building new pc first time - tips please

[mxadam]

Hi , i have recently spent around $3000+ on parts to build a new pc for gaming and general stuff

Main parts i have are
AMD 64Bit 3.8 (939) - may goto fx55
Asus motherboard (heard its 1 of the best for 64bit)
Big 550 watt powerbox
1 but will be 2 next week geforce 6600GT cards (2nd may be a 6800GT , is it posible to link 6600 and 6800 gt cards and will they run ok being different models)
17 inch widescreen TFT monitor

Thats the main bits then there the hardrive which is the highest spec 300gig and the other parts to the pc

Any tips on fitting all this , the guy where i got most of the parts said connect the power supply first but dont turn it on , not sure if he ment before i put all the hardware in or after , would it be ok building all the system first then plugging it in ?

Any tips will be appreciated , Cheers guys (ive wanted to build a pc in ages so im really looking forward to building it , must wait a few days before a few more parts come but would like to put some in first for a head start)

 

[SNieX]

yeah start connecting what you have into the case, then once all is in connect the powersuppy, make sure everything is nicely placed and connected and power her up and see how it goes..

 

[Dreamstalker]

I'm almost done building my first rig (journal thread here if you're interested in seeing what I did...there's a link there to my more detailed log).

What board do you have?

 

[attack]

I'm pretty sure you can't link a 6800/6600 up, I highly suggest getting either a single 6800GT/U or 2 of those, 2 6600GT's is same as one 6800GT and your stuck with no upgrade path, where with the 6800GT/U you can add another later and be set.

 

[GunnerMan]

Hmm well I personally like to leave the PSU, CD roms, HDD etc out untill I have my motherboard in the case. What I like to do with the mtherboard is take it out of the box and set it ontop of the antistatic wrap in the box. Then I put the RAM, CPU/HSF on then I put it on case and put PCI cards etc. Thats when I put the CD rom etc in I find it gets to cluttered for me to to get the mobo in easyly. If you dont have agrounding bracelet thing you can put the PSU in and plug it in but not plug it in to anythng and keep the PSU switch off, then your grounded for shure. Gl and have fun

 

[Super Nade]

Mate,

WELCOME TO THE FORUMS!!!!!
You bring back memories when I had all the questions you did (with a lot less money in my pocket ).

Check these threads out. <I'm sooo embarassed >
http://www.ocforums.com/showthread.php?t=326351
http://www.ocforums.com/showthread.php?t=325569

Please don't hesitate to ask any question, however basic it may be!
Nobody is going to eat you!!

Good Luck!

S.N

 

[Sentential]

Take your time and be sure to use a static guard wrist band

 

[Super Nade]

Hi , i have recently spent around $3000+ on parts to build a new pc for gaming and general stuff

Wow 3k is a lot of money!! Could you be more specific with naming your components?

Main parts i have are
AMD 64Bit 3.8 (939) - may goto fx55
Asus motherboard (heard its 1 of the best for 64bit)
Big 550 watt powerbox
1 but will be 2 next week geforce 6600GT cards (2nd may be a 6800GT , is it posible to link 6600 and 6800 gt cards and will they run ok being different models)
17 inch widescreen TFT monitor

Thats the main bits then there the hardrive which is the highest spec 300gig and the other parts to the pc

Comments:
1.I don't know any A64 which does 3GHz out of the block, let alone 3.8! Do you mean the 3800+?
2.Which ASUS Motherboard? Is it the A8N-SLI?
3.Which power supply? 550W means nothing if its an el-cheapo no-name unproven PSU.
4.What about your cooling system? CPU Heatsink and Fans, Case?
5.RAM?

I hope you are not getting ripped off here.
Always, get a general price/performance opinion from in here before you spend your money

Any tips on fitting all this , the guy where i got most of the parts said connect the power supply first but dont turn it on , not sure if he ment before i put all the hardware in or after , would it be ok building all the system first then plugging it in ?

Do not connect the PSU to the wall socket untill you have connected everything! As Sentential said, work with an anti-static mat/wrist strap. Connect the wrist strap to your case and place your components on the anti-static packaging they came in or on an anti-static mat.

 

[mxadam]

Complete list of hardware so far

Processor: AMD Athlon 64 3800+ / 2000MHz FSB / Socket 939 / Processor
Mobo: Asus A8N-SLI Deluxe nVidia Socket 939 Motherboard / PCI Express / Audio / Dual Gigabit LAN / Serial ATA / Dual RAID / USB 2.0 & Firewire
GFX card: 2 GeForce 6600GTs / 128MB GDDR3 / PCI Express / Dual DVI / TV Out / Video Card
Ram: 1024MB 400MHz Dual Channel DDR Memory (2 x 512MB)
HD's: Maxtor Diamondmax 10 250 GB Hard Drive (SATA) / 9.3 ms seek time / 7200 RPM spin speed / Serial ATA 2 interface / Hot plug << ??? /
Case: Q-TEC TL-MD02 (Silver) Midi Tower (no Psu)
PSU: Q-TEC GOLD 550W POWER SUPPLY DUAL FAN
Monitors: 2 Digimate 17" Flat Panel LCD Monitors (dual monitor setup)

The case also has fans (2 in side 1 at back) with 3 colours of led in each 1 , how would i link these all up , cheers , thanks to all that have replied , will look at the posts you told me about