I'm Trying to Avoid a BIG Messup

[duckii512]

So-- down to basics-- i need an experts advice on a computer im planning to build--its for gaming--and im following the computer style of "My Super PC". BUT!! heres the difficult part--i dont know much about power supplies. and im near positive all this stuff is compatible--(THANKS SO MUCH TO THIS SITE!! I LEARNED A TON!!) but im modifying the computer build a teeny bit--if anyone can let me know if im totally going to mess something up and waste alot of money thatd be reaaaaaalllly helpful =)

SO---

Computer as ive planned so far:::
(Changes to parts put in bold)


Motherboard MSI K9N Platinum SLI
Processor AMD Athlon 64 X2 6000+ AM2 (dual-core)
Ram Crucial Ballistix 2024 (2 1GB sticks) PC2 6400 DDR2
Video Card Nvidia 8800 GTS / GTX / or Ultra
Hard Drive (Still looking--gotta be SATA right?)

Disk Drive Sony SATA CD-R/RW/DVD-ROM Drive
Sound Card (Just going to use built in sound)
Operating System Vista (not sure how the versions go--need some advice)

I think ive gotten everything settled--HOWEVER--Due to the video cards MASSIVE (but oh so sweet) size--id like to get the Antec 900 Case--this and the power supply troubles me--i dont understand powersupplies too much and i need help!!! how do i know if the cords will reach and if the power supply has the right type of prongs and such--im having an EXTREMELY difficult time with this--and like every soap opera--theres a suprise!!!! Ive built one computer with a minor mistake that i worked out--and--im only 15 and as you can imagine i cant afford mistakes--help would be so appreciated!! if someone could possibly reccomend a power supply id be happy to do ANYTHING in my power to help you back!!

[Jamie Nixx]

I can tell you one thing you have totally messed up already ;) , the fact your using AMD over Intel, i love AMD, but they can't contend with the Core 2 duo, even a little E6400 will give any AMD a run for its money. If you don't know much about Intel or the core 2 duo, i'll suggest some parts to you, if you think you are ready to experience the true power of Intel :D

Whats your budget btw?

I have the Antec 900, very nice case.

And calm down, PSU's aren't that hard to work out :D

Right, you going to be using an 8800, so your going to need at least a 600w PSU of a decent brand name (if your using a Corsair, Tagan or Seasonic, then 500w is sufficient to power an 8800), the PSU is easily one of the most important components, if not, the most. Spend a good amount of your budget on the PSU, especially as its going to be a gaming computer.

Antec
Hiper
Corsair
Seasonic
Tagan
Zalman
OCZ

These are just a few brands but there are others.

I would go for an 8800GTS 320 or 640 MB, the 8800GTX is not worth it and the Ultra, don't get me started on that.

[Jamie Nixx]

Heres a pic of the insides of my very own Antec 900.

The only thing you have to worry about is this, you see the black cable going over the GPU's, that has to be long enough to reach the 4 pin CPU power supply, this is no problem in an ordinary case as the PSU sits at the top above the motherboard.

http://img503.imageshack.us/img503/8119/dsc00487sq5qc1.jpg

[duckii512]

I'm certainly going to take the intel over amd into consideration--im currently using intel 4 pentium 3.0ghz in this comp---id love to upgrade this one personally but heh--id pretty much be getting a whole new comp--GPU is a radeon 9550 (like the worst model im told) and the dang motherboard is AGP haha..oh and by the way to totally scared me when u said "youre already making a big mistake" lol.

Well-- as for the Intel CPU and Motherboard what would you reccomend?

