New computer build time, need advice/help

[Major_A]

Do not get a refurbed hard drive. For $2 more you can get a new one http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/ProductDe ... t=celebros or for $11 more you can get a 1TB drive.

Here's a link to a Corsair VX550 for $62.99 after a mail in rebate. It's $8 cheaper after a $20 rebate at ZZF rather than a $30 rebate at the egg.
http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/ProductDe ... t=celebros

Other than that it looks good to me.

[DL13]

One thing I forgot about, AMD chips are only dual channel with their DDR3, so with your 6GB kit you wont be able to run it in dual channel (because you've got an odd number of sticks).

You can either live with the single channel-ness or just get a 4GB kit.

Odds are that you probably won't notice that it's running single channel compared to dual channel, and more memory is always a good thing. In my mind there's something about having 6GB of RAM, though 4GB is still plenty (ironic really that i'm still running my main machine on 2GB >_> ). But it's up to you if you want to have it running at full tilt (dual channel) even if it comes with the 'penalty' of slightly less RAM).

Dan

Hi, he can use 6GB kits, I checked with Gigabyte my self because I plan to buy a Gigabyte GA-MA790FXT-UD5P. Jusat look at the memory support list for the UD4P version it will show 3GB kits.
What you see below is my Q&A to Gigabyte.


Answer - 754230Answer : Dear Customer,

Yes, a 6GB triple channel memory kit will work too.

Thank you for choosing Gigabyte products


Question - 754230From : David Ling Sent : 5/3/2009 10:25Question :


Hi I am interested in buy GA-MA790FXT-UD5P and I saw in the memory support list that a 3GB triple channel kit can be used so if I bout a 6GB triple channel kit it will work to, am I right about the ram?

[pwcmed]

I don't know I think the WD is faster. It's 69.99 with free shipping at newegg.

[Major_A]

If that's the case then I'd say go with the Black Edition. No point in spending more money.

[bigblockmatt]

i am trying to stay away from 'The Egg' cause i am in california and so is newegg so they charge me sales tax which is up in the 10% range now. the price diff. on the WD black and the Samsung spinpoint is only a couple bucks so it is down to best for the money...

so WD or Samsung?

[Major_A]

I don't care for Tom's but I found that they have reviewed both drives. Unfortunately they are in different articles so you will need to back and forth to see their results.
Spinpoint F1 Review
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/sam ... ,1730.html
Caviar Black Edition Review
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/hit ... 017-3.html

[Skippman]

Shaping up nicely! I'm running a 30% OC and twin 4870 1G's off of a Corsair 620HX. You should have no problems with the smaller PSU. Also you may not want to swing for the modular ones as they tend to be $15-$20 more than the non modular PSU's.

[bigblockmatt]

The main reason that I went with that one was it listed as SLI/Crossfire support. The other corsair one that I looked at (sub $100) just said SLI. If it supports SLI, would that mean it can support crossfire since I am going with ATI video card. I am not going xfire now but want to be able to if I would like to add a card in the future. Would this PSU work well?
http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/ProductDe ... e=10007111

[Skippman]

I run the 620 w/ twin PowerColor 4870 1G cards. So yes, the 650 should handle it just fine. Now, that being said, I had to ask for special cables to give me four PCIE Connectors. The PSU you linked only has two PCIE connectors. So you'll either need splitters, or 12V molex adapters. I'd recommend goind with the 620HX or the 850HX (which has the 4 connectors you'll need).

[Major_A]

bigblockmatt I understand that you don't want to pay tax... Then I have bad news, ZZF is a California based company also. You might want to price parts out of state at Directron (Houston, TX), 3btech.net (South Bend, IN), Amazon (Seattle, WA), Tankguys (Pinckney, MI) and TigerDirect (Miami, FL).

[bigblockmatt]

damn, i havent purchased anything from them yet... grr!!! i might just have to help stimulate CA (it can use every penny at this point). i dont really want to buy a few parts from several different places... to much of a pain imo.

[Skippman]

I can't recommend DirecTron highly enough. I've probably thrown $10K at those guys over the years on various projects for myself and others. Excellent company to work with, even if thier site sucks.

