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Thread: New computer - first time builder

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    • Eddd's system
      • Motherboard:
      • Gigabyte GA-P35-DS3L iP35 Express
      • CPU:
      • Intel Q6600 G0 SLACR @ 3.0GHz with Scythe Ninja
      • Memory:
      • 4GB (2x2GB) Corsair TwinX XMS2, DDR2 PC2-6400 (800)
      • Storage:
      • 250GB Western Digital - SATA II & 120GB Maxtor - IDE
      • Graphics card(s):
      • Gainward Bliss 8800GTS 512MB
      • PSU:
      • Corsair HX520 Modular
      • Case:
      • Antec 900 - All fans on low
      • Monitor(s):
      • 22" Daewoo, 5ms response time
      • Internet:
      • Wireless - 2mb. Very slow

    New computer - first time builder

    Hi all, I'm planning on my first build soon. Just a few questions:
    1. Will building it be simple? I'm guessing the parts will come with instruction manuals, which I follow? Can anybody recommend and guides on the internet which they used to help them with for their first build?
    2. What components should I go for? I'd like to spend £850, but I could stretch to £900.
    What I want in my build:
    - Antec 900 gaming case
    - Good, solid motherboard with plenty of slots so I will not have to upgrade it for a while
    - Intel Quad core processor
    - 4GB minimum ram
    - Around 20" monitor.
    - 160GB hdd
    - 8800 (or above) nVidia graphics card
    - DVD drive, PSU, etc is up to you. What will I need?
    I'm presuming you can get the above for £850?
    It could be nice if somebody could find all the products I need and link to them on a UK site?
    3. What UK website is the cheapest & most reliable for computer parts?

    Ed

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      • ABIT iX38 QuadGT
      • CPU:
      • Intel Quad Q6600 @ 3.6Ghz : 30 Degrees Idle - 41-46 Degrees Load
      • Memory:
      • 4 x 1GB OCZ Platinum PC6400 @ 4-4-4-12
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      • Viewsonic Q22wb 22" Widescreen - 5ms
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      • O2 premium @ 17mb

    Re: New computer - first time builder

    Quote Originally Posted by Eddd View Post
    Hi all, I'm planning on my first build soon. Just a few questions:
    1. Will building it be simple? I'm guessing the parts will come with instruction manuals, which I follow? Can anybody recommend and guides on the internet which they used to help them with for their first build?
    2. What components should I go for? I'd like to spend £850, but I could stretch to £900.
    What I want in my build:
    - Antec 900 gaming case
    - Good, solid motherboard with plenty of slots so I will not have to upgrade it for a while
    - Intel Quad core processor
    - 4GB minimum ram
    - Around 20" monitor.
    - 160GB hdd
    - 8800 (or above) nVidia graphics card
    - DVD drive, PSU, etc is up to you. What will I need?
    I'm presuming you can get the above for £850?
    It could be nice if somebody could find all the products I need and link to them on a UK site?
    3. What UK website is the cheapest & most reliable for computer parts?

    Ed
    You will get lots of opinions on this but this is what i would do:
    1. Motheroard - Get yourself the X38 or X48 chipset. YOu will get lots of advice for the IP35#s series but they offer no future further than now. THe X38/48 will offer you the 1600FSB so will be able to take the newer processors if you upgrade that.

    2. Graphics Card - All much the sameness really. For a 20" monitor the 8800GT or 8800GTS are your best buy. For between £130-£170 they are the best offerings.

    3. RAM - You can get yourself 4gb of RAM now for under £70 so look for that. PC6400 is all thats required.

    4. Power Supply - Again, its down to preference. I prefer the quality of the Enermax PSus but many like the Corsairs as they are cheap yet powerful.

    5. CPU - The Q6600 rules the roost at price vs power. The dual core wolfdales (E8** series) overclok well but personally i would avoid them. The Quads are better value, perform just aswell and have a longe life in them.
    THe new Q9450's look good but are way over priced. They are at least £100 more than the Q6600's but a miniscule performance increase.

    6. ANTEC 900 - Good choice. Ive got one and it fabulous. Quiet and very cool.

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    Re: New computer - first time builder

    Personally, I think the X38/48 vs P35 situation is like the Q9450 vs Q6600, slight performance increase for a large(ish) price difference. Socket 775 doesn`t have a great deal of future & most P35s will hit similar FSB to X38/48 (unless I`ve missed something recently).

    Graphics cards, as Blitzen says - the 8800GTs can be had for as little as £105:

    Computer hardware and software at amazing prices, available online from Scan Computers UK

    RAM, again as Blitzen says (unless you`re buying E8*** series processor - where if you are going to overclock, you may need more headroom [although good PC6400 should allow some overclocking].

    CPU: Q6600 is arguably the best buy at the moment: Overclock well, tried and tested & they seem tougher than the 45NM CPUs - all for £130.

    HDD: You should perhaps be looking at something like this:

    Western Digital Caviar SE16 640Gb 16Mb Cache Hard Disk Drive SATAII 300MB/s <8.9ms 7200rpm - OEM : wd-640aaks

    Fast & the WD AAKS series is well liked.

    PSU: Again as blitzen says.

    Case: My only reservation with this case is dust problems, but there are ways to limit this through filtration.

    You`ll probably also need an aftermarket cooler (if you`re intending to overclock):

    Computer hardware and software at amazing prices, available online from Scan Computers UK

    Or similar, check out Anandtech for cooling charts:

    AnandTech: Cases/Cooling/PSUs Section

    DVD writer: Samsung, Pioneer etc.

    Monitor: Quite tricky, depends on what you are going to use it for, though you can now get quite reasonable 24" monitors for &#163;200 approx.
    Last edited by hermeticist; 27-04-2008 at 08:33 PM. Reason: Addendum

  4. #4
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    • Eddd's system
      • Motherboard:
      • Gigabyte GA-P35-DS3L iP35 Express
      • CPU:
      • Intel Q6600 G0 SLACR @ 3.0GHz with Scythe Ninja
      • Memory:
      • 4GB (2x2GB) Corsair TwinX XMS2, DDR2 PC2-6400 (800)
      • Storage:
      • 250GB Western Digital - SATA II & 120GB Maxtor - IDE
      • Graphics card(s):
      • Gainward Bliss 8800GTS 512MB
      • PSU:
      • Corsair HX520 Modular
      • Case:
      • Antec 900 - All fans on low
      • Monitor(s):
      • 22" Daewoo, 5ms response time
      • Internet:
      • Wireless - 2mb. Very slow

    Re: New computer - first time builder

    Ok, here's my system so far (without motherboard or monitor):
    Antec 900 - Nine Hundred Ultimate Gamer Case with 200m Top Fan w/o PSU - &#163;70.37
    4GB (2x2GB) Corsair DDR2 6400 2x256Mx64 non-ECC 2x240 DIMM unbuffered 5-5-5-18 64bit OS DHX - &#163;57.56
    Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 G0 SLACR, Kentsfield Core, Socket 775, 2.40 GHz 1066MHz 8MB Cache, Retail - &#163;133.89
    Samsung SH-S202N/BEBN 20x DVD&#177;R, 16xDVD&#177;DL, DVD+RW x8/-RW x6, PATA,Lightscribe, Black, OEM inc. Nero - &#163;17.03
    512MB EVGA 9600GT Standard, PCI-E 2.0 (x16), 1800MHz GDDR3, GPU 650MHz, Streams 64, 2xDL DVI-I/HDTV - &#163;108.32
    750W TX Corsair PSU, single 12V rail, energy efficient, quiet & cool, fully compatible,5 yr warranty - &#163;88.00
    320 GB Western Digital WD3201ABYS Caviar RE2, SATA II, 7200 rpm, 16MB Cache, 8.9 ms, NCQ - &#163;51.57
    TOTAL: &#163;553.92

    are these parts good & will they go together? I'm still unsure of which motherboard and monitor to go with, any more suggestions?

    does anybody know of any good tutorials which you used to help you with your first build? you can't all have just known how to do it first time!

    Thanks for your suggestions so far guys


    EDIT: What do you think of this mobo: Gigabyte GA-P35-DS3L, iP35 Express, S 775, PCI-E (x16), DDR2 1066/667/800, SATA II, ATX. will it fit everything above?
    Last edited by Eddd; 27-04-2008 at 08:45 PM.

