First time builder...

[Ariste]

Hey everyone. I'm building a new computer soon for the first time and I'm looking for some advice and feedback on my setup. Since it's my first time, I'm sure that there's a bunch of things that I could change, so any of your advice would be welcome. Here's what I've got so far:

Hardware

Case: CoolerMaster Stacker w/ optional Crossblow Fan and 3 extra EverCool 80mm Aluminum Case Fans -$233.95 total (I'll explain why I'm getting the full-tower case later on)

Power Supply: Antec 480W True Power Supply - $87.00

Motherboard: Waiting on that new DFI Infinity 754 board coming out - Guessing around $150.00

CPU: AMD Athlon 64 3000+ (I plan on overclocking to the 2.5GHz range) - $175.00

HSF: Cooler Master Hyper 6 w/ extra Thermaltake Silent Cat 90mm Fan - $60.98

Hard Drive: 74GB Western Digital Raptor 10,000RPM SATA Drive - $178.00

Video Card: BFG GeForce 6800GT OC - $399.99

RAM: 1GB (512MBx2) OCZ Enhanced Bandwidth PC-3500 - $299.00

DVD/Floppy Drives: Lite-On 8x Dual Layer DVD +/- RW Drive + Lite-On 16x DVD-ROM Drive + Sony 1.44MB 3.5 Inch Floppy Drive - $122.97 total

Keyboard/Mouse: Logitech Cordless MX Duo - $69.00

Monitor: ViewSonic P95F+B 19" PerfectFlat CRT Monitor - $239.00

Sound Card: Creative Labs Sound Blaster Audigy2 ZS - $87.99

Speakers: Logitech Z640 5.1 Speakers - $56.99

Modem: Motorola Surfboard DOCSIS 2.0 Cable Modem - $65.99

Fan Controller/Temp Monitor- Cooler Master Aerogate II - $39.99

Software

Operating System: Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition w/ Service Pack SP1a - $85.00

Firewall- Symantec Norton Personal Firewall 2004 - $32.99

Total- $2383.84


That's what I've got planned so far. The reason I'm going with the humongous CM Stacker case is because it has some of the best stock cooling options I've seen (up to something like 8 fans if you fill all the available slots, plus the unique Cross-Blow fan which blows cool air across the motherboard), will definitely fit my gigantic HSF that I'm not totally positive would fit in a standard mid-tower without a lot of trouble, and I also like the fact that it can be converted to house a BTX motherboard so that I won't have to change my case if I get a BTX motherboard in the future.

So how does it look? Anything you guys would change? Any of your advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks,

 

[Runner20]

Everything looks top notch but why did you settle for average speakers. You might wanna get cheaper RAM and put that money into the Logitech Z680's.

 

[yankeesfan]

there are many free firewall options

 

[Mik3y]

i think it looks great. those speakers arent bad at all. they sound very good and are a great deal for that price.

 

[Cerb]

1. If you want quiet, don't get the Thermaltake fan. It should be OK, but going somewhere other than newegg and getting a Panaflo L or M should be as good or better. And you won't need any bracket for installation.
2. Have fun.

 

[Ariste]

Yeah, I had a feeling someone would bring up the speakers. Yes, they're average, but compared to what I am used to (the 2-speaker system that comes with normal retail desktops), I'm sure that any decent speaker system would sound great. I'm trying to keep the price around $2400 and better speakers would push me over the top. Maybe I could spend a little bit more, though, and get the Logitech Z-5300 Speakers. Think it would be worth the extra cash to get those? I really don't want to downgrade the RAM, especialy since I plan on overclocking my A64 3000+ to around 2.5GHz. I want some quality RAM that can handle it.

there are many free firewall options

Yes, I know, but isn't it best to have a firewall in place before you connect to the internet for the first time so that hackers can't get in? Or would it be safe to get online and then download a firewall?


Thanks for all your advice guys,

 

[Ariste]

Originally posted by: Cerb
1. If you want quiet, don't get the Thermaltake fan. It should be OK, but going somewhere other than newegg and getting a Panaflo L or M should be as good or better. And you won't need any bracket for installation.
2. Have fun.

Thanks for the advice, I'll definitely look into the Panaflos.

 

[Chaotic42]

I have the white version of that monitor. Be prepared, it's really deep.

 

[stickybytes]

Originally posted by: Ariste
Yeah, I had a feeling someone would bring up the speakers. Yes, they're average, but compared to what I am used to (the 2-speaker system that comes with normal retail desktops), I'm sure that any decent speaker system would sound great. I'm trying to keep the price around $2400 and better speakers would push me over the top. Maybe I could spend a little bit more, though, and get the Logitech Z-5300 Speakers. Think it would be worth the extra cash to get those? I really don't want to downgrade the RAM, especialy since I plan on overclocking my A64 3000+ to around 2.5GHz. I want some quality RAM that can handle it.

there are many free firewall options

Yes, I know, but isn't it best to have a firewall in place before you connect to the internet for the first time so that hackers can't get in? Or would it be safe to get online and then download a firewall?


