[littlep2000]

Hey guys, I've got a bit of experience building computers through helping friends and such but have never set one up myself. Just wanted to run my plan by everyone and see if it is possible and if there are any suggestions.

Case:
http://www.tigerdire...p;Sku=T925-4100
Standard mid-tower.

Optical:
http://www.tigerdire...p;Sku=S167-4522
20x Sony DVD writer.

(Optical drive isn’t a big deal, pretty much all are $30)

Memory:
http://www.tigerdire...e...&CatId=2531
OCZ Reaper HPC Dual Channel 2GB PC9200

(I’ll probably add another 1 or 2GB eventually)

Video Card:
http://www.tigerdire...p;Sku=P450-9616
XFX Geforce 9600 GSO, might SLI in the future.

CPU:
http://www.tigerdire...p?EdpNo=2643933
Intel 2.4 Quad core

(mmmm… quad core)

Mobo:
http://www.tigerdire...e...&CatId=1533
Asus P5Q Green Socket 775, ATX, PCIe 2.0

(its eco-friendly, apparently)

Power Supply:
http://www.tigerdire...;Sku=ULT-LSP650
Ultra LSP650

Hard drive:
http://www.tigerdire...e...45&GSCID=21
Maxtor 500GB

The only things I am concerned about is the power supply, is that complete overkill? I really just picked it up since it can support SLI and SATA. The hard drive will probably be changed, just looking for under $75 and I could make do with a 250GB. Total price is $642, minus like 30 for a few rebates.

Thank you for any help.

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Hi littlep2000!

There's a few things I will change in your build.

First of all, the DVD-drive you selected is IDE only, SATA is much better and price is about the same. I usually recommend Pioneer and Samsung for better build quality.

For the power supply, stay away from Ultra, they're low quality. Try something from Antec, Silverstone, PC Power & Cooling, Corsair, Seasonic.

For the video card, its not advisable to SLI two low-end card as you won't notice a big difference. SLI are usually done with high-end cards with about 30% performance increase. Also, the motherboard you selected do not support SLI (or Crossfire for that matter). If you will be doing a lot of gaming (assuming you are since you're wanting to SLI these cards), I suggest you buy something like 9800GT or 9800GTX+ now because of the reasons I have stated above.

For the hard drive, I'd also advise you to stay away from Maxtor because their hard drives have a higher failure rate than other manufacturers. This Seagate 500GB is cheaper and have 5 years warranty.

For the case, this is personal preference however I wanted to throw this out here. Antec 300 is a nice case and should fit all your parts.

Also note that newegg is also available and they have quite a few selections that are cheaper than TigerDirect.

Hope that helps.
Kamille

[kamille316]

Hi littlep2000!

There's a few things I will change in your build.

First of all, the DVD-drive you selected is IDE only, SATA is much better and price is about the same. I usually recommend Pioneer and Samsung for better build quality.

For the power supply, stay away from Ultra, they're low quality. Try something from Antec, Silverstone, PC Power & Cooling, Corsair, Seasonic.

For the video card, its not advisable to SLI two low-end card as you won't notice a big difference. SLI are usually done with high-end cards with about 30% performance increase. Also, the motherboard you selected do not support SLI (or Crossfire for that matter). If you will be doing a lot of gaming (assuming you are since you're wanting to SLI these cards), I suggest you buy something like 9800GT or 9800GTX+ now because of the reasons I have stated above.

For the hard drive, I'd also advise you to stay away from Maxtor because their hard drives have a higher failure rate than other manufacturers. This Seagate 500GB is cheaper and have 5 years warranty.

For the case, this is personal preference however I wanted to throw this out here. Antec 300 is a nice case and should fit all your parts.

Also note that newegg is also available and they have quite a few selections that are cheaper than TigerDirect.

Hope that helps.
Kamille

[littlep2000]

So I am taking quite a few of your suggestions.

Thanks for pointing that out on the optical drive, one of those things I might have missed.

The power supply now being switched to the Antec EA 650, the same idea as the ULTRA for a few dollars more.
http://www.newegg.co...N82E16817371015

I am taking your suggestion on the HD, I haven't completely price searched yet just roughing out some ideas so that is really helpful.

I am not by any means ademate on going SLI so that isn't a big deal. So just to clarify you are suggesting getting a single powerful video card with the motherboard I currently have picked out?

So what do you think if I changed those things and then added one of the 9800 GTXs.
http://www.newegg.co...N82E16814143137

Oh also I think I found a better motherboard for a better price, still a P5Q but a Pro with crossfire and could be SLI.
http://www.newegg.co...N82E16813131299

Thank you again.

Edited by littlep2000, 09 December 2008 - 03:08 PM.

[kamille316]

The power supply now being switched to the Antec EA 650, the same idea as the ULTRA for a few dollars more.
http://www.newegg.co...N82E16817371015

Good pick

I am taking your suggestion on the HD, I haven't completely price searched yet just roughing out some ideas so that is really helpful.

I usually go with Western Digital, Seagate or Samsung, all 3 manufacturers make great hard drives.

I am not by any means ademate on going SLI so that isn't a big deal. So just to clarify you are suggesting getting a single powerful video card with the motherboard I currently have picked out?

So what do you think if I changed those things and then added one of the 9800 GTXs.
http://www.newegg.co...N82E16814143137

Yes that's correct, since the motherboard you have picked out only has 1 PCI-E slot, going with a powerful video card would be a better choice.
The BFG card you selected is a great choice. BFG offers limited lifetime warranty and they have great customer support. As for performance, 9800GTX is far better than 9600GSO and its a great performer.

Thank you again.

I'm glad I could help

[littlep2000]

Then one more question, this motherboard http://www.newegg.co...N82E16813131299

It is essentially the same specs as the P5Q Green, it is just a P5Q Pro but is crossfire ready and can support 2 PCIe 2.0s if I ever wanted to go that direction. Oh and I can save $15

[kamille316]

Asus P5Q Pro is good for you needs. However if you're wanting to take advantage of Crossfire then you will have to change the video card to an ATI card. Crossfire uses 2 ATI video cards and SLI uses 2 Nvidia cards (eg. the card you have chosen) and P5Q Pro only supports Crossfire.

You can however use any single card with this motherboard.