About To Order Parts for First Rig: (...help?)

[Sam-U-Rai]

Yeah so my mom's getting the money ready this upcoming week and i'm ordering the ones that I have left on my list.


SO FAR with my sis's help, I got:

1. AMD Athlon 3800+ (Single Core) AM2 CPU 2.4 GHZ

2. And a Sapphire X-1600XT


I'm GOING to get next week:

1. Gigabyte Socket AM2 Mobo with SLi

2. Corsair Value Select- 1 GIG (2x's 512 meg) 240 Pin DDR2 RAM

3. FSP Group 450 Watt+ PSU

4. Western Digital Caviar 80 Gig Sata HDD

5. Sony Black IDE-DVD ROM Drive Black

6. Kingwin 120 mm Fan for the case. (I have one on the side as well, these are my only fans)

7. and a Windows XP OEM for the comp.



Will these parts work well together? I think I did the parts right but I'm kinda iffy about the RAM. Is that the right type for AM2 Socket?


AND WILL These work well together? For the Gigabyte Mobo reviews on Newegg, they say the RAID drivers are kinda bad. I'm only having 1 HDD, is this still a bad choice for the motherboard?


All of this equals to about $446 WITH Shipping. ($427 without)


Any suggestions for a first build? What kinda strap will I need so I don't static shock the whole build YIKES!

[chuck4456]

What's your max budget ?

[Sam-U-Rai]

Obviously around $430 man. Really I don't want to go past it cause of Shipping.

[Sam-U-Rai]

Well, I switched around the PSU and MOBO


I just *fake ordered the Regular ATX AM2 Mobo from Gigabyte with just Nforce 4

and *fake ordered the 400 watt edition of the FSP PSU. I saved over 20 bucks on getting what I need. I really don't even want 2 vid cards in the same comp anyway.


*fakeordered = when you click on add to cart with all totals and see what you get but NOT to ACTUALLY buy it yet, just to see what it would come out to be.

[glc]

Why SLI when you are using an ATI video card? Get an Asus M2N-E.

See if you can squeeze a few more bucks for a Lite-On DVD burner.

Value Select ram will work, but it will definitely impact performance, you need DDR2-800 to do it right. If the value select is 667, that's not too bad, but if it's 533, forget it.

[Sam-U-Rai]

Yeah, you're right. The Asus Board is alot better. I don't mind if its 10 bucks more anyway, its just that for my build, every dollar counts.


And the Corsair DDR2 1 gig (2X's 512 meg) with (PC 5300) is what I'm getting.


Thanks for the suggestion.

[newbuilder14]

Everything looks fine. Good luck.

[Sam-U-Rai]

Originally Posted by newbuilder14 Everything looks fine. Good luck.

Thanks. Just one more question (sorry for bugging ya), even if I work at the Kitchen Table, should I go buy a Anti-Static Strap from like Radio Shack?

I'm still worried about something going wrong with the build. Ah well.

[newbuilder14]

No. I never used one and had no problems.

[chuck4456]

Touch a metal object prior to handling your pieces. If you have any questions while you are doing your build, we'll be right here. Good luck.

[Sam-U-Rai]

Thanks Chuck. I'll keep you posted when I build it.


I just made some pics today of the stuff I already have cause I was a little bored waiting for everything:

Xoxide.com's Pic of my Case: http://s78.photobucket.com/albums/j9...gAnch=imgAnch1

Front of My Case: http://s78.photobucket.com/albums/j9...gAnch=imgAnch5

Side of My Case:
http://s78.photobucket.com/albums/j9...gAnch=imgAnch7

My 3800+ :
http://s78.photobucket.com/albums/j9...gAnch=imgAnch4

My X-1600XT, Looks awesome, didn't open it yet though :
http://s78.photobucket.com/albums/j9...gAnch=imgAnch2

Now's here's the part about the Static Again. I know I don't need the Strap, I can deal with that. The only other major thing is should I move the Kitchen Table more towards the Kitchen Tile in this pic when I'm building?:

http://s78.photobucket.com/albums/j9...gAnch=imgAnch1

[rspassey]

Do what makes you feel most comfortable. If you think you should move it, then move it. If you want the strap, then go buy one... I don't use one, but I probably should.

[Sam-U-Rai]

Originally Posted by rspassey Do what makes you feel most comfortable. If you think you should move it, then move it. If you want the strap, then go buy one... I don't use one, but I probably should.

Thanks man. Damn, I ask you guys WAYY too many questions. Seriously, thanks for the time being. Great suggestions and I'll post another thing when Im actually gonna build (day of building )


...you can quit helping me now lol.

[blue60007]

What about working from the bench (or what looks like one)? I'd just stay on the tile side - that'd be better than the carpet side.

Just be careful - you don't want to scratch up the table by sliding the case or the motherboard around on the table (run the out of case test with the motherboard on the box it came in - that'll prevent that).

