# My first build



## MDA|Hitokiri (Nov 1, 2005)

I have been a Mac user for the past nine years. Having a lack in the availability of games, I am looking towards PC. I am heavily into the Battlefield series, and any other 1st person realistic shooter. From this, I need a system that will handle some fairly intense gaming. 

I plan on spending in and around $1,500. This purchase will need to include all computer components and an OS, a monitor will be purchased later. I also plan on making all purchases from newegg.com.

Following is a list of parts. 

Power supply -Antec TRUEPOWERII TPII-550 550W Power Supply - Retail - $74.99 + $1.99

Case - AMS Gmono CF-2029 BLK Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - Retail - $39.00 + $15.99

CPU - AMD Athlon 64 4000+ San Diego 1GHz FSB 1MB L2 Cache Socket 939 Processor - Retail - $368.00 

GPU - eVGA 256-P2-N525-AX Geforce 7800GTX 256MB 256-bit GDDR3 VIVO PCI Express x16 Video Card - Retail - $459.00 + $5.99

Motherboard - ASUS A8N-E ATX AMD Motherboard - Retail - $115.00 +$1.99

Memory - CORSAIR XMS 2GB (2 x 1GB) 184-Pin DDR SDRAM Unbuffered DDR 400 (PC 3200) Dual Channel Kit System Memory - Retail - $221.00

-NOTE: I plan to upgrade to 4GB of RAM in the future.

HDD - Western Digital Caviar SE16 WD2500KS 250GB 7200 RPM 16MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM - $121.50 + $3.49

FDD - SAMSUNG Black Internal Floppy Drive Model SFD321B/LBL1 - OEM - $7.99 + $2.50

ODD - LITE-ON Black IDE DVD Burner Model SOHW-1693S Black - Retail - $42.95

Cooling - Rosewill RFA80-K 80mm Sleeve Case Cooling Fan - Retail (x2) - $3.98 + $9.98

OS - Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition with Service Pack 1a - OEM - $88.95 + $.99

Total = $1499.81 + $42.92 for shipping and handling

I would like to have the ability to upgrade in the future. I may add a WiFi, TV tuner, and sound card to this computer at some point. I will also increase RAM once needed. Also take note I do not plan on doing any overclocking. This will be my first computer build.

Please post any advice you may have concerning all parts, thanks.


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## gotrootdude (Feb 19, 2003)

Skip these:
Cooling - Rosewill RFA80-K 80mm Sleeve Case Cooling Fan - Retail (x2) - $3.98 + $9.98

Instead use these:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16835150053
(sleeve bearing fans die quicker and generally make more noise than ball bearing.)

Skip this:
HDD - Western Digital Caviar SE16 WD2500KS 250GB 7200 RPM 16MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM - $121.50 + $3.49

Instead:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16822148065
(5 year vs 3 year warranty, seagate drive is a bit quieter and faster in real world tests)

Skip
ODD - LITE-ON Black IDE DVD Burner Model SOHW-1693S Black - Retail - $42.95

instead:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16827129164
or
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16827152052

The PI/PO errors on my pioneer are virtually nill.. I've heard others say the same about the NEC drive.. Of course, the media you use makes a big difference too..


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## MDA|Hitokiri (Nov 1, 2005)

> Instead use these:
> http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16835150053
> (sleeve bearing fans die quicker and generally make more noise than ball bearing.)


Will do, I was just looking at some mega cheap fans.



> Skip this:
> HDD - Western Digital Caviar SE16 WD2500KS 250GB 7200 RPM 16MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM - $121.50 + $3.49
> 
> Instead:
> ...


I have heard that a lot, mabye it would be better to go with Seagate. So the 16mb of cache the Western Digital has over the 8mb of cache the Seagate one does not make a difference?



> Skip
> ODD - LITE-ON Black IDE DVD Burner Model SOHW-1693S Black - Retail - $42.95
> 
> instead:
> ...


If you insist. I'd rather take the second option, since it most likely comes with supporting software.

Anything else need revision?


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## gotrootdude (Feb 19, 2003)

> So the 16mb of cache the Western Digital has over the 8mb of cache the Seagate one does not make a difference?


Depends.. It will increase the speed of reading small files, but in the real world people don't restrict the file sizes to just small files.. Therefore sustained transfer rates are a bit more important in real world performance than burst rates from the larger cache. There should be no noticeable difference overall, in fact I believe the Seagate will be a bit faster overall.


