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**ak03** · 04-06-2008, 03:53 PM

So I have decided to build my first computer. This machine is going to be for home use. I probably will not do any gaming on here.
Here my are my goals:
*Have this pc last at least 4 years
*Have a fast motherboard and CPU that wont give me slow downs
*Have plenty of RAM
*Have enough storage
*Have great sound and good display
*Not Noisy

Here is what I have decided to go with:

Case: Ultra Black Aluminus ATX Mid-Tower Case
I like this case because of the cord organization system plus the way you can open it from the front to put in all of the stuff that you need. The only downside that I have about this case is it's size. The place i'm looking to put it isn't big enough.

Motherboard: Gigebyte P35 DS4
This motherboard got pretty good reviews from what I can see. Also I liked the 2 PCI Express x16 slots. I'll admit that I wasn't really sure what to get here.

CPU: Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 Processor
This looked like a pretty good cpu. I heard that you could overclock it up to 3.2 GHz. Plus it was quad core, so it should last me in the long run.

CPU Fan:Thermalright Ultra-120
I eventually found this cpu fan through another forum. It looks great and preforms great. It also looks good in the reviews. I take it even though it's $30 more

Power Supply: Corsair VX550W
This power supply did great in the reviews. I doesn't really have an ripple. Overall I am satisfied with this product.

Hard Drive: Western Digital Caviar SE16 500GB Hard Drive
I really didn't need much space on my system. Plus the disk spins at 7200 rpm so that was good.

Memory: Patriot Viper 4GB(2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2
4GB memory did seem like plenty to me. I mainly just get on to music browse and play music. Occasionaly I I fire up my graphics program or play a game. The speed also looks good.

DVD Drive: Samsung SH-S203B
This looks like enough to burn my dvd's or cd's. Has good read/ write speeds.

Cooling: Ultra120mm Case Fan
This fan looks decent. I am concerned with the amount of air flow that it will provide. I don't want my pc frying, but I really don't want a loud PC

Sound Card: Creative Labs 70SB104000000 Sound Blaster X-Fi Xtreme Audio.
I don't need a sound card built for gaming. Just one that will deliver pure rich sound for music. This one seemed to do just that.

Video Card: XFX GeForce 8500 GT Ultra Silent Cooling
It came down to noise. I didn't want a noisy machine so I went with this. It seemed to give me the graphics that I wanted. It was either the 8500 or the 8600 one.

Monitor: ASUS VK222U
This monitor looks really sharp in it's display. Love the 2 ms.

Memory Card Reader: Ultra Card Reader
Looked like a very solid memory card reader. It even adds 4 more USB 2.0 ports to the front! I was debating with this product however

Things I need:
Speakers- I have a few ideas. However, any suggestions are helpful!

Things I already have:
*Keyboard and Mouse
*External drive and flash drive

So what do you think that I need to switch or change? I know someone out there has some sort of suggestion. Any help is MUCH appreciated!

**Judas** · 04-06-2008, 04:34 PM

I really don't think you need 4GB RAM, unless you play games a lot. I have 1GB of RAM, and I can run Firefox and Winamp at the same time with NO slow downs. I would think 2GB would be enough for a casual user, but that's just me. Also, check out Wal-Mart for a good speaker set. They have surround sound speakers for like $45. Not the best ever, but they work damn good.

Also, this is probably out of your price range, but when I decide to get a damn nice computer, I'm going to go with a liquid cooled system. I hate hearing my fan kick on every five minutes.

EDIT: I guess the RAM depends on whether you want to run Vista, or XP. Personally, I'd go with XP until Vista SP2 or SP3 comes out.

And, don't go with a CD burner, get a DVD burner. They're just as cheap, and they burn CDs faster as well.

**Frenchb0ygenius** · 04-06-2008, 06:00 PM

That cpu will overclock, but not on the stock cooler, so keep that in mind. And another thing for the cpu, what will you be using this pc for? Different needs will fit you're hardware needs because let's be honest not everyone needs a quad core. How long do you think this pc will have to last you?

And also, if that network adapter is for ethernet, you won't need it...the 780i comes with dual gigabit lan...

