Is this a good first build??

jak/mar · 13-07-2009 8:45pm #1

I'm building my first pc and I'm gonna use it for gaming and this is what I have planned:
ASUS P5Q, P45, Socket-775,ATX, DDR2, GbLAN, Firewire, PCI-Ex(2.0)16
Corsair TWIN2X PC6400 DDR2 4GB KIT CL5,Kit w/2x 2GB XMS2-6400 dimm's, CL5-5-5-18, 800MHz
Intel Core™ 2 Quad Q9550 2.83GHz Socket,LGA775, 1333MHz, 12MB, BOXED w/fan
AXP Powersupply ATX 630W Retail SLI,SATA, Dimension mm(163x150x85) 20+4 pin
NZXT Tempest

But that power supply doesnt have any IDE connections right????because I have two IDE hard drives. Suppose I'll have to get a Western Digital Caviar SE16 500GB SATA2,16MB 7200RPM.
Can anyone help me choose a good but cheep graphics card that will cope with today's games??
Thanks:cool::P

StopNotWorking · 13-07-2009 9:19pm

If I was making a new computer it would be AMD or i7. Unless you have your heart set on LGA775 I would look into the PhenomIIs.

Aside from that.. the power supply might be a bit much, Maybe look for something in the 650w range. You should be able to get a modular one for little more than the price of the 750w.

Power supplies do still come with IDE power. The problem is your MoBo has no slots for it. You'll need to look for some IDE-SATA converter cables.

For the case I would look into an Antec300 or Cooler Master 590. Good cases for your price range, better then the one you listed anyway.

RAM is.. decent, must be very cheap. Over 2GB its more about speed then quantity so maybe look into some PC2-8000 chips, or something around that region.

Depending on what CPU/MoBo you go with you can with a medium GPU or a high end one. The ATI 4890 is dropping to ~180E while the 4870 is nearing the 140 mark.

Which P5Q are you getting? The Pro,Deluxe or vanilla one?

jak/mar · 13-07-2009 9:34pm

StopNotWorking wrote: »

If I was making a new computer it would be AMD or i7. Unless you have your heart set on LGA775 I would look into the PhenomIIs.

Aside from that.. the power supply might be a bit much, Maybe look for something in the 650w range. You should be able to get a modular one for little more than the price of the 750w.

Power supplies do still come with IDE power. The problem is your MoBo has no slots for it. You'll need to look for some IDE-SATA converter cables.

For the case I would look into an Antec300 or Cooler Master 590. Good cases for your price range, better then the one you listed anyway.

RAM is.. decent, must be very cheap. Over 2GB its more about speed then quantity so maybe look into some PC2-8000 chips, or something around that region.

Depending on what CPU/MoBo you go with you can with a medium GPU or a high end one. The ATI 4890 is dropping to ~180E while the 4870 is nearing the 140 mark.

Which P5Q are you getting? The Pro,Deluxe or vanilla one?

Well I edited the power supply there.
Thanks for the new case there as it is much cheeper than the one I had there.
Ok for the ram here is a new one Corsair TWIN2X PC8500 DDR2 4GB KIT CL5 Kit w/2x 2GB XMS2-8500 dimm's, CL5-6-6-18, 1066MHz, E.P.P
"You'll need to look for some IDE-SATA converter cables."
No problem got it sorted with deal extreme:Dhttp://dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.706 could be dodgy though:o
New mobo?? Is this ok?? http://www.komplett.ie/k/ki.aspx?sku=352402&view=detailed#ProductTabs

StopNotWorking · 13-07-2009 9:41pm

P5Q is a good board, I never had any problems with it(except the long boot times). Don't waste money on what you don't need though. I got the Pro and although I dont regret it I do look at the empty PCI-E slot and wonder what I could of bought with the money saved if I bought a cheaper MoBo.

Wait for someone good to post though, I'm probably wrong about 80% of the stuff I posted:rolleyes:

Solitaire · 13-07-2009 9:43pm

Where are you getting the parts from? I know HWVS have the Q9550 pretty cheap at the moment...

The good news is that Axpertec have SFC as their OEM, so their budget supplies don't suck too bad. The bad news is that that unit is a relatively old model. It may look quite shiny but it only has two SATA connectors, and unlike almost any modern 500W+ PSU it lacks the full 8-pin EPS connector. That WILL cause a problem with most decent ATX LGA775 mobos. You need a PSU with a 4+4 or 8+4 pin ATX12V/EPS connector.

GPU depends on monitor resolution (not size). If its 1280*1024 or lower anything above a HD4850 is overkill, and if you can find a big enough price difference a HD4830 will do just fine. If 1440*900 a cheap HD4850 is perfect. At 1650*1080 a HD4850 will still pack a punch but you could also look at the "old" GTX260 or the 512MB version of the HD4870 if they can be had under €120 and your budget can stretch (also best if your monitor maxes at 1600*1200). For 1080p (1920*1080) and higher a 55nm GTX260 (216 core) or a 1GB HD4870 is the minimum. Without going multicard a cheap HD4890 is your best bet as the GTX275 is still quite pricey and the GTX285 is terrible value in most places.

