and all of this + vista 64 bit for $ 553. 50

____________
FROM Before 

LG 22X DVD±R DVD Burner with LightScribe Black SATA Model - OEM - $25.99

____________________________________________________________

i know it is 50 bucks more of my budget but i think that this will give me better performance and last me longer

is 380 watts enough for a 9800 gt + E5200 ... i plan to overclock the CPU to 3.5 GHz and 1.31V with a 1333 FSB (10.5 x 333) and the 9800 GT from 600 mhz to about 650 mhz

i think i can get the corsair 450vx also but will have to postpone the new LCD my a month (already have 19" LCD so its okay)


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## KBD (Oct 7, 2008)

i recomend you swap the Asus CPU cooler for a Sunbeam Contact Core Freezer, its only $5 more after rebate but its much better & will give u higher overclocks.


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## BrooksyX (Oct 7, 2008)

KBD said:


> i recomend you swap the Asus CPU cooler for a Sunbeam Contact Core Freezer, its only $5 more after rebate but its much better & will give u higher overclocks.



seriously don't even get a cpu cooler at this time. The intel stock one is fine.

When you have the cash get the Xigmatek one. It will giver better overclocking results with cooler temps. You will just be wasting your money Asus one and probably the sunbeam as well.


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## KBD (Oct 8, 2008)

BrooksyX said:


> seriously don't even get a cpu cooler at this time. The intel stock one is fine.
> 
> When you have the cash get the Xigmatek one. It will giver better overclocking results with cooler temps. You will just be wasting your money Asus one and probably the sunbeam as well.



yea, i suppose u r right. better off sticking to stock cooler for now and investing that money into other components.

That sunbeam cooler is no waste of money, BTW. Its the top Intel cooler according to Frostytech, better than Xigmatek or TRUE. Dont know if thats indeed the case though, but good cooler for the price.


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## FooArm (Oct 8, 2008)

okay ill do that


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## FooArm (Oct 9, 2008)

so i guess i am good to go ... i should get all parts buy this weekend... maybe monday i dont no 
any way thank you all of you for the help


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## BrooksyX (Oct 9, 2008)

KBD said:


> yea, i suppose u r right. better off sticking to stock cooler for now and investing that money into other components.
> 
> That sunbeam cooler is no waste of money, BTW. Its the top Intel cooler according to Frostytech, better than Xigmatek or TRUE. Dont know if thats indeed the case though, but good cooler for the price.



Yeah your right the sunbeam one works just as great as the Xigmatek one. They are basically exactly the same because they both bring the cpu in direct contact with eachother. So whatever one is cheaper is the one you should go with.



FooArm said:


> so i guess i am good to go ... i should get all parts buy this weekend... maybe monday i dont no
> any way thank you all of you for the help



Glad to hear and good luck with the build.

If you do end up using the 380w Antec please remember that you shouldn't overclock your system. Your basically running some risks at stock settings. OCing on such a low psu can only make the risks like 10 times worse.


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## DaMulta (Oct 9, 2008)

I think I did better...who needs a case?

LITE-ON 20X DVD±R DVD Burner Black IDE Model DH-20A4P-08 - Retail 
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827106226

Seagate Barracuda 7200.11 ST3500320AS 500GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM 
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822148288

Palit AE/4850S+T352 Radeon HD 4850 512MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFire Supported Video Card - Retail 
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814261026

SILVERSTONE ST400 400W ATX 12V 2.2 Power Supply - Retail 
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817256032

Crucial 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 667 (PC2 5300) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model CT2KIT12864AA667
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820146526

ASUS M3A78-EM AM2+/AM2 AMD 780G HDMI Micro ATX AMD Motherboard - Retail 
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131324

AMD Athlon X2 4850e 2.5GHz Socket AM2 45W Dual-Core Processor Model ADH4850DOBOX - Retail 
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103255

Grand Total:  $495.59 with shipping


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## DaMulta (Oct 9, 2008)

After looking into the 9800GT(I should have known)it is to close for the extra money for the 4850 in performance. So I changed up what I would do







    LITE-ON 20X DVD±R DVD Burner Black IDE Model DH-20A4P-08 - Retail 
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827106226
I always buy the retail because it comes with NERO

    Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 ST3250310AS 250GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive

    Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 ST3250310AS 250GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM 
2 x 250GB drives to raid 0 and get that extra performance to load games faster, and make programs run faster. Over all a big improvement. Would have 500Gigs of one drive after put in Raid O.

Palit NE/9800TXT352 GeForce 9800 GT 512MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814261024

As said on top about the performance.

