Building a new computer for college

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Building a new computer for college

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armless1

Newbie

19. March 2008 @ 16:53

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Hey guys, I am planning on building a new computer to take with me to college. My parents are paying for the computer and my budget is around 800 dollars. The most graphic intense game I play is WoW so I don't need top of the line parts. I have a few parts in mind already. If you guys wouldn't mind rating my build and giving me some suggestion that would be great.

CPU:AMD Athlon 64 X2 5000+ Brisbane 2.6GHz 2x512KB L2 Cache Socket AM2 65W Dual-Core Black Edition Processor

Motherboard: GIGABYTE GA-MA78GM-S2H AM2+/AM2 AMD 780G HDMI Micro ATX AMD Motherboard

CPU Heatsink: ZEROtherm Nirvana NV120 120mm 2-ball UFO Bearing/Transparent CPU Cooler

Memory: G.SKILL 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory

Case: Antec Nine Hundred Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case

PSU: XCLIO STABLEPOWER 500W ATX Power Supply

Video Card: SAPPHIRE Radeon HD 3850 512MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 Video Card

Hard Drive: Seagate Barracuda ES.2 ST3250310NS 250GB 7200 RPM 32MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive

DVD/CD Drive: LITE-ON Black 20X DVD/CD Writer

Monitor:
Hanns·G HW-191DPB Black 19" 5ms Widescreen LCD Monitor 300 cd/m2 700:1 Built in Speakers

I have spare keyboard and mouse that I can use.

There are a few things that I am worried about with my current build.
1) I have read from reviews that the CPU heatsink is pretty big and I am wondering if the heaksink will get in the way of the RAM and what not on the motherboard.
2) The Antec 900 case has the PSU on the bottom and I am worried about the PSU wires not being long enough to read the hard drives and other devices. Does anyone know if the PSU I selected will be long enough to power up my current build?

[ + quote]

sammorris

AfterDawn Addict

4 product reviews

19. March 2008 @ 17:42

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The wires on the PSU, while not ideal, will reach the top of the 900 for any normal PSU. Unfortunately the one you've chosen is junk. Go with this one instead, it's much better, and also safer (XClio units can damage your whole PC when they go bang, which they frequently do)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139003

For that sort of money you should really be going with a faster CPU than the 5000+, so go with this combination instead:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115031
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128086

The CPU cooler, while large isn't anywhere near as effective as this combination:
http://www.ncixus.com/products/23531/ULT...E/THERMALRIGHT/
http://www.ncixus.com/products/17749/SFF21F/Scythe/

These definitely fit in the 900 case, because I know someone who has done it.

The rest of the components are fine.

[ + 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

armless1

Newbie

19. March 2008 @ 18:18

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After your suggestion for the PSU, I was wondering if 450W is enough for my build.

[ + quote]

sammorris

AfterDawn Addict

4 product reviews

19. March 2008 @ 18:22

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450W is absolutely plenty for that build. It's not the wattage that the Xclio is short on, it's just a poorly built unit.
For reference I run a Core 2 Duo overclocked to 3.15Ghz and an HD3870, my PC uses 205W at full load, that's it.

[ + 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

armless1

Newbie

19. March 2008 @ 18:42

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Oh I see. I don't really know how to calculate how much power computers need. Especially now with all these PSU offering 800+ Watts. Thanks for the input I will definitely get that PSU.

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