123pop

This will be my first time building a computer. It's intended use is for gaming. My budget is around US$1200. I don't need a keyboard, mouse, or a wireless adapter. My preferred resolution is 1680X1050 w/22" size screen. Due to inexperience, I will overclock later on.

*I really need someone to confirm if the parts work with each other.
Also, would I need any extra cables,etc. or are they included? Any other tips are appreciated. *

*I recently discovered DriverHeaven and this is my first post. I love the reviews and website layout so far. Everything is nicely designed. Thanks so much for the help.*

Here are the parts:
Total is about $1200.

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$140 AR ASUS VW224U 22" Widescreen LCD Monitor - 5000:1, 2ms, 1680x1050, DVI
http://www.buy.com/prod/asus-vw224 [...] 94107.html
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$33 Sony Optiarc 24X DVD/CD Rewritable Drive Black SATA Model AD-7240S-0B - OEM
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6827118030
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Microsoft WindowsVista Home Premium SP1 64-bit for System Builders w/ Tech Guarantee - OEM,WITH FREE WINDOWS 7 UPGRADE

EVGA 896-P3-1255-AR GeForce GTX 260 Core 216 896MB 448-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card - Retail FREE BATMAN PC GAME DOWNLOAD

Combo= $275 AR

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Comb [...] 14-130-434
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Antec Nine Hundred Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - Retail

Antec EarthWatts EA750 750W Continuous Power ATX12V version 2.3 SLI Certified CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS Certified Active PFC ... - Retail

Combo=$175

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Comb [...] mbo.245583
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Intel Core i5 750 Lynnfield 2.66GHz LGA 1156 95W Quad-Core Processor Model BX80605I5750 - Retail

MSI P55-GD65 LGA 1156 Intel P55 ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail

G.SKILL Trident 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 2000 (PC3 16000) Desktop Memory Model F3-16000CL9D-4GBTD - Retail

Combo=$434.97

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Comb [...] mbo.259927
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$7 Arctic Silver 5 Thermal Compound - OEM
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$65 Western Digital Caviar Blue WD6400AAKS 640GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive - OEM

kris23

welcome to DH 123pop!

that list of components while will work, may drive you into a corner with reliability issues...

this tower should be sufficient....

CD/DVD - Samsung 22X DVD Combo Drive (US) Newegg.com (UK)
Chassis - NZXT Beta EVO Chassis (US) Newegg.com
PSU - Corsair 750w ATX PSU (US) Newegg.com
HDD - Seagate 7200.12 500GB SATA Drive (US) Newegg.com (UK)
GPU - Sapphire HD 4850 X2 (US) Newegg.com (UK)
Memory - Crucial 4GB (2 x 2GB) CAS 9-9-9-27 DDR3 1333Mhz (US) Newegg.com
Motherboard - Asus P7P55D LE ATX Motherboard (US) Newegg.com
OS - Windows Vista Home Premium SP1 64-bit (US) Newegg.com (UK)
CPU - Intel Core i5 750 Quad Core CPU (US) Newegg.com (UK)

Thermal Paste - Arctic Cooling MX-2 (US) Newegg.com

though before you go and buy anything, what exactly do you want to do with this system?

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123pop

Thanks for the reply. Main use would be gaming. Would you please explain what parts make it unreliable.

kris23

well, antec PSUs have been all over the scale in terms of quality, their voltage regulation generally wasnt good and they demanded a price premium for such performance.... spend a couple more dollars on a Corsair or PC Power and Cooling PSU.

MSI boards are decent but they are rather finicky with settings especially with overclocking, i recommend Asus or Gigabyte over them when price isnt an issue

the case is decent but rather out of date... the case is pretty narrow and interferes with certain CPU coolers with a side panel fan, thats why they released the 900 two, i like the NZXT Beta as its much more simple with great cooling and plenty of space....

if you like the style of the Antec, i recommend trying to get the 900 Two if you can

also, will you be overclocking with this build?

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123pop

I'm pretty much fixed on getting the case and the antec psu is $25 less when purchased with the case and even has some modular cables. Is a Corsair psu that much better?

I've read a few reviews and the msi P55-GD65 and asus P7P55D mb's have almost identical benchmark results. With the newegg combo deal I am able to save $40, so the msi is $15 cheaper than the asus. The msi also has Winki, which is a new instant-on linux based os.

What would be the difference between a 24X and a 22X dvd drive?

With overclocking, it is not a priority, but might be something to consider in the future.

Thanks.

kris23

ok after looking at the MSI board, i say you're pretty set, just be sure to get to know the board before you start messing with the settings, especially the voltages as sometimes the BIOS voltage ranges actually are off by as much as 0.1v

this goes for all motherboards and not just MSI, just giving you the heads up.

as for the PSU, yea, the Corsairs are generally THAT much better.....

if i remember right, the earthwatts series was particularly bad at voltage regulation while their latest truepower series was very good.... if you still decide to go with the earthwatts PSU, its best that you not fully load the thing....

the difference between 22x and 24x is negligible as most blank media still has yet to go past 16x.....

for overclocking, you have very good RAM so id keep that system mostly the same but id still make some changes to the base model.

for case, i recommend the 902 instead of 900 as things will be less tight and cramped, or even better, save some money and get the NZXT Beta EVO but that may not suite your taste

for power supply, i really recommend dropping the Antec and getting the Corsair as the electrical performance is better, only disadvantage is the lack of modular cables, though you can spend money and get the 750HX which is even better.

for hard drive, i recommend dropping the WD drive and getting a Seagate 7200.12 500GB or higher drive as theyre much faster

the GPU, i recommend getting an HD 4870 instead of the 260 as you can get identical performance while saving nearly $50 bucks

lastly, for the thermal paste, i recommend MX-2 as its better than AS 5 in nearly all reviews

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123pop

yeah, the antec nine hundred 2 looks a lot better with better cable management, fan controls, and black interior. Only $15 more too. I'll also be getting the MX-2 termal paste.

