New computer - First time building my own - need advice

slipsius

Ok, so some of you have probably seen my other thread of my computer problems, and well, ive decided its time for a complete overhaul anyways. so, im building a new rig!

Heres the problem, ive never done that before. my custom built rig i have right now was build by my buddy who picked all the parts and just got two of each, to build our computers identical.

so, ive decided to take it all on myself, pick my own parts and build it myself. daunting task since before yesterday i didnt know hardly anything about hardware (thanks mark).

I am on a budget. im thinking $1000. $1200 MAX.

Heres what Ive got so far.

CPU - $120 - AMD phenom II x4 955 black edition
http://www.tigerdirect.ca/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=5752143&Sku=A79-1955

Motherboard - $175 - http://www.tigerdirect.ca/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=670303&CatId=7244

RAM - $100 - http://www.tigerdirect.ca/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=7025812&CatId=3473

OS SSD - $115 - http://www.tigerdirect.ca/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=835645&CatId=5300

other SSD - $220 - http://www.tigerdirect.ca/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=581819&CatId=5300

leaving me with ROUGHLY $300 to spare. give or take 100.

now, my video card right now is an old gefore GTX 9800 512mb. so it time for an upgrade too. I just dont know anything about video cards now. so i need some help with that. just one, 1TB or more, plz.

i do have a 700w power supply already, whcih should be ok i think. im gonna try it. if its the reason my comp was fucking up recently, ill just get a new one after.

and my case, I have an Antec 900 gaming case. would that still work for these components?


Any help would be appreciative. or advice on other parts. Ive used corsair flashdrives before, and was happy with their products, so thats why i went for that manufacturer. And as for teh AMD instead of intel. Ive tried the intel, was happy. but I dont overclock my computers, and i havent heard anything bad about AMD. seems like its just different strokes for different folks. but since im not OCing it, it should be fine, and more affordable.


thanks guys.


OH. also, Im looking for a wireless mobo... But dunno how to tell if it has it or not....

haiddasalami

GTX 460 is around 140$ and a good budget card with DX11 etc. Suggest getting stuff from NCIX as theres price match with any online store. (There is a store in Markham) Also 2 SSD's? My old SSD was 40gb and with Windows 7, 3d apps and other shit I pretty much came close to maxing it so 1 120gb should be good. Make sure the SSD you buy also supports TRIM.

greevar

Good luck finding a Wifi motherboard. They're nearly non-existent. Get a PCI wireless card instead. If I were you, I'd loose the 60GB SSDs and opt for other high-end components. Get a new PSU, a 1 TB HDD, and a high end GPU. SSDs are just not cost effective enough to completely replace mechanical drives.

@haiddasalami

No offense, but that website is awful. The selection is small and the interface offends my eyes.

Justin Meisse

I've found pci wireless cards to be a bit flaky - get a wifi router that you can load dd-wrt on and set it up as a wireless bridge. Or just buy a wireless bridge if it isn't too expensive.

System

Justin_Meisse wrote: »

I've found pci wireless cards to be a bit flaky - get a wifi router that you can load dd-wrt on and set it up as a wireless bridge. Or just buy a wireless bridge if it isn't too expensive.

This... I bought a PCI WiFi card and it sucks. You usually have to be so close to the router to get a decent signal that you may as well just plug it in.

As for your list,

Any particular reason you want AMD? The i5/i7's are great processors.

I built the following earlier this year for around £650 (about $1000, but we pay more for components here in the UK).

Case: Coolermaster Elite 335 (basic, but awesome case)

CPU: i7 2600

MoBo: ASUS P8P67

RAM: 8GB Kingston HyperX Blu DDR3

GPU: ASUS GTX460

PSU: Corsair TX650

Sony DVD/RW

2x 500GB 7200RPM HDD's.

It runs great, perfectly fast for my needs, and the only thing I'd consider upgrading is the GPU for a little more gaming power. I usually game on consoles though so I don't mind, the viewport performance in 3D apps is fantastic.

I wouldn't go with a second SSD though. Having one for your OS is fine, and yes they are quick, but I'd suggest going for a single larger capacity SSD for your OS/software and then a big HDD for your files.

I'm still waiting (lol) for SSD's to come down in the price>capacity ration before I buy one, but for now, my 2 7200RPM HDD's using SATA 3 are actually pretty quick... not SSD quick, but still adequate. I mean, I can spend the extra few seconds I would save on startups with an SSD reading Twitter/blogs

JasonLavoie

go Intel stefan! I had the process in my last comp, and just built a new comp with Intel once again, and dood, so much better. Way more bang for the buck!

haiddasalami

greevar wrote: »

@haiddasalami

No offense, but that website is awful. The selection is small and the interface offends my eyes.

Meh gets the job done and cheaper too. Dont find their selection small at all though, what weren't you able to find?

greevar

haiddasalami wrote: »

Meh gets the job done and cheaper too. Dont find their selection small at all though, what weren't you able to find?

Well, the first thing I did was look up the GPUs they had. It only had about 10 choices, I think, and most of them were Radeons, if I recall. I'm used to having more choice. Being an imperialist American oppressor of nations, I prefer Newegg.

haiddasalami

greevar wrote: »

Well, the first thing I did was look up the GPUs they had. It only had about 10 choices, I think, and most of them were Radeons, if I recall. I'm used to having more choice. Being an imperialist American oppressor of nations, I prefer Newegg.

O thats their top sellers. If you scroll down there's more