Someone go over my checklist for building a new comp

[Jeff240sx]

Allrighty. Building a computer. First time piecing one together. I've replaced every part in a compter over time, but never had an empty case, and a bunch 'o shit laying around needing to go in it.
Without further delay, here's my list. Tell me what I'm missing, and what *should* come with the stuff (as in do power cords come with a mobo, ect.)
Antec Sonata
P4E 3.0, s775 retail
Soltek mobo, built in raid/sata/lan and sound, 4 memory slots.
Radeon 9800 pro 128mb (will get heat spreaders and VGA cooler)
1gb Geil Value ram with heat spreaders
WD Raptor 10k rpm 36.7Gb hard drive and S-ATA cable
DVD burner
Will cannabalize gf's comps:
Floppy
CD burner
CD-rom

Know I need to buy:
Thermal Grease/Paste
Secondary case fan
Hard drive fan

I know I'll need a 20-pin to 24-pin ps-mobo adaptor due to s775 diferences. Can anyone else spot anything I'm missing. Including screws that won't come with drives, cables, how many and what.
-Jeff

[Toahk]

Most if not all dvd burners are cd burners as well, so you wont need a cd burner. Most the time the thermal grease come's with the processor- maybe you should get a diff heatsink/fan combo for your processor though. I wouldn't use the ps that come's with the case also, spend a few extra bucks and get a good one.

[mrmephistopheles]

defintiely get a larger HD. 36GB is not alot nowadays, and 200GB drives are very affordable.

[cali240sxdrifter]

wait for a dvd burner. if you getting the new Sony Dual Format Layer than get it, but if not don't cause the new gen. of dvd burners will be out in Q4. Bigger HD is a must. like meph said 200gigs HD is very cheap, it just sucks that theres no Fry's Electrontics here in Florida.

[95Blue240sx]

get a new power supply. enermax or antech. at least 400w. get a new heatsink for the CPU also. something like a zalmen copper. other than that your pretty much set.

the motherboard will come with the cords to connect the floppy drive and cd drives. as does the hard drive.

[Jeff240sx]

The sonata comes with an Antec truepower 380W ps. As for HD space, when I get money again, there will be another 36.7gb raptor in raid1, and probably a 100gig or so for storage of bullshit. The 2 comps I own are 20gig and 40gig, so 36 won't be bad, and at 2.5x the speed...
Also, the DVD burner is dual layer, dual format, so I just grabbed that one.
I should be fine on cables and such? I upped to a 256mb 9800pro so I can flash it to a 9800xt and save $240 or so.
-Jeff

[mjjstang]

that psu is fine, but Why the hell are you getting an intel. thats regoddamndiculous. Amd is such a better build, it saddens me to see you overspend on underperformance. but that aside, get some arctic silver 5 and a nice thermalRIGHT, not thermaltake cpu cooler, and u will be in business. and try to get the 9800 wiht samsung chips, its better for performance or shit, but otherwise very solid.

btw you should deffinitely be fine with cables, I have been upgrading my computer for a couple years now and I have BOXES AND BOXES of cables from just stuff ive bought and not used and if for some reason u need another cable or something let me know cuase if I have it I can prolly just send it to you, cause at stores thats the shit that they charge like 20 bux for the cable even though the store pays 28 cents for.

and heat spreaders on ram are quite usless

[crioten]

mind if i ask for more specs on the ram, good ram pays for itself over time...

and get a better monitor...if youve got a good GC, then get something that will be able to show good detail, like a decent 17" flatscreen monitor

[tastyratz]

jeff i have one of those raptor drives and let me tell ya they are great, good choice and damn fast! i was amazed at the difference it made. just be aware that when you get the money and put another one in in raid your gonna have to re-format and re-do everything on there. alot of the components you have listed will prettymuch come with cables. if you go with OEM setups off like pricewatch.com just check to see if it comes with cables. Think of cpu cooling as well. are you gonna pick up a fan or join the cool club with some watercooling? id HIGHLY recommend anyone to go watercooling lifes so much better with it. you would be amazed the noise that gets cut down. also go to newegg.com and pick up the hard drive cooler plate because ive had 3 hard drive failures due to heat and the raptors run hot. Also, id recommend the thermaltake adjustable 120mm blue led fan they have there. not because of the blue leds but because thats the one they have thats hella quiet and adjustable while still pushin some air. i have one of those on the front of my case and i have a cool safe hella quiet computer. its like 15$ but worth every penny when you see how quiet they are.

[Jeff240sx]

Ram specs: http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=20-144-310&depa=1

Mjjstang: I chose P4 because I don't just game. I do alot of web design, graphics, ect and multitask. I've checked the benchmarks for programs I use, and P4 with hyperthreading just outperforms the AMD chips of similar price. Was nice to see those $100 price cuts a couple weeks ago. I decided to sacrifice some gaming power for faster seek times and not slugging-out the computer with 6-8 1gb+ programs open. My gf's amd xp (I know.. it's a bitch processor) about died the first time I played "web builder" with it. Finally, the heat spreaders come with the ram. I didn't pay extra or anything.

