First build - advice on components

gfspiteri · 22 Aug 2009 at 07:38

I have been going round these forums since deciding to be build a new PC myself for the first time, and the information here is really great.

The PC will be mainly used for gaming for my two boys who love racing games (I like to do a bit of gaming myself too) and for general internet/word/access/exel use. It will also serve as a DVD player for the boys. I might think about overclocking in the future, but not right now. I have been mainly using laptops right now, but they seem to die on me at a rate of one a year (for some reason right after the warranty ends every time) so I thought getting a decent desktop which I can upgrade bit by bit is more sensible.

I have already placed the order, but it seems there have been some delays so i think they will be shipping next week and I have some time to change items if you think they are not suitable. I will be getting the following parts:

LG Flatron W2261V 22" Widescreen LCD Monitor
AMD Phenom II X4 Quad Core 955 Black Edition 3.2GHz (Socket AM3) - Retail
HIS ATI Radeon HD 4890 1024MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card - OEM
Antec 902 Nine Hundred Two Ultimate Gaming Case - Black (No PSU)
Patriot Viper 6GB (3x2GB) DDR3 PC3-12800 (1600MHz) Low Latency Tri-Channel (PVT36G1600LLK) + 3D Mark Vantage Benchmarking Software
Asus M4A77TD Pro AMD 770 (Socket AM3) PCI-Express DDR3 Motherboard
Seagate Barracuda LP 1TB SATA-II 32MB Cache - OEM (ST31000520AS)
OCZ Alchemy Series Elixir 2 Keyboard (OALKBELX2UK)

I have a few other parts from an older PC I got from my dad (like DVD player etc)

appreciate any advice!

mp260767 · 22 Aug 2009 at 08:36

change the memory to some ddr3 dual channel instead of the triple channel you have listed.

GhostlyPea · 22 Aug 2009 at 09:00

Whats power supply will you be using?

- Pea0n

gfspiteri · 22 Aug 2009 at 09:08

I have a 400W power supply from the older PC - do you think it might be stretched out?

g

gfspiteri · 22 Aug 2009 at 09:10

thanks mp260767
thinking about getting this OCZ ram instead would it be a better choice?

reygjabla · 22 Aug 2009 at 09:47

Yeah! That should be fine.

Lemin · 22 Aug 2009 at 10:00

HD 4890 System ... 500 Watt or greater power supply with two 75W 6-pin

Cheapest id get is this at least..Out of Stock

OCZ StealthXStream 600w Silent SLI Ready Power Supply
£54.99 inc VAT
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CA-023-OC&groupid=701&catid=123&subcat=

edit, great deal, This Week Only Offer

OCZ ModXStream Pro 700w Silent SLI Ready Modular Power Supply
was £75.99 inc VAT
£62.99 inc VAT
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CA-032-OC&groupid=701&catid=123&subcat=

GhostlyPea · 22 Aug 2009 at 10:02

gfspiteri said:
I have a 400W power supply from the older PC - do you think it might be stretched out?

g

Get a new one. That could be a bad move re-using that.

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CA-005-CS&groupid=701&catid=123&subcat=1084

That would be my choice depending on your budget. the Wattage isnt so much an issue (although 400 might be pushing it) but if it is an older model or unbranded then it won't cutthe msutard and could fail/cause instability/fail and take other components out with it. Plus if you (as you say) plan to clock in the future, a PSU that can supply more amps on the rails would help

- Pea0n

reygjabla · 22 Aug 2009 at 10:05

for a little less, this GPU is a bit faster.

gfspiteri · 22 Aug 2009 at 10:09

reygjabla - I actually ordered that GPU initially - it was on special offer last week, but they told me it was out of stock when I placed the order. I will try getting it again!

edit - actually it was a different model, sorry

reygjabla · 22 Aug 2009 at 10:11

gfspiteri said:
I might think about overclocking in the future, but not right now. .!

Better have this cooler now to avoid the hasle of "re-mounting" when time comes that you decide to start overclocking your rig. :cool:

Here's my Take for the PSU as well.

gfspiteri · 22 Aug 2009 at 10:24

was going to mention the one on special offer - will try that
thanks!

Lemin said:
HD 4890 System ... 500 Watt or greater power supply with two 75W 6-pin

Cheapest id get is this at least..Out of Stock

OCZ StealthXStream 600w Silent SLI Ready Power Supply
£54.99 inc VAT
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CA-023-OC&groupid=701&catid=123&subcat=

edit, great deal, This Week Only Offer

OCZ ModXStream Pro 700w Silent SLI Ready Modular Power Supply
was £75.99 inc VAT
£62.99 inc VAT
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CA-032-OC&groupid=701&catid=123&subcat=

reygjabla · 22 Aug 2009 at 10:26

By the way, are you planning to put your OS to the Seagate 1T? To me, that seems quite risky! If the HDD crashes you'd lost all your files and might take time and resources to recover if ever it's possible. I would suggest one HDD for OS, application and games and, another HDD for your Data.

gfspiteri · 22 Aug 2009 at 10:28

Yes I agree - I already have a couple of other hard-drives for data

reygjabla said:
By the way, are you planning to put your OS to the Seagate 1T? To me, that seems quite risky! If the HDD crashes you'd lost all your files and might take time and resources to recover if ever it's possible. I would suggest one HDD for OS, application and games and, another HDD for your Data.

gfspiteri · 22 Aug 2009 at 10:30

so in summary
get a PSU: OCZ ModXStream Pro 700w
change graphics card (and save a couple £ or EUR here :-)

): Powercolor ATI Radeon HD 4890 Plus 1024MB
change RAM to dual-channel: OCZ Platinum AMD Edition 4GB (2x2GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C7 1600MHz Dual Channel
get a cpu cooler (my son wants me to get a fancy LED or colourful one - any other suggestions?)
Many thanks for the advice, I really should have posted here earlier!!!

reygjabla · 22 Aug 2009 at 10:37

Check and choose the lighting mode you want here

Lemin · 22 Aug 2009 at 10:48

Maybe a Blue 120mm Fan for side of case, as the other fans are already blue.

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/productlist.php?&groupid=701&catid=57&subid=4&sortby=priceAsc