Advice for new build, please

[Cherlyn]

I'm wanting to build a new system. I've been reading the forum and the MOBO and Processor listed below are what I've seen being recommended. You all helped me back in 06 and I am needing your help again, please. All the technical stuff is very confusing. I mostly game on my system, but not real intensive stuff. Mostly casual games, but you never know what the future will bring.( Sims 3, Sims 2 and other stuff like that Don't laugh) I would like this build to last a while.

OS- I would like to go to Windows 7 64 bit and be able to have the XP mode capability. Should I go with the Home, Pro or Premium version? ( I had read somewhere, can't remember where, that sometimes a game or program will not work and you could switch to XP mode and get it to work. Maybe that was with Vista, shrug. I have XP on my system now.)

MOBO- I see you recommend the ASUS P7P55D-E but which one? Pro, LGA, or LX LGA

Processor- Intel i5-750 or i7-860? not sure. One is more GHz but don't know what the difference would be. I have a dual core now. Do I need a quad?

Graphics Card- Was thinking the Radeon HD 5770 would do, but which brand to get. ( I can't see myself ever needing more than one card.)

PSU- Corsair 650 w or do I need bigger?

Ram- Which one would I need? I want 4 gigs.

Hard Drive- WD Cavair Black 500 gb I have 2 HD's in my system now. I put all my games on one and the other has my OS and everything else on it. So should I get 2? or could I use one of the other ones with the Western digital

CD/DVD Burner- Suggestions? I've seen Lite-on recommended but which one?

Case-. I like the Antec 900 and 900 2. Are they pretty quiet? Was wondering if you can turn off those blue lights? My last case was an Antec Sonata II, but it's going to my son. Suggestions on this would be appreciated.

I have a keyboard, mouse and monitor ( 19" Dell LCD). I would like to go bigger on my monitor sometime soon but am worried it would stretch the games and distort them.

I hope I didn't forget any information you need to know. Thank you for any help you can give me.

[orbrit]

P7P55D-E LGA only supports 1 video card. If you want to Crossfire later, you may want the E-Pro.
Win 7 Home Premium does not have XP Compatibility mode.
What do you need it for?

i5-750 is more than enough CPU for gaming and everything else. Good balance of performance and future proofing though.
For gaming, the video card is more important.

HD5770 is a good card - I started with one and saw a vast improvement in my gaming.
I'm a little bit more than a casual gamer. I play 4-5 days out of the week for 2-3 hours each time.
I ended up adding a second in Crossfire, and it has made another significant improvement in my gaming.

I think people recommend Diamond or Asus as Sapphire has no direct consumer support channel. (I have 2 Sapphire 5770s and they have worked 100%.)

The Corsair 650TX or HX should be more than enough PSU. I have the 550TX and my Kill-A-Watt meter has never shown more than 280 Watts AC draw at the outlet (that's under CPU/GPU stress testing).

2 x 2Gb of Corsair 1600 MHz DDR3 memory
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820145260

This ASUS DVD Burner has the best ratings
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16827135204

The 900 /900 two cases are awesome, and with the variable speed fans can be pretty quiet.
I'd get the 900 two just to have the external fan speed controls and eSATA port on the front instead of firewire.

I don't think you can turn off the LEDs.

[Cherlyn]

Here's what I've come up with. Any changes that need to be made would be welcomed

Motherboard: Asus P7P55D-E LGA 1156
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813131620

CPU: Intel Core i3-530
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16819115222
I didn't think I would need a quad. If you think I do please let me know.

Graphic Card: Asus Radeon HD 5770
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814121363

Ram: Corsair: XMS 3 4GB (2x2GB) 240 Pin DDR3
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820145260

Hard Drive: WD Cavair Black 640GB
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16822136319

Optical: Asus DRW- 24B1ST Black SATA 24x DVD Burner
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16827135204

PSU: Corsair HX Series CMPSU 650 HX 650 W
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817139012
Should this be bigger?

Case: ANTEC Nine Hundred Two
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16811129058

OS: I am getting Windows 7 64 Bit

[glc]

All excellent choices. That power supply is plenty strong enough.

A quad won't help with games, but it will if you multitask heavily when you aren't gaming.

[Cherlyn]

Thank you all for your help in choosing parts. I ordered on Monday and all came on Wednesday. It's built and I installed Windows 7 Pro 64 bit.
I have a technical problem and not sure where to post it.
It freezes up randomly when on the net. I have to do a restart to get out of it. I have no idea what to do and was wondering if you had any suggestions.
If this is the wrong place to ask this I apologize.

[David M]

Are you getting a blue screen when it freezes? If so, write down the code and post it here. A mod will move it to the appropriate category if necessary.

[Cherlyn]

No it's not a blue screen. The mouse just freezes and I can't exit the site I'm on except to do a hard shutdown.

[David M]

First, after it freezes, have you tried unplugging and re-plugging the mouse?

Have you tried a Ctrl-Alt-Del? If so, does it show a particular application as "Not Running"?

Go into Safe Mode with the option to use the internet and see it you still get the freeze.

Try these things first to help determine the severity of the freeze.

Try deleting your browser and reinstall it.

Try a different browser and see if it still occurs.

Run a few different anti-malware scans in Safe Mode....AVG, Malwarebytes, Avast, Avira etc. Clean out your system with CCleaner.

[Cherlyn]

Ctrl-Alt-Del Does not work when it freezes I have to do a hard shutdown. I will try these other suggestions you have said and will get back soon.
Thank you

[David M]

Your welcome. Hopefully doing those things will narrow down the source of the problem or better yet eliminate the cause.

[glc]

Install the Asus PC Probe and monitor the CPU temperature - what does it run at under normal use?

Did you use the video driver that came with the card or did you download the latest from ATI?

[Cherlyn]

I downloaded the latest drivers from ATI.
I will get a black screen for a second or two then my screen comes back and a thing on the bottom far right of the task bar pops up and says
Display driver has stopped responding and has recovered
Display Driver AMD stopped responding and has recovered

I don't know what to do. I am very frustrated and feel very stupid.

[Cherlyn]

The Asus PC Probe registers 30- 31 C when just doing internet browsing.

[Nikon]

first off, dont feel stupid. I run my own tech business and i STILL find myself here with questions all the time.
computers are changing so much it is impossible to stay up to date on every aspect of the world of computers.

if the display drivers are crashing, check compatability with the OS you are using, double check to see if there are updates to the driver, and check to see if there are bios updates for your mobo.

i had a problem a while back with my mom's laptop was doing the same exact thing. a bios update fixed it, atleast until i put windows 7 on it, then it came back.

the infamous sleep crash. crashes on wakeup if you leave the screen up, but if you close it before it goes to sleep it does not crash. idk why.

[Khalil]

Have you tried reseating everything? As in turn off the machine, unplug everything. Take out the memory and video card then slowly put everything back in then boot again to see if you have any further issues.