First Time Build

[drummerman77]

As if there aren't enough haha. Here's what I have picked out:

CPU
MOBO
RAM
PSU
HDD
DVD Drive
Case

And I will probably get W7 Home Premium 64-bit, and probably some fans and extra junk, but:
1. Am I missing anything?
2. Do you have any suggestions on the parts? (Maybe there's a better processor for the same price, or mine is garbage?, etc.)

Thanks!

 

[BikerEcho]

i dont see any problems so far.
i cant help you too much because i am from danmark and we have other prices and valuta. (ever heard about DKK? (danish kroner))

but one thing i just want to point out is that that case is crap and made of plastic. one of my freinds had it. (he has a new computer now)
i know it is a cheep case and you get what you pay for. but i think that is it very inportant to have a good case.
easyer to install the computer because of screwless design.
look nicer and makes people say: OMG NICE RIG MAN.
better airfloow because of cablemanagement. (also makes it look nicer when there is less cables to look at)


also:
the psu seems nice. but keep in mind that it is a NON-modular PSU.
you can buy simi-modular and full-modular.
simi is not that much more in prise, and then you get rid of all those cables that you dont need. also looks nicer and gives better airfloow.

 

[Danny93]

processor; save $20 and get an Athlon quad core, you'll get BETTER performance with general computing tasks on applications that use hyperthreading or whatever it's called

Quad core Atlon; AMD ADX640WFGMBOX Athlon II X4 640 Quad Core Processor - 3.00GHz, Socket AM3, 2MB Cache, 2000MHz (4000 MT/s), Retail at TigerDirect.com

Save money on the motherboard, this one I'm posting has two switches on the motherboard, flick them and you've overclocked the processor by 20%, I have the same one; very good motherboard.

MSI 880G - mATX AM3 880G DDR3 at TigerDirect.com

How much memory? they're only 1GB sticks, and I'd recommend 4GB of memory in total as the bare minimum, you'll save money buying two 2GB sticks rather than four 1GB sticks.

PSU - As long as you're not fitting a dedicated graphics card - fine, otherwise buy one that is 80 plus certified and 600+ watts.

 

[drummerman77]

I posted the wrong ram haha.
As for cpu, isn't a faster dual core better than a slower quad core? Also, I'm not exactly sure what overclocking is, but isn't it just when you make it do more than what it can do? Like pushing it past its limit? Also mATX vs. ATX? Can I put an mATX MOBO in a ATX case? And PSU-what is 80 plus certified mean? If I get an SLI ready psu what does that do? Is that the 80 plus certified and is that modular? Sorry for so many questions.

Thanks

 

[BikerEcho]

in todays days it would be better with a quad core.
it also depends on the applications you are running. ofcause a 3 ghz dual will be better then a 2 ghz quad for standard use. but still i think the quad will do better when decompressing files, or rendering video files.

overclocking is making hardware faster then it is set to be safe at running at. but there is always plenty of room for more performance then the default.
when overclocking you also have to set volt(in most cases. depends on the overclock you are doing)

yeah in most cases an matx motherboard can go inside an atx case. you have to see the specifications for you case to be sure. but i think almost all atx cases can hold an matx.

an sli ready psu meens that it have the cables to run most sli cards. if not, you can always use converters. but realy all psu is "sli ready" it is more the cables and the watt that matters for that point. i think it is more for marketing purpose.

 

[drummerman77]

Okay thanks! So overclocking the quad core will be better.

Do I need to set volt for the MOBO mentioned? (The one with the two switches?)

New PSU

New RAM

^^Good?

Thanks!

 

[BikerEcho]

yeah 4 cores overclock will give you higher % performance increes rather then overclocking 2 cores.

i am not sure what you meen by: "(The one with the two switches?)"
if you overclock it is best to set the volt. the more you overclock the more unstable you pc will get, in order to get it more stable you need to set the volt.
right now my overclock is stable without tweaking the volt. thats because i have only overclocked my core i7 920 from 2,6 to 3,2. so no realy need to tweak the volt there. but still it would be better for me to tweak it because it will then use i bit less power and might drop a sligtly bit in Temparture.
the auto volt is most likly using more volt then needed when overclocking.
you set the volt in the bios. be aware that not all motherboards are able to overclock. most newer are.

nice.
i like the psu. coolermaster is a good brand.
it is sime modular and has a good fan(so not so noisy)
good qality an all. it would be a way better choose then the old psu you had in mind. but it is also more expensive.

i dont know the ram. they look cheap. but thats maybe a good thing for you that thay are cheap for the performance you get.
thay are high cas lantancy(lower is better). and running at 1333. that could be better, and i am missing a heat sheald for it.
also dont wanny buy those because of the brand. but thats just me i think.
you are gonna buy 2 of them right?
they might be good for you. but for me.... no. defently not.
try find a benchmark of them before buying them. and you need to in order to run dual channel.
i will never only run 1 stick of ram. you can buy sets with 2 included, and even 3 and 4.

 

[drummerman77]

By "the one with the two switches," I was referring to Danny93's post.

Yes, of course I would be buying 2 sticks of RAM. I want 8GB RAM total so 4GB sticks x2.
I wanted to go with the highest speed that is available in the MOBO that Danny93 suggested. There were three compatible speeds and I only remember two off the top of my head: PC3-10600 and PC3-8500. The other one was less than the PC3-8500 i think it may have been 6400. Any suggestions on the RAM?

Thanks!

 

[BikerEcho]

will. i am not an AMD fan. so i know alot more about intel.
and if you have an intel motherboard saying that it supports pc3-10600, that meens that it will go that high without overclocking the cpu to get that speed.
i have 1600 mhz ram. my motherboard do support that. so i can go to my bios and choose that it should run at that speed.
if we say that i had a board that supports 1333. then i can still use the ram at 1600, BUT i need to set the base clock in order to get to the rams stuck speed.
if i do that, then my cpu will not be stuck. in my case it will go from (i think) 2,6 to 3 ghz in order to get stuck ram speed.

i think AMD works the same why. both amd and intel (core i serie and up) has the memory controller on the cpu, and thats why when you overclcok the cpu the ram goes up too. but i am not complitly sure. not sure anoth to tell you that it is so. but i realy think that it does. else that whould be yet another reason i am using intel.
(i am not saying amd sux)

maybe danny knows if the baseclock effects the ram.

do you know what pc3-10600 meens?
if not:
pc3 = that it is ddr3 ram
10600 = the speed. but not in mhz. if you want the speed in mhz you need to devide with 8.
so the speed on this board is 1333. well... it will give you 1325, but there is no speed standard that is called that. so you need to calculate to the nerest standart. in this case it will be 1333 mhz.
so in your case you will need to overclock the base clock to get ram working at 1600 mhz.