Newbie

[Mark16]

Hey Guys,
Im planning on building my first computer, so far i have some parts.
Could i post in what i have and could ye please advise me on what other parts would best operate with them.
Thanks
Mark

[doctorgonzo]

Welcome to the forums. Go right ahead and post what you are thinking of buying, we are happy to comment.

[Mark16]

Thanks,

ok so far i have;
Intel Pentium D 950 CPU Dual Core 3.4 GHZ 4 Mb Cache,
SAPPHIRE Radeon X1800XT 512MB DDR3 CROSS PCI EXPRESS
OCZ DDR2 PC2-6400 800mhz 2GB kit
Dvd-rw drive
Old soundblaster live card.

My biggest concern is gettin a board that supports intel express chipset, crossfire and 800mhz ram, i have not come across a board yet that show that spec. Could ye point me in the right direction please.
Also what kind of power supply wattage should i expect to need.
Thanks
mark

[Mr.Ferrari]

Which exact ocz kit? The platinum, titanium or gold? Or value? Bytheway good choice.

Now on the board. Do you want a Core 2 Duo Supporting motherboard or..something just supporting dual core? Do you have any specific feautures that your interested in besides crossfire?

Either way dont use that sound card. The motherboard onboard will beat it. Only upgrade over current motherboard onboards would be the Chaintech AV710, Audigy 2zs and up.

Dont forget the harddrive. I suggest a Sata Seagate 7200.10 in whatever gb you need.

[jayb1234]

Take a look at this one.

Power supply. Note that the board needs a 8 pin auxillary power connector (eps).

Here are a couple of others in stock at newegg that will support a Core 2 Dou processor.

Asus has a P5W DH Deluxe board that would work too, but out of stock.

[Mr.Ferrari]

If you go with a older just pentium D generation 975X then yes you need a eps p8 connector. But if he chooses the asus p5wdh you dont need the extra 4pin. Of course most if not all boards who need a EPS come with a ATX 12v P4 to EPS P8 adapter. But its always good to have native support.

Besides I really like the extra cooling that the eps version of the antec provides.

But before we go further on the powersupply you said you will be doing crossfire. Do you want to buy a crossfire compatible powersupply now? Or stick to a normal one and upgrade to a crossfire compatible psu when you upgrade to crossfire?

And I would personally suggest the ASUS P5WD2 over the foxconn. Its not a bad board but the Asus P5WD2 has proven to be a better one. Regarding features and stability.

[jayb1234]

P5WD2 does not support crossfire. The 2nd PCI-E slot is only X4.

[Mr.Ferrari]

Oh my bad I forgot they pulled the 975x version off of newegg.

http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/Produc...uctCode=247059
They have it at zzf though.

Otherwise I really dont see spending 250 on a last generation board. I would suggest you atleast get the p5wdh so if you ever want to upgrade to conroe in the future you can.

[Mark16]

Hey guys thanks for all the advice,

The ram i have is Gold edition

Upgradability is important to me so i suppose a board that supports core duo 2 and pentium d socket 775 would be cool if its possible, i have no intention of doing crossfire in the near future but would like the option of doing it.
My biggest concern is that i get a power supply and board that are not compatably with the parts i allready have.
So if anyone recommends board and power supply i will def check it out

mark

[Mr.Ferrari]

I suggest the asus p5wdh.
Asus P5WDH @newegg 270 In stock tomorrow.

Alright so would you like to buy a compatible powersupply for crossfire or do you want to get a powersupply that will just power your components *now* was my question.

And if your not sure whether youll do crossfire or not, why not just get a normal X1800XT and get a crossfire one in the future?

[Mark16]

Hey,

I allready have the cross fire x1800xt, and ill get the cross fire power supply now.
Would there be much of a price difference between a cross fire compatable power supply and a normal power supply?

[minsonngo]

You need a quality ATX 2.x PSU that is SLI or Crossfire certified. One that is pushing around 500 to 550w should be what you need.


Here is a suggestion:

Antec TRUEPOWERII TPII-550 ATX12V 550W Power Supply 115/230 V UL, TUV, CB, FCC CLASS B, CUL - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817103931


Here is a list of all the PSUs that are Crossfire CERTIFIED if you don't like the PSU I picked out:

http://www.ati.com/technology/crossf...dyourown2.html

[Mark16]

Cool, thanks everyone ill check them all out and leave ye know what i decide.

Thanks again
Mark

[Mr.Ferrari]

Yes it will be a little higher.

Powering crossfire, takes a whole lotta power more then powering sli with top of the line nvidia cards. Due to ati's higher power consumption, caused by basically the gpu's 300M transistors and bigger core design. Thats what you pay for to be able to run AA+HDR at the same time. lol.

Enermax Liberty 620W <---has modular cabling.

FSP Epsilon 700W

Mushkin 650W

OCZ 700W (OEM is FSP's 700W unit that I posted above, EXACT same powersupply, just cheaper)

Silverstone Zeus 650W

Any of these will do great, just pick the one that fits best in your budget and is most aestheticly pleasing.

[Mark16]

Hey,
Thanks for all the device, very informative.

SO ive decided to go for Asus P5WDH , looks like a fantastic board.
Still unsure of what power supply to get but now i know what kind of spec i need so will make my decision soon on that.
Also the hard drive you recommended is the one ill get too.

Just when im purchasing a case, is there anything i should be aware of that could possible cause problems.
Or would any ATX compatable case do.
It would be some pain if i got a case and the mainboard and case did not align correctly with the usb input and sound jacks and stuff like that. Could that be an issue?

thanks
Mark

[minsonngo]

Any case that takes ATX motherboards will do fine.

The only time you may find some "fitting" issues is if you buy low quality cases.

[jayb1234]

Any case on Intel's TAC list will be good.

Look for the ones without power supplies, like the Antec P180, or Thermaltake VA7000BWA.

I'm sure there are others without PSUs on the list, those are just a couple that came to mind.

[Spirit]

Hey, if I could make a suggestion...
I'd probably get a Core 2 Duo e6300 or e6400 over the Pentium D 950... I believe they are more powerful processors.

[Mark16]

Thanks Guys, ill keep that in mind,

Spirit id agree with you but i allready have the pentium d 950 so ill make due with that for a while.
Thanks

[Spirit]

Originally Posted by Mark16 Thanks Guys, ill keep that in mind, Spirit id agree with you but i allready have the pentium d 950 so ill make due with that for a while. Thanks

Ah, I didn't know >< stupid me.
Pentium D 950 isn't a bad processor It should be good for a while.

[Mark16]

No worries Spirit, at least with the board im getting i can have the option of updating to a core duo at a later date. So its all good

[glc]

The ports will all line up - the motherboard will come with an I/O shield, you just snap the one the case came with out, and snap the replacement in.