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Wednesday 10.9.2025 / 11:02
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First Time Building My Own: How's it Look?
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Arcology
Newbie
_ 		7. November 2008 @ 17:23 _ Link to this message    Send private message to this user   
This is my first experience building a computer and I'd like to get some reassurance that this build will function properly and that everything will be compatible. I'll be using it for college and I'm hoping to be able to use it as a decent gaming computer for at least a few years. The current price just a few bucks over $1200. I'd welcome any advice on comparable parts that are cheaper, and I'd also be willing to spend a bit more if anyone has a particular enhancement that would be worth it.
-Thanks for any advice/input!

CASE: Antec Three Hundred Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16811129042

POWER SUPPLY: Antec NeoPower 650 650W ATX12V / EPS12V SLI Ready CrossFire Ready Modular Active PFC Power Supply - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817371011

RAM: Patriot Viper 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model PVS24G6400LLKN - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820220335

MOBO: ASUS P5Q Pro LGA 775 Intel P45 ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813131299

MONITOR: Acer X223Wbd Black 22" 5ms Widescreen LCD Monitor - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16824009145

HARD DRIVE: Western Digital Caviar SE16 WD3200KSRTL 320GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16822136039

VIDEO CARD: HIS Hightech H487F512P Radeon HD 4870 512MB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFire Supported Video Card - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814161236

DISK DRIVE: LITE-ON 20X DVD±R DVD Burner Black SATA Model iHAS120-08 - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16827106264

PROCESSOR: Intel Core 2 Duo E8500 Wolfdale 3.16GHz LGA 775 65W Dual-Core Processor Model BX80570E8500 - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16819115036

OS: Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium SP1 64-bit English for System Builders 1pk DSP OEI DVD - OEM
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16832116488

HEATSINK/FAN: Sunbeam CR-CCTF 120mm "Core Contact Freezer" CPU Cooler
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16835207004

PCI WIRELESS CARD: EDIMAX EW-7128G PCI Wireless Card - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16833315041

Any opinions on whether to go with the Radeon 4870 or the GTX 260? I origanally had the 260 but due to my mobo choice and the fact that the 4870 is a bit cheater and at least equal in performance I was swayed to get the 4870 instead.
[ + quote]
sammorris
AfterDawn Addict

4 product reviews
_ 		9. November 2008 @ 09:54 _ Link to this message    Send private message to this user   
HD4870 is certainly worth having if it's cheaper, as its equal to the GTX260 in performance.
Case is fine, PSU could be better, I'd recommend this:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139001
(520W is ample for your system, but you need a quality unit, the NeoPowers aren't one of Antec's better products)
RAM is fine, but I recommend Corsair for guaranteed reliability reasons.
Motherboard, hard disk, DVD drive, Operating System, Processor and Graphics card are all fine, but I'd recommend this monitor and CPU cooler:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824001268
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835154001

It's worth spending extra for a product that gets the job done well 24/7.


[ + quote]


Afterdawn Addict // Silent PC enthusiast // PC Build advisor // LANGamer Alias:Ratmanscoop
PC Specs page -- http://my.afterdawn.com/sammorris/blog_entry.cfm/11247
updated 10-Dec-13
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