Hopeful new builder

[dapark65]

Is there any easy way to determine which components will be compatable with the other components you want to use when building your own computer? I am as green as they come when determining this, however, I am pretty good at the installation aspect. This will be my 1st attempt at building my own.

[Khalil]

Welcome to pcmech forums.
Essentially with current systems, it is either Intel or AMD. If you want an Intel CPU you need to get a motherboard made for Intel. Same for AMD.
Pretty much RAM standard now is DDR3.
Give us an idea what you are looking to do, your CPU brand preferance and we will help you pick hardware.
If you have no preference we will recommend builds for AMD and Intel.

It is a learning process and you have come to the right place to learn.

[dapark65]

K, Khalil. This is essentially what I have started looking at. Cooler master sickle flow fan, 120mm. Diablotek 400 watt ATX power supply. MSI AMD760G micro ATX DDR3 1333 AM3+ chipset. Asus PCI 5.1 channel soundcard Xonar_DG. Asus 24x DVD-RW serial ATA internal drive. Force3D AMD ATI radeon HD6450 2Gb DDR3 HDMI DVI VGA video card PCI express pciex 16 hd 1080p. Western Digital Blue 1TB 3.5 inch, 7200 rpm, sataIII, 64 MB cache hard drive. PNY Optima 2GB (2x1GB) Dual channel kit DDR2 667 Mhz PC2-5300 DIMM memory modules. TRENDnet Gigabit PCI adapter ethernet card TEG- PCI TXR. 300Mbps Lan 802.11 n/g/b wireless wifi network PCI card. I have an old Compaq Presario sr1503wm tower that I'd like to be able to use. I like playing games, and my wife basically surfs the web and downloads and burns pictures to cd.

[Khalil]

Where are you looking at these items? That Ram is obsolete.
The Compaq case I have used before to refurbish machines, the front case wiring is compatible with most motherboards.
Diablotek are not reliable power supplies. What sort of games are you looking to play? Give me examples. That video card you mentioned won't do much more than onboard video (not a gaming video card).

What is your budget?

[dapark65]

I am obviously not looking in the right place. lol. Amazon, all of the components listed were listed as new and there were 2-3 options of different suppliers to get them from. Give me some direction to go in. Doesn't have to be a true gaming computer. Like I said, my wife will be using it to download pics and burn to cd. I like Golf games ( lots of graphics), Tour of Duty, Halo, on-line MMORPG games.

[Force Flow]

What is your budget? That's usually the key question for purchasing new hardware.

To handle the games you listed, you will need a bit of horsepower.

[dapark65]

This will be 3rd time to try and post this. Keeps saying not logged in.

Power Suipply: Corsair CX500

Vid Card: ASUS HD7750-1GD5-V2 1 GB 128 bit GDDR5 PCI express 3.0x16

Memory: Corsair Vengeance 8GB DDR3 SDRAM DDR3

Chipset/ CPU: As a package: Gigabyte GA-970A-UD3 AM3+ 6Gbps;
AMD FX- 4170 4.2 GHz (4.3 GHz turbo) socket AM3+ quadcore

Hard Drive: Seagate Barracuda 2TB 7200rpm SATA 6Gbps 3.5"

Fan: Cooler Master DK9-7E52A-OL-GP compatible with AMD AM3/AM2

Soundcard: ASUS XONAR_DG 5.channels PCI interface

CD/DVD: ASUS DRW-24B1ST/Blk/B/AS SATA 24x DVD burner

I also added integrated LAN and Ethernet adapter. This setup is about $100 more than what I had before, but with no O/S.

[glc]

For a low budget gamer, you would be better off with an AMD APU setup, not a FX. Crossfire it with certain specific video cards for best performance, I don't remember exactly which ones would work best.

The Corsair CX series PSU's aren't very good.

You don't need a CPU fan or a sound card. The CPU comes with one, and today's motherboards have integrated sound and lan.

I do not trust Seagate hard drives - look at WD Black. 2 TB is *NOT* going to be cheap.

[dapark65]

Ok, let me look some more and see what I can come up with.

[dapark65]

Ok, I am up to $680 still with no O/S. I was trying to budget myself to $750 but really don't have a budget. I figure that is about 1/4 the cost of a mid to lower high range gaming system. Am I wrong? This is what I have thrown together now.

Vid Card: ASUS HD7770-2GD5 Radeon HD7770 GHz Edition 2Gb 128 bit GDDR5 PCI Express 3.0x16 HDCP ready crossfireX support video card.

Memory: Same as b4

CPU: AMD A10-5800K Trinity 3.8 GHz (4.2 GHz turbo) socket FM2 100w quadcore desktop APU (cpu+gpu) with DirectX 11 graphic AMD Radeon HD7660D. A series APU 4Mb L2 Cache.

Hard Drive: Western Digital WD Black WD1002FAEX 1TB 7200rpm SATA 6Gb/s 3.5" internal.

[glc]

No, you can't put a FM2 processor in a AM3 board. You don't need an Ethernet adapter, it will be onboard (LAN = Ethernet).

Let's wait till jdeb or khalil sees this, there are specific APU/video card combinations that work together.

You probably don't need 620 watts, let's see what video card you wind up with before deciding. Seasonic has 430 and 520 watt units too.

I'd recommend a DVD burner, not just a ROM drive.

Vengeance is great ram, but depending on the specific motherboard you wind up with, there may be a better choice.

[dapark65]

I found this P/S: Antec NEO ECO520C. 520 watt continuous ATX12V v2.3 80 plus certified active PFC P/S.

I also found this Motherboard: ASUS F2A85-M Pro FM2 AMD A85x (Hudson D4) SATA 6Gbps USB 3.0 HDMI Micro ATX AMD.

And this CD-DVD drive: ASUS 24x DVD Burner-Bulk 24x DVD+R 8x DVD+RW 12x DVD+R DL 24x DVD-R 6x DVD-RW 16x DVD Rom 48x CD-R 32xCD-RW 48xCD Rom Black SATA.

I could not find any memory that claims to be compatible with FM2.?

I dropped the Ethernet adapter.

I now stand at $660 with no O/S. Also, guess I should ask sometime about interior connection cables.?

I found guaranteed compatible memory on the Crucial.com webpage!!!
Crucial - CT2KIT51264BD160BJ: 8GB (4GBx2) 240 pin DIMM DDR3 PC3-12800 non- buffered, non-ECC. 1.35V 512megx64.

[Khalil]

Here is what I recommend

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

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16811119233

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16822136533

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813131872

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814121663

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817371030

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820104339

$640 without OS

[jdeb]

542.00 No OS but Has USB 3.0, Dual AMD Graphics
http://www.amd.com/us/products/techn...raphics.aspx#3

AMD A10-5800K Trinity 3.8GHz
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16819113280

GIGABYTE GA-F2A75M-D3H FM2 AMD A75
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813128570

CORSAIR Vengeance 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1866
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820233240

HIS H667FR2G Radeon HD 6670 2GB 128-bit
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814161421

Western Digital WD Black WD1002FAEX 1TB
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16822136533

ASUS 24X DVD Burner
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16827135204

Antec NEO ECO 520C 520W
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817371030

SilverStone PS08B Black Case
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16811163223

[glc]

THAT is what I was looking for, jdeb. That even lets you retire the Compaq case, which I think is overall a good idea. If you have another $100 you could even put a SSD in it.

The motherboard comes with four SATA data cables, so you shouldn't need anything else.

[jdeb]

This is the SSD I have been using for budget builds. Perfect for the installation of OS and Apps and then throw in the WD black that was already linked for storage. Probably all of the components listed will be even less on Wednesday for Black Friday. I bought a dozen of those cases at a good price and they are really nice.

Intell 330
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820167121

[dapark65]

Thanx very much guys. I appreciate your advice and the spending of your time to help me with this project. I actually had almost all of the components in both builds at 1 time or another, just not all together like that. That will make it much easier for me to work with.

Just a couple more questions. Is the Corsair Vengeance memory better and more reliable than the Crucial?

Also Jdeb: You had picked out the GIGABYTE GA-F2A75M- D3H motherboard; I had picked out the ASUS F2A85-M Pro (Hudson D-4) motherboard. Does the GIG work better in this build? Or is there a compatability problem?

Do I just buy a package deal of the 2 graphics cards or are they separate buys? Do you just install both into the build? Do I have to buy them from AMD or can I get them from newegg?

Again, thank each of you very much. Khalil, Jdeb and glc.

[glc]

You buy only ONE graphics card - it works in conjunction with the graphics circuit in the APU. That's what's meant by dual graphics in this case. Jdeb gave you a link for the graphics card. The AMD link was to educate us on the recommended pairings.

The Vengeance is your best bet - it's 1866 speed and still only 1.5 volts.

Unless someone tells me and you otherwise, I think the Asus board would be fine.

[dapark65]

Power Supply: Antec NEO ECO 520C

CD/DVD Drive: ASUS 24x

HDD: WD Black 1TB 7200 rpm

Memory: Corsair Vengeance 8GB(2x4GB) 1866 Mhz

Case: Cooler Master Mid Tower ATX

Graphics Card: AMD RADEON HD6670

CPU: AMD A10-5800K Trinity

Motherboard: ASUS F2A85-M PRO

O/S: Windows 8 (Full version) Home 64bit

Keyboard: Rosewill RK-8100 (RIKB-11003)

Mouse: Rosewill RM7500 2.4 GHz 1750/1500/1000/500

Monitor: Have not decided yet.


Cost: $758

[glc]

I highly recommend Asus LED backlight monitors.

By the way, Newegg's Black Friday sale online starts Wednesday at 1pm PST.

[jdeb]

Originally Posted by dapark65 Thanx very much guys. I appreciate your advice and the spending of your time to help me with this project. I actually had almost all of the components in both builds at 1 time or another, just not all together like that. That will make it much easier for me to work with. Just a couple more questions. Is the Corsair Vengeance memory better and more reliable than the Crucial? Also Jdeb: You had picked out the GIGABYTE GA-F2A75M- D3H motherboard; I had picked out the ASUS F2A85-M Pro (Hudson D-4) motherboard. Does the GIG work better in this build? Or is there a compatability problem? Do I just buy a package deal of the 2 graphics cards or are they separate buys? Do you just install both into the build? Do I have to buy them from AMD or can I get them from newegg? Again, thank each of you very much. Khalil, Jdeb and glc.

The Asus board is the better of the two. I was just trying to cut your cost down with a high quality alternative.

Both ram is good, I like the 1.5V 1866 ram with that APU, works great.

In my opinion, you should only get one graphics card to start. Dual graphics is supported with the built in graphics chip on the APU processor (A10). See the first link I provided in my original post, read the overview tab.

Technically, you can add an additional GPU for crossfire but run with dual graphics to start. Detailed dual graphics installation instructions will be found in your motherboard manual in section 6-2. Crossfire is explained in section 6-1.

[Khalil]

Sorry got extremely busy with the holiday sales, I am totally burried. The APU will work great. I forgot to put in a CPU in the build I suggested.
Thanks Jdeb for stepping and saving the day I like what you recommended and yes the Asus is a better board.