Tasty: Will do. Thanks for the notes. Hard drive cooler, get 2nd raptor and 100gb at same time so I don't lose data setting up raid1. I don't think I'll be water cooling anything. Just grab a nice heat sink and fan in a couple weeks, after I recoup some cash. If I fry the p4 in the meantime, it's warranted. I was just looking at the 120mm case fans on newegg, and the good fans are made for ricers, all multicolored and flashing and crap :angry:

-Jeff

[tastyratz]

this is true the thermal take fan is loaded with everything but chrome and a wing but its got more airflow while being quieter than any of the other fans in comparison. its WELL worth the money i tell ya. hyperthreading however is ONLY good on applications that support it. hyperthreading in benchmarks has actually proven to cause a HIT in performance a decent degree on programs that dont support it. if the nature of your pc usage is going to be programs that support hyperthreading (i.e. photoshop) then by all means its worth it. if your going to be using it on mainly apps that dont then it really isnt worth it. i used to think id never need that much space too... 650gb later im gonna pick up 2 more 200gb drives because i have 5 GB FREE. 100gb drive isnt that much cheaper than a 200 right now. 200gb wd special edition 7200rpm 8mb cache hella nice drive to begin with is 115$ shipped off pricewatch.... something else to consider... also data stored at the center of the drive always performs better so an empty drive usually is faster. what i would suggest is raiding the 2 raptor drives and making a seperate windows/linux/etc. partition at the very beginning thats about 9gb. then just use the extra for more partitions to do whatever with...

[StupidGreen87]

I'd spring for some corsair/mushkin ram, you can't go wrong with either. I haven't been up to date on intel, but i heard that the prescotts run really hot and you couldn't tell much of a difference between them and the northwoods until they are in the 4ghz range. and if you want some non-ricey 120mm fans http://www.frozencpu.com/cgi-bin/frozencpu/fan-18.html i've heard panaflos are the best fans on the market :-)

[mjjstang]

i got buffalo ram
cheap and good.
but I hear the muskin is pretty good also,

[tastyratz]

panaflows are good fans but i did tons of reading and reviews and everything. nothing is as quiet as that thermaltake fan with the control and the leds i was talkin about. you can always cut the wire to the leds ya know if you dont want them.. geil is prettymuch the best ram you can buy. corsair/mushkin is great ram too but geil is just amazing

[Jeff240sx]

geil is prettymuch the best ram you can buy. corsair/mushkin is great ram too but geil is just amazing

+1! Thank god someone's heard of Geil. I've had like 20 people tell me to go Kingston/Corsair/suckmeoff because they've not heard of Geil. Their value ram o/c's as much if not more than Kingston HyperX and similar brands, they've got badass timings from the start, and stock heat spreaders (it's the thought that counts. You generally don't get that until you hit HyperX, ect.) Mushkin Value vs. Geil Value, I'll pay $20 extra and take Geil.
-Jeff

[G_Fish240]

Geil looks alright, not as good as my kingston Hyperx DDR433 PC3500 ;) Other then your small HDD it looks good

[the240sxer95]

im in need of a comp upgrade to :)

i need new processor and mobo..

which does everyone recommend? i dont need the best and the fastest.. just something a lot better then i got..


right now i got a soyo 1.7 ghz amd athlon :(

[Jeff240sx]

Depends on what you do man. AMD > gaming and Intel > multitasking. AMD are cheaper, and with a s754, you don't need registered ECC memory, which saves a few bucks too. A caveat to the AMD 64 is you'll need a badass powersupply. And what's your budget? I'm sure we can all find a good price vs. performance solution for your budget and needs.
-Jeff

[Jeff240sx]

GFish - My mobo only runs up to ddr400, so pc2700 it was for me. *shrug*
-Jeff

[tastyratz]

btw i agree with mj on the amd build i hate intel. amd xp chip with a shiny new nforce 2 board is what i have and i love it. ive tried alot of new 3+ghz intel dells and they feel like a 400 compared to my amd 2500xp on the nforce board. Intel also isnt able to fully utilize the speed of ddr like amd is. intel is more made for rd ram (sucks!) and is almost in a sense "backwards compatible" with ddr. dont be a sheep go amd! intel vs amd is like the sr vs ka battle so i dont wanna go further... btw geil ram is excellent i have some just make sure you get a good speed ram and not a crappy slow ram youll feel it. also arctic silver is hella good stuff and you dont wanna use that cheap silicone stuff they give you on the top of the chip. i try to fill the little chip empty square under the cpu with the SILICONE non conductive paste because it helps disperse the heat out more evenly and the thermal probe to read better. the blank air under a chip doesnt do it any good... also i have to disagree about heatspreaders on ram chips because ive seen them lower temps and it does actually make sense. your better off getting your own and using arctic silver epoxy to join them instead.