EDIT: Slow typing FTL. Why the Deluxe? The Pro has most of the fuctionality (including CrossFire and ALC1200 sound) while remaining a good €26 cheaper...

jak/mar · 13-07-2009 9:52pm

Solitaire wrote: »

Where are you getting the parts from? I know HWVS have the Q9550 pretty cheap at the moment...

The good news is that Axpertec have SFC as their OEM, so their budget supplies don't suck too bad. The bad news is that that unit is a relatively old model. It may look quite shiny but it only has two SATA connectors, and unlike almost any modern 500W+ PSU it lacks the full 8-pin EPS connector. That WILL cause a problem with most decent ATX LGA775 mobos. You need a PSU with a 4+4 or 8+4 pin ATX12V/EPS connector.

GPU depends on monitor resolution (not size). If its 1280*1024 or lower anything above a HD4850 is overkill, and if you can find a big enough price difference a HD4830 will do just fine. If 1440*900 a cheap HD4850 is perfect. At 1650*1080 a HD4850 will still pack a punch but you could also look at the "old" GTX260 or the 512MB version of the HD4870 if they can be had under €120 and your budget can stretch (also best if your monitor maxes at 1600*1200). For 1080p (1920*1080) and higher a 55nm GTX260 (216 core) or a 1GB HD4870 is the minimum. Without going multicard a cheap HD4890 is your best bet as the GTX275 is still quite pricey and the GTX285 is terrible value in most places.

Im getting the cpu from http://www.elara.ie/products/detailsfullft.asp?productcode=ECE1466341#spec.
My screen res is 1280x1024.
Sorry I'm a noob can you suggest a psu?? please:cool:

StopNotWorking · 13-07-2009 10:02pm

If you can buy all your stuff from one place then do OP. It'll save you money on shipping.

If you are planning on keeping the monitor you have then go with a 4850. You really dont need anything more then that.

As for the PSU?
http://www.pixmania.ie/ie/uk/674941/art/corsair/cmpsu-650txeu-pc-power-un.html

Something like that, if you can find a good brand 650w modular for under 120 then all the better.

jak/mar · 13-07-2009 10:14pm

Well I'm gonna have to leave the hard drive as its going over my budget,way over it in fact:o.
Well deal extreme here I come to get those adapters.:p

StopNotWorking · 13-07-2009 10:19pm

What's your budget? Whats putting it over?

Effluo · 14-07-2009 12:40am

don't ide-sata adapters come as standard with mobo's?

StopNotWorking · 14-07-2009 12:57am

I didn't get any with my one.

jak/mar · 14-07-2009 6:26pm

StopNotWorking wrote: »

What's your budget? Whats putting it over?

My budget would be around €500 but it depends on how much money I can get from selling my DS PS1 abd PS2 games.
The Hard Drive is putting it up to €600 but forget that cause my dads getting me a sata drive.
Thing is everything costs about €550 without a graphics card. So I mightn't get a Graphics card at the time being. Just get the essentials first.:(

Solitaire · 14-07-2009 6:34pm

If that's your budget you're crazy blowing over a third of it on the CPU alone... a C2D or X3-720BE-based build is far more realistic IMHO. Leaving an absolute maximum of €50 for the graphics card on a gaming build ain't gonna get you very far at all

jak/mar · 14-07-2009 6:42pm

Solitaire wrote: »

If that's your budget you're crazy blowing over a third of it on the CPU alone... a C2D or X3-720BE-based build is far more realistic IMHO. Leaving an absolute maximum of €50 for the graphics card on a gaming build ain't gonna get you very far at all

Yeah and what makes me sick is that I would have a bigger budget if I didn't spend €300 on an xbox:mad::mad::(:(

Edit: Changed some stuff and got it down to €510.
What I changed was the processor down to Intel Core™ 2 Quad Q8300 2,5GHz
Socket 775, 4MB, FSB 1333Mhz, Boxed w/fan which is slightly cheaper.

Solitaire · 14-07-2009 7:48pm

Q8300 isn't much cop really...

Crisis control time...

You should be able to hit 3-3.2GHz on stock cooler without too much messing (unlocked multiplier). Graphics are great up to 1650*1080, bit limited past 1080p (1920*1080). Well under budget just in case you do need a new HDD and/or DVD burner. Case already has a 120mm exhaust, spec a second 120mm fan if you want an intake (case actually has a proper intake grille unlike most budget cases - then again it beats the hell out of most budget cases, period.)

jak/mar · 14-07-2009 8:18pm

Solitaire wrote: »

Q8300 isn't much cop really...

Crisis control time...

You should be able to hit 3-3.2GHz on stock cooler without too much messing (unlocked multiplier). Graphics are great up to 1650*1080, bit limited past 1080p (1920*1080). Well under budget just in case you do need a new HDD and/or DVD burner. Case already has a 120mm exhaust, spec a second 120mm fan if you want an intake (case actually has a proper intake grille unlike most budget cases - then again it beats the hell out of most budget cases, period.)

Thanks but where can I get these at these prices??

