Building my First PC

[hikaricloud]

They have both already, and the video card on the mobo is more than adequate for moderate gaming and graphic stuff. The onboard sounds should suit you fine unless you record music professionally.

After that, all you need is the HD and the monitor, and you're good to go. Unless you need keyboard/mouse/speakers of course.

 

[Wonderbox]

That CPU doesnt come with a cpu cooler either so you might want to look into one.

 

[hikaricloud]

Oh right, I didn't notice that. Well, this heatsink/fan is probably the best bet:

Newegg.com - Sunbeam CR-CCTF 120mm "Core Contact Freezer" CPU Cooler - CPU Fans & Heatsinks

40 bucks with a 10 dollar MIR.

 

[Hussein19891]

Get this chip instead

Newegg.com - AMD Phenom II X4 920 2.8GHz 4 x 512KB L2 Cache 6MB L3 Cache Socket AM2+ 125W Quad-Core Processor - Processors - Desktops

Its Phenom II so its faster clock for clock and it over clocks to about 3.5ghz~ with that Heat sink hikari recommended.

Along with the chip the Biostar TA790GX AM2+ motherboard is bundled. So you will be able to get a decent AM2+ board and a chip that will outperform the 9950 by quite a bit for about $300~.

 

[Puddle Jumper]

If you want a quad core I would wait a few weeks for the price drop in the Intel Q9400. It is faster than all of the AMD quad cores mentioned and should be $220 when the price drops.

 

[hikaricloud]

Thanks for catching that, Hussein. I wasn't paying attention, haha.

That's a much better system for an extra 45 bucks or so.

 

[Hussein19891]

If you want a quad core I would wait a few weeks for the price drop in the Intel Q9400. It is faster than all of the AMD quad cores mentioned and should be $220 when the price drops.

So she waits a few weeks for the Q9400 price to drop. When in a few week the 925 (95 tdp) will be out and most likely still a cheaper alternative then the Q9400?

 

[marisa406]

Well, since I'm going back to school next week and my books cost about $350 more than I had expected - looks like I'm going to have to wait a few weeks anyway. Thanks for all your help guys for now, I really want to understand how to pick out good parts and know what's compatible and what isn't. Where did you guys learn it all?

I'm so scared for when I actually put this together. You spend so much on parts, and a little mistake could ruin it. I could probably buy a computer that would suit me just fine on the market, but I think it's important to learn how to build a system - especially if I want to call myself a computer science major.

Questions actually, how do I redeem Newegg Rebates. The PSU and Memory came in the mail, but I don't know how to get the mail-in rebates for them.

 

[Nagasama]

there should be a lnk for the rebate on newegg's product page. when you get the item, you print the rebate form, fill it out and send it where it needs to go with a copy of your invoice. make sure everything works though, lots of times rebates require the actual upc from the product, and if you cut it out it makes it harder to RMA stuff if you need to.

 

[marisa406]

thanks! I didn't realize that you had to print the rebate like WHEN you bought it. I found one of the offers but not both.

I've saved up and I'm reading to buy the CPU and motherboard. I still can't decide. This looks good. Newegg.com - Intel Core 2 Duo E8400 Wolfdale 3.0GHz 6MB L2 Cache LGA 775 65W Dual-Core Processor - Processors - Desktops?

I really just want the fastest, best, for my money.