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## gotrootdude (Feb 19, 2003)

Oh, you might think about getting the non-vivo 7800GTX to save a bit.. For a capture card, you'd do better with a hauppage PVR series card..

Personally, I haven't had much luck with vivo cards.. Third party software generally doesn't support them. With Hauppuage pvr series capture cards, your almost guarenteed that whatever software you use with it will work.. The vivo cards generally need a special cable which is expensive to replace.. Plus the Hauppuage PVR-150 and PVR-250 come with a nifty remote..


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## MDA|Hitokiri (Nov 1, 2005)

Thanks, I will do some research on the video card.



> Oh, you might think about getting the non-vivo 7800GTX to save a bit.. For a capture card, you'd do better with a hauppage PVR series card..
> 
> Personally, I haven't had much luck with vivo cards.. Third party software generally doesn't support them. With Hauppuage pvr series capture cards, your almost guarenteed that whatever software you use with it will work.. The vivo cards generally need a special cable which is expensive to replace.. Plus the Hauppuage PVR-150 and PVR-250 come with a nifty remote..


What is an example of a non-vivo 7800GTX? I haven't heared that term used before.

That Hauppuage PVR-250 looks like a nice card. It is a little pricey, but I could buy it in a year or so. I'd like to be able to connect a Playstation 2 up to my computer so I can play through the monitor, and watch a little TV here and there.


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## MDA|Hitokiri (Nov 1, 2005)

Updated list:

Power supply -Antec TRUEPOWERII TPII-550 550W Power Supply - Retail - $74.99 + $1.99

Case - AMS Gmono CF-2029 BLK Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - Retail - $39.00 + $15.99

CPU - AMD Athlon 64 4000+ San Diego 1GHz FSB 1MB L2 Cache Socket 939 Processor - Retail - $368.00 

GPU - eVGA 256-P2-N525-AX Geforce 7800GTX 256MB 256-bit GDDR3 VIVO PCI Express x16 Video Card - Retail - $459.00 + $5.99

Motherboard - ASUS A8N-E ATX AMD Motherboard - Retail - $115.00 +$1.99

Memory - CORSAIR XMS 2GB (2 x 1GB) 184-Pin DDR SDRAM Unbuffered DDR 400 (PC 3200) Dual Channel Kit System Memory - Retail - $221.00

HDD - Seagate Barracuda 7200.8 ST3250823AS 250GB 7200 RPM 8MB Cache Serial ATA150 Hard Drive - OEM - $106.50 + $3.49

FDD - SAMSUNG Black Internal Floppy Drive Model SFD321B/LBL1 - OEM - $7.99 + $2.50

ODD - NEC Black 16X DVD+R 8X DVD+RW 8X DVD+R DL 16X DVD-R 6X DVD-RW 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-R 32X CD-RW 48X CD-ROM 2M Cache IDE DVD Burner - Retail - $42.98

Cooling - MASSCOOL FD08025B1M3/4 80 x 80 x 25mm Ball Cooling Fan - Retail (x2) - $6.18 + $9.98

-NOTE: The case comes with one fan, so I will have a total of three 80mm fans.

OS - Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition Upgrade CD w/SP2 - $99.99

-NOTE: I will buy the operating system from a local retailer.

Look ok?


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## gotrootdude (Feb 19, 2003)

Looks great to me, still think you can find a 7800GTX without vivo and save though..

Only other thing I'd suggest is getting rid of the fan that comes with the case.. Use two fans in the back, and the PS fan.. Fan's in the front don't cause much difference in airflow and tend to increase the noise factor..

One other thing, since your building it from scratch and want to get it right the first time, I suggest getting some drive silencers,
http://www.svc.com/ca140202-34.html
Some fan silencers,
http://www.svc.com/8fw.html
and some rubber screws,
http://www.svc.com/rs.html

Silence is golden.. 

Also, it's a good idea to pick up a couple of Y molex splitter cables while shopping, you never know when you might need them, they come in very handy..


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## MDA|Hitokiri (Nov 1, 2005)

Not sure what a non-vivo GPU is...  

