First Build $1000 Desktop

[Allister]

Hi PCMech Community,

I want to build a desktop to replace my old laptop. The PC will be used for games, office work (excel, word) and some computer programming (MATLAB). I need everything except a mouse and the OS. I'm located in Canada so Im either using NCIX.ca or Newegg.ca. My Budget is $1000 (+Shipping & Tax). I plan to try overclocking. I've put together this system, are there any changes you might make ?

NCIX.com - Buy AMD Phenom II X4 955 Black Edition Quad Core Processor 3.2GHZ AM3 8MB Cache 125W Retail Box - AMD - HDZ955FBGMBOX - in Canada
NCIX.com - Buy ASUS M5A99X Evo ATX AM3+ DDR3 AMD 990X 3PCI-E16 2PCI-E1 1PCI USB3.0 SATA3 GBLAN Motherboard - ASUS - M5A99X EVO - in Canada
NCIX.com - Buy Western Digital WD Caviar Black 750GB 7200RPM 64MB Buffer SATA3 3.5IN Internal Hard Drive - Western Digital - WD7502AAEX - in Canada
NCIX.com - Buy Kingston HyperX KHX1600C9D3K2/8GX 8GB 2X4GB DDR3-1600 XMP Dual Channel Memory Kit - Kingston - KHX1600C9D3K2/8GX - in Canada
NCIX.com - Buy Antec High Current Gamer 620W 48A 24PIN ATX12V V2.3 Active PFC 80 Plus Bronze Power Supply 135mm Fan - Antec - HCG-620 - in Canada
NCIX.com - Buy Gigabyte Radeon HD 6870 Windforce 915MHZ 1GB 4.2GHZ GDDR5 2XDVI HDMI Display Port PCI-E Video Card - Gigabyte - GV-R687OC-1GD - in Canada
NCIX.com - Buy Fractal Design Arc Mid Tower Computer Case - Fractal Design - FD-CA-ARC-BL - in Canada
NCIX.com - Buy BenQ V2410 24IN LED LCD Monitor 1920X1080 5000000:1 Black HDMI - BenQ - V2410 - in Canada
NCIX.com - Buy Microsoft Digital Media Keyboard 3000 USB W/ Media Controls MAC/WIN - Microsoft - J93-00003 - in Canada
NCIX.com - Buy LG GH24LS70 24X SATA Lightscribe Internal DVD Writer Burner DVDRW Optical Drive Black OEM - LG Electronics - GH24LS70 - in Canada
Total comes to $1023 (-$30 MIR)

I could go to one of these cases to save some money:
NCIX.com - Buy Fractal Design Core 3000 Black ATX Mid Tower Gaming Computer Case 2X5.25 6X3.5INT No PS Front USB - Fractal Design - FD-CA-CORE-3000-BL - in Canada
or
NCIX.com - Buy Bitfenix Shinobi ATX Mid Tower Case Black 3X5.25EXT 8X3.5INT No PS Top USB2.0 Audio - BitFenix - BFC-SNB-150-KKN1-RP - in Canada


I thought about going with this bundle deal $328 + $5.99 Ground shipping for entire order (saves ~$50)
NCIX.com - Buy NCIX Gaming Bundle Deal AMD Phenom II X6 1090T Processor & Gigabyte 990FXA-UD3 USB 3.0 Motherboard - Bundle Deals - 1090T&990FXA-UD3 - in Canada

With the monitor, I could go smaller if it's a better screen.

Forgot I needed a wireless card so the desktop can connect to the internet.
TP-Link TL-WN851N Wireless N Dual Antenna Network Adapter Card 802.11B/G/N 2.4GHZ MIMO PCI

Looking for comments and suggestions the help is much appreciated,

Allister

[jdeb]

I like your original build. The one thing I would change is the ram. I prefer 1.5V for stability.

NCIX.com - Buy Corsair CMZ8GX3M2A1600C9 Vengeance 8GB 2X4GB DDR3-1600 CL9-9-9-24 Dual Channel Memory Kit - Corsair - CMZ8GX3M2A1600C9 - in Canada

or the low profile if you plan on adding an aftermarket cooler
NCIX.com - Buy Corsair CML8GX3M2A1600C9B Vengeance Bl Lowprofile 8GB 2X4GB DDR3-1600 CL9-9-9-24 Memory Kit - Corsair - CML8GX3M2A1600C9B - in Canada

What brand router do you have now?

[glc]

Is it not possible to connect to your router with an Ethernet cable?

[Allister]

I have a Linksys WRT54G2 V1 router.

I could connect via a cat5E cable, but it would have to be about 50ft and run through the house. I would probably trip over it a lot. I have always used a wireless laptop for internet use, is it a big improvement to use a wired connection ?

Are USB adapters just as good ?
NCIX.com - Buy D-LINK DWA-131 Wireless N Nano USB Adapter - D-Link - DWA-131 - in Canada

How is this ram ? It's a good price, not bad quality (based on Khalil's Memory brand rating) and 1.5 v
NCIX.com - Buy Mushkin Enhanced Blackline Frostbyte PC3-12800 8GB 2X4GB DDR3-1600 9-9-9-24 1.5V Dual Channel Memory - Mushkin Enhanced - 996995 - in Canada

[jdeb]

I would not get that memory, however the specs look good. I prefer to stick by my suggestion because I know it works. Muskin can be flaky but those look straight forward with the timings and voltage. They are not on the Asus QVL.

NCIX.com - Buy Linksys WMP54G Wireless PCI Adapter 54MBPS 802.11G - Linksys - WMP54G - in Canada

[glc]

There is no point in buying a "N" adapter unless you have a "N" router. The adapter jdeb recommended is the best match for your router, but other brands will work. If you want a cheaper one that's in stock, this one is decent:

NCIX.com - Buy Trendnet 54MBPS Wireless G PCI Network Adapter 802.11B/G - TRENDnet - TEW-423PI - in Canada

[Allister]

I changed the ram to the Corsair Vengeance, and the wireless card to the Trendnet network adapter (I can always go wired later). I also changed the monitor, 24" is a hair too big.

NCIX.com - Buy AMD Phenom II X4 955 Black Edition Quad Core Processor 3.2GHZ AM3 8MB Cache 125W Retail Box - AMD - HDZ955FBGMBOX
NCIX.com - Buy ASUS M5A99X Evo ATX AM3+ DDR3 AMD 990X 3PCI-E16 2PCI-E1 1PCI USB3.0 SATA3 GBLAN Motherboard
NCIX.com - Buy Corsair CML8GX3M2A1600C9B Vengeance Bl Lowprofile 8GB 2X4GB DDR3-1600 CL9-9-9-24 Memory Kit
NCIX.com - Buy Western Digital WD Caviar Black 750GB 7200RPM 64MB Buffer SATA3 3.5IN Internal Hard Drive - Western Digital - WD7502AAEX
NCIX.com - Buy Antec High Current Gamer 620W 48A 24PIN ATX12V V2.3 Active PFC 80 Plus Bronze Power Supply 135mm Fan - Antec - HCG-620
NCIX.com - Buy Gigabyte Radeon HD 6870 Windforce 915MHZ 1GB 4.2GHZ GDDR5 2XDVI HDMI Display Port PCI-E Video Card - Gigabyte - GV-R687OC-1GD
NCIX.com - Buy Trendnet 54MBPS Wireless G PCI Network Adapter 802.11B/G - TRENDnet - TEW-423PI
NCIX.com - Buy LG GH24LS70 24X SATA Lightscribe Internal DVD Writer Burner DVDRW Optical Drive Black OEM - LG Electronics - GH24LS70
NCIX.com - Buy Fractal Design Core 3000 Black ATX Mid Tower Gaming Computer Case 2X5.25 6X3.5INT No PS Front USB - Fractal Design - FD-CA-CORE-3000-BL
NCIX.com - Buy Microsoft Digital Media Keyboard 3000 USB W/ Media Controls MAC/WIN - Microsoft - J93-00003
Turns out, a 24" monitor will not fit on my desk (due to printer shelves) I changed to a 23" to be safe.
ASUS ML238H 23IN Widescreen LED LCD Monitor 1920X1080 2MS 10000000:1DC VGA HDMI

Do the parts come with all the necessary tools for installation, i.e. screwdrivers ? (I only have the larger sizes).

If everything looks good, I'll order early tomorrow night.

[glc]

No, it won't come with tools, but all you should need is a #2 Phillips screwdriver and maybe a small pair of needle nose pliers.

[Allister]

Ordered!

I did price matches on the ram and monitor. A couple items were very low in stock or coming from the suppliers. I hope both of these work out.

[Allister]

Hi PCMech,

All my parts have finally arrived, I have started the external build for the POST. I cannot find a suitable power connector for my graphics card. It looks like it takes 2 x 6 pin PCI-E connectors. My PSU has 2x (8 pin [6+2] ) ATX 12V

How should I connect power to the graphics card ?
My guess: use 2x 6+2, ignore the +2's.

[glc]

Yes, use the 6 pin portion of your 6+2 PCI-E connectors.

[Allister]

Thank you GLC, that worked.

I'm installing Windows 7 professional x64 (MSDN AA copy). I get error 0x80070017. From a quick search, this is caused by being unable to copy files from the DVD drive to the HDD.

I have tried with an Install disk I know works. It will not install. Is this poor installation of the DVD drive ? what can I do to overcome this ?

[Khalil]

Check the SATA cable connectivity to the mainboard and optical drive, if you have a spare replace it then and try windows again. If that don't work try another optical drive that can read dvd.

[Allister]

I led you astray, I was wrong. It was the medias that was bad. I created a USB boot drive and installation is at 64% now.

I'm going to stick around, maybe check out he folding@home programs, get Steam/play some vids and look into overclocking.

I'm sure I'll have more questions to follow, I appreciate the help and advice.

[Allister]

I have wireless problems

I can view my wireless networks. I cannot connect. It won't even get to the point of asking for my security code.

I installed the network adapter into the only PCI port on the mobo.

any ideas ?

I may have to try using a wired connection, if I can find a long enough cable.

[glc]

Your adapter is not compatible with Windows 7.

[Allister]

It says on the package Windows 7 32/64 bit compatible ? also Vista, XP, 2000 and 98SE. You are probably right, but why do you think this ?

EDIT: I see on NCIX it does not list Win7. On the box it does. Which takes precedence ?

[glc]

Newegg reviews indicate that it doesn't work with Win7/64. However, you could try downloading the driver from Trendnet and see if that helps.

TRENDnet | Downloads | Wireless | TEW-423PI (Version C1.xR)

[Allister]

That got me a little bit ahead. It says it is connected no, with no errors. The internet is still not actually usable. I can half load a plain-Jane Google page (very slowly).

I pinged my router (I don't know if that tells you anything):
I get anywhere from 0 -100% loss.
1-31 ms Avg 15ms round trip time is my best result

Others were 6 - 1531 ms Avg: 514 ms.

Is this just a very poor card or poor internet connection ? Is there something I could ?

[glc]

I'd suspect a defective card. Try it wired if you can to make sure something isn't hosed in Windows. Move the computer instead of trying to find a long cable.

[Allister]

Yes, you are right. I can connect through a wired shared connection (via laptop wireless) with no problems (500kB/s download on Steam).

Moving the computer isn't an option (rented room in house), but I am going to get a long wired cable. It will just be easier that way (as you suggested much earlier).

EDIT: from a local store I can get 50' cat5e($16) or cat6($20). Which is better ?

Thanks for the help

I have a question about temperatures. My CPU is around 40 C at idle (ASUS bios monitor). Is this high ? I had difficulties with setting the heat-sink. Im going to try out some games tonight, should I monitor the temperatures or try resetting the heat-sink ?

[glc]

Install Asus Probe and monitor the temperatures under load. 40c at idle is okay, but if it goes over 60 under load that's not good.

To properly install the heatsink, it needs to be done with the motherboard out of the case, supporting the underside of the board with your hand. Otherwise, the board flexes too much when pushing the pins down.

Either cable will be fine.