Building a new computer and need help

[Coelit]

I will be receiving a sum of about 1500 bucks to build a new computer soon, however I have minor knowledge when it comes to building computers so i come to you BRBU
My hardware teacher said he would help me build it but I need you guys to help me get what I need. I want a high end gaming computer with above average speakers for both music and gameplay. Clear sided tower case is kind of what I prefer.
For a case I was thinking this http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/...=A107-3016

Please assist me in this :/ I know diddly shit bout assembling computers besides the basics.

[Didzo]

Do you need a monitor, keyboard, and mouse along with the speakers?

A cheaper alternative to speakers would be getting a headset or headphones.

[Mission Difficult]

For speakers you might want to look into the Logitech Z-5500 set, unless you live in an apartment because the bass will get you evicted.

[Didzo]

Random part collection:
1TB Hard Drive
Video card, arbitrarily chosen
650W PSU and Win7 combo
4GB RAM
CPU and MoBo combo
Case - Probably better than the crap case you posted

Total: $855

Now you need a screen, speakers, keyboard, and mouse. Then you can use whatever you have left over (if anything) to upgrade the RAM, mobo (the one I posted is the one I have, but there are more up-to-date mobos available), or video card.

[Versus]

unless you MUST have speakers, i'd really recommend a nice pair of headphones. $335 speakers kind of rule out a "high end gaming computer" on a budget of $1500.

i'm gonna go look at newegg now.

operating under the assumption you already have a monitor, keyboard, and mouse:

computer: http://secure.newegg.com/WishList/Public...r=15489552
headphones (the ones i own): http://www.amazon.com/Sennheiser-Collaps...B001IPQJOM

[Spore]

computer: http://secure.newegg.com/WishList/Public...r=15489552
headphones (the ones i own): http://www.amazon.com/Sennheiser-Collaps...B001IPQJOM

At his budget he has no place getting a 6870. Do a 6950. You can even unlock parts of it to make it perform like a 6970. We're also at that point where a lot of modern games get a 90 to 100 percent FPS boost in crossfire or SLI now, so that's something to maybe consider.

http://www.dailytech.com/Get+Radeon+HD+6...e20485.htm

[Coelit]

I most likley should have said these things earlier
1. I do have a mouse(razer and love it)
2.Good idea, instead of speakers headsets might be sexy. Most likley a razer headset( I have a odd love for them) and a Razer keyboard.
3. Thanks Didzo. Would I need extra fans?

[Versus]

I most likley should have said these things earlier
1. I do have a mouse(razer and love it)
2.Good idea, instead of speakers headsets might be sexy. Most likley a razer headset( I have a odd love for them) and a Razer keyboard.
3. Thanks Didzo. Would I need extra fans?

so...do you need a monitor?

[Dtrain323i]

For speakers you might want to look into the Logitech Z-5500 set, unless you live in an apartment because the bass will get you evicted.

however, bass is great when you have neighbors with kids who cause all sorts of racket at 2am. 

[Coelit]

[quote author=Coelit link=topic=5388.msg193617#msg193617 date=1295934787]
I most likley should have said these things earlier
1. I do have a mouse(razer and love it)
2.Good idea, instead of speakers headsets might be sexy. Most likley a razer headset( I have a odd love for them) and a Razer keyboard.
3. Thanks Didzo. Would I need extra fans?

so...do you need a monitor?
[/quote]
lol sorry, yeah I do.

[Eightball]

I've had...poor experiences with Apevia cases. The one I had was flimsy and cheaply constructed; paint scratched off easily, the door didn't fit right, plastic ornamentation broke off and front USB ports got annihilated. If I may recommend some brands, consider Antec, Cooler Master, Thermaltake and Rosewill. They're a bit more reliable and prestigious.

[HeK]

If a proper ~500-600 watt psu will do, you can get some decent Antec power&case combos.
Do not cheap out on a power supply.

[Kirby]

Do not cheap out on a power supply.

Do not cheap out on a power supply.

[Didzo]

Versus put together a nice build, but money could be saved by switching from a 2TB drive to a 1TB drive and switching to 2x2GB RAM or even 4x2GB RAM.

Don't most Intel motherboards have 6 memory slots though?

[Versus]

yeah you could definitely save on the hard drive and RAM, but i think the current thing is dual channel RAM. you could probably get away with 2x2GB, but i'd recommend more. would a single 4GB stick now with an additional 4GB stick at a later point be good? i updated the list with a lower-capacity HDD, reduced RAM, a 6950 instead of a 6870, and added a monitor, as well as a reasonably priced razer headset.

shipping to my zip code makes the grand total $1,489.10.

[Coelit]

I am personally taking note to all your suggestions and going from them, however I kind of want to look for some parts myself.
what is the complete list of what I need for the computer?
So far I have found a monitor tower and keyboard.
Sorry for the hurpin and derpin I tend to do.

[Didzo]

would a single 4GB stick now with an additional 4GB stick at a later point be good?

It wouldn't make that much sense to me price wise. Buying in bulk almost always means bigger savings, though RAM with almost the same specs can vary quite a bit in price. The biggest difference I can see between the basic sticks and the expensive sticks are fancy looking heat-sinks.

I really don't see how anyone needs more than 8GB of high speed RAM either, so I figure that he might as well either get all four slots filled at once, or get 4GB and then upgrade later.

I did the latter, and, truth be told, I didn't even notice a performance increase from 4 to 8.

[Kirby]

I am personally taking note to all your suggestions and going from them, however I kind of want to look for some parts myself.
what is the complete list of what I need for the computer?
So far I have found a monitor tower and keyboard.
Sorry for the hurpin and derpin I tend to do.

- Case
- Power Supply
- Peripherals (Mouse, Keyboard, Monitor, Sound emitting device(s))
- Motherboard
- RAM
- Video Card
- Hard Drive(s)
- DVD Drive



If you buy parts online, take note on whether you get "Retail" or "OEM" parts. (Applies mostly to Hard drives and CPU) There's no difference as far as the part itself is concerned, but the OEM parts include JUST that part. For example if you bought an OEM processor, you get JUST the CPU, no heatsink or fan. You'll need to purchase those separately. Cables and whatnot aren't included in OEM hard drives.

[Kirby]

The biggest difference I can see between the basic sticks and the expensive sticks are fancy looking heat-sinks.

The el-cheapo RAM is normally made of lower quality memory modules. Same way some of the cheaper 2/3 core AMD CPU's are simply 4 core CPU's that had a bad core in quality testing so they shut it off and called it a 3 core CPU. You get what you pay for. And these days, RAM can get hot, that heatsink isn't just for pretty like it was 5 years ago.

I did the latter, and, truth be told, I didn't even notice a performance increase from 4 to 8.

Did you ever manage to even use all 4GB when you had 4? If you didn't (Guessing no) you wouldn't.

[Versus]

the "buy 1 4GB stick now" is so he'll have 8GB of dual channel later.

I did the latter, and, truth be told, I didn't even notice a performance increase from 4 to 8.

if you played APB...

coelit, the i7-2600k has ridiculous overclocking potential. plus it's on intel's new socket type. what parts have you already found for yourself? antec 900 has a very good reputation. i think it's the top rated case on newegg right now, gonna check. edit: it is. i have a corsair 750W PSU like the one in that wishlist, it's really good.