    SILVERSTONE ST400 400W ATX 12V 2.2 Power Supply
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817256032
Will handle lower, but not high high end video cards. A good buy

    ASUS M3A78-EM AM2+/AM2 AMD 780G HDMI Micro ATX AMD Motherboard
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131324
This board has about everything on it, it's a good buy.
http://www.asus.com/products.aspx?l1=3&l2=149&l3=639&l4=0&model=2252&modelmenu=1

AMD Athlon X2 4850e 2.5GHz Socket AM2 45W Dual-Core Processor Model ADH4850DOBOX
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103255
This CPU should clock very well, in normal every day stuff as gaming. It will do the same as Intel for the most part....not in benching(besides Vantage)


AllComponents 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model AC2/800X64/4096-KIT - Retail 
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820159021
Cheap ram, BUT you will not be able to tell the difference in it and the expensive stuff for the most part while gaming. You would notice it a ton more if you ran out of memory.


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## FooArm (Oct 9, 2008)

DaMulta said:


> After looking into the 9800GT(I should have known)it is to close for the extra money for the 4850 in performance. So I changed up what I would do
> 
> 
> 
> ...



note that AMD is slower than intel and that the motherboard is old ( i got top of the line 'almost') and that the u dont have a case i need a new case


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## JrRacinFan (Oct 9, 2008)

FooArm said:


> note that AMD is slower than intel and that the motherboard is old ( i got top of the line 'almost') and that the u dont have a case i need a new case



When overclocked, if your only interested in keeping the chip at stock then AMD is the way to go IMHO. Just givin you some info


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## KBD (Oct 9, 2008)

FooArm said:


> note that AMD is slower than intel and that the motherboard is old ( i got top of the line 'almost') and that the u dont have a case i need a new case



that motherboard is not old. The 780G chipset came out at the end of last yeart or the beginning of this. Plz understand that having a mobo that had this much time to mature is a GOOD THING. This means you'll be getting a board with most issues resolved. Buying brand new boards is not a good idea unless you are experienced. This is your first build and i think a more mature mobo would be better. The P43 board you picked for intel is also a good choice for the money.


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## DaMulta (Oct 9, 2008)

Your comparing a ESC board to an Asus board?
http://www.ecs.com.tw/ECSWebSite/Pr...goryID=1&DetailName=Feature&MenuID=44&LanID=0
http://c1.neweggimages.com/NeweggImage/productimage/13-135-092-02.jpg




Vs
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131324





Even OCed that AMD will do 3.0Ghz on the stock cooler. In games you will not be able to tell the difference in that and the Intel that you picked out. That's the real world difference (do I need to tell you about ESC fail rate?)only in benchmarks will you really be able to tell the differance. Plus my machine that I built would have Raid and would load the games faster than the Intel machine lol.
Plus just look at all the extras that are on the ASUS board compared to that ESC board.(if that's the one that your talking about) 

I would not call that top of the line(Top of the line is 200 and up for a motherboard).




You could also drop a 45nm AM3 Quad in it next year with no problems 




All in good fun me posting in this thread was, and I'm honest on how I see things.


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## KBD (Oct 9, 2008)

i'm not comparing anything. i simply said that the 780G Asus board is not old simply mature. He picked ECS for going with Intel not me. I just said that it will do for the money he is spending on it. Remember he is on a tight budget. I didnt praise theat board or anything.


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## DaMulta (Oct 9, 2008)

KBD said:


> i'm not comparing anything. i simply said that the 780G Asus board is not old simply mature. He picked ECS for going with Intel not me. I just said that it will do for the money he is spending on it. Remember he is on a tight budget. I didnt praise theat board or anything.



I was telling him lol 


I know that he is on a tight budget. I say it's the ESC board that will be out of date, because next year you could still put a new chip in the 780G board. It also has all the extras, and that inculdes windows tools from ASUS that ECS does not have.


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## KBD (Oct 9, 2008)

DaMulta said:


> I was telling him lol
> 
> 
> I know that he is on a tight budget. I say it's the ESC board that will be out of date, because next year you could still put a new chip in the 780G board. It also has all the extras, and that inculdes windows tools from ASUS that ECS does not have.



oh, sorry, i didnt realize  

I agree a 100% that the Asus board is better (Asus = better quality) and i was just explaining the benefits of maturity to him. Intel is a good choice but when on such a tight budget AMD is a smarter choice (no pun intended) in my opinion. And as you pointed out an AM2+ mobo is more future-proof as well. If he wants to go with Intel i would suggest waiting a couple of months because prices on 775 stuff will drop a lot due to release of 2 new sockets from Intel.


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