New Computer Build Help

[Mean Aerodynamic Chord 269]

Hi everybody!I'm looking to purchase and build my first rig in December. Yes, I know it is 2 months away but I'm just researching parts I may use in the future if they're still good at the time. Technology changes fast!Here's a picture of my shopping cart at Newegg:Am I missing something? Is everything compatible with each other? Yes, I do know I'm missing a video card and keyboard & mouse but I plan on choosing those components later, like I said before technology changes very fast...If you can't see the Item #s, here are the links:DVD: http://www.newegg.co...N82E16827136236Case: http://www.newegg.co...N82E16811129066 (Can you see how big it is from the inside? I didn't find that info)Hard Drive: http://www.newegg.co...N82E16822148699WLAN Card: http://www.newegg.co...N82E16833425006Power Supply: http://www.newegg.co...N82E16817171036 (It has 2 6+2 pin PCI-E connectors, which is good)Memory: http://www.newegg.co...N82E16820148477 (Never heard of the brand, but oh well. Also, it's DDR3 and I checked, it's compatible with my motherboard)Motherboard: http://www.newegg.co...N82E16813130583 (The best I saw)CPU: http://www.newegg.co...N82E16819115070 (2600k... Can't go wrong with that one, right? )W7 Home Premium: http://www.newegg.co...N82E16832116986 (Standard stuff) The Grand, but really the Grand Total comes out to be: $875.22 (Includes all promo codes, rebates, and UPS 3 day guaranteed. Cheaper than a pre-built, right?)Thanks a lot!

[tutmeister 710]

Absolutely the way to go. I finished my build in August and saved tonnes over purchasing from somewhere like Digitalstorm.Everything looks fine, you know what you still need to buy, so I only have a couple recommendations for you.Try all your parts through amazon.com as well. I did that and ended up saving 400 dollars by using their free super saver shipping. Some parts might not be available. But from the savings, you might be able to afford an aftermarket cooler such as a Corsair H70. Otherwise, you won't be able to get that 2600k running much higher without the temperature climbing fast! :DFor example, your CPU is available on amazon.com for $307.08. Your memory is a very good brand, but I'd swap it for 2x4GB of Crucial Vengeance, which is the same price, has faster timings and an added heatsink for overclocking/prolonged lifespan. (http://www.amazon.com/dp/B004QBUL1C)Save ten bucks and swap your wireless card out for a similarly specced one on newegg (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16833166021)Save 50 bucks and switch the PSU to another reputable 600 watt one from corsair. I use the 800w version of this one and it is quiet too. (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139028)I'd suggest switching the hard drive to a western digital caviar black, which runs about 120 bucks right now for 500GB (http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0036Q7MV0/). It has very fast read/write access speeds and combined with 64MB cache will help avoid texture popping and load times within FSX. I run one and highly recommend it.As a last tip, don't use that macafee disk. Just use microsoft security essentials. Free, haven't noticed any slowdown from it and haven't had a virus since I started using it earlier this year (I have scanned using third party tool-Nod 32-just to double-check)Hope that helps mate.

[Mean Aerodynamic Chord 269]

Absolutely the way to go. I finished my build in August and saved tonnes over purchasing from somewhere like Digitalstorm.Everything looks fine, you know what you still need to buy, so I only have a couple recommendations for you.Try all your parts through amazon.com as well. I did that and ended up saving 400 dollars by using their free super saver shipping. Some parts might not be available. But from the savings, you might be able to afford an aftermarket cooler such as a Corsair H70. Otherwise, you won't be able to get that 2600k running much higher without the temperature climbing fast! :DFor example, your CPU is available on amazon.com for $307.08.Your memory is a very good brand, but I'd swap it for 2x4GB of Crucial Vengeance, which is the same price, has faster timings and an added heatsink for overclocking/prolonged lifespan. (http://www.amazon.com/dp/B004QBUL1C)Save ten bucks and swap your wireless card out for a similarly specced one on newegg (http://www.newegg.co...N82E16833166021)Save 50 bucks and switch the PSU to another reputable 600 watt one from corsair. I use the 800w version of this one and it is quiet too. (http://www.newegg.co...N82E16817139028)I'd suggest switching the hard drive to a western digital caviar black, which runs about 120 bucks right now for 500GB (http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0036Q7MV0/). It has very fast read/write access speeds and combined with 64MB cache will help avoid texture popping and load times within FSX. I run one and highly recommend it.As a last tip, don't use that macafee disk. Just use microsoft security essentials. Free, haven't noticed any slowdown from it and haven't had a virus since I started using it earlier this year (I have scanned using third party tool-Nod 32-just to double-check)Hope that helps mate.