Edit: Oh yeah how would I get the CPU up to that speed since it runs @2.8 GHZ Overclock it??
How?? Cause I've never done it before

Solitaire · 14-07-2009 8:45pm

For most things the X3-720BE would probably beat the Q8300 at stock :P

Overclocking a BE processor on a motherboard with the SB750 southbridge is mostly done in software so there's minimal messing in the BIOS to be done, unlike a "locked" CPU where you have to screw with the bus speed to make it go faster

jak/mar · 14-07-2009 8:49pm

Solitaire wrote: »

For most things the X3-720BE would probably beat the Q8300 at stock :P

Overclocking a BE processor on a motherboard with the SB750 southbridge is mostly done in software so there's minimal messing in the BIOS to be done, unlike a "locked" CPU where you have to screw with the bus speed to make it go faster

Ok thanks but where can I get these??
And if I do want to Overclock it could you guide me through it please??:cool::cool:

BeansBeans · 15-07-2009 1:46am

Those parts are all from hardwareversand its a screenshot of the basket.

Delivery is €30 flat rate, even if its a monitor or just a fan it wont change.

As he said it really is very simplistic to overclock using provided software. If you want to go deeper into it theres loads of guides around. ExtremeOverclocking forums would be one site.

StopNotWorking · 15-07-2009 12:38pm

Software OCing can be dreadful at times though. Best to get yourself used to the BIOS for OCing. It's really not hard, just a matter of using the arrow keys to crank open the fsb(if OCing that thing is as easy as Ive been told).

Solitaire · 16-07-2009 2:50am

Not FSB (unless you want to

), the Black Edition parts have unlocked multipliers. Y'know the Multiplier thingy (that can be changed in software by certain apps as well as BIOS) that you rarely touch as it starts off as high as it'll go? With a BE the stock value isn't the highest - they usually go up to 25 or more! Just increase the value and that number *200 is the clock speed (unless you change the FSB from 200 of course!)

Unlike Intel E5X00 the P2 BEs seem to have a much sharper derating curve. So if it starts life at 2.8GHz (14 mult) you can often bump the mult to 15-16 (3-3.2GHz) and not require any overvolting or additonal cooling. Downside is that once you hit 3.6GHz with decent air cooling the whole thing starts to go sideways with near-exponential increases in voltage requirement past that

But for minor OC the X3-720 is very good value - with minimal fuss (unlike fiddling with Intel CPUs FSB and memory multipliers and stuff!) you can have a 3.2GHz tri-core for a shade under €110

marco_polo · 16-07-2009 10:02am

Solitaire wrote: »

Not FSB (unless you want to ), the Black Edition parts have unlocked multipliers. Y'know the Multiplier thingy (that can be changed in software by certain apps as well as BIOS) that you rarely touch as it starts off as high as it'll go? With a BE the stock value isn't the highest - they usually go up to 25 or more! Just increase the value and that number *200 is the clock speed (unless you change the FSB from 200 of course!)

Unlike Intel E5X00 the P2 BEs seem to have a much sharper derating curve. So if it starts life at 2.8GHz (14 mult) you can often bump the mult to 15-16 (3-3.2GHz) and not require any overvolting or additonal cooling. Downside is that once you hit 3.6GHz with decent air cooling the whole thing starts to go sideways with near-exponential increases in voltage requirement past that But for minor OC the X3-720 is very good value - with minimal fuss (unlike fiddling with Intel CPUs FSB and memory multipliers and stuff!) you can have a 3.2GHz tri-core for a shade under €110

Indeed is so easy, even I was able to do it without cremating anything.

StopNotWorking · 16-07-2009 1:10pm

Sounds a little too easy if you ask me! I'll never trust an amd user after finding this out ¬.¬

I just dropped my wage on a Q9550 so my plans to go AMD are out the window for a very long time.(but knowing me I will end up building a file server or something equally useless just to try AMD out..)

jak/mar · 16-07-2009 7:01pm

Solitaire wrote: »

Not FSB (unless you want to ), the Black Edition parts have unlocked multipliers. Y'know the Multiplier thingy (that can be changed in software by certain apps as well as BIOS) that you rarely touch as it starts off as high as it'll go? With a BE the stock value isn't the highest - they usually go up to 25 or more! Just increase the value and that number *200 is the clock speed (unless you change the FSB from 200 of course!)

Unlike Intel E5X00 the P2 BEs seem to have a much sharper derating curve. So if it starts life at 2.8GHz (14 mult) you can often bump the mult to 15-16 (3-3.2GHz) and not require any overvolting or additonal cooling. Downside is that once you hit 3.6GHz with decent air cooling the whole thing starts to go sideways with near-exponential increases in voltage requirement past that But for minor OC the X3-720 is very good value - with minimal fuss (unlike fiddling with Intel CPUs FSB and memory multipliers and stuff!) you can have a 3.2GHz tri-core for a shade under €110

Also I have heard that you can unlock the 4th core on it.
Many people say not to use it as it was disabled in the first place.
But I think AMD just wanted to release a triple core cpu:cool:

Is this a good first build??

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