New to PC building and the forums

[O'Neill]

Hi there,

I'm new to the PC building scene and am in need of some general advice. I've done a bit of reading and know the basic components needed for a PC build. The problem is that I don't know whether all of my parts will fit together and work!! I've browsed the Aria website and have pre-selected all of the components which caught my eye and fit my budget, all i need now is a bit of advice on whether i'm going to be able to make a PC out of them.

Before I show you what i've selected, I want this PC to be an all-round machine, that is to say I want to play some of the recent game releases (with most graphic options enabled), aswell as watching DVDs and multi-tasking.

Here we go then....

MOBO: MSI K8N Neo4-F socket 939
http://www.aria.co.uk/ProductInfoComm.asp?ID=19979

CPU: AMD Athlon 64x2 4200 Retail AM2
http://www.aria.co.uk/ProductInfoComm.asp?ID=24440

Graphics Card: I had selected the Gainward bliss 6800GS SLI 512MB however it appears that this card is no longer on ARIA!! Any other suggestion is most welcome!!

Memory: OCZ Gold 1GB Kit PC2-5400 DDR2 RAM
http://www.aria.co.uk/ProductInfoComm.asp?ID=21564

I chose this memory as I saw that whilst being within a reasonable price barrier, it appeared to offer more than the cheapest 1GB option, although I don't know whether it would make a noticeable difference. Any suggestions?

Case: Coolermaster Centurion 5 Silver
http://www.aria.co.uk/ProductInfoComm.asp?ID=16357

I'm unsure of whether this case comes with a PSU however it does look quite good. I am unsure also of whether the MOBO will fit (because i'm new to the PC build). Any help on this is appreciated.

DVD drive: Samsung 18x DVDRW LightScribe Black
http://www.aria.co.uk/ProductInfoComm.asp?ID=24551

HDD: 80GB Seagate Barracuda 9 SATA2 8MB
http://www.aria.co.uk/ProductInfoComm.asp?ID=24403

I heard some bad things about the Maxtor so i hastily changed to a Seagate who i've heard of more regularly in the HDD market.

Monitor: ASUS VW192S 19\" TFT - Widescreen
http://www.aria.co.uk/ProductInfoComm.asp?ID=24811

I'm looking to get this monitor also due to the low price tag, widescreen capability and its overall good looks, if there is anything wrong with it please tell me now!


And i think that is everything!

My main queries are if the mobo is the right choice, and if my components will fit it! Apart from that any general advice and suggestions are most welcome and i hope to be hearing from you soon!!

Thanks for your time!!

[O'Neill]

thanks for the welcome,

i was wondering whether or not i had picked the right mobo for the CPU, as in the CPU spec table it says socket 939 and also says AM2 in the title. I got confused, thanks for the headsup. Does anybody have any specific recommendations for a mobo?

Thanks

[O'Neill]

thanks again for the help. i have just emailed aria about the PSU in the case and about the CPU as it isn't clear at all!

I've changed my HDD to a 160GB Hitachi Deskstar 133/7200+8M
http://www.aria.co.uk/ProductInfoComm.asp?ID=25011

It seems to look quite suitable and good capacity and price!

Any other advice is welcome, especially on the graphics card suggestions!

Thanks

[Firerat]

[quote:62ed308236=\"ÈL ® ö B ì Ñ\"]
The mobo will fit in the case, but like you I can't see on there if it says it comes with a PSU or not....could email aria.
[/quote:62ed308236]

It dosn't come with a PSU , implied by it not having a power rate e.g. 400W

and I'm certain most people here would recommend you purchase a PSU separately even if the case came with one.

[bazzaric]

Who would ever call ElRob a no0b....

I'm guessing there's a mistake on the site! I think they are both 939, but email aria just to check.

Good ol FR helping out too...you've got the top 'men' on the case now...we shall have this PC built in no time!

Everything else seems to be ok, you should really spend the extra bucks on a good PSU

[Gregoroth]

These are my suggestions:

Monitor: I would get this instead: http://www.aria.co.uk/ProductInfoComm.asp?ID=24391 It should have 1 DVI connection and 2 VGA connections. The spec is very nice.

HDD: If you're just going to get one drive and not 'RAIDing', then I suggest at least a 160GB Seagate. Like elrobin said, it's not much more for doudble the space. Ideally, you would want a 16MB cache drive with NCQ technology. Seagate do a 250GB SATA2 16MB drive which you should be able to find on this site. I would have also recommended Western Digital drives but the don't have NCQ.