Paul,Thanks for the tips. I indeed swapped out the memory for the Venegeance one, but Newegg has it so I just put it in my cart there. Thanks for the PSU, I didn't find an affordable one.As far as the hard drive goes, what is the difference between the one I chose? It seemed pretty good. I think I'm sticking to Seagate this time. The one you showed me is 500GB, and 1TB is a plus for me.McAfee? Are you kidding? No thanks. I don't understand why they would put McAfee bundled with a CPU. That's ridiculous. And MSE? Also no thanks! It's horrible, and it almost got a friend of mine a virus..... I'm sticking with Avast Free.!ThanksEDIT: I just realized that the original HD I chose was only 250GB... So I'm going with this instead: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136939It's a WD like you recommended, it is SATA 6.0Gb/s, and it is on the Caviar Green line. Are they good? The blacks are too expensive. Edited October 30, 2011 by linux731

[tutmeister 710]

No problem. The memory and the PSU I can vouch for. MSE is good enough for me, but I know what things to do to avoid getting viruses in the first place, which helps a lot too.The difference between the Green and the Black line is performance. The green line is for servers, home theater PCs, office computers and anywhere else where energy saving is a must. I can't force you to buy the Black, but performance-wise you'll see a huge difference that is worth the added cost (not unlike buying a good GFX card over a 2 year old one). You might price up a Blue line from the same manufacturer. The blue sits between the Green and Black. Green is energy saving, Black is pure performance, Blue is somewhere in between.

[Mean Aerodynamic Chord 269]

No problem. The memory and the PSU I can vouch for. MSE is good enough for me, but I know what things to do to avoid getting viruses in the first place, which helps a lot too.The difference between the Green and the Black line is performance. The green line is for servers, home theater PCs, office computers and anywhere else where energy saving is a must. I can't force you to buy the Black, but performance-wise you'll see a huge difference that is worth the added cost (not unlike buying a good GFX card over a 2 year old one). You might price up a Blue line from the same manufacturer. The blue sits between the Green and Black. Green is energy saving, Black is pure performance, Blue is somewhere in between.

Can you send me a link on Newegg of any Blacks or Blues? I can't seem to find any with the same speed and size.

[tutmeister 710]

Sure. 500GB WD Blue.The difference is seek and write time by the way. WD Blue:Average Seek Time: 8.9msAverage Write Time: 10.9msWD Black:Average Seek Time: 7.6msAverage Write Time: 5.0msReviews state the Black is approximately 40% performance increase over green.For comparison, WD Velociraptor 10,000RPM:Average Seek Time: 4.2msAverage Write Time: 4.7ms

[Mean Aerodynamic Chord 269]

Ugh. I need 1 TB Paul. Those are all 500 gigs. I guess they don't make 1TB blues or blacks for less than $110?

[Mean Aerodynamic Chord 269]

Double post.

[tutmeister 710]

Sorry, my bad. Here is one for $119.So I did find a 750GB WD Caviar Black for 10 bucks more than your budget. I don't know why, but hard drives are way expensive right now. 2 months ago I bought WD Caviar Black 500GB for less than 70 bucks a piece. I'm running them in RAID.

[tutmeister 710]

Hey so after a little hunting around, i found a brand new WD Black 1TB one on ebay for 99 plus 10 shipping!!

[Mean Aerodynamic Chord 269]

I'll put the blue 750GB on my cart temporarily. I think that when I decide finally on December I will go for a Green 1TB. They're not that bad, are they?

Hey so after a little hunting around, i found a brand new WD Black 1TB one on ebay for 99 plus 10 shipping!!

Oh, I didn't see your post. But... eBay?

[tutmeister 710]

As long as you review a seller's feedback, you will be fine. Ebay has a good return policy and if you pay using paypal, you're doubly protected.The WD Green has been developed for energy saving, which isn't flight simulation I'm afraid. For more info, see their website. http://www.wdc.com/en/products/catalog/#jump2It's your choice, but I'd jump on that ebay item.

[Mean Aerodynamic Chord 269]

As long as you review a seller's feedback, you will be fine. Ebay has a good return policy and if you pay using paypal, you're doubly protected.The WD Green has been developed for energy saving, which isn't flight simulation I'm afraid. For more info, see their website. http://www.wdc.com/e.../catalog/#jump2It's your choice, but I'd jump on that ebay item.

Then I guess there are other HD options because those are way too expensive. What about the Hitachi?EDIT: Actually, the blue caviar you sent me is a pretty decent deal, IMO (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136767). I think I'll stick to it. So you said Blues are in between, but they're not bad in the contrary, right? Edited October 31, 2011 by linux731

[tutmeister 710]

Blue is an all-round type hard drive. Think of it as mid-range, so no not bad.

[Mean Aerodynamic Chord 269]

Blue is an all-round type hard drive. Think of it as mid-range, so no not bad.

For FSX?----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------And about a video card....I'm thinking about this MSI Hawk: http://www.newegg.co...N82E16814127518Let me tell you a little story...[start story]Once upon a time, there lay a tiny little Dell computer in need of a Power Supply and graphics card upgrade. The owner, Diego, went out into Newegg.com and bought the MSI Hawk (http://www.newegg.co...N82E16814127518) and a Power Supply (link doesn't really matter). Diego was eager to test out the MSI Hawk when it came in the mail. He opened it, then found out the computer's case was too small. He had not measured the inside of the case NOR the graphics card's size. He then thought to at least see if he could manage to install the power supply, then upgrade the graphics card later. Same problem. Saddedened, he returned both items to Newegg with a restocking fee of $30, plus the shipping he paid to mail them back, $20. He lost $50 in his purchase.[/end story]I'm sure Newegg will be ###### at me if I order the graphics card again.... LOL!!!