Quote:

I don't know if I should use this as a secondary drive and get a solid state disk as my primary

I hope this is a joke...no offense though.

**ak03** · 04-07-2008, 04:14 PM

I changed the power supply and the motherboard in the original post. What do you think know?
*I still have to get speakers and a cpu fan. Can anyone help with this?

**Frenchb0ygenius** · 04-07-2008, 05:10 PM

Cpu fan: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16835109125 Pretty much one of the best ones out right now.

Suggestion for mobo: DFI x38 board: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813136045

**ak03** · 04-09-2008, 03:55 PM

I have added and changed a couple of thins to my build. Here's what I have changed:
DVD Drive
Motherboard
Cpu(where I bought it from, saved $11 too!)

Added:
CPU fan
Memory Card Reader

@Frenchboy- The cpu fan was $30 more that the one that I picked out. I'll stick with mine.

**Frenchb0ygenius** · 04-09-2008, 03:56 PM

Except the cpu fan you picked is probably no better than the stock fan for overclocking. Keep the one I showed you if you want to overclock but not watercool

**ak03** · 04-11-2008, 01:53 PM

I changed the cpu fan after reading the reviews on it. Thanks for that suggestion. Also, I heard complaints on other forums about the X-Fi card. Here's what they said:

Quote:

Also about the X-Fi XtremeAudio, it is a cut down version of the full X-Fi chip (which equals less features) I think the X-Fi Xtream Gamer is the cheapest "Full" X-Fi card. But you may be able to get away with using your onboard HD audio.

So do you think that I should use the onboard audio, stay with the sound carrd or get another sound card.

**Vanden** · 04-11-2008, 02:06 PM

So you plan on useign a 64 bit OS...If not then the 4gb of ram is kinda useless...

**Frenchb0ygenius** · 04-11-2008, 06:38 PM

64bit Vista has been proven to be more stable than 32bit.

**ak03** · 04-11-2008, 07:25 PM

I reviewed the motherboard, and I think i'm going to stick with what I have there. Also, I changed my monitor to an ASUS VK222U Monitor. But, I will compare it to the ViewSonic tommorow. I also changed the CPU fan. I welcome all comments

04-06-2008, 03:53 PM	#1
ak03 Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: Outside Posts: 355 Trader Feedback: 0	Need Help With First Computer Build So I have decided to build my first computer. This machine is going to be for home use. I probably will not do any gaming on here. Here my are my goals: Have this pc last at least 4 years Have a fast motherboard and CPU that wont give me slow downs Have plenty of RAM Have enough storage Have great sound and good display Not Noisy Here is what I have decided to go with: Case: Ultra Black Aluminus ATX Mid-Tower Case I like this case because of the cord organization system plus the way you can open it from the front to put in all of the stuff that you need. The only downside that I have about this case is it's size. The place i'm looking to put it isn't big enough. Motherboard: Gigebyte P35 DS4 This motherboard got pretty good reviews from what I can see. Also I liked the 2 PCI Express x16 slots. I'll admit that I wasn't really sure what to get here. CPU: Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 Processor This looked like a pretty good cpu. I heard that you could overclock it up to 3.2 GHz. Plus it was quad core, so it should last me in the long run. CPU Fan:Thermalright Ultra-120 I eventually found this cpu fan through another forum. It looks great and preforms great. It also looks good in the reviews. I take it even though it's $30 more Power Supply: Corsair VX550W This power supply did great in the reviews. I doesn't really have an ripple. Overall I am satisfied with this product. Hard Drive: Western Digital Caviar SE16 500GB Hard Drive I really didn't need much space on my system. Plus the disk spins at 7200 rpm so that was good. Memory: Patriot Viper 4GB(2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 4GB memory did seem like plenty to me. I mainly just get on to music browse and play music. Occasionaly I I fire up my graphics program or play a game. The speed also looks good. DVD Drive: Samsung SH-S203B This looks like enough to burn my dvd's or cd's. Has good read/ write speeds. Cooling: Ultra120mm Case Fan This fan looks decent. I am concerned with the amount of air flow that it will provide. I don't want my pc frying, but I really don't want a loud PC Sound Card: Creative Labs 70SB104000000 Sound Blaster X-Fi Xtreme Audio. I don't need a sound card built for gaming. Just one that will deliver pure rich sound for music. This one seemed to do just that. Video Card: XFX GeForce 8500 GT Ultra Silent Cooling It came down to noise. I didn't want a noisy machine so I went with this. It seemed to give me the graphics that I wanted. It was either the 8500 or the 8600 one. Monitor: ASUS VK222U This monitor looks really sharp in it's display. Love the 2 ms. Memory Card Reader: Ultra Card Reader Looked like a very solid memory card reader. It even adds 4 more USB 2.0 ports to the front! I was debating with this product however Things I need: Speakers- I have a few ideas. However, any suggestions are helpful! Things I already have: Keyboard and Mouse External drive and flash drive So what do you think that I need to switch or change? I know someone out there has some sort of suggestion. Any help is MUCH appreciated! Last edited by ak03; 04-11-2008 at 07:18 PM..