[Major_A]

Considering where Directron is located I imagine it is Vietnamese owned. I've never purchased anything from them, seeing as I'd have to pay sales tax so I can't give a recommendation one way or the other. I have bought from 3btech, Amazon, and Tiger Direct all without issue.

[bigblockmatt]

ORDERED!!! I tried to piece it together from various places but it didnt come out to any real savings after all the MIR through ZZF. Heres the final.

10008034 CORSAIR TW3X4G1333C9DHX 4GB PC3-10666 (DDR3-1333) DDR3 Memory Retail $77.50 1 $77.50
10009678 ASUS EAH4870 DK TOP/HTDI/512MD5 Radeon HD 4870 512MB GDDR5 PCI Express x16 (2.0v) Video Card Retail $168.99 1 $168.99
10010064 AMD HDZ720WFGIBOX Phenom II X3 720 Black Edition 2.8Ghz Socket AM3 95W 2.80 GHz Desktop Processor Retail $139.00 1 $139.00
10010083 WESTERN DIGITAL Caviar Black WD5001AALS 500GB SATA II 7200 RPM 32MB Buffer Hard Drive Bulk $67.89 1 $67.89
10010088 GIGABYTE GA-MA790XT-UD4P AMD 790X AM3 Phenom II Socket AM3 5200 MT/s PC3-10600 (DDR3-1333) ATX Motherboard Retail $119.99 1 $119.99
373110 Corsair HX Series CMPSU-620HX 620W Power Supply Retail $129.99 1 $129.99
10008919 PIONEER DVR-216DBK 20X SATA DVD Burner Black Drive $31.99 1 $31.99
617010 Battle Forge PC Game $0.00 1 $0.00

Sub Total: $735.35
Discount: $0.00
Sales Tax: $60.67
Shipping: $0.00

ORDER TOTAL: $796.02


Pictures to come when it all arrives!!

[Skippman]

Rock on!

Ok, now e-mail Corsair and tell them you need the dual PCIE cables. They'll send them to you free but took like 3 weeks to get to me. May as well get them now for when you decide to go Crossfire.

[bigblockmatt]

FEDEX CAME TODAY!!!!




I think i will be able to put it together this weekend!!

[Major_A]

I think i will be able to put it together this weekend!!

Congrats on having self control. If I get a new toy and am not playing with it in 10 minutes I'm bummed. Let us know how the build goes.

[bigblockmatt]

i was going to start to rip it open it all tonight, but i had to go out this evening and wanted to make sure i give myself plenty of time to work on it. i doubt it is going to go together perfectly as planned so i want to give myself room and time. I most of the day saturday and most of the day sunday. i figure i will put it all together and do the basics on saturday and then mess around on sunday. i am very excited though. i will have pictures of it all going together.

[bigblockmatt]

Well, i got it all put together on sunday. i couldnt get to it on Saturday. Had a couple problems with installing the hardware (the video card is HUGE!!) - pictures to come tonight. turned it on and everything started up properly first try.

so we put in the windows 7 disk and started with that. it went through the install process and did its loading thing. it restarted and tried to finish the install process and the monitor would just loose signal. (using a sceptre LCD via DVI plug). it woud loose signal right after the "windows starting" screen. couldnt figure out what the problem was. so we tried installing XP. that hung at 34 minutes remaining... i ran out of time - i had a dinner i had to go to. so after the dinner, i went home and continued to work on it, i was determined to to get it working. luckily my g/f has a laptop so i hopped on and did some searching. come to find out, there is an issue with windows 7, DVI, and ATI. so i went to the garage and pulled out my CRT monitor and plugged that in, restarted and BAM, started up perfect. so, i am picking up a VGA cable on my way home from work tonight. you will hear more from me tonight or tomorrow morning.

Thanks for all the help and suggestions with the parts!!

[bigblockmatt]

up and running full speed!!

Here are some progress pics of the build.

Empty Case



The Mobo in the case



The video card



Tight fit!!! I had to flip the hard drive upside down to get the cables to fit. it works, but barely...



All installed ready to turn on



She's Alive!!