gfish (even funnier with your nick) that hard drive does 60mbs sustained transfer for me and even faster bursts... can your hd do that? when benchmarked it outperformed like 6 of the top 10k rpm drives. this is the 1 time where size doesnt matter and its good to get done quicker :wackit: lol

[G_Fish240]

My seagate 120 gig hdd cant do that, but it can hold 80 gigs of porn. my 2.4C @ ~3.0 and my ram serve me fine though ;)

[tastyratz]

thats why you get a storage drive and the raptor is just for installing os's program files and a few demanding games

[HyperTek]

i say wait on video card for the nvida geforce 6600gt series... its gonna be around same price as that 9800 and will be faster. I couldnt wait so I spent the cash on a 6800gt. my bottlenecks are pc2100 ram and i just bought a generic 256mb stick for the time being since i upgraded my cpu recently to the stuff in my sig, its ok for now, but im gonna have to upgrade new mobo and cpu later, which will result in new memory, but should suit current games fine.

[that180guy]

i myself am in need of a new cpu(burnt out...stuck using moms computer)...i must take to note; do not over use Artic Silver...... :duh:

and my thermaltake fan is louder den my car. cranked all the way up, with all the doors open in the house, you can here it all the way on the other side fo the damn house :eek3d: ..hot days...not so silent nites
any of u guys on watercooling? ive been tossing on the idea since...i needa new cpu anyways

[HyperTek]

dude i got arctic silver 3 and a thermaltake fan to!!! valcano 7 and i overclock so i leave it on high, thing is loud!! but i live with it. Though sometimes i wish i had silent cooling, but you gotta make sacrifaces sometimes...

I want to experiment with water cooling but its more expensive piecing it together yadda yadda.

[Bryants95240sx]

http://files.automotiveforums.com/gallery/watermark.php?file=/503/1126291F03-6-3_20-36_-med.jpg trust me i know what loud is haha

[HyperTek]

dude how can u get comfortable at that desk?? haha if that is a desk.. Ive had friends that have thier monitors to teh side of the table while sitting in a folding chair and I dont see how someone can sit thier using the computer...

[that180guy]

HA! i can top u bryant985240sx,

the volcano 7 + aluminum xaser 3 super tower :bowrofl:
w00t WooT!!
count em....9 fans boys n girls.....2 80mm side panel, frnt panel, rear panel, 1 on top.....1 on my card(nvidia fx5200...jerry rigg mounted..) n the volcano..
...whose gonna top me in fan quantity....bring i say, bring it :fruit:

ahaha...dude...my computers on a nite stand, and i sit on the floor...jdm tyte yo!

[StupidGreen87]

Pshh I can beat that! I have a jdm tyte lian-li case....then I bought my 240sx and now i can't afford to finish the computer. I'm running a PIII at 933mhz with TyTe integrated video! :wtc:

[mjjstang]

u guys are computer ricers, I dont need to see the shit in my computer, although once you drop 2 grand into a system, It is comforting to see what you actually spent the money on. but then all igotta do is take the side panel off.

[ThatGuy]

Too much.
http://www.daveinci.com/images/513_106-0663_IMG.JPG
More info here. (http://www.daveinci.com/pages/15/index.htm)

No it's not mine. All I got is a Sony Vaio Laptop that I barely know how to work. :D

[tastyratz]

i had a window on my case before anyone else did and i was so mad that people were doin it after i did that everyone thought it was cool. i still like the look with my computer i dunno. ive been watercooling for years and ill never go back now. everything is quiet and cooler than ever, no complaints, no leaks. its not as expensive as people think. maxijet pond pump (i forget what size i got) 20$. home depot 3/8 fittings tubes etc like 10$ waterblock around 30-40 ish for a good one. then use a tupperware case for a resevoir and a heater core for a radiator. ive got 2 7volt 80mm fans on the radiator and the 120mm case fan up front all the way down. my computer is under the desk and you cant hear if its on from 6 feet away. its a very low sound and you can hear my hard drives spinning(not grinding) over my fans...

[Bryants95240sx]

HA! i can top u bryant985240sx,

the volcano 7 + aluminum xaser 3 super tower :bowrofl:
w00t WooT!!
count em....9 fans boys n girls.....2 80mm side panel, frnt panel, rear panel, 1 on top.....1 on my card(nvidia fx5200...jerry rigg mounted..) n the volcano..
...whose gonna top me in fan quantity....bring i say, bring it :fruit:

ahaha...dude...my computers on a nite stand, and i sit on the floor...jdm tyte yo!


Mine has 9 also

the little table next to the bed was just a temporary thing.

and even if i have all the lights and whatever i only spent a grand

specs
3.07ghz p4
ati 128mb GC
764mb of pc2100 ram(i can go up to 4 gigs if i want) dvd burnner
60gig and 80 gig harddrive
i forget the rest

[that180guy]

damn, nice set up.

i spent roughly 1200...expensive case + new monitor
i need more ram, 512 doesnt cut it these days really...
i needa new cpu....i want a athlon 64k....but id rather put that couple hundred into my shell...so yea....100 dollar athlon xp here i come! :hsdance: