New build

Conor108

Right I'm building a PC for the first time. I'm gonna put it under the TV as it will mainly be a HTPC but also used for games and internet surfing etc. Heres the specs I'm thinking of:

Case
DVD Burner/Player
CPU Cooler
Graphics card
HDD
Motherboard
CPU
RAM
Wi-fi Adapter

Now I'm just worried about a few things.
1. Will I have to buy a sound card or is there something onboard the motherboard?

2. Is that CPU cooler the only fan I need or will I need something else? I plan to OC the CPU. I think the graphics card is passively cooled.

3. Is all that stuff all I need to build the computer? I have a monitor, keyboard and mouse. Will that all be compatible?

Thanks

uberpixie

Conor108 wrote:

Now I'm just worried about a few things.
1. Will I have to buy a sound card or is there something onboard the motherboard?

Onboard sound built into the motherboard if you look at the spec.

Conor108 wrote:

2. Is that CPU cooler the only fan I need or will I need something else? I plan to OC the CPU. I think the graphics card is passively cooled.

CPU will come with a reference cooler, your choice in case should come with some fans.

If not: it takes X1 80mm fan as a intake fan and x1 120mm fan as an exhaust fan. These can be picked up very easily.

Forget about serious overclocking: the case you are looking at will not have the airflow for full on overclocking, it is not designed with that in mind at all.

If you want to seriously overclock get a full mid tower case and do it properly.

Conor108 wrote:

3. Is all that stuff all I need to build the computer? I have a monitor, keyboard and mouse. Will that all be compatible?

Overall from skimming over the spec very quickly, it seems fine.

But....

GFX card is very very weak, it all depends on how much you want to game?
(A 1950pro might be a better choice at circa €130 if you want to game half dacently)

Maybe change the burner and go for one with a sata connection:better for cable mangent and airflow, which wil be a very important issue with your choice of case.

(example sata burner)
http://www.komplett.ie/k/ki.aspx?sku=336633

CarefulNow

Go with this for the graphics card. Great price.
Edit: Just saw the 350w psu there. I think the recommended psu wattage for the x195pro is 450w.

uberpixie

CarefulNow wrote:

Go with this for the graphics card. Great price.
Edit: Just saw the 350w psu there. I think the recommended psu wattage for the x195pro is 450w.

TBH as long as the 350W PSU in the case is half dacent, he would prob get away with a 1950pro.

Conor108

Thanks for the replies guys I was getting the 8500GT because of the HDMI output and the the passively cooled thing as I'm trying to keep the build fairly quiet. Also I'm kinda trying to get the most bang for buck and keep the cost under E700 which I'm just about managing. One thing though, which of these RAM would be best?

http://www.komplett.ie/k/ki.aspx?sku=311292 1GB at 800Mhz
http://www.komplett.ie/k/ki.aspx?sku=312372 2GB at 667Mhz

Thanks

CarefulNow

Get the 2gb of ram.

Conor108

Right so. One last thing although I'm sure it's absolutely impossible but just in case. I have 512mb of RAM (2x256mb) spare. If I get the 2GB could I still add the 512mb?

8T8

If it's DDR-2 667 same as the stuff your buying then yes you can use it for 3GB of RAM total.

If it's not DDR-2 then it wont work, if it's DDR-2 but at a different speed e.g 533/800 then the system will clock the RAM speed down to the lowest common denominator.

Conor108

Ah right well it says DDR which I'm guessing is different to DDR-2. Will be ordering soon unless I erratically change my mind and opt for a PS3 but thats unlikely.

Anti

bite the bullet and get both

Conor108

Yeah I might. Damn that case is sold out before I could get one. Does anyone know where I can get it? Elara and Hardwareversand.com don't have it

8T8

No idea, I think CoolerMaster is phasing them out as they used to be on Dabs and Kustom PC's but not they are gone.

eBay is your best bet unless you change cases for something else.

Conor108

There's none on eBay or Elara.ie but I did find these Antecs for around the same price. Whats the opinion on these?

Antec Case 1

Antec Case 2

Fanwise are they OK? Will I need t buy fans for the cases?

Thanks

Conor108

Bump:)

Also will that GFX Card be ok for displaying games, movies etc. on a 42" plasma? Thanks

uberpixie

http://www.silentpcreview.com/article591-page1.html

seems like a great case.


GFx card is underpowered for gaming.

How well do you want to game high res?

If you want to do it well: 8800GTS 640mb/X2900XT 512mb minimum

Conor108

Gamewise I'll be playing SupremE Commander, Ghost Recon AW, C&C 3 and Flight Sim X, Also Fallout 3 and Stargate Worlds but there so far away I'll probably have upgraded by then. I could play most of them on low settings right? Its just the 8800gts is 300 almost! Would my card be better if it had 512mb instead of 256mb?

Anti

Not all cards are better if they have more ram. But with the new top end cards 8800/2900 the more ram the better.