Building a PC cost effective? NOT

[uti1ize]

Or at least not to the extent I was hoping. I was at war with myself as to either buy a pre-built gaming system from alienware or some other company, but decided to "teach myself to fish" instead. So here I am, purchasing parts for what will be my first ever build, thinking I would get away with cheaper prices when I end up spending way more than I intended. But I'm content, mainly because I realize that if you want a good system you're going to have to spend some cash, but also because I am indeed happy with the parts that I bought. So here goes:

CASE XIONBLACK/SILVER |XON-002 450W (Qty=1,Price=$65.49

Here is a pic of the case: http://www.newegg.com/app/Showimage...04-11.jpg/11-208-004-08.jpg/11-208-004-14.jpg

I guess my only question for the proficient builders around here is whether or not you think this case will give me any problems. I was impressed with the price considering it looks cool, comes with a decent power supply, and 2 fans.

As for the rest of the stuff I got:

Motherboard:
LGA775 INTEL 925X D925XCVLK RTL (Qty=1,Price=$169.00)

GPU
ABIT|RADEON RX700pro-256PCI (Qty=1,Price=$180.00)

CPU
P4/2.8 GHz 800M LGA775 520 RET (Qty=1,Price=$166.00)

RAM
DDR2 CORSAIR 2x512MB |VS1GBKIT533D2 (Qty=1,Price=$117.67)

HD
80GB EXCELSTOR 7200RPM J880 OEM (Qty=1,Price=$54.00)

Keyboard
LOGITECH|MEDIA KEYBOARD RTL (Qty=1,Price=$18.00)

CDRW/DVD COMBO SONY CRX320E % (Qty=1,Price=$32.99)

SOUND CARD AOPEN|AW850 PCI RTL (Qty=1,Price=$12.45)


Anything jump out at you as a no-no? I decided to go really cheap on the keyboard, CDRW/DVD drive, and the sound card because I didnt value them as important right now. I will probably upgrade the sound card in the future despite reading good reviews about it. And I kept the HD at 80 because I also have an external 40g HD that I'm gonna use (bought that a while ago).

I also bought an 17-inch LCD monitor last week which was $214.47.

So, with the monitor and everything else, my total comes to around $1,094 dollars. Keep in mind I still dont have an A-drive, or an OS, but I will get those soon.

So yeah.....any concerns? Aside from the fact that I've never done this, and my success will be strictly based on online tutorials, I at least want to make sure I'm not going to be wasting my take with garbage or incompatable products. Thanks.

 

[jack222]

I suggest AT LEAST get a 6600GT or a 6800GT/Ultra and/or a 850xt. All those can be found at newegg. Also, are you going to OC?

 

[uti1ize]

I suggest AT LEAST get a 6600GT or a 6800GT/Ultra and/or a 850xt. All those can be found at newegg. Also, are you going to OC?

I have no idea what you're talking about in your first sentence. And I'm not gonna overclock.

 

[seadave77]

Welcome to the forums!

You'll learn the language in time. He was talking about getting a better video card for your proposed computer.

I suggest getting a better power supply than what comes with the case you selected. If you plan on upgrading in the future I would recommend no less than a good 500W power supply. I like Sparkle power supplies but I hear Fortron is good as well. I speak from experience, "Don't skimp out on the power supply!". I killed a motherboard with a cheap power supply.

I would recommend also a bigger hard drive, I know I thought my 40gig would last a while but it didn't.

Also, you do realize you have no speakers included in your setup right?

Overall, looks like a decent system. Good luck with your first build! We're here to help!

 

[klingens]

This is _not_ a decent powersupply. It's a no name cheapo powersupply with a sticker that says 450W. I'd say any Antec or Enermax 350W PSU would run around in circles around it.
The nono at the current time I'd say is the CPU, especially if you are price/performance concious. A gaming system is currently better served by a Athlon64 CPU while a video encoding system is better with an Intel CPU. AMD is also a bit cheaper: all 3, CPU, nforce4 mainboard and RAM are cheaper for roughly comparative things.
The soundcard is useless I'd say: anything below a Soundblaster Live 5.1 for 25-30$ is a waste of money especially since every mainboard comes with a AC97 soundcard or better which will probably sound about equal to the one you have.

 

[Captain Slug]

I'm not specifically impressed with the build quality of the case, But it does have ample cooling. And as mentioned you should opt for higher quality power supply made by Fortron, Antec, or Rosewill.
Also mentioned above, you should get better performance per dollar by opting for a Geforce FX6600GT
http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=14-125-156&depa=0

I'm partial to recommending Thermalright heatsinks.

You also need to research different heatsink and options. Check the comparison ratings on the front page: http://www.overclockers.com/articles373/

 

[nealric]

I would ditch the soundcard- at $12 it probably wont be any better than onboard.

There is no reason not to overclock BTW. People who are new to it have quite a few misconceptions. To start, just stay clost to stock voltages and the chances of killing anything are almost zip. Youl will find substantial performance gains.

I would also trade the cd/dvd combo up for a dvd burner for $20 more. Even if you arent burning movies, its great to have as a backup device.

On the case/powersupply.
The powersupply looks no good. The case build quality looks pretty bad.

However, the powersupply is definetly the more importaint of the two. A crappy case is just a pain, a crappy psu could fry your system or cause instability.

You could get a cheapo case for $30 and a 420w TTGI for $30 also (marketed as superflower) for the same price as that case and would be in a lot better position. PSU can be found at directron.com

 

[uti1ize]

Thanks guys for your help. I should have probably mentioned that all of these items have already been purchased, so there is no going back. It sucks that I didnt discover this site until afterwards. How much of a difference does my graphic card make in comparison to the 6600?