If you're going to RAID (you should do some research on RAID but basically you can set up 2 drives as RAID 1 - if one drive happened to fail, then the other takes over ensuring your data isn't lost), I would get 2 of the 80GB Maxtors. They have a fast seek time, not too loud and have NCQ technology. Either way, just make sure you get an 8MB cache, SATA/SATA2 drive minimum. NCQ isn't required but does have a peformance advantage when multitasking.

Motherboard: http://www.aria.co.uk/ProductInfoComm.asp?ID=22832

or my favourite

http://www.aria.co.uk/ProductInfoComm.asp?ID=23044

Memory: I would personally get one 1GB stick of RAM (DDR2-800/PC6400) and get another 1GB stick early next year when the prices drop. Most brands have a 'Value' line of memory which will be fine. Just make sure you get a recommended brand such as Corsair, OCZ, Kingston etc. Cheap generic RAM can cause problems.

Graphics: If you have the money, go for the Radeon X1950 Pro for £130. It's mid range and powerful and should last you a while until you decide to upgrade to a DirectX10 card.

or

You can find a GeForce 7600GT 256MB on the web for £83 if you do some searching. Search this in google - 'CCL'. Their selection of Corsair memory is also less expensive that most other places.

Hope that helped.

[mac124]

Go with the msi AM2 equivalent, msi are a good brand imho.

If the case doesn't say it comes with a psu chances are it doesn't have one fitted. Also i would recommend a case that has 120mm fans front and rear, the 120mm fans tend to be quieter and shift more air than 80mm. As for psu's please don't buy a cheap one, stick to a decent branded psu from the likes of tagan, enermax, ocz and such likes, the psu is the 1 component you really shouldn't go \"value\" on. Spend £40 approx for a decent 400-500 watt psu and you wont be far wrong.

Graphics card well you say you want to play recent games with most the eye candy on so you will be looking to spend around £100+ go for a 7600gt or better maybe a 7900gs.

[O'Neill]

thanks for all the quick repsonses guys, its going to take a while to look at all of the information you've given but i'll put another list up in a little while based on the advice!

Thankyou

[Firerat]

yeah I would hazard that the CPU is actually AM2

I can't physicaly check until Monday

but I'll send some emails and it might get fixed sooner

[O'Neill]

Well I found this Corsair Value Select 1GB PC2-5300 memory
http://www.aria.co.uk/ProductInfoComm.asp?ID=23537

I was looking for a graphics card (looking to spend around £100-150) and couldn't find the suggested models. If anyone could lend a hand it would be appreciated.

The monitor suggested looks amazing, i was wondering whether the 8ms response time will make a difference or not and whether it will be noticeable from day to day use and during game-play?

I think i will go for the slightly cheaper motherboard as the price of the PC is already managing to get higher and higher. I'm looking to put a cap on the basic components at no more than £550 without the monitor.

I already have a sound system which i can use so no speakers needed, nor do i need a sound card as the mobo as one already within it.

So just the PSU, graphics card and memory (if the one mentioned isn't suitable)
required now.

Is the CPU suitable do you think? I don't really know too much about CPUs apart from the newer dual core processors are the way to go.

Also i may need some help on the cables required to connect everything together!

Thanks again!

[Firerat]

Intel may be worth a look

Asus P5B Deluxe P965
http://www.aria.co.uk/ProductInfoComm.asp?ID=23805

with a
Intel Core 2 Duo E6600
http://www.aria.co.uk/ProductInfoComm.asp?ID=23828
is a popular choice


even seasoned AMDers have been recommending Conros lately

Whichever CPU you go for I would recommend an Arctic Freezer

http://www.aria.co.uk/ProductsList.asp?Name=freezer

They are nice and quite and keep even overclocked CPUs cool

[Firerat]

Got confirmation on the CPU

it is AM2 not 939

Site will be updated soon

[O'Neill]

although the intel conroe does look quite appealing, my budget simply doesn't allow for the price tag! shame really.

[O'Neill]

Thanks for the advice everyone,

I think i will be going for the slightly more expensive monitor just for the dvi.

For the PSU i have found this Xilence ATX2.0 420w PSU
http://www.aria.co.uk/ProductInfoComm.asp?ID=19868

will this be suitable?

Thanks guys

[Firerat]

if you wnat a 'beefy' PSU

http://www.aria.co.uk/ProductsList.a...Enermax+Galaxy