Computer Wishlist

[HalfTangible]

Not sure this is the right place...

I decided to spend money for my birthday on a new computer, and to assemble it myself from parts online.

I already have a hard drive, but is there anything else obviously wrong with what i've got?

COOLER MASTER HAF series RC-912-KKN1 Black SECC/ ABS Plastic ATX Mid Tower Computer Case (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119233)
MSI 970A-G46 AM3+ AMD 970 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX AMD Motherboard with UEFI BIOS (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813130637)
EVGA 04G-P4-2768-KR GeForce GTX 760 4GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 3.0 SLI Support SC 4GB w/ EVGA ACX Cooler Video Card (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130949)
CORSAIR HX Series HX850 850W ATX12V 2.3 / EPS12V 2.91 SLI Ready CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS GOLD Certified Modular Active PFC Power Supply New 4th Gen CPU Certified Haswell Ready (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139011)
AMD FX-8350 Vishera 4.0GHz (4.2GHz Turbo) Socket AM3+ 125W Eight-Core Desktop Processor FD8350FRHKBOX (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819113284)
(2 of these) Crucial Ballistix Sport 8GB 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model BLS8G3D1609DS1S00 (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820148540)

And a static strap.

[factotum]

Think this would be more appropriate in Friendly Banter, unless you intend to only use your new computer for watching movies and reading e-books... :smallsmile:

First questions first: have you ever actually built a computer from a pile of bits before?

Secondly: I assume you're planning to buy a copy of Windows for this as well? Unless you're intending to put Linux on there you need to budget for that.

Thirdly: Optical drive? You'll need a DVD drive, if only to install the operating system on the thing once you've built it.

Can't see anything wrong with the parts list other than that.

[HalfTangible]

Think this would be more appropriate in Friendly Banter, unless you intend to only use your new computer for watching movies and reading e-books... :smallsmile:

First questions first: have you ever actually built a computer from a pile of bits before?

Secondly: I assume you're planning to buy a copy of Windows for this as well? Unless you're intending to put Linux on there you need to budget for that.

Thirdly: Optical drive? You'll need a DVD drive, if only to install the operating system on the thing once you've built it.

Can't see anything wrong with the parts list other than that.This is my first time building a comp from bits

I should clarify - the hard drive is from my previous computer. It already has windows.

Yeah, you're right on the optical drive...

[AgentofOdd]

I should clarify - the hard drive is from my previous computer. It already has windows.In all likelihood, you'll need to reinstall Windows once you built the computer anyways. And there's a good chance the activation key you currently have won't be valid to boot.

The copy of Windows would be configured for your old computer. Put the hard drive into a new machine and changes are, it'll crash immediately during startup. To be fair, it IS possible for things to work ok (possibly if you're using a similar brand of motherboard), but the odds are against you.

Also, assuming the copy of Windows came pre-installed when you bought your old computer, chances are your activation key is under a "OEM 'system builder' license" which in short means you can't use that key under a different machine.

On the plus side, you don't need a DVD drive to install Windows. WintoFlash (http://wintoflash.com/home/en/) can take the Windows DVD and create a USB stick that can do the installation.

[HalfTangible]

In all likelihood, you'll need to reinstall Windows once you built the computer anyways. And there's a good chance the activation key you currently have won't be valid to boot.

The copy of Windows would be configured for your old computer. Put the hard drive into a new machine and changes are, it'll crash immediately during startup. To be fair, it IS possible for things to work ok (possibly if you're using a similar brand of motherboard), but the odds are against you.

Also, assuming the copy of Windows came pre-installed when you bought your old computer, chances are your activation key is under a "OEM 'system builder' license" which in short means you can't use that key under a different machine.

On the plus side, you don't need a DVD drive to install Windows. WintoFlash (http://wintoflash.com/home/en/) can take the Windows DVD and create a USB stick that can do the installation.
... :smallsigh: Is there any way to reinstall windows WITHOUT deleting all my programs and data? Because that's the main reason I'm moving it over in the first place...

[AgentofOdd]

... :smallsigh: Is there any way to reinstall windows WITHOUT deleting all my programs and data? Because that's the main reason I'm moving it over in the first place...This (http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/3413-repair-install.html) tutorial might help. I should note though that I've no personal experience doing repair installs.