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      • Motherboard:
      • ABIT iX38 QuadGT
      • CPU:
      • Intel Quad Q6600 @ 3.6Ghz : 30 Degrees Idle - 41-46 Degrees Load
      • Memory:
      • 4 x 1GB OCZ Platinum PC6400 @ 4-4-4-12
      • Storage:
      • 2 x 500GB Samsung Spinpoints - RAID 0
      • Graphics card(s):
      • GTX 285
      • PSU:
      • Enermax MODU 82+ 625W
      • Case:
      • Antec Nine Hundred
      • Operating System:
      • Windows 7 Ultimate 64Bit
      • Monitor(s):
      • Viewsonic Q22wb 22" Widescreen - 5ms
      • Internet:
      • O2 premium @ 17mb

    Re: New computer - first time builder

    Personally, I think the X38/48 vs P35 situation is like the Q9450 vs Q6600, slight performance increase for a large(ish) price difference. Socket 775 doesn`t have a great deal of future & most P35s will hit similar FSB to X38/48 (unless I`ve missed something recently).
    The P35's dont take the newer 1600FSB cores. The X38/48 does.

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    Re: New computer - first time builder

    Wouldn`t get a 9600GT when 8800Gts are the same price. A Corsair HX620 is a better choice & many would probably say that is overkill (HX series is modular and made by Seasonic).

    I would still recommend the 640 Western Digital over your choice of HDD, Faster & twice the capacity for an extra &#163;15.

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    Re: New computer - first time builder

    "The P35's dont take the newer 1600FSB cores. The X38/48 does."

    Is this a BIOS thing?

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    Senior Member Andy3536's Avatar
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      • Motherboard:
      • Gigabyte GA-880GMA
      • CPU:
      • AMD Phenom II X6 1055T 95w @3.8
      • Memory:
      • 4GB Corsair XMS3 1600MHz
      • Storage:
      • 1T WD
      • Graphics card(s):
      • ATI 4870
      • PSU:
      • Corsair 750
      • Case:
      • Antec P-182

    Re: New computer - first time builder

    Quote Originally Posted by hermeticist View Post
    "The P35's dont take the newer 1600FSB cores. The X38/48 does."

    Is this a BIOS thing?
    The P-35 chipset would be the best option for a Q6600, providing he'll not be going sli in the future.

    8800GTS would be the GPU of choice at the moment too.

  9. #9
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    • Eddd's system
      • Motherboard:
      • Gigabyte GA-P35-DS3L iP35 Express
      • CPU:
      • Intel Q6600 G0 SLACR @ 3.0GHz with Scythe Ninja
      • Memory:
      • 4GB (2x2GB) Corsair TwinX XMS2, DDR2 PC2-6400 (800)
      • Storage:
      • 250GB Western Digital - SATA II & 120GB Maxtor - IDE
      • Graphics card(s):
      • Gainward Bliss 8800GTS 512MB
      • PSU:
      • Corsair HX520 Modular
      • Case:
      • Antec 900 - All fans on low
      • Monitor(s):
      • 22" Daewoo, 5ms response time
      • Internet:
      • Wireless - 2mb. Very slow

    Re: New computer - first time builder

    Antec 900 - Nine Hundred Ultimate Gamer Case with 200m Top Fan w/o PSU - £70.37
    4GB (2x2GB) Corsair DDR2 6400 2x256Mx64 non-ECC 2x240 DIMM unbuffered 5-5-5-18 64bit OS DHX - £57.56
    Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 G0 SLACR, Kentsfield Core, Socket 775, 2.40 GHz 1066MHz 8MB Cache, Retail - £133.89
    Samsung SH-S202N/BEBN 20x DVD±R, 16xDVD±DL, DVD+RW x8/-RW x6, PATA,Lightscribe, Black, OEM inc. Nero - £17.03
    750W TX Corsair PSU, single 12V rail, energy efficient, quiet & cool, fully compatible,5 yr warranty - £88.00
    Gigabyte GA-P35-DS3L, iP35 Express, S 775, PCI-E (x16), DDR2 1066/667/800, SATA II, ATX - £56.75
    500 GB Western Digital WD5000AAKS Caviar SE16, SATA II, 7200 rpm, 16MB Cache, 8.9 ms - £53.92
    768MB XFX 8800GTX, Extreme, PCI-E (x16), Mem 1900MHz GDDR3, GPU 600MHz, Stream 128, 2x DL DVI-I - £175.65

    I've updated the list. i could not find the 640GB Western Digital HDD on scan, but I'm sure 500GB is enough for me.
    Are all these parts compatible together?
    Monitor suggestions?

  10. #10
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    • Eddd's system
      • Motherboard:
      • Gigabyte GA-P35-DS3L iP35 Express
      • CPU:
      • Intel Q6600 G0 SLACR @ 3.0GHz with Scythe Ninja
      • Memory:
      • 4GB (2x2GB) Corsair TwinX XMS2, DDR2 PC2-6400 (800)
      • Storage:
      • 250GB Western Digital - SATA II & 120GB Maxtor - IDE
      • Graphics card(s):
      • Gainward Bliss 8800GTS 512MB
      • PSU:
      • Corsair HX520 Modular
      • Case:
      • Antec 900 - All fans on low
      • Monitor(s):
      • 22" Daewoo, 5ms response time
      • Internet:
      • Wireless - 2mb. Very slow

    Re: New computer - first time builder

    Quote Originally Posted by Eddd View Post
    does anybody know of any good tutorials which you used to help you with your first build? you can't all have just known how to do it first time!
    an answer to this would be very useful as well.

    Thanks guys

  11. #11
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    • Eddd's system
      • Motherboard:
      • Gigabyte GA-P35-DS3L iP35 Express
      • CPU:
      • Intel Q6600 G0 SLACR @ 3.0GHz with Scythe Ninja
      • Memory:
      • 4GB (2x2GB) Corsair TwinX XMS2, DDR2 PC2-6400 (800)
      • Storage:
      • 250GB Western Digital - SATA II & 120GB Maxtor - IDE
      • Graphics card(s):
      • Gainward Bliss 8800GTS 512MB
      • PSU:
      • Corsair HX520 Modular
      • Case:
      • Antec 900 - All fans on low
      • Monitor(s):
      • 22" Daewoo, 5ms response time
      • Internet:
      • Wireless - 2mb. Very slow

    Re: New computer - first time builder

    I've downgraded my PSU to 520W Corsair HX Series Modular PSU, ATX, EPS12V, whisper quiet, 5 year warranty because I've been told that 750W is too much for this system.

  12. #12
    Senior Member Andy3536's Avatar
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    • Andy3536's system
      • Motherboard:
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      • CPU:
      • AMD Phenom II X6 1055T 95w @3.8
      • Memory:
      • 4GB Corsair XMS3 1600MHz
      • Storage:
      • 1T WD
      • Graphics card(s):
      • ATI 4870
      • PSU:
      • Corsair 750
      • Case:
      • Antec P-182

    Re: New computer - first time builder

    Quote Originally Posted by Eddd View Post
    an answer to this would be very useful as well.

    Thanks guys
    I asked here what specificly is troubling you?

    You have many willing to give you advice.

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      • Core i5 4570
      • Memory:
      • 2 x 4GB Vengeance LP
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      • 250GB Samsung 840 EVO SSD + 2+4TB HDD + 3TB Synology DS216SE
      • Graphics card(s):
      • MSI Radeon R9 270X HAWK
      • PSU:
      • Silverstone Strider 400W
      • Case:
      • Silverstone Sugo SG02B-F
      • Operating System:
      • Windows 8.1 / Ubuntu 16.04
      • Monitor(s):
      • ElectriQ 32" 4k IPS + Dell 22" U2212HM
      • Internet:
      • Virgin 60Mbit/s

    Re: New computer - first time builder

    Quote Originally Posted by Blitzen View Post
    1. Motheroard - Get yourself the X38 or X48 chipset. YOu will get lots of advice for the IP35#s series but they offer no future further than now. THe X38/48 will offer you the 1600FSB so will be able to take the newer processors if you upgrade that.
    By the time the Q6600 needs to be upgraded it's quite possible that intel will have moved onto an even higher fsb or even a new socket, so an x38 may not offer much more upgradability. As you said yourself, the quads have a long life in them. The &#163;60ish that could be saved by buying the Gigabyte P35 he mentioned could probably buy a new motherboard when upgrade time comes around anyway. On the other hand, I tend to be a bit of a cheapskate sometimes, so maybe I'm erring on the wrong side of value for money...

    Quote Originally Posted by Eddd View Post
    does anybody know of any good tutorials which you used to help you with your first build? you can't all have just known how to do it first time!
    The motherboard should come with a manual showing you how to install everything. I found that to be adequate for my first build about 9 months back. Any problems and there'll be plenty of people here to help you out. If you want something more in depth before you start the build, have a google and take your pick...there are plenty of guides out there.

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    • Link97's system
      • Motherboard:
      • ASUS 780i P5N-T Deluxe
      • CPU:
      • Q6600 @ 3.4GHz
      • Memory:
      • 4GiB Corsair TwinX XMS2 PC6400
      • Storage:
      • 1 x 80GB (OS) 1 x 500GB
      • Graphics card(s):
      • PNY 8800GT 512MiB
      • PSU:
      • Silverstone 500W
      • Case:
      • Akasa Zen Tower case
      • Monitor(s):
      • 19" Suyama 1280x1024

    Re: New computer - first time builder

    Quote Originally Posted by Eddd View Post
    I've downgraded my PSU to 520W Corsair HX Series Modular PSU, ATX, EPS12V, whisper quiet, 5 year warranty because I've been told that 750W is too much for this system.
    I approve of this decision.

  15. #15
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    • Eddd's system
      • Motherboard:
      • Gigabyte GA-P35-DS3L iP35 Express
      • CPU:
      • Intel Q6600 G0 SLACR @ 3.0GHz with Scythe Ninja
      • Memory:
      • 4GB (2x2GB) Corsair TwinX XMS2, DDR2 PC2-6400 (800)
      • Storage:
      • 250GB Western Digital - SATA II & 120GB Maxtor - IDE
      • Graphics card(s):
      • Gainward Bliss 8800GTS 512MB
      • PSU:
      • Corsair HX520 Modular
      • Case:
      • Antec 900 - All fans on low
      • Monitor(s):
      • 22" Daewoo, 5ms response time
      • Internet:
      • Wireless - 2mb. Very slow

    Re: New computer - first time builder

    Quote Originally Posted by Andy3536 View Post
    I asked here what specificly is troubling you?

    You have many willing to give you advice.
    I think I understand the basic "put stuff in the slots, and if they don't fit don't force them" just the wiring looks more complicated. Maybe a step-by-step guide of how to build a computer would be useful?

  16. Received thanks from:

    Andy3536 (27-04-2008)

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    Senior Member Dreaming's Avatar
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    • Dreaming's system
      • Motherboard:
      • Abit IP35 Pro
      • CPU:
      • e6300 @ 2.8ghz
      • Memory:
      • 4gb Corsair XMS2 PC6400
      • Storage:
      • 500GB Western Digital for OS + 1500GB Seagate for Storage
      • Graphics card(s):
      • BFG 8800GTS OC2 320MB
      • PSU:
      • Antec Neo HE 550
      • Case:
      • Lian Li PC A05B
      • Operating System:
      • Windows Vista Home Premium x64
      • Monitor(s):
      • Samsung 22" 226BW
      • Internet:
      • NTL 4Mb/s

    Re: New computer - first time builder

    Looks alright but my 2p:

    - PSU probably overkill unless you're going quad SLI. It's your money and it's a good PSU but I'd probably get Scan: 520W Corsair HX Series

    - Motherboard, this is contentious so take this as nothing more than opinion, but people tend to prefer the Abit boards to the gigabyte boards. So on that, go with the Abit IP35-E or Abit IP35 (I've got the Pro which is awesome but overkill unless you really love overclocking )

    - Graphics card, I'd get a G92 8800GTS for your money, the GTX is slightly older tech (it will waste more electricity, produce more heat, not be able to clock so well ) - Scan: BFG 8800GTS 512MB

    Don't forget that you want to invest in your monitor, keyboard and mouse as these will be what you interact with on a daily basis!! As for a guide... there was one about on the net a while ago, but I'm not sure about now. It's fairly straightforward. If you need more help give us a shout!
    Last edited by Dreaming; 27-04-2008 at 10:27 PM.
    Dreaming

    C2D E6300 @ 2.8 | | Abit IP35 Pro | | 4GB Corsair XMS2 800 | | BFG 8800GTS OC2 320MB | | 500GB Western Digital for OS + 1500GB Seagate for Storage | | Antec NeoHE 550 | | Lian Li PC A05B | | Samsung 226BW 22"

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