First time building own PC

Hey,

As the title suggest i have decided to teach myself how to build a PC, so i can achieve a better understanding of how my machine works.
I will only be buying one or two components per month but once it is finished i believe it will be quite a powerful machine. Here are my choices:

Case: Antec 1200 ATX
Power: Antec TPQ 1000W
MoBo: ASRock X58 Supercomputer
CPU: Intel Core i7 920 (2.66GHz)
RAM: OCZ Platinum XTC 12GB (6 x 2GB)
HDD: 300GB Velociraptor
GPU1: GeForce 9800 GTX+
GPU2: GeForce 9800 GTX+
Net: Killer NIC K1
Sound: Creative X-Fi Xtreme Gamer Soundcard
CD: Samsung 22x Lightscribe
OS: Vista Home 64-bit


If anyone can spot a problem with these components compatibility or if you could suggest better options for the same price range then the help would be much appreciated.
Also, any other notes that may be useful to me while building this machine would help.

Thanks,
Conse.

 

I have bought the same board for my new build and am just waiting for the CPU to arrive.

http://img171.imageshack.us/img171/5180/1861p234029190.jpg

That looks like a powerhouse when it is built.:yum

 

Consider an SSD drive for boot and high capacity HDD for data.

Killer NIC K1? It's very unlikely that this will give you any noticeable improvement over an onboard or add-in NIC. 5% lower pings, 5% higher framerate? Better to spend some time researching a good router and how to set it up efficiently.

 

I do believe some gamers would sell their first born for faster pings and an extra 5% frame rate.

@Bilmcc666.....

http://img171.imageshack.us/i/1861p234029190.jpg/

That is practically geek porn

*drools*

Q

 

I would ditch Vista completely and at least get Windows 7 Pro as it's out end October.

 

Even the most avid gamer would admit that 5% faster pings and 5% more FPS is nothing; barely measurable above normal variations and certainly not enough to make any borderline game playable.

I'm with augiedoggie on ditching vista and waiting for Windows 7 but see no reason to buy the Pro version here.

 

I'll give you that, save $80. I like the easier networking and XP mode, though not really needed.

 

I am aiming to do the build around october or november,at the moment i have a spare GTX 250 and am considering buying another to make twins.

 

Why 12GB RAM? No need to be honest, even 4GB is more than enough. Also make sure it is 1.65v or lower as i7 920's have been known to be damaged from higher voltage ram
Other then that seems good, you can get a 9800gtx for $100 after MIR.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...bop=And&ActiveSearchResult=True&Order=REVIEWS

 

Got the case and PSU just now and almost had a trouser accident... in all it seems i will have 11 or more fans running at the same time, but i wouldnt trust it enough to overclock.

I think i will look into windows 7 in October, i prefer vista layout but XL is relatively bug free.

when it comes to installing dual GPUs is it straight forward enough to figure out the way to connect them for best performance?

Note : 12GB RAM is just for e-peen purposes

 

Double GPUs is straightforward enough your board supports SLI.

11:eek that seems an awful lot, it will sound like a jet turbine when it starts up.

 

Here's my comments:

Since you're buying a component at a time, you should probably by the CPU and GPUs last. The prices on the CPU will drop in time, and you can do MUCH better than the now almost invisible 9800GTX+. The 9800GTX+ has since been renamed to the 250GTS and MUCH better cards are available, and in a month or two or three they will have dropped in price, especially with XMas coming up. Go with dual GTX260s or GTX275s. I think even a single GTX260 will give equal (possibly better?) performance compared to two 9800GTX/GTS250 in SLI. Also- with the OS- many retailers are offering a free upgrade to Windows 7 with the purchase of Vista, but since you're not buying everything at once, and with W7 coming out in 45 days or so, you should probably go with W7. Another thing- 12gb DDR3 is (at this point) ridiculous. In 2-3 years, it might mean something, but in 2009/2010, I'd say 4gb or 6gb is plenty... and the "Killer" network card is unnecessary IMO when you consider that all motherboards made in the past 2 years or so have gigabit ethernet adapters built-in. The $150.00 cost of this device is a joke. This is primarily for 14 year-old KiDZ that N33d to Br@G @b0u7 their SyST3mZ and they tell mom-n-dad that they "need this 'cuz the other kids have it and this one will be better". OK- sorry for the rant- but $150 for a network card really is a joke.

 

BTW- I sincerely hope that you buy your system from your local independent PC shop. In these tough economic times, it is very important to support the small local businessman. The guy down the street with 3 kids, a mortgage, and 2 employees needs the money a bit more than the multinationals of Newegg and BestBuy and TigerDirect.

 

9XXX series cards are pretty awful. Go for the GTX275 or higher if you can afford it. if you have to buy everything individualy, go PSU-Case-motherboard-RAM-HDD-CPU-GPU. and jsut hog the drives from your old PC.

 

I have got 3 GTX cards a 295 (very expensive and disappointing performance for the money)a 260 and a 250 the 295 is lightening fast with a mediocre Intel mobo but the 250 and the 265 can outperform it when put into the Asrock board so if you can afford it get a GTX card or two if you are so minded.
I have never had a GTX 275 but the reports are that it is well on top of it's game.

 

I have decided to go for the GTX 260, two of them its almost the same price as a 9 series and out performs by a mile.

Groinsh0t, that was what i had in mind but thanks for clearing it up for me.

 

Should i keep the mobo out of the case untill i get the cpu, i heard it was almost imposible to install one with the mobo already secured in.

 

A lot depends on how much space you have in the case but it is always better to install a CPU before putting the board in, One of the problems is mounting the CPU fan, some have clips that just click in and others need screws so i would advise waiting until you see the CPU and it's accessories.

 

I would wait until you have enough for your full system. but if you cant, try and leave everything in their antistatic bags until your using them. stuff gets broken easily.

 

Nah, it's easy enough. What I find hard to do in the case is wire up the front panel to the proper pins. At least this time with an ASUS board they have a separate connector now where you plug in all the wires properly and then seat the connector.

Kinda tough looking down some 7 inches with a flashlight and try to get the things plugged properly.

 

Design has changed a little after a little more research, just memory and gfx to install. So far i have:

Case: antec 1200
PSU: antec quattro 1000W
CPU: intel i7 920
MoBo: MSI Eclipse PLUS
HD: Samsung 1TB
Optical: 22x dvd/cd rw
Sound: Xtreme soundblaster

along with some pretty cool lights and fans...
Now im just waiting on the GTX275 and some corsair 1333MhZ DDR3 memory.

Thing is though, with what i have installed i powered it up to see all my lights and fans in action... im at work so i dont have pictures. It looks pretty cool but after 30 seconds or so powers down and restarts, i asumed this was just a safety trigger from the CPU becuase i had no memory, so i took the memory out an old PC and tried powering that up to get a beeping warning. So i now assume that with the old computer its saftey was the sound alarm, while my new one is just shutting down when it relises it has no memory...

Please confirm my assumption... i hope nothing is damage, i have been ESD safe in every stage of the installation.

 

Im using the stock intel cooler that came with the cpu, the thermalpaste was already applied to it when it arived and it is secured on and connected as the manual describes...

I didnt take the memory out of my old pc and try place it in my new one, what i did is just tried powering up my old PC with no memory in it to see if it done the same thing. It beeps with no memory while my new one simply restarts every 30 secs.

 

I love there LEDs i got from kustomPCS: http://www.kustompcs.co.uk/acatalog/info_2214.html

I still need to work on the cable tidying, perhaps i just need an extension for every single wire... :S

Unfortunately the antec PSU comes with all cables hard wired into it, and dont seem to be removable so i have loads of power cables just lying in there going nowhere.

http://img188.imageshack.us/img188/6347/dscf4565o.jpg

http://img133.imageshack.us/img133/184/dscf4563rmu.jpg

 

Nice man! Ya, cable management is tough with today's PSU's, especially the 8-pin 12V ATX power cable running across the whole board! Why don't they make that one modular, one shorter length for top mounted PSU's and have a long extension to route the cable beside the mobo for a cleaner look with bottom mounted PSU's? I'd pay a few dollars extra for that!

 

what OS's are you recommending?

 

LOL, oops.

 

Ill be using windows 7 64-bit ultimate.

Whats that Fred_G?

 

well thats the last bit here, and with the postal strike in the UK im not gonna wait a week for win7. Installing XP now

also decided to splash out on the msi gtx275 lightning, 1.7gb version.

 

Ooh, nice video card.:drool