 

[cornbread]

I would get a differnet power supply like A Fortron 500w or Antec True Power. Hard drive something like a Seagate, Western Digital, Maxtor...in that order (personal preference). If you are set on a sound card look at the ChainTech A710, it is one of the best and only around $25.00 at Newegg.

 

[uti1ize]

I would ditch the soundcard- at $12 it probably wont be any better than onboard.

There is no reason not to overclock BTW. People who are new to it have quite a few misconceptions. To start, just stay clost to stock voltages and the chances of killing anything are almost zip. Youl will find substantial performance gains.

I would also trade the cd/dvd combo up for a dvd burner for $20 more. Even if you arent burning movies, its great to have as a backup device.

On the case/powersupply.
The powersupply looks no good. The case build quality looks pretty bad.

However, the powersupply is definetly the more importaint of the two. A crappy case is just a pain, a crappy psu could fry your system or cause instability.

You could get a cheapo case for $30 and a 420w TTGI for $30 also (marketed as superflower) for the same price as that case and would be in a lot better position. PSU can be found at directron.com

I think I can eat the 65 bucks and get a new case, or at least wait an see what happens with the installation. I'm never gonna burn a DVD because it takes way too long. I'm definately gonna get a new power supply.

 

[cornbread]

Sorry I missed your post where you said you already bought the items. Don't sweat it though, it's your first build, you learn as you go. But yes, when you get the chance maybe look at a new PSU.

Good luck on your build and "Welcome to the forums".

 

[nealric]

I think I can eat the 65 bucks and get a new case

Dont bother with a new case- the crappy one will work- it just wont feel as nice. Instead, just get a better psu.

Burning a DVD really isnt that much of an issue timewise- its not like you cant do anything else while it is burning. Spending 2 hours backing up all your files on DVD will be well worth it if your hard drive dies.

 

[rox1co]

i just looked at yourt set up, the one i wanna build is not that far off from yours, i'll show you mine - http://www.ocforums.com/showthread.php?t=378647

the thing i would have change most about your set up is the separate mobo/cpu, i woulda bought those as a bundle deal just give some assurance of not messing up the installation for those two, which are probably the most important

and perhaps found a Mobo with a nice onboard sound

i think you should have gone with an SLI-Mobo though, so for later purposes, you are able to have bad *** video for years to come

btw. did you get the 'shipping special', newegg.com had like a week for all shipping $.99cents

 

[matttheniceguy]

the thing i would have change most about your set up is the separate mobo/cpu, i woulda bought those as a bundle deal just give some assurance of not messing up the installation for those two, which are probably the most important

His motherboard does come with onboard sound. Some people like to use sound cards because the onboard sound sometimes takes advantage of the CPU to do it's processing, which takes time away from processing done to run a game. A sound card can increase the performance of some systems, although with the soundcard he has bought it is likely to actualy hurt the performance.

When you buy a CPU/mobo deal, they don't generally come with the CPU installed. It is just a deal where if you buy both you get some reduction in price, they will still show up in seperate boxes, and you will still have to install the cpu. This isn't a big deal though, as long as you know what you are doing (ask if you don't) there is almost no way to screw it up.

 

[fldrice]

I suggest getting a better power supply than what comes with the case you selected. If you plan on upgrading in the future I would recommend no less than a good 500W power supply. I like Sparkle power supplies but I hear Fortron is good as well. I speak from experience, "Don't skimp out on the power supply!". I killed a motherboard with a cheap power supply.

Sparkle is a subsidiary of Fortron. Their power supplies are essentially the same. However, you should seriously consider investing in a good high quality power supply. If you want to go AMD...

A64 Overclocker's Config:
NEC ND-3520A Silver IDE DVD Burner -$60.95 shipped
SkyHawk MSR4610 Silver 1.2mm Aluminum ATX Mini Server Case -$34.99 +ship
DFI LANPARTY UT nF4 Ultra-D Socket 939 NVIDIA nForce4 Ultra -$146.00 shipped
AMD Athlon 64 3200+ Winchester Socket 939 Processor -$176.00 shipped
THERMALRIGHT XP-90 ALUMINUM HEATPIPE COOLER - $24.99 + ship w/ coupon code: "xp90"
FORTRON SOURCE AX500-A ATX12V 500W Power Supply -$95.49 shipped
2x TwinMOS 184-Pin 512MB DDR PC-3200, Model TMSP400/512 - RETAIL
-$116.64 shipped
ATI X800XL PCI-e -$300.00 (AVAILABLE LOCALLY)
120-160gb 7200rpm PATA or SATA - $80-100 (AVAILABLE LOCALLY...CHECK ADS for even better deals!)
Floppy?~ free-$10
EST MAX TOTAL DAMAGE before tax + ship =$1080.53
*You may want to wait for the Venice core to show up in stores if you decide to go the A64 route.

 

[tesco99]

i just built my own too- trial and error, wish i had found this site first. thats a nice case, will it vibrate much with the disk enclosure the way it is?
http://www.newegg.com/app/Showimage.asp?style=album

unclear from the pictures if it comes with a fan to suck air into the case from the front. are you going to put any more fans in there?

 

[shellshock]

well i would kick you chance of overclocking goodbye with that intel mobo. I would get a differnt brand like abit or asus, they allow you to tweak more that a intel

oh ya, to the forums man!!