My first attempt.

[Seducestition]

I'm trying to build a computer that can exceptionally handle multimedia which will mainly consist of gaming. I have absolutely no experience with building computers, so any suggestions or tips would be greatly appreciated. If you do suggest a component, please keep in mind that I'm limited to ordering from Amazon(please don't make me explain why). Right now I'm leaning towards a more cost-effective PC that will give a somewhat satisfactory gaming experience. Sorry if that's too vague.

Here's what I have so far:


Case:
NZXT Lexa Blackline

Aesthetically speaking, I kind of like it, though I'm worried if everything will fit.

PSU:
Corsair CMPSU-650TX 650-Watt TX Series 80 Plus Certified

Should be enough for my needs, right?

Mobo:
ASUS M4A89GTD PRO - AM3 - AMD 890GX - DDR3 - ATX Motherboard

CPU:
Phenom II x4 BE AM3 3.4Ghz 512KB 45NM 125W 4000MHZ

I'm unsure about this one; I do multitask often, but it's nothing too major. It's more like running a game while having Foobar play music.

HDD:
Western Digital 500 GB Caviar Black SATA 7200 RPM 32 MB Cache Bulk/OEM Desktop Hard Drive WD5001AALS

I was considering getting a separate 10,000 RPM hard drive to keep my OS and games in, though I wonder if it's actually worth it.

RAM:
Corsair TW3X4G1333C9A XMS3 4 GB Memory Kit fro PC3-10666 1333mhz 240-pin Dual Channel DDR3

An article mentioned that my board is only compatible with 1333's.

Optical:
I really don't know any reliable ones, so please post some suggestions.

Video Card:
Sapphire Radeon HD5770 Vapor-X 1 GB DDR5 2DVI/HDMI/DisplayPort PCI-Express Video Card 100283VX-2L

I picked that manufacturer because it's supposedly cooler than others.

I think I'll go with Windows Vista Ultimate 32 bit just for hardware compatibilities' sake.

[orbrit]

Vista 32 bit?
What hardware compatibility are you concerned about? Printer drivers? something else?

That case should be fine - I have a NZXT Gamma and I have two Sapphire 5770s in there.
Some may recommend the ASUS or Diamond cards, as Sapphire has no direct consumer support channel.
Don't think a 10k rpm drive will make much difference.

Everything else looks great.

DVD Burner
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16827135204

[strollin]

I don't understand your desire to use Vista Ultimate 32 "for hardware compatibilities' sake". Vista and Win 7 drivers are interchangeable so I can't see the advantage there. Win 7 is less resource intensive than Vista so I would definitely go with Win 7 over Vista. Is there a reason you need Ultimate? For most people Win 7 Home Premium is more OS than they really need.

Do you need to join a domain? Need Bitlocker encryption? Need XP compatability mode? These are the features of Ultimate that are missing from Home Premium. Unless you really need the above features, save yourself some money and go with Home Premium.

A 32 bit OS won't be able to fully utilize that 4G of RAM, more like 3.5G. If you'd like to be able to use all of your RAM or feel you may want to add more RAM in the future you'd be better off with 64 bit.

The only reason for going with Vista Ultimate 32 that I can see is if you already have it and don't want to put out the extra $$ to purchase a new OS.

As far as your hardware choices, they look fine. The 650W PS supply is probably overkill unless you think you might want to run multiple 5770's someday. Even so, the reason the 5770 runs cooler is because it's less power hungry, less power, less heat.

To me, one optical drive is as good as another unless you want BlueRay capability.

[Seducestition]

Thank you -- both of your posts were very helpful.

Originally Posted by orbrit That case should be fine - I have a NZXT Gamma and I have two Sapphire 5770s in there. Don't think a 10k rpm drive will make much difference.

Thank you very much for clearing those up. I've heard people are satisfied with Sapphire, so I think I'll just go with that, regardless of their customer support. I'll look into the drive you suggested.

Originally Posted by strollin I don't understand your desire to use Vista Ultimate 32 "for hardware compatibilities' sake".

To be honest, I don't understand it very much either. I read some reviews on Amazon and it seems that some people were having hardware issues with Win 7. Being that this is my first time, I decided to go with Vista. I'm just afraid that the 64-bit version would be incompatible with my applications, but I guess if I want to make the most out of this computer, then I probably should just go for it.

Also, on Amazon, the ram I chose states this in the description:

Corsair Memory is optimized for the Microsoft Windows Vista client operating system

This worried me a bit, though the reviews on Amazon show that it runs perfectly fine on Win 7. That being said, your posts gave me enough confidence to go with Windows 7 Home Premium 64 Bit OEM. Admittedly I didn't know the differences between Home and Ultimate, so thank you for clearing that up.

Originally Posted by strollin The 650W PS supply is probably overkill unless you think you might want to run multiple 5770's someday. Even so, the reason the 5770 runs cooler is because it's less power hungry, less power, less heat.

I agree, but like you said, it's more viable if I ever want to do something more. Plus, it's not that much more expensive ;]