ObviousNinja

All my links at the bottom of the post sorry I am new to forums XD

This will be my first time build from the ground up I have some knowledge about computers i.e. configuring BIOS, some upgrading to my home PC, things of this nature. One thing that really attracted me to building my own PC is having an understanding of my system from the start. I've been trolling Newegg.com for days finding the most bang for my buck. So, here I am asking the "experts" what you guys think about this build any suggestions are greatly appreciated. I have no clue if any of this is overkill. I am 90% sure everything is compatible with each other. Without further delay my build.

CPU: AMD Phenom II X4 940 (309$ + motherboard)-Chose the quad-core over a dual core long decision process but as I am still new to overclocking I am not sure if I can get as much performance out of the quad core as I would with an Intel dual-core

Hard Drive: WD caviar 640GB 7200RPM SATA(69.99)- The description says "bare drive" I am not to sure if that is important and something I may need to fix. Also I was seriously contemplating downgrading to a 300gb drive with a second solid state drive or even smaller SATA drive to run games off of (being a gamer speed is at a premium but I'm not sure how performance of the two options stacks up.)

CPU Cooling: Scythe SCASM-1000 120mm- This was a hard one for me because I have never had to deal with cooling. But I read up on it and I think a top mounted fan will overall provide more temperature reduction for the system as a whole. ~100$ for fans and case

Motherboard: Foxconn A79A-S 790FX(price included with processor): Comes in a package deal with the processor taking off 110$ off of both which was a big selling point considering the processor's price. I was reading up about the board and there have been some minor set up problems with it but nothing to serious imo.

GPU Cooling: I am not sure if this is constituted as GPU cooling but the case I have ( Themaltake M9 has a low mounted 120mm front fan and a high mounted exhaust. Also in the case's side window there is a fan mount which I think I am going to put Thermaltake A2018 120mm fan in. To me that is a lot of air flow but better safe than sorry.

Memory: OCZ Reaper 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 1150 (PC2 9200)(67.99) I know this is what I need and it seemed to be the cheapest high performance memory I can get my hands on at 67.99 after MIR

GPU: SAPPHIRE 100256L Radeon HD 4670 1GB 128-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP(84.99): The faster cards are not really in my budget and I think the upgrade form GDDR3 to GDDR5 is not worth the extra 100 to 200 dollars I would have to pay correct me if I'm wrong. This card and run 320 streams which seems more than adequate. core clock 750Mhz memory clock 2000Mhz. Side note I am planing to display this on a moniter with an HDMI hook up will that have any draw backs in performance?

Power Supply: PC Power & Cooling S75CF 750W EPS12V(79.99 after MIR)- Not entirely sure if I need all this power but the extra efficiency would be nice not that it matters since I do not pay utilities but a more efficient system is a more stable system. Right?

I am pretty sure that about covers my hardware I mentioned the case in there somewhere. I have a cheap Sony dvd burner not that I need one since my laptop has one my PS3 has a blu-ray drive so I am set on those. I am also purchasing a static charge wristband 4 dollars seemed like a steal for something that will make me not have to return stuff.

The grand total is 893.90 before I get 89$ in MIR and that is without the OS I still have not decided on an OS. I am trying to keep it as far under 1000$ as possible. Either vista Ult or XP and wait for new windows. I am not buy the OS from newegg because I can buy it from my university's bookstore for about 10$ I have been told. But my information may be faulty (my roomate an girlfriend told me this but I am pretty sure it is just for productivity software not an OS) The PC will mostly be used for gaming. I have my laptop for media I hook it in to my 1080p TV and it's money. So, the PC will be pretty much almost exclusively for gaming

This is my first build and I am really nervous I really just need some closure I did my research before I shopped. Also if anyone wants to help me on the build day I would immensely appreciate it. Talking through ventrilo or Yahoo messenger something of that nature. In any case you guys seem like you have a great community and I hope to become a part of it.

Thank you for your time.

LINKS
CASE
DVD
HARD DRIVE
POWER SUPPLY
Memory
FANZ

CPU/motherboard

RyanRacer48

CPU .. You will NEVER get as good of an overclock out of a quad as you will a dual core cpu. Your odds of having all 4 cores stable is cut in half. Intel is faster right now but for cost / performance, you have a nice set up.

Hard drive: most are going to be about the same, just make sure its 32mb cache.

Your mobo, Cpu cooling and video card seem like great choices.. I would personally recommend NOT getting OCZ memory as most OCZ products are crap in my opinion. Opt for either Corsair or Gskill.

Excellent choice on the PSu. You cannot get vista at university book stores anymore like you could w/ xp. I am pretty sure this is still accurate.



Personally I would stay away from solid state until the technology matures. Unless its a laptop who cares if it spins

__________________
" A lot of things wouldn't get done if it weren't for the last minute. "

http://www.overclock.net/sale/588228-worldwide-new-hdmi-xbox-360-iz3d.html

MY BUILD THREAD - BONEYARD

mothergoose729

Firstly what is your budget? Second what do you plan on doing with this computer? Also, would you consider folding on it:

http://www.overclock.net/overclock-n...need-know.html

And if so would that be important to you?

RyanRacer48

LOL You folders are like army recruiters ...

seriously I have no complaints against folding. Its a great concept, if only OCN would pay our electric bill I'd do it myself!

__________________
" A lot of things wouldn't get done if it weren't for the last minute. "

http://www.overclock.net/sale/588228-worldwide-new-hdmi-xbox-360-iz3d.html

MY BUILD THREAD - BONEYARD