Learning how to build my first computer, need help with part choices

[matt99881]

This is my first time building a computer and I would like to spend somewhere around $500 in total, and my goal is for this to be a gaming computer. I'm 15 and I have a strong passion for computers and I believe this will be the best experience I can give myself.

I currently have a monitor, keyboard, mouse, and video card ready for the computer, and I realize speakers are not yet in that list.

Since I am new, I would appreciate help determining how to know what parts I should chose, and what to look for. Any help would be great, and I hope that you can bear with a newbie. Thanks for all the help you can give, and I will try to give as much input and be as specific as I can.

[Jbc223456]

Alright, I'll help out a little and post links. It's hard for me to view any of the links or the word document itself.

Your current setup will be in quotes, and my responses will be in bold.

Rosewill ARMOR and Rosewill RP600V2-S-SL 600W PSU Combo

The case is decent. Purchasing a computer case is all up to personal preference. If you want it to look snazzy or have LEDs, then it's up to you. Any case will work. You don't have to have a fancy one. Like I said, it's up to you. However, if you are going for a cheap ($500) computer build, then cutting costs by buying a cheaper computer case is the first thing you are going to want to do.

As for the PSU.. Rosewill isn't known for their quality PSUs. The recommended brands around here are Corsair (except the 'CX Builder Series'), Antec, and Seasonic.

I could not find an AMD processor named Phenom II X4. Did you mean the Athlon II X4?

AMD Athlon II X4 635

I cannot comment on AMD as I do not have experience with them. I'm sure a few of the others around here will be able to help you more with those. However, I will also recommend the new Intel I3 series, such as the 540. Games are GPU intensive, and a decent Dual-Core such as the I3-540 would do well. I am not trying to sway you either way though.

I couldn't find the CPU cooler that you have listed. However, I will say that without overclocking the CPU, you will not need one. The stock heatsink and fan will be more than adequate for the job necessary. Plus, an aftermarket cooler voids the warranty on the CPU.

XFX ATI Radeon 5770

I would try to stay away from the XFX brand for GPU. The recommended brands around here are EVGA, Diamond, Sapphire, and Asus. Other than that, the 5770 should be a decent GPU, unless you are looking for max settings.

M4A77TD AMD 770

Asus is a good manufacturer. Just about as good of a manufacturer as you can get. Remember, that this motherboard will only natively run 1066GHz RAM, so your RAM will need to be 1066 unless the CPU is overclocked. Any further than that, I cannot comment on AMD.

Seagate Barracuda 500GB

I would try to stay away from Seagate. The recommended brand for HDDs around here is Western Digital. For your purposes, a 500GB Western Digital Caviar Black would do.

I'm not very acquainted with Sony drives. I think I remember some of the users around here saying that they are okay. I personally like ASUS. Another brand that I believe is recommended is LG.

Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi Xtreme

A sound card is nice, but why not just cut that out of the budget for now? You can try the onboard audio first and see how well it does for you. You can always buy a card and install it later.

Rosewill RC-401

I don't see the use of a network card that is internal that isn't wireless. That one isn't. Your motherboard already has a RJ45 ethernet jack on it.

Along with all of the above, you are still going to need an OS

[glc]

Case: Rosewill ARMOR ATX Mid Tower (COMBO WITH PSU) $99.99
Power supply: Rosewill RP600V2-S-SL (COMBO WITH PSU) $59.99
CPU: AMD Phenom II X4 635 $99.00
CPU Cooling: CC-TranQ-01-A $39.99
Memory: CORSAIR 4GB (2 x 2GB) $74.99
GPU: XFX 5770 1GB $0.00
Motherboard: M4A77TD AMD 770 $79.99
Hard drive: Seagate Barracuda 7200rpm 500GB $49.99
CD Drive: SONY Black CD-ROM DVD-ROM Drive $16.99
Sound Card: Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi Xtreme Audio $39.99
Network Card: Rosewill RC-401 $21.99

1. Rosewill cases are okay, but their power supplies are not.
2. You do not need the cooler, the CPU comes with one.
3. You can buy name brand DDR3-1333 memory for 50 bucks. In addition to Corsair, look at Crucial, Kingston, and A-Data.
4. A 500 gb WD Black is only 10 bucks more than the Seagate and it's a much better drive.
5. A Sony DVD burner is only 3 bucks more.

Lose the sound card and network adapter.

[matt99881]

Well after doing some editing I shaved off quite a bit of cash. Here's some of the things I edited:

Case: Thermaltake V3 Black Edition
Power Supply: Antec BP550 550W
Hard Drive: Western Digital 7200rpm 500GB

And I took out the sound card and network card, I didn't realize that the motherboard already had those.

Anyways here's pretty much version 2. More input is greatly appreciated!

[jdeb]

That looks better. Nothing to add, the other two posters covered your bacon.

[matt99881]

Now being a complete noob to this, I'm just wondering if there is anything besides an OS that I need to make this work. (any extra cables, screws, anything I will need)

[Jbc223456]

Usually the case, motherboard, psu, etc.. will come with the necessary screws and everything else that is usually necessary to put it together. I know my Antec Nine Hundred case came with a ton of screws and standoffs. My motherboard came with standoffs, screws, an IDE cable, and four sata cables. The PSU has all the power connections covered.

[matt99881]

Alright sounds good. Also, how well will this fare in gaming? I know the CPU is a bit weak, but my GPU and RAM are alright so I'm really hoping this will get about medium settings in todays games. This computer is NOTHING compared to the computer I have right now but I'm hoping to have this as a secondary gaming computer.

Current Setup:
AMD Phenom II X6 1055T
XFX 5850
4GB (2x2GB) 1600MHz
ASUS M4A77TD
600W PSU
1TB Harddrive

*Also, my last (possibly most important) question: are these parts compatible?

[glc]

The video card is WAY more important than the CPU for gaming.

[Nikon]

as of right now, the hex core cpu's from amd have shows rather low performance in gaming compared to their quad core counterparts. i feel the 970 would be your best bet for a gaming computer, and besides that, no game uses 6 threads. most use 2, some go up to 3, rarely one uses 4.

as glc said, in a gaming computer, the rule of thumb is 'get the best videocard your budget will allow."

edit: glc, where did you find that phenom 635 for 99 bucks? insane deal.
re=edit: glc!!!! how could you? lol thats an athlon, not a phenom!!! you had me going for a second there... lol!

[matt99881]

Sadly I might have to stick with the Athlon 635, I don't really have the cash right now to jump to the Phenom.

And sorry Nikon, in my document I had started with a Phenom, but dropped down to an Athlon and changed the link, but forgot to change the name. Hence the outrageous deal for a Phenom :P GLC just copy pasted the information from my document

EDIT: Decided to go with the M4A87TD ($79.99, great deal) in case I want to crossfire