First time builder

[Muffin Man]

Newegg.com - AMD Phenom II X4 955 Black Edition Deneb 3.2GHz 4 x 512KB L2 Cache 6MB L3 Cache Socket AM3 125W Quad-Core Processor - Processors - Desktops
Newegg.com - GIGABYTE GA-MA770T-UD3P AM3 AMD 770 ATX AMD Motherboard - AMD Motherboards
Newegg.com - CORSAIR XMS3 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model CMX4GX3M2A1600C8 - Desktop Memory
Newegg.com - Computer Parts, PC Components, Laptop Computers, Digital Cameras and more!

those parts alone total $471 + shipping

dont know if you want to stick with a 1tb hdd or something smaller, so here are a few hdds of different sizes
Newegg.com - SAMSUNG Spinpoint F3 HD502HJ 500GB 7200 RPM 16MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive
Newegg.com - Western Digital Caviar Blue WD6400AAKS 640GB 7200 RPM 16MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive
Newegg.com - Western Digital Caviar Black WD7501AALS 750GB 7200 RPM 32MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Hard Drive -Bare Drive
Newegg.com - SAMSUNG Spinpoint F3 HD103SJ 1TB 7200 RPM 32MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive

with any of those hdds, the total will still end up a little cheaper than the combo you listed, but ive included a faster black edition cpu and ddr3 ram.

optical drive
Newegg.com - Sony Optiarc Black 24X DVD+R 8X DVD+RW 12X DVD+R DL 24X DVD-R 6X DVD-RW 12X DVD-RAM 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-R 32X CD-RW 48X CD-ROM 2MB Cache SATA DVD/CD Rewritable Drive - CD / DVD Burners

then you could throw in a 5850 and windows and youll be set. make sure windows is 64-bit though.

 

[clint.mckibben]

since i'm going as far as to build my own system i may as well overclock. I assume I will need an aftermarket heatsink. Recommendations for one that will work with the antec 300 and the mobo i selected.

 

[clint.mckibben]

I bought the components and am impatiently waiting for ups to deliver them. Here is a list of what is coming.

Newegg.com - Antec Three Hundred Illusion Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - Computer Cases
Newegg.com - COOLER MASTER Hyper 212 Plus Intel Core i5 & Intel Core i7 compatible RR-B10-212P-G1 120mm "heatpipe direct contact" Long life sleeve CPU Cooler - CPU Fans & Heatsinks
Newegg.com - Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit 1-Pack for System Builders - Operating Systems
Newegg.com - ZALMAN VF1000 2 Ball VGA Cooler - VGA Cooling
Newegg.com - G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model F3-12800CL9D-4GBRL - Desktop Memory
Newegg.com - Western Digital Caviar Blue WD5000AAKS 500GB 7200 RPM 16MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive
Newegg.com - SAPPHIRE 100282SR Radeon HD 5850 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFire Supported Video Card w/ATI Eyefinity - Desktop Graphics / Video Cards
Newegg.com - Sony Optiarc Black 24X DVD+R 8X DVD+RW 12X DVD+R DL 24X DVD-R 6X DVD-RW 12X DVD-RAM 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-R 32X CD-RW 48X CD-ROM 2MB Cache SATA DVD/CD Rewritable Drive - CD / DVD Burners
Newegg.com - Arctic Silver 5 Thermal Compound - Thermal Compound / Grease
Newegg.com - AMD Phenom II X4 945 Deneb 3.0GHz 4 x 512KB L2 Cache 6MB L3 Cache Socket AM3 95W Quad-Core Processor - Processors - Desktops
Newegg.com - GIGABYTE GA-770TA-UD3 AM3 AMD 770 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX AMD Motherboard - AMD Motherboards
Newegg.com - Antec EarthWatts EA650 650W Continuous Power ATX12V Ver.2.2 / EPS12V version 2.91 SLI Certified CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS Certified Active PFC "compatible with Core i7/Core i5" Power Supply - Power Supplies

There were a couple combos. Everything with shipping ended up being about 1075 dollars. I'm super excited for everything to arrive tomorrow. Too bad I won't get to start on it until wednesday or thursday. I plan to take pictures while I build of my progress.

 

[Muffin Man]

nice dude, it should turn out to be great gaming rig.

and yes, if you dont mind, we wouldnt mind some pics

 

[clint.mckibben]

so, i am a novice at building a computer. I have been watching videos on how to set it up but I want to be absolutely positive. Is there an up to date guide that I can look at?

Also, I understand I will need to update drivers for **** near everything. Is this something windows 7 will tell me to do or will i have to manually search for the drivers for everything I bought?

Also, I am interested in overclocking the 945 but i understand that since it is not a BE I am limited in my options. If possible, what exactly will i need to change to OC it? Using what software utility to do it?