Just as a note-- Budget isnt exactly strict--but itd be lovely to keep under 1000--chances are im going to resell this computer--i want all the practice before i make a super pc of my own hehe--never know what ull learn. Ive looked at retail oem ebay craigs list etc. I found i can get brand new still packaged retail Ballistix 6400 for under half the cost--for some reason people always buy the wrong ram--comes with warranty and everything lol--seems safe to me. CD drive is gunna be used--guy is gettin rid of it since he wants a dvd burner--etc. Im very cautious when it comes to that stuff. as for REALLY important things like Motherboard and CPU im going with newegg

And as for the power supply--i noticed as you already pointed out that the PSU lies on the bottom unlike computers ive seen--how can i tell if the PSU will reach before buying? and if something like that becomes a problem--are there any quick fixes as opposed to getting a whole new PSU? Oh and also im looking into Antec PSU's--are they reliable? Oh and as a last note ill probably go with the GTS as you said--i dont feel like waiting 6 months for the Ultra to come down in price hehe.

[Jamie Nixx]

E6750 and the Asus P5N-E SLi.

Corsair XMS2 Xtreme memory is really cheap on newegg at the moment, i am assuming you are in the US.

To build a super Intel computer shouldn't come to more than $1000 and will be miles ahead of an AMD based one.

The Ultra 8800 is just an overclocked GTX, it silly how expensive it is.

Antec make decent PSU's, i would contact the supplier to find out how long the CPU power cable is, it really needs to be at least 12 inches long, an alternative and very nice case is the Thermaltake Tsunami, my other super pc is built into one of them, very nice indeed.

[duckii512]

What type of PSU do you have seeing you have the antec 900 as well? and would corsair memory be better than ballistix memory? they look the same to me hehe--and if you know anything about ballistix--whats the difference between normal ballistix and ballistix TRACER?

Oh and PS-- I certainly appreciate all the help :D

[Jamie Nixx]

I have a Hiper type R 580w, emmm, its very, very expensive, and quite rare.

I prefer Corsair over Crucial because imo its better, more reliable, and Crucial tracer is very comical looking, with all those lights on it, lit up like a christmas tree lol, does nothing for performance though.

[duckii512]

hehe i love the comparison of the TRACER mem. so overall-- i should get the other motherboard and the intel CPU, switch mem. to corsair, get the 8800 gts GPU, and invest in a nice powersupply. Any suggestions on hard drives?

[Jamie Nixx]

Harddrives, i recommend the seagate barracuda, they come with a 5 year warranty, and they are silent, western digital is also a very good make along with maxtor and samsung.

[duckii512]

2 last things im curious about--Asus P5N-E SLi means all SATA components--and for the OS should i get Win XP or Win Vista? i hear vista still needs some bugs and stuff worked out and Direct X10 doesnt make a difference but then again i could just buy vista and never have to upgrade. Opinion?:D

[Jamie Nixx]

The Asus board doesn't have to have all SATA components, you can still have IDE harddrives and IDE optical drives.

Vista has too many bugs for me, you want to build a gaming computer, i suggest you stick with XP for the moment, Vista isn't nice to games.

[duckii512]

im looking at the Customer reviews for the asus boards and A) theres no built in sound..B) they say theres quite a few problems with random reboots or something like that and faulty programming--seems kinda iffy for a good board--do you have an asus board?

[Jamie Nixx]

I have two Asus boards, that one included.

1) It does have built in sound, and its very good as well.

2) Its one of the most reliable boards out there, those reviews are bogus.

The pic of the pc i posted is using the Asus P5N-E.

[duckii512]

OK! hehe. im certainly going to trust you over random people lol. well im about to buy my CD drive---its SATA and im not sure if i have enough ports though. how can i be sure i have enough? Motherboard has 4 SATA and 2 ide--but i dont know what things like the video card take. with just the things i have--even if i have all SATA--i cant possibly exceed it right? 1 hard drive 1 disk drive a vid card?? am i forgetting anything?

[Jamie Nixx]

Lol Video card plugs into SATA, you crack me up mate :D

The board has four SATA ports, one for the Harddrive and one for the SATA optical drive, thats it.

The video card plugs into the PCI-Express slot, then a special 6 pin cable from the PSU plugs into it to give it power.