Thanks for all your advice guys,

True. Viruses these days infect your computer without you having to do anything except going online. But you can avoid the virus and not pay for the firewall by getting the windows updates before you go online. Download SP1 plus all of the latest updates onto a cd, install it and then go online. Enable the ICF built into windows and you should be protected long enough till you go get yourself a free firewall like Zonealarm.

 

[Ariste]

Ok, thanks, I think that's definitely what I'll be doing

 

[everman]

I personally don't think the Raptor is worth it for a gaming rig. If you did a lot of work with large files like video editing then ok, but not much benefit for gaming. You're paying over $2 per GB when it's pretty easy to only pay 0.50 cents per gb for a 7200 rpm drive. Or even put 2 in raid 0, the speed difference is...debatable.

 

[Tostada]

I recommend the ViewSonic G90 all the time. It's a great monitor. If you're going to be spending $2400 on a system, though, it's ridiculous to be getting a bargain $200 CRT. You're spending $60 just on the heatsink for God's sake. There are about a million ways you could fit a really nice monitor into that budget. The monitor is the part of your PC that lasts almost forever, and it's just about the only important part for everyday office-type use. Wouldn't you rather be looking at a 19" DVI LCD or a 19-22" Diamondtron/Trinitron?

I think you'd do just as well using NVidia's hardware 250Gb firewall. If you're really worried about it, it's obviously much more secure to block things before they even get to your PC. The best choice would be just to get a router with a hardware firewall. Netgear makes broadband routers with a firewall starting at $40.

 

[Tostada]

I'm still trying to see where all the money disappeared on that system build. For $2000 (box only) you can make a Socket 939 Athlon 3500+ with the Gigabyte NF3 250 Ultra board, 2 x 512MB Corsair XMS, a pair of Raptor 74's, a 6800GT, a dual-layer burner, a floppy, a $150 Wave Master case and a $70 Noisetaker 425 PSU.

I guess it's just all the little extra things like the OS, fan controller, ridiculous heatsink, extra DVD-ROM and cable modem that are bumping the price up.

 

[Ariste]

Tostada,

That's why I posted this here... I'm trying to find out where all the money went too. I see people getting systems that are much faster than mine for the same price. I guess it could be all the little things like the OS, fan controller, heatsink, DVD ROM, case fans, speakers, sound card, monitor etc... they all add up to about 650 bucks. But, with the exception of the heatsink, all of those "little things" are pretty much necessary for my system. I'm building completely from scratch and not reusing any parts at all. The heatsink I got because I plan on overclocking, although I might be better off ditching the huge case and heatsink for something more modest and get a faster CPU like a 3500+ running at stock speeds. I guess if it's not fast enough for me I could always upgrade the HSF and overclock later on.

So are there any things that you would change to save some cash? The money seems to just fly away on this build... but then again, I guess that's what money does all the time


EDIT: I looked into what you said and came up with this:

On Newegg, I can get a Athlon 64 3400+ (I want to go with 754, I'll explain why later), DFI Infinity board coming out soon, Wave Master Case or something like it, 1 GB Corsair XMS RAM, a 74GB Raptor, a BFG 6800GT OC, Antec 480W PSU, and Dual Layer DVD burner for about $1580. Add in the "little things" from before and it comes out to be about $2280. But if I'm not overclocking, I can do away with the HSF and fan controller, and I really don't need the extra DVD ROM, so that's about $100 taken off. So it comes out to around $2180. That seems like a much better and less complicated route than what I was doing before.

Thanks for your advice, Tostada. I really appreciate it.

 

[sanityinapouch]

Hey, I was just wondering why you're choosing the DFI Infinity board over Chaintech VNF3-250 or MSI K8N Neo Platinum. Is this the DFI you are talking about? http://www.newegg.com/app/viewProductDesc.asp?description=13-136-143&depa=1

 

[Ariste]

Nope, that's not the one that I'm talking about. It's the new DFI Infinity board that's scheduled to come out soon. It has the nForce3-250Gb chipset and the reference board that was handed out to a few well-known overclockers has been able to reach extremely high overclocks, much higher than the other boards out now. It remains to be seen, though, if all the options that were available on the reference board will be available in the shipping version. Either way, I think it's still worth waiting for.

xTremeSystems.org has a sneak peak here if you want to check it out.