[Sam-U-Rai]

Originally Posted by blue60007 What about working from the bench (or what looks like one)? I'd just stay on the tile side - that'd be better than the carpet side. Just be careful - you don't want to scratch up the table by sliding the case or the motherboard around on the table (run the out of case test with the motherboard on the box it came in - that'll prevent that).

Oh don't worry about the table lol. Its pretty scratched up already. It has that layer that you spray ontop of Wood Tables so its fine. We've had it for a long time so don't worry.


Good idea about the bench. But what's the Motherboard test you're talking about? Never heard of that.

[glc]

http://forum.pcmech.com/showthread.php?t=132409

You could and should cover the table top with cardboard, plastic, or newspaper if you are going to building on it.

[Sam-U-Rai]

Originally Posted by glc http://forum.pcmech.com/showthread.php?t=132409 You could and should cover the table top with cardboard, plastic, or newspaper if you are going to building on it.

You got it. That test sounds good for debugging as well. Thanks. The only part I didn't get in it was the part about shorting the power switch connector with a screw driver. Now how in heavens do you do that?

I guess I'll only need that if I get DOA parts. *prays that Newegg doesn't send defectives lol.

Thanks alot man.

[glc]

All you do is tap across the 2 posts the power switch connects to with a small screwdriver blade - it should start up.

I would do that test before mounting the board in the case. I've been building for over 10 years now and I do it on every single build and motherboard upgrade. It has saved me a lot of time over the years when I screw up or get bad components - I don't have to rip it all apart again. Remember, you want to install the CPU and ram before putting the board in the case anyway!

[Sam-U-Rai]

Originally Posted by glc All you do is tap across the 2 posts the power switch connects to with a small screwdriver blade - it should start up. I would do that test before mounting the board in the case. I've been building for over 10 years now and I do it on every single build and motherboard upgrade. It has saved me a lot of time over the years when I screw up or get bad components - I don't have to rip it all apart again. Remember, you want to install the CPU and ram before putting the board in the case anyway!

Yeah I know. I've learned alot from various tutorials but I found the Corsair System Guide kicks ass. I think that'll help me alot with my build.


So, you build these for a living? Thats cool. I'm into Programming right now with BASIC so it MIGHT lead me somewhere. Other than that, I have NO idea what the heck to do in College haha.

[newbuilder14]

Is AM2 still having memory issues? Should the DDR2667 work?

[glc]

DDR2-667 will work fine with AM2 as long as its compatible ram - but it will lose performance compared to DDR2-800.

[Sam-U-Rai]

Originally Posted by glc DDR2-667 will work fine with AM2 as long as its compatible ram - but it will lose performance compared to DDR2-800.

Yikes! I'm on a budget and I HAVE to get DDR2 (PC5300) Ram. I'm using my computer for some games, music, and videos from Youtube and Programming.


Will I like lose performance in RAM-required games like BF2?


*I've had BF2 since release, but couldn't play it on an E-Machine :roll:, can't wait.

[blue60007]

I bet BF2 would like quantity of RAM more than speed.

[Sam-U-Rai]

UPDATE: I got my Anti-Static Strap today and am ordering the other suggested parts later tonight.

[Sam-U-Rai]

It says you're supposed to attach the one part to the thing that's static free (I'm guessing the case) and the other part aka strap onto your hand....


Any explanation on how this kinda thing works lol?

[blue60007]

Should be a clip on one end to clip on to the case and your hand slips through the "braclet". There's a metal bit that makes contact with your wrist.

[Sam-U-Rai]

Originally Posted by blue60007 Should be a clip on one end to clip on to the case and your hand slips through the "braclet". There's a metal bit that makes contact with your wrist.

So THAT'S what the Clip's for. Thanks .

[Sam-U-Rai]

I'll keep you guys updated so you can help me throughout the build. If I order it today.... with UPS 3 day shipping, shouldn't it come around Mon or Tues? Hopefully not Wed lol cause the day I get my rig.... you kinda won't see me in School I'll be playing it all day. Plus I need a friggin' day off. I've been sneezing so much lately. Damn allergies... I think.


Thanks guys so far: GLC, Blue, everyone .

[Sam-U-Rai]

Just ordered my parts for the first build this lovely Monday Night .



Now, I need some help. To prepare for the build, I got the Anti-Static Strap, a phillips screw driver, and have moved the work bench more into the kitchen.


Anyway, I need Drivers for the parts themselves. I'm not too skilled in this and was really confused on what drivers to get for each part. If someone could read my part list and find the drivers (please help a newbie ), that'd be great dude.

Post links if you can as well . Keep you posted!


-Samu

[Sam-U-Rai]

1. Asus AM2 M2V Mobo
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813131024

2. Corsair Value Select- 1 GIG (2x's 512 meg) 240 Pin DDR2 RAM
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820145568

3. FSP Group 450 Watt+ PSU
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817104953

4. Lite-On Dvd Drive IDE-Rom http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16827106027

5. Windows XP OEM

6. Segate 80 gig http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16822148148

AND These 7. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16812104655

(Question 2: Will these Sata cables work with the mobo?)