*EDIT*, hang on, surely that should be DVD drive.

[duckii512]

lmao oh man i feel dumb--i swear i knew about the video card-- I SWEAR!!! hehe--the optical drive plays dvds--runs cds and writes cds--no dvd write or lightscribe--should i up that?

[Jamie Nixx]

Its up to you, i assumed you were buying a primary CD drive :rolleyes:

[duckii512]

that would be the prime i guess--i never really burn DVDS or use lightscribe--so i figured why pay more lol. if it ever came around i could always get a second one like my rig now:D

[Jamie Nixx]

When are you planning to build this mother then lol :D

[duckii512]

ASA the parts all come in and im 100% positive on choices =) not much left to decide on now. and these dont affect the others. just lookin for a hard drive and mouse keyboard stuff like that:p

[Jamie Nixx]

Yep well, some of us such as Rob, myself and the wise monkey know our stuff so if you run into any problems we will help you out.

Good luck and happy building!

[duckii512]

Oh man do i appreciate the help =) thank you so so so so so


:D SO MUCH:D

[Jamie Nixx]

LoL no worries mate :)

[The Wise Monkey]

"I trust you over random people" LMAO. XD

I'd recommend getting Rob's book or keeping another computer handy so you can read what to do next when you are building it. :)

[Jamie Nixx]

That did make me chuckle i must admit :D

[duckii512]

yeah i was thinking about getting his book lol--tell rob if ya see him hes a smart fellow :D . quick question--is quad core worth getting? or should i just get duo instead? oh and as another tidbit i dont understand--when they say the quad/duo runs at "X"GHZ--do they mean X times 2 or 4?..because like...2.66 x 4= massive CPU that doesnt seem realistic:eek:

And in Galileo's words "the authority of a thousand is not worth the humble reasoning of a single individual.” lmao--SCHOOL ACTUALLY WORKED!!! GASP!!!

[Jamie Nixx]

Forget the Quad core mate.

Most games do not even support dual core yet, so you would only at the max be using two cores, its not even very future proof because the E6750 has a newer faster FSB at 1333mhz whereas the Q6600 has a 1066mhz FSB.

The E6750 is going to be better for now.

And know you don't add the core speeds together lol, just because you have 2.0Ghz Quad processor doesn't mean you get 8.0Ghz performance:rolleyes: ;)

Rob's book would be good for you, you could learn a lot from one :)

[Amosmoses33]

i went with the E6750, it works great and I have an asus mobo, a P5n32-e sli and have not had any problems, and it runs at the 1333 fsb :)

[duckii512]

hehe im certainly getting the book lol. and like i said--its seemed way to unrealistic lol--in theory--is it actually possible for a big components part maker to make a motherboard thats got something like SLI or Crossfire for a CPU? just a thought i figured i share with people lol:rolleyes: and do u guys know a good way to sell computers? i wanna make a bunch as ive previously stated until i make mine

[The Wise Monkey]

EBay is probably the best place to sell any computers you have made - use Buy It Now rather than auction to get the best price. :)

[Jamie Nixx]

Ebay is a good place, but a bit dodgy if you ask me, and considering how cheap computers are you may struggle to make a profit.

[duckii512]

i was looking at ebay and stuff--however im skeptical if itd sell--theres like a flooding of those "too good to be true" computers that people choose over actually good computers that are priced realistically unaware theyre going to get some P.O.S. dell 1.2ghz 50gb HD and 512 mb RAM thinking theyre getting the deal of the century. i looked into people doing that. theyre these scammers that sell comps that end up "breaking within a week"--and what they do to make people feel safe is have theyre own accounts buy their stuff leaving mass amounts of positive feedback on themselves..and is see like a million bids on those and the real people who are really selling computers dont sell their stuff--ive been tracking them--and ive come to know one thing--people just dont understand computers--for all theyre concerned--the lower the price the better it is