First Build

[BlackChocobo]

Ok this is my first build, I have never touched the insides of a computer before. I've done a little research I guess and came up with parts i think are good and compatible, if any of the parts arnt compatible or im leaving any out plz tell me.

Case: Rosewill
PSU: Antec 550W
Mobo: ASUS A8N32-SLI Deluxe
CPU: AMD Athlon 64x2 4400+
HDD: Western Digital 320GB SATA
RAM: Corsair XMS 2x1GB
Pri Optical: NEC DVD+R Burner
Sec Optical: NEC DVD+R Burner
Sound Card: Creative
Video Card: EVGA 7800GT - want one that is sli capable in case I want to upgrade
FDD: Sony Floppy Drive
Keyboard: Microsoft
Mouse: Razer Copperhead - I Already Have It
Modem:
Lan:
Monitor: Rosewill 19''
Speakers: Creative 2.1
OS: Windows

Another question I have is with the modem and the Lan, I have DSL internet connection and i use a router so what is it that i actually need.

[Alaron]

Looks pretty good, just a couple tweaks.

No need for XMS ram, Value Select is fine. And you only need PC3200 if you arent overclocking.

You don't need 2 burners, the first one can be a plain DVDROM and you can still copy DVDs.

You can pick up a 7900GT for only a couple more dollars. Performs a bit better.

The motherboard will have a LAN port built in, should be all you need.

[BlackChocobo]

OK I took ur advice on getting the 7900GT because it wasnt much more expensive and I also saw that it will support Windows VISTA which I plan on getting after a little while. With the Ram I heard that for a good computer these days you should have 2-2.5 CAS latancy, but all the Value Select ones for 2 GB was at 3-4. I admit the ram i had selected was a bit pricy so i went and chose a cheaper corsair one where the specs werent that much diffrent. And another question I have is if a DVD burner reads just as fast or as well as just a DVD player, cause if it does I don't c why my 2nd optical drive shouldnt be another burner.

Here are the changes I made so far:

RAM: Corsair XMS 2x1GB
Video Card: eVGA 7900GT

[BlackChocobo]

Ok im pretty much decided on all the parts, but i didn't really like the case design that i currently had. I decided to get a new full tower case, the Thermaltake SHARK. I liked the design much better and it had great reviews from the users. There were a few problems that came up in some of the reviews that I had some questions on.

1. First off the side vents let in alot of dust. I saw another user said he put some material over it, to sort of act as a filter. I was wondering if that was a good idea and if so what kind of material i should use.

2. Reviewers said that the front fan rubs against a grate and dust shield so they should be removed. Is this going to cause any other problems?

3. quoted from a reviewer, "Expansion slots are easy to get to, but tooless design not compatible with some expansions, i.e. ASUS A8N32-SLI Deluxe MB has a couple of additional USB 2.0 ports I wanted to install. Bracket that holds expansion covers gets in the way so I won't be able to use it. Will have to use different slot covers and screw them in." I was wondering if i had to buy the diffrent slot covers or if they came with the stuff i got.

[blue60007]

The timings don't make much difference on AMD machines...the Value Select will work fine.

I'll tell you right now a Thermaltake is a lot higher quality than the Rosewill.

1) Of course any case is going to be bringing in dust, I wouldn't worry about it. The amount of dust being brought in would be the same with any case because you would be moving the same amount of air wheter you had one fan on the front or a bunch of holes on the side ...I would think the amount of air and dust being moved through wouldn't be any different (provided the same total CFM exhaust). I wouldn't worry about it unless you live in a high dust area (like Texas...)...I usually clean my computer out every 4 or so months and it's never that dusty...

2) The folks having those problems might be doing something wrong. I wouldn't think Thermaltake would sell a case that has that type of obvious problem. Reminds me of another case I was looking at. folks complained about the side panel latching breaking easily...turns out they didn't read the instructions and were doing something wrong and causing the problem themselves (used the wrong screws on the HDD bays and the screws got in the way of the panel making people force the panel on). Might be a similar issue, or the fan got knocked out of whack in shipment...

3) Tooless slots are a pain (why would you even need a tooless slot here? it's not like you'll be taking cards in and out every day and it's that hard to use one screw). It's the same for all Thermaltake cases that use it, I've heard of folks just taking the mechanism off and using screws...not sure if that case has the holes though...