[TheDarkDM]

The only thing that comes to mind is that your PSU might be a bit underpowered if you ever decide you want to throw another 760 in with SLI.

[LokeyITP]

Sorta fail on motherboard. It has pcix 2.0, which should work but you'll get better vid card performance out of a 3.0 slot. Make sure the recommended voltages and timings from your mobo and memory agree (usually there's a compatibility list).

CPU-wise, intel is probably where the best perf per dollar will come from (even though their mobos are costlier). i3 or i5, don't get too jaded about the bells and whistles.

But it entirely depends on what you're going to use it for. Unless high end vid editing, model design/animating or high end games the only thing stuff newer than 2008 will do is use slightly less electricity outside solid state hdd.

ETA: I use linux, so can't help with the dealing with ms OS problems.

[HalfTangible]

This (http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/3413-repair-install.html) tutorial might help. I should note though that I've no personal experience doing repair installs.

Much obliged


The only thing that comes to mind is that your PSU might be a bit underpowered if you ever decide you want to throw another 760 in with SLI.I don't intend to, at least not right now.


Sorta fail on motherboard. It has pcix 2.0, which should work but you'll get better vid card performance out of a 3.0 slot. Make sure the recommended voltages and timings from your mobo and memory agree (usually there's a compatibility list)....It has enough voltage, but I can't find anything for timing on the motherboard or on the memory =/ the ram is one of the recommended items for the motherboard, though, so... it probably does


But it entirely depends on what you're going to use it for. Unless high end vid editing, model design/animating or high end games the only thing stuff newer than 2008 will do is use slightly less electricity outside solid state hdd.

ETA: I use linux, so can't help with the dealing with ms OS problems.
It's mostly gonna be for gaming and web surfing. (particularly the former)

[factotum]

Since you've never built a computer yourself before, you should probably search for some web tutorials on the process--it's not difficult, but it can be finicky. The first time I ever built a PC I remember being surprised that the case just had a bunch of screw holes and a separate bag with metal support posts--you had to screw the appropriate posts into the right holes to line up with the screw holes in the motherboard, y'see, whereas I kind of expected that to have already have been done for me!

AgentOfOdd is right about Windows, although newer versions (Vista and upward) do seem to be a lot more robust in this regard than Windows XP was--I remember swapping out the motherboard on my PC for a completely different one and being pretty darned surprised when it booted up, spent about 20 minutes installing new drivers, and then just worked! You'll know pretty quickly if you've got a problem, though, because the most likely error will be an INACCESSIBLE_BOOT_DEVICE bluescreen at the start of the bootup process. If you get past that, you have a reasonable chance of it all working.

[HalfTangible]

Would this (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136533) by a good replacement hard drive? It looks like it, but i don't know stuff =S

[Deathslayer7]

That is fine. You always want to go any sort of black hard drive. Try to stay away from the other colors. They have different meanings but black is the best by far.

green = low power / low performance
blue= medium power / medium performance
black = high power / high performance

edit: have you considered the DIY PC supercombos?

http://promotions.newegg.com/nepro/13-1752/index.html?cm_sp=Homepage_Hotlinks-_-Hotlinks_Supercombos-_-http%3a%2f%2fpromotions.newegg.com%2fhotlinks%2fho t_links-super_combos.png&icid=188910

specifically this one I saw:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboBundleDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.1389899

Your current price for everything is about $1,000 USD from what I can see.

[HalfTangible]

That is fine. You always want to go any sort of black hard drive. Try to stay away from the other colors. They have different meanings but black is the best by far.

green = low power / low performance
blue= medium power / medium performance
black = high power / high performance

edit: have you considered the DIY PC supercombos?

http://promotions.newegg.com/nepro/13-1752/index.html?cm_sp=Homepage_Hotlinks-_-Hotlinks_Supercombos-_-http%3a%2f%2fpromotions.newegg.com%2fhotlinks%2fho t_links-super_combos.png&icid=188910

specifically this one I saw:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboBundleDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.1389899

Your current price for everything is about $1,000 USD from what I can see.

ya, 1000 dollars. I'll keep that stuff in mind for later but for now I'm happy with what I've got. Thanks everybody! :smallsmile: