First Computer Build

[k__dizzy]

Hey guys, I wanted to build a media pc for my family room to play all my movies, pictures, music, the usual media stuff. I was hoping to throw down the parts i've been thinking so far, and see what you guys all have to think or have any tips for changes to be made. I'm hoping to build a computer that if needed it can be upgraded in the future but as of right now trying to keep the ole budget pretty low.

Motherboard = GIGABYTE GA-880GMA-UD2H $104.99
CPU = AMD Phenom X4 9850 Quad Core Processor ( Add some sort of CPU cooler, with cooler master thermal compound ) $69.97
RAM = Corsair or G.skill 4 GB (2 x 2GB) $50.00
HDD = 2 x Seagate 3.5" 1TB 7200 Drives $114.00
Power Supply = Antec HCG-400W $55.00
SSD = OCZ onyx 32 GB $74.99
Case = Silverstone Case $40.00

total is about $650ish once I add in cooler, thermal compound, and of course tax plus any shipping that i'm gonna be incurring.

that's all I got for now guys so please don't worry about my feelings and tear me apart so I can have a good build!

Thanks again,

K__Dizzy

[_dangtx_]

welcome dizzy.

lets see...maybe look at an 880 giga board,but thats just personal preference the asus you selected is nice as well.
cpu is a bit strong for what you need, maybe go for a dual core 240/250 and get a separate gpu? if you want to stick with a quad, look for the new 840. its actually a higher clocked athlon II (no l3 cache).
low end 5 series. you can make it from the difference in cpu price.

1 2tb green wd.

get a kingston 64 giger.

ps04b for case? :)

[k__dizzy]

Hey _Dangtx_

Thanks for the quick reply definitely appreciate it!

I took a look at the 880 Gigabyte board the only thing I miss on it is the usb 3.0, that's the main reason I liked the Asus, would you recommend getting the gigabyte board and just get an card adapter for usb 3.0?

I priced out the 240 on new egg they had it for $56.99 the 250 they had it for $60.99 and the 9850 is on tigerdirect for $69.97, which one is bang for the buck?

I was toying with the fact that I should probably have a GPU that's not on board which 5 series would you recommend?

With the hard drives, having just one scares me of data loss, should I worry about drive failure? I was gonna run two 1 TB drives and raid them, but if i'm being overly cautious do tell me!

The kingston 64 GB ssd sounds perfect, around 120 bucks can't complain with that!

I didn't even think of Silverstone cases! brilliant, love the case, especially having two 120 mm fans. In your experience have you ever had troubles with power supply cable lengths when the power supply is mounted on the bottom?

yah.... sorry for so many questions lol, thanks again _dangtx_ all the info you can give me is greatly appreciated, or anyone else that wants to throw in there 2 cents.

K__dizzy

[_dangtx_]

ok, keep the asus then.

always look for athlon II or phenom II. low power models will be more expensive.

anything or almost low end half height or such in that one series. offloading work to it while retaining very good power figures is nice.

ok, run 2 wd greens if you want to. more power,more noise..etc...maybe keep an external one with backups thats not always on, i.e. if it blows that one wont probably be connected?

depending on the su married to which case :) some psus have shorter cables.

its a nice case, for the price cant beat it. ive been going with solid panels because it cuts out a bit on the noise, you know?

no worries. before you make up your mind, wait for more posts. i have my own way of putting together builds, other people have their ways.

for exemple im only using giga boards where possible, in my opinion, less failures. same with wd. there are failures,yes, but usually you know before, unlike with a few seagate drives :)

one or the other may be best suited for your quest, you have to take a look and chose :)

glad to be of service , mr dizzy

[xlilmissmjx]

Dan's advice is awesome and I don't know how you could have missed newegg.ca's price of Gigabyte's GA-880GA-UD3H for the same as the Asus board you picked out, with SATA3 and USB3!

Since you wish to keep cost down, why not consider a mATX board instead, its not like u have a ton of add in cards like tuners, sound cards, usb 3.0 cards, etc to put in. Gigabyte's GA-880GMA-UD2H will give u the same SATA3 & USB3 features & save u $15!

With SSD's I prefer OCZ Vertex as they kick ass! there's only a small price difference between the Kingston & OCZ Vertex 2 & Vertex 2 Extended 60GB drives so if u get the mATX board then that difference will almost be covered

Get the quad core if you don't mind paying the extra shipping cause you bought it from a 2nd place, otherwise try to get everything from one place to keep costs low, especially with shipping

For ram, I prefer Corsair, Mushkin & G Skill. So any 4GB DDR3-1600 kits from them will do u great!

If your not oc'ing the cpu then you could stay with the stock cooler or I'd recommend getting a CM Hyper 212 Plus to enjoy cooler temps and it only costs around $20-30.

Good luck with your build and enjoy the new machine

[k__dizzy]

Hey _dangtx_

I think I am gonna definitely take your idea and grab an external hard drive to run backups keeps the internal hard drives working faster.

I was leaning towards clear sided cases but I didn't even think about the noise that they don't cover, being a media pc definitly wanna keep it fairly quite so thanks for the tip!


Hey xlilmissmjx thanks for the reply, that mATX board has just won, I do like the money saving while still having on board HDMI, USB 3.0, and SATA 3.

Yah i'll definitly stick with the quad core, for the price I really cannot go wrong.

Now talking about ram I do agree with ya, havn't ever used or even heard of G skill and I do like corsair either way they are both cheaper then the Crucial memory I had picked out so it's either:

Newegg.ca - G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 4GB 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model F3-12800CL9S-4GBRL (the G skill) or..
Newegg.ca - CORSAIR Vengeance 4GB 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model CMZ4GX3M1A1600C9 (the corsair)

which one would you guys recommend i'm leaning towards corsair solely on the fact that i've personally heard of them lol.

I'm definilty not gonna OC this rig, the Processor is OEM packaging and doesn't come with the stock cooler if i'm not mistaken. So the cooler master is definitly a good idea.

thanks again xlilmissmjx

[xlilmissmjx]

I love the looks of the vengeance over the ripjaws personally, but if you want to take advantage of dual channel memory then it would be best to get a 2x2GB kit over a 1x4GB kit instead, unless u get a 2x4GB kit but that would be overkill for a htpc

Any of these 3 kits would be sweet...

Newegg.ca - G.SKILL Ripjaws X Series 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model F3-12800CL9D-4GBXL

Newegg.ca - CORSAIR XMS3 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model CMX4GX3M2A1600C9

Newegg.ca - Patriot G Series ‘Sector 5’ Edition 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model PGV34G1600ELK

Don't forget, since the motherboard has 4 ram slots, you can always add in more later if you feel the need to do so.

[frontier204]

That configuration you have in the original post (at the time of my reading it) won't work.

The Phenom 9850 does not work with DDR3. (not sure if someone caught this already) The Phenom 9850 is an AM2+ CPU which means DDR2 only. I'd recommend against getting a DDR2 based platform as the DDR2 price is on its way up, past DDR3 for $ per GB, so look for a different CPU. Playing back videos of any kind won't fully utilize a quad core, although transcoding/editing them may depending on what program you use. I recommend a Phenom II X2 or something else with the shared L3 cache, so you don't see stuttering in memory access heavy tasks: AMD - AMD Phenom II X2 555 Dual Core Processor HDZ555WFGMBOX - 3.20GHz,... - HDZ555WFGMBOX - Powered by PriceCanada.com

You should be OK with the stock fan noise wise if you either undervolt the processor by 0.05V-0.1V or don't put full load on it.

[k__dizzy]

Hey Frontier204 thanks for pointing that out! I'm gonna either go with the Athlon II x2 250 or 255 they seem to be almost the same any recommendations? _dangtx_ recommended the 250, the price for them is also close to the same. I'm gonna stick with the stock fan that the CPU comes with then and save the couple of dollars.


***Edit***

sorry read the last part of the post wrong, phenom 555 eh? will it be a vast difference from the athlon 250?

[_dangtx_]

yup, older cpus wont take ddr3. am3 socket wants am3 cpus only, m2+ takes all kinds :)

although, you sure you dont want to try a bit of h55+core i3 fun? monster clocks right on stock cooler, if you wish. not sb clocks, but still.