My First Build - Any suggestions, anything I may have missed?

This will be my first build (yay!)

I have general idea of PC hardware as in what is good and what is bad etc - I am also pretty sure all my parts that i have selected are compatible.

Case - http://www.ebuyer.com/product/118268 Antec 900 - I have heard good things about the case and it seems a popular choice

Motherboard - http://www.ebuyer.com/product/145750/show_product_reviews Asus P5Q P45 Socket 775 - This is probably where i have the least knowledge, I am pretty certain it is compatible with my CPU and RAM however is this a good board? Is it overkill? (I wont be putting my cards in crossfire) Is the board future proof, in a few months time will there be a new standard socket type that makes this outdated (eg if i was to upgrade my CPU in the future)

CPU - http://www.ebuyer.com/product/131950/show_product_reviews Q6600 - I will overclock it to around 3.00GHZ (as many have reported it can easily achieve)

Video Card - http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=GX-091-PC ATI HD4870 1024MB From what i gather this card is competing with the 280 series and is much cheaper however offering similar bang for you buck. I will be playing at 1440*900 res, i see many comments on how if you are playing at lower res you dont need the 'best' card however I am looking for some future proofing here

RAM - http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=MY-114-OC OCZ 4GB (2x2GB) PC2-8500C5 1066MHz - I'm pretty sure this fits my motherboard. Is this a good choice?

CPU cooler - http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=HS-001-SB Tuniq Tower - I have a limited knowledge here, as i will be overclocking the cpu i will need a decent cooler. Is this suitable?

Power Supply - http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CA-008-CS Corsair TX 650W ATX2.2 I am wondering if this would be overkill? However with each new video card released they become more power hungry etc. Is this future proof?

DVDRW Drive - http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CD-101-SA Good choice?

HDD - http://www.ebuyer.com/product/130826/show_product_reviews I dont need a huge one.

Also i will buy thermal paste.

Total including postage is £743.45 (Pounds - obviously UK websites are needed)

I have done a lot of research etc. Can i find the parts cheaper elsewhere? Any changes that should be made? How future proof is the system (in terms of upgrading in the future)

Thanks for any input

/massive post

overall it looks like you've made a pretty good choice

its nice to see someone making a thread AFTER they've done some research!

there isn't too much to add to that build really... just check if your mobo is future proof(ish)

as in it supports 45nm, and im assuming your using on board sound which is more than adequate these days.

looks like a pretty sweet rig overall, good luck with that!

Yo fellow uk gamer =P

You might want to check amazon.co.uk, some parts might be a bit cheaper there. Though your websites u listed are gonna be useful since im also building a new pc. So thx for that =)

Yo fellow uk gamer =P

You might want to check amazon.co.uk, some parts might be a bit cheaper there. Though your websites u listed are gonna be useful since im also building a new pc. So thx for that =)

D_Knight_Nik

I have checked amazon and they are generally more expensive.

Some changes based on the feedback

RAM - GeIL 4GB PC2-6400C4 800MHz Black Dragon DDR2 - http://overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=MY-071-GL
Disk Drive - Samsung BLACK 20x IDE DVD Writer OEM DRIVE - the link was massive!

Looking good?

New total is £780.95 inc postage

Note: This is also including vista which the previous price did not.

Yeah great build. Only thing I would change is the aftermarket CPU fan. Get a Zalman fan.chandlerr_360

Why? The Tuniq is better than ALL of the Zalman HSF's.

I have found this motherboard it is slightly more expensive only £3 more so that is nothing really however it supports crossfire, is there any other difference other than that? As it is basically the same price - which worries me a little.

As an owner of both a Tuniq Tower and an Antec 900, I gotta say that the Tuniq looks really f'ing massive and ugly in the 900, plus it is pretty much impossible to screw in the top left screw for the mobo. I think you would be way better off getting a Zalman 9700. I just got rid of my Tuniq Tower when I installed the QX9650 I won at a LAN party, and I'm much happier with the Zalman. Plus, if you get the Tuniq Tower, you can't put a fan on the side panel.

Just my 2 cents.

@Churchill_Croc

Which outta your towers was best for space + air flow/fans? I might be getting a 9800 GX2 and i heard they need alot of room.

As an owner of both a Tuniq Tower and an Antec 900, I gotta say that the Tuniq looks really f'ing massive and ugly in the 900, plus it is pretty much impossible to screw in the top left screw for the mobo. I think you would be way better off getting a Zalman 9700. I just got rid of my Tuniq Tower when I installed the QX9650 I won at a LAN party, and I'm much happier with the Zalman. Plus, if you get the Tuniq Tower, you can't put a fan on the side panel.

Just my 2 cents.

Churchill_Croc

I dont really intend to buy any extra fans etc, just the ones that are allready on the case. So would that make any difference?

I have found this motherboard it is slightly more expensive only £3 more so that is nothing really however it supports crossfire, is there any other difference other than that? As it is basically the same price - which worries me a little.

mark_c_128

Either motherboards aren't good for corssfire as they have the p45 chipset in which the x16 slots are x8 during crossfire,some will say that a pci-e 2.0 x8 is similar to a pci-e 1.0 x16,but its still slow,check overclockers for more info.

Lol, if you're wanting a motherboard that's any kind of futureproof, I would wait until December-February. The Nehalems will be coming out and they use a completely new socket type(meaning new mobos too).

Really, it's up to you. That build will last you a good long time, but there won't be much upgradability in the CPU area in about 8 months.

As an owner of both a Tuniq Tower and an Antec 900, I gotta say that the Tuniq looks really f'ing massive and ugly in the 900, plus it is pretty much impossible to screw in the top left screw for the mobo. I think you would be way better off getting a Zalman 9700. I just got rid of my Tuniq Tower when I installed the QX9650 I won at a LAN party, and I'm much happier with the Zalman. Plus, if you get the Tuniq Tower, you can't put a fan on the side panel.

Just my 2 cents.

Churchill_Croc

That seems to be the case for Tuniq Tower. I, too, had some difficulty screwing in the top-left screw spring. It wasnt that bad, but you have to use a bit of muscle. Overall, the Tuniq Tower 120 is excellent especially for it's price. I'm very happy with mine and it keeps my CPU nice and cool. I have a Thermaltake Full-tower so there was plenty of room for fans, even the side case fan.

Video Card - http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=GX-091-PC ATI HD4870 1024MB From what i gather this card is competing with the 280 series and is much cheaper however offering similar bang for you buck. I will be playing at 1440*900 res, i see many comments on how if you are playing at lower res you dont need the 'best' card however I am looking for some future proofing here

mark_c_128

At 1440x900, you really don't need 1 GB of vram. Save some money and get the standard 512 MB version. Or better yet a single hd4850, and possibly add another one later for Crossfire if you get a bigger monitor.

Ok i am now looking at the 512mb version from Sapphire (a trusted brand

My main worry is still the motherboard! Any other suggestions?