First Build advice

[linkin24]

I've been reading some posts for a couple of days, and I've decided to make my first post and my first build! :-).

I got my motherboard today (Intel D945Psn) and pentium d 820 chip with all the goodies from intel retail edge (for 215$). Any comments on what kind of RAM will make this baby fastest for the money or any changes at all? I'll be purchasing some time tomorow! I know a lot of you will flame my pentium D 820, but before you begin, it's it defitnelty worth it for how much I paid, and I plan on getting a Geforce 7800 GTX soon and with that Geforce 7800 GTX, almost any proccessor should be fine. I only play games like Age of Empires 3 and probably a little more graphic enhanced games nowsince I'm upgrading from my POS 1.5 Ghz Pentium 4 which is now the minimum req. for most games. So I'm not changing my mind about the proccesor or motherboard, the other stuff i need help chosing to make this baby fastest as possible for the littlest amount of $$ :-)

Heres what my choices are so far:

Intel D945Psn Motherboard with Pentium D 820 - $215

OCZ Value series 2 GB (2 X 1GB) DDR2 --- $163.45 (Price dropped 30 dollars)



Case pick #1 - $179.99 (with 500 watt power supply, for $129.99 same case no PSU, might go that route and buy my own PSU, but hopefully this PSU can handle my specs plus a geforce 7800GTX?)

Case pick #2 ---- $69.00 (or i was considering the same case in black)

video card i want geforce 7800 gtx but what is the best model brand name for the money? - ill guess 450 $.

Power supply - i dont know if i need yet depending on what case I buy.

I have the hard drives, and dvd burners and cd-rom drives.. i think that does it. I might buy two SATA hard drive if the price is right and set up RAID. Any good deals? But for now I'll stick with my 250 GB maxtor.

Total PC price about 530 $ without the video card! Not frikin bad!



Also I will probably buy the Logitech Z5500's while their on sale at newegg so add 215 or w/e. Are these pretty good? I will probably end up getting a very good if not the best sound card out for this, or does it not make a differnece? Any advice on the sound cards?

Another question is I believe the LEXA case by NZXT has a power supply with only 20 pin...What if my motherboard has a 24 pin connector only? WIll it work with 20 of the 24 pins in use?



P.S. Any top of the line or good TV tuners out there? I'll probably want to record some live TV while watching some shows too. (Do you need Windows Media Center EDition or can I use XP Pro?) send me the link for some good tv tuners that can record and watch at same time! Sorry for bein a noob, I'm pretty good with computers but it's my first build!

[Kov-Ice]

Welcome to PCMech. One of the foundations of your build is the PSU. Choose wisely. It really needs to be a quality name, as anything less brings the possibility that it may die shortyly and take some of your other components with it. You can check out THIS thread for lots of info on choosing the best one. I recommend Antec as far as price/performance/service.

OCZ is typically good memory. Dunno if I'd worry about RAID, but might be a good idea to get a small SATA drive and put your OS (will you need to get a copy of XP?) and frequently used programs on it, while using the big drive for storage.

Good luck.

[Cricket]

Originally Posted by linkin24 II know a lot of you will flame my pentium D 820

Don't worry about that...flaming isn't tolerated here. Flamers get banned right away.

Originally Posted by linkin24 OCZ Value series 2 GB (2 X 1GB) DDR2 --- $163.45 (Price dropped 30 dollars)

Just make sure that RAM is compatible with the Intel motherboard you're using. OCZ has a memory configurator that will tell you if that RAM will work with that motherboard. I'd go with Corsair if this were my build.

Originally Posted by linkin24 Case pick #1 - $179.99 (with 500 watt power supply, for $129.99 same case no PSU, might go that route and buy my own PSU, but hopefully this PSU can handle my specs plus a geforce 7800GTX?)

What case is this? And what brand is the power supply and is it a ATX 2.0 power supply? You'll need a power supply with a 24 pin motherboard power connection.

Originally Posted by linkin24 Case pick #2 ---- $69.00 (or i was considering the same case in black)

What case is this? Does it come with a power supply? What brand?

Originally Posted by linkin24 video card i want geforce 7800 gtx but what is the best model brand name for the money? - ill guess 450 $.

eVGA would be a good choice.

Originally Posted by linkin24 Power supply - i dont know if i need yet depending on what case I buy.

Just make sure it's a good quality ATX 2.0 power supply. Don't go cheap on the power supply.

Originally Posted by linkin24 AAnother question is I believe the LEXA case by NZXT has a power supply with only 20 pin...What if my motherboard has a 24 pin connector only? WIll it work with 20 of the 24 pins in use?

Nope. If the motherboard is a ATX 2.0 motherboard with the 24 pin power connection you should get a ATX 2.0 power supply so you don't have any power related problems and headaches. That Intel motherboard has a 24 pin power connection.

Cricket

[jayb1234]

This

case/psu would be good for that build, 500W atx 2.0 power supply, meets Intel's Thermally Advantaged Chassis specifications, and one of the best brands of power supply.

The Hauppage PVR line of tuner/pvr cards are pretty nice.

[linkin24]

sorry, links didnt send but here they are again.
case #1
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16811146017

case #2
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16811144153 (or same one in black)

I like case #1 the best probably, just a little expensive. for 50 $ less I can buy the same one without the powersupply. It says the power supply for the NZXT is 500 WATT PS2 ATX 12V 2. I read somewhere though that its only 20 pin but its 2.0? I dont know if this is true. Is it safer to get the case without the powersupply and then just get one that wont fail? Which one?

My motherboard can take the following RAM's:
DDR2 667, DDR2 533, or DDR2 400 MHz SDRAM DIMMs

I believe these 2 GB of OCZ is the fastest kind and nicely priced(correct me if wrong) http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820227060

Yes I have an unused version of Windows XP profesional that intel sent me included with the chip and board. (and adobe)

[Cricket]

Originally Posted by linkin24 It says the power supply for the NZXT is 500 WATT PS2 ATX 12V 2. I read somewhere though that its only 20 pin but its 2.0? I dont know if this is true.

That ATX 2.0 power supply does have a 24 pin motherboard power connector...but I don't know how good the NZXT power supplies are.

Originally Posted by linkin24 Is it safer to get the case without the powersupply and then just get one that wont fail?

Generally it's a good idea to get the case and power supply separately so that you ensure you get a good quality power supply.

Originally Posted by linkin24 Which one?

Get a ATX 2.0 power supply from either Antec, Enermax, ePower/Tagan, Fortron Source, OCZ, PC Power & Cooling, Seasonic, Sparkle Power, Thermaltake, XClio or Zippy.

Originally Posted by linkin24 My motherboard can take the following RAM's: DDR2 667, DDR2 533, or DDR2 400 MHz SDRAM DIMMs I believe these 2 GB of OCZ is the fastest kind and nicely priced(correct me if wrong) http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820227060

Actually there is DDR2 1000 available but I don't know if your motherboard is compatible with it. But yes, that OCZ DDR2 667 would be the right speed supported by your motherboard/CPU setup. I don't know how good OCZ Value Series RAM is...I'm guessing it's as good as Corsair Value Select RAM.

Cricket

[jayb1234]

Here is Intel's Thermally Advantaged Chassis list.

See if you can find a case you like on it.

Proper airflow is pretty important with Intel procesors, because they tend to put out a lot of heat.

[linkin24]

Thanks for the advice, just need a bit more of advice and I should be set!



I ordered mostly everything today. I already have my intel d45psn motherboard, and intel pentium D 820 proccessor. To add to the build I bought the following, please tell me if these are good choices and is the power supply enough for a geforce 7800 GTX down the road?



http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16811146018 - NZXT Lexa no power supply - 129.99



http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817104155 - OCZ modstream 520 W PSU with a nice blue glow. - 108.99



http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16836121120 - some nice add on speakers (Logitech Z-5500 5.1) -$ 219.99



For now I have my Maxtor 250 GB 16mb cache running and Iomega DVD RW/CD-RW DL



Things I'm going to buy SOON:

(I'll probably have to get a nice sound card down the road here: any top of line sweeeet ones for 5.1 systems?)



(Video card is coming after christmas, but here is my two selections: leaning more towards the GTX )

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814130247 - eVGA Geforce 7800GT - $304.00

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814130254 - eVGA Geforce 7800 GTX - $469.00



RAM! This has to be bought in the next 2 days and willing to under 200 $$ for GOOD 2 X 1 GB...The one i wanted is out of stock on newegg:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820227060 - OCZ Value series (2 X 1 GB - 2 GB) DDR2 667 PC2 5400 - $166.44



However...I think I found a better one??? I'm not sure if this is better or if it will work with my motherboard but here it is:

http://www.directron.com/ocz26672gvpdck.html - OCZ Value PRO series 2 GB(2 X 1GB) DDR2 667 PC2 5400 w/ copper heat spreader - $169.00 on sale for $159.00. What exactly is a heat spreader and is it good that this one includes one because the other pair first mentioned doesnt. HOpefully this RAM is better and will work because its cheaper and I can order it NOW. Let me know thanks!