04-06-2008, 04:34 PM	#2
Judas Ænima Join Date: Sep 2007 Posts: 587 Trader Feedback: 0	I really don't think you need 4GB RAM, unless you play games a lot. I have 1GB of RAM, and I can run Firefox and Winamp at the same time with NO slow downs. I would think 2GB would be enough for a casual user, but that's just me. Also, check out Wal-Mart for a good speaker set. They have surround sound speakers for like $45. Not the best ever, but they work damn good. Also, this is probably out of your price range, but when I decide to get a damn nice computer, I'm going to go with a liquid cooled system. I hate hearing my fan kick on every five minutes. EDIT: I guess the RAM depends on whether you want to run Vista, or XP. Personally, I'd go with XP until Vista SP2 or SP3 comes out. And, don't go with a CD burner, get a DVD burner. They're just as cheap, and they burn CDs faster as well. __________________ [IMG]http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/c5/Zoso.svg/744px-Zoso.svg.png[/IMG] Looking for some good C programming tutorials for the PSP? Look no further! [URL="http://psp-coding.com/"]PSP-Coding.com[/URL] is your source for all your PSP coding needs.

04-11-2008, 02:06 PM	#9
Vanden Join Date: Aug 2005 Real First Name: Vanden Location: Vandenland Just Played: Marval 1 Posts: 11,489 Trader Feedback: 0	So you plan on useign a 64 bit OS...If not then the 4gb of ram is kinda useless... __________________ You know where to find me.

04-07-2008, 04:14 PM	#4
ak03 Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: Outside Posts: 355 Trader Feedback: 0	I changed the power supply and the motherboard in the original post. What do you think know? *I still have to get speakers and a cpu fan. Can anyone help with this?

04-07-2008, 05:10 PM	#5
Frenchb0ygenius Join Date: Apr 2006 Posts: 0 Trader Feedback: 0	Cpu fan: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16835109125 Pretty much one of the best ones out right now. Suggestion for mobo: DFI x38 board: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813136045

04-09-2008, 03:55 PM	#6
ak03 Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: Outside Posts: 355 Trader Feedback: 0	I have added and changed a couple of thins to my build. Here's what I have changed: DVD Drive Motherboard Cpu(where I bought it from, saved $11 too!) Added: CPU fan Memory Card Reader @Frenchboy- The cpu fan was $30 more that the one that I picked out. I'll stick with mine.

04-09-2008, 03:56 PM	#7
Frenchb0ygenius Join Date: Apr 2006 Posts: 0 Trader Feedback: 0	Except the cpu fan you picked is probably no better than the stock fan for overclocking. Keep the one I showed you if you want to overclock but not watercool

04-11-2008, 06:38 PM	#10
Frenchb0ygenius Join Date: Apr 2006 Posts: 0 Trader Feedback: 0	64bit Vista has been proven to be more stable than 32bit.

04-11-2008, 07:25 PM	#11
ak03 Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: Outside Posts: 355 Trader Feedback: 0	I reviewed the motherboard, and I think i'm going to stick with what I have there. Also, I changed my monitor to an ASUS VK222U Monitor. But, I will compare it to the ViewSonic tommorow. I also changed the CPU fan. I welcome all comments

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