I am not too worried about noise. I have a Mac G5, it is very loud but I am used to it. Those fan gaskets look pretty cool, I might think about getting some of them. I have never heard of rubber screws before, but they are a good price. I am guessing those silica strips go along the drive cage, those look nice too.

Although noise is not a big concern for me, I see these could prolong the life of my components.

Thanks for the advice, I will look into these.

Also, I decided to change my RAM. I will go with Corsair XMS sticks with timming 2-3-3-6, cas latency of 2, for $50 more.


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## gotrootdude (Feb 19, 2003)

Vivo means: video in/video out..
It means the card you selected can be used as a video capture card as well as a video card..

A 7800GTX without vivo should retail around the $360 range.. It would still have video out.. You'd just need a separate card if you wanted to capture video..

I prefer the separate card for video capture solution because vivo cards have proprietary cables, offer only software encoding, and sometimes only work with the manufactuers video capture software.. Also, it's one more thing that can go wrong with the card and drivers..



> I am guessing those silica strips go along the drive cage


In my case, these are the most important. Fan noise is normally a dull low pitched hum, drive noise is a high pitched whine.. The high pitched whine is much more distracting and annoying than the low fan noise.. 

The silicone fan silencers really don't do a whole lot, the Athlon64's Cool and Quiet technology controlling the fans will make much more difference in fan noise.


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## imjerry (Oct 12, 2005)

Liteon Drives, just because they got the best ratings and they Make plextors and Pioneers in there factory!! Those 2 are just re-branded Liteons!! Liteon is one of the FEW who have there own factory and chip foundry !!!

Of course just my opinion

16 Meg Cache on WD drives is important to me !!! But that is up to you !!!


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## MDA|Hitokiri (Nov 1, 2005)

imjerry said:


> Liteon Drives, just because they got the best ratings and they Make plextors and Pioneers in there factory!! Those 2 are just re-branded Liteons!! Liteon is one of the FEW who have there own factory and chip foundry !!!
> 
> Of course just my opinion
> 
> 16 Meg Cache on WD drives is important to me !!! But that is up to you !!!


That is why I had chosen those two parts in the first place. For some reason though, they don't seem to be too popular. Nearly every forum I have visited has recommended something other than those specific parts.



> Vivo means: video in/video out..
> It means the card you selected can be used as a video capture card as
> well as a video card..


I understand now, thanks.

I will research non-vivo cards.


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## gotrootdude (Feb 19, 2003)

Liteon does not make the pioneer or the Nec drive I mentioned.. Also the liteon drive is a bit slower w/ a bit more PI/PO errors in tests.. To prove my point:
http://www.cdrinfo.com/Sections/Reviews/Print.aspx?ArticleId=14282

Stick with the Nec or the Pioneer. Liteon rocked with CDRW's but they aren't standing up as well with DVDRW's.


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## MDA|Hitokiri (Nov 1, 2005)

Which motherboard would be better for this system?

DFI LANPARTY UT nF4 Ultra-D Socket 939 NVIDIA nForce4 Ultra ATX AMD 

or 

ASUS A8N-E Socket 939 ATX AMD Motherboard


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## imjerry (Oct 12, 2005)

I have 5 liteons Running here, 3 in a burning machine only with 3 drives identical using Padus Disk Juggler multi drive burning sytem!! No coasters CD or DVD - or + in 6 months The other 2 each in work stations Running Alcohol 120% and Nero 7 (now) was 6.0.12 Burning ISO's, Data. Movie DVD's and never a problem!! The only drive I ever had trouble with was a 4X NEC, so each of us has our own opinions!! But Liteon gives you the Most bang for your buck IMHO !


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## gotrootdude (Feb 19, 2003)

As far as liteon working for you.. That's great.. I wouldn't try burning a movie to play on my GClinux box with one.. 

The PI/PO errors with liteon drives are in a acceptable range, but I'm a perfectionist and want more than just acceptable.


I'd go with the DFI LANPARTY UT nF4 Ultra-D over the AN8-E.. But it's just because I tend to overclock everything I can and the Asus board supposedly doesn't overclock as well. If you have no plans to ever play with the bios settings to overclock, then by all means get the one your happy with.. Both are great boards..


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## loserOlimbs (Jun 19, 2004)

for the Motherboard go with the ASUS, The DFI boards from what I hear are unstable and a pain in the ***. ASUS on the other hand is feature packed, very stable and good for just about anything.


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