Sorry so many questions but i like to be well informed and ready for when my stuff gets here.

 

[Muffin Man]

although not exact, this will give you a rough idea of how the actual building process goes.
Build a PC - Introduction to Building your PC - PCitYourself.com

i think win7 will auto install whatever drivers it can find for your parts, and it will tell you if youre missing any. you will have to go to the manufacturer's website and download any missing drivers.

for your mobo (audio, chipset, lan, usb); d/l the most recent ones.
GA-770TA-UD3 (rev. 1.0) - GIGABYTE - Support&Download - Motherboard - Driver

for your gfx card; again, d/l the most recent one.
SAPPHIRE- HOME

being a non-BE, your cpu will not have an unlocked multiplier but you should still be able to get atleast a decent OC. you will want to OC through the BIOS.

 

[clint.mckibben]

Ok so my parts arrived on monday while I was at work. I had them delivered to my mom's house since I don't trust 1k worth of computer stuff to sit on my front porch. Anyway, mom calls me to tell me my stuff had come. I drive over and get it. She's the kind of woman that gets all ****y anytime I buy anything. She said, "Yeah, so you will have that stuff all over your house for a week or something?"

Anyway, I take it home and decide I am going to just replace the cooler on the 5850 and go to bed since it was already 10pm. I start unscrewing it and looking up pics from various ppl who had already replaced theirs to see what exactly i needed to do. The general consensus was that the metal back plate needed to be left on to cool the ram. So that meant i needed to take off the stock fan which is held by 3 tiny screws. Well, one screw came right out. The other two never did come out. I swear someone cemented them into place. I eventually just had to literally rip the fan off. I got the new cooler (zalman vf1000) on it. It came with a wire that connects to an external fan switch but due to cable management it just wasn't gonna work out so I just left it out and plugged the fan for the cooler into one of the system fan slots.

After that I basically said screw it and started working on the rest of it. I got out the motherboard and started installing. I didn't take many pics. I started to but then just decided to just go for it and get it done. Everything went pretty well. My cable management sucks atm. I just wanted it done so I could get things installed and going. I'm going to buy a bunch of zip ties and work on cable management when I get a day where I don't go to school or work.

Only ran into one problem. I totally missed a power connector. I got the big one that powers the mother board installed but forgot about the additional 4 pin connector. The place to plug it in was all the way across the case so I had forgotten it needed to be plugged in.

I started it up and the hyper 212 plus fan wasn't running. I was also getting just "check cables" and no cmos. Turns out that the cpu was getting no power. That may have been the reason why the CM heatsink wasn't running. Some ppl have said that aftermarket coolers sometimes won't start up until the cpu gets a little heat. I may try and reinstall that cooler and see if I can get it to work. I certainly hate to have it and not be using it. My main priority right now is cable management. I have a mess of cables and trying to figure out where to hide them.

I just figured you all would want to know how things went. I'm totally digging my new rig. Played a bit of crysis: warhead with settings on enthusiast and AA2 and got 35 fps. On wow I was in dalaran and getting 60 fps.

 

[Muffin Man]

sounds like you got through the whole process fairly easily.

i get the sense that you just wanted to finish building and start playing, so i can see how you mightve forgot the cpu cable

yea, a bunch of zip ties will help you with cable management. you can get some help/ideas on that here http://www.techist.com/forums/f10/rate-wire-management-above-you-150446/index263.html.

happy to hear that its up an running

 

[clint.mckibben]

my only problem was that when i went to install the cooler, it was kinda difficult. I had the mobo out of the case while i was installing it. the back plate went on just fine. I put the thermal paste on the cpu and then started to do the cooler. The retention bracket was kind of a pain. I only ever got 3 out of 4 to actually screw in. the 4th was lined up right but was just not going to screw in. It wouldn't reach. It was still secure enough so I plugged it in and went for it. I aimed the fan towards the top of the case so it would blow the air straight out the top fan. Only problem was that doing it this way the fan was touching the ram. Not sure if that is a problem or not. I never got to see if it was going to work as I replaced it with the stock fan before I realized the cpu cable wasn't plugged in. I was thinking bout getting the dark knight instead of what I have. What do you think? I hear it's easier to install than the hyper 212 plus. Newegg is going to let me return it with no restock fee and no shipping charge. when i get the refund I can just turn around and get the dark knight. Are they similar as far as size and shape? Also, does it initially not turn on (the fan) when you boot the computer? The hyper 212 plus didn't turn on to start off with.

 

[Hefemeister]

The trick with most aftermarket coolers with their own mounting system is to just barely start each of the four screws before you start to tighten them.

If you back out the other 3 you should be able to start the 4th without pulling the board.