Should I spend $3 morea and get this too?
Newegg.com - Computer Parts, PC Components, Laptop Computers, Digital Cameras and more!

kris23

yea the surface purifier would be fine, its only 3 bucks and it should be a decent step up from rubbing alcohol anyways.... just remember to clean the stock heatsink very well.

with that all out of the way, ill be back with the revised system specs.

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kris23

Newegg.com - SAMSUNG Black 22X DVD+R 8X DVD+RW 22X DVD-R 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-ROM 2MB Cache SATA DVD Burner LightScribe Support - CD / DVD Burners
Newegg.com - Antec Nine Hundred Two Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - Computer Cases
Newegg.com - Seagate Barracuda 7200.12 ST3750528AS 750GB 7200 RPM 32MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive - Internal Hard Drives
Newegg.com - CORSAIR CMPSU-750TX 750W ATX12V / EPS12V SLI Ready CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS Certified Active PFC Compatible with Core i7 Power Supply - Power Supplies

Newegg.com - Computer Parts, PC Components, Laptop Computers, Digital Cameras and more!

Newegg.com - Computer Parts, PC Components, Laptop Computers, Digital Cameras and more!

Newegg.com - Computer Parts, PC Components, Laptop Computers, Digital Cameras and more!

here it is! saving money in some places and making it better in others!

hope its to your liking, sadly i couldnt fit the modular power supply in without increasing the price greatly

also, feel free to look at the guides in my sig for help if you need it, just in case you feel a bit uncertain

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123pop

Ok, everything in your above post is in my cart. Then, I need to purchase the $140 monitor at Buy.com. I don't "think" I need anymore parts, right? (In addition, I already have an antistatic wrist strap.)

For some reason the video card/os combo link didn't work. Here it is: Newegg.com - Computer Parts, PC Components, Laptop Computers, Digital Cameras and more!
I found out that as an added bonus, I'll get Batman Arkham Asylum for free and if I register on EVGA's website, I'll get Cryostasis and Crazy Machines 2 for free too.

Just to double-check, the msi mb should come with cables to connect the cd/dvd drive and HDD?

Thanks for your help. The "Building a PC: Step by Step Guide" will be very useful.

kris23

yea i noticed the video card combo didnt work,

Newegg.com - Computer Parts, PC Components, Laptop Computers, Digital Cameras and more!

thats a suitable replacement, though it doesnt come with any free games like the GTX260 does so its probably best that you get the 260 if you can spend a little more cash. EVGA warranty is better anyways

as for the cables, yea the motherboard pretty much always comes with them...

with that, you have all the parts you need and are all set! just remember to register the card and get some advanced RMA warranty

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123pop

Ok. Everything is ready and I'm building the computer now (using your guide). If all goes well and the parts are fully functioning...

What should I do once the computer is built? (just asking to double check)

Installing Vista will automatically format the HDD? Once Vista is installed, then install drivers for components, then software such as anti virus? Anything else I'm missing?

Thanks.

kris23

pretty much what you said,

just so you know, since you're using a new drive, it will be shown as an unpartitioned space. just highlight the unpartitioned space and click "Format" then you would be faced with a prompt that asks you how many bytes you want the drive to be.

go with whatever is prewritten as its the drive's max amount. then click "OK" or "continue" or "format" (whichever prompt that starts the format.... i forgot what the button says exactly..)

then it should say "Primary Partition" or "local disk" or something.... in any case just click that formatted partition and then click "Next" and the stuff should install....

once it all installs and it goes to reset itself.... let it go through the boot-up sequence and do not boot off the disk (do not press a key when it says "press any key to boot off disk.")

as it is going to boot from the HDD and setup for the first time..... all steps after that are self-explanatory....

when you install drivers, first thing i install is the network adapter driver, then i go online and download the latest drivers off the internet... (I never use the included disks, its just better to get the latest stuff online.)

good luck!

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123pop

Now there's a little trouble.

From my EVGA thread:

Just built new computer and when 1st boot (no OS installed yet) monitor says "no dvi signal." But, the video card fan spins.

-The monitor works using a dvi connection as tested with another computer.
-I then remove video card and put in same slot again (making sure dvi cables are properly connected and the card is "clicked" in)
-Still no dvi signal.
-Try 2nd dvi output on video card.
-Still no signal.
-Install in 2nd pci-e slot.
-Still no signal.
*Took a spare HD series Ati video card and placed in 1st pci-e slot. Used dvi connection.
-MB startup screen appears, although a bit low in resolution(probably from the video card?)
-BIOS recognizes cpu,dvd drive, hdd, 2 sticks of ram.
*Tested video card in another computer and it still doesn't work. RMA???? *

Guess I have to send it back to Newegg. Should it take that long if I originally received my order in 2 days?

kris23

yup sounds DOA... RMA time

go mail it back and you should get it back by friday if sent tomorrow

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