My rig in the process

[The Snake 87]

Well, I am currently in the process of acquiring parts for my first PC build. Hopefully this one will last me a while too. It's a budget gamer, but it will pack a good punch.

~ Genmax 450w PSU w/ SATA and PCI E
~ Memorex 16x DVD +/- RW (and a bunch of other features) drive

[jwenham]

I would go for a higher wattage PSU just to be sure.

[The Snake 87]

I am thinking about possibly getting a 550 watt or so, but my friend has a set up actually more than mine, and he has 480w with watts to spare.

[Skittles]

So you have NEVER built a system before?

There are many tips and methods for building a system... Look around for things like...

Avoiding static discharge...

How to attach a CPU heatsink fan...

How much Thermal paste to use...

How to install memory...

Which Sata HDD Power cord do I use. USE ONLY ONE!!!

I don't want to imply your incompetent, I just want to ensure you don't make the same errors I did.

Just covering your back,

Joe




ADDITIONALLY: Just food for thought...

Even though it's a gamer... I assume you'll be using it for more than just games?

[The Snake 87]

Thanks. I have my uncle also who is gonna build it with me who was/sorta is an IT person and has so much computer stuff in his house it's not funny. lol But he is also very knowledgeable. And I am in constant talks with a friend who has also built a custom PC, which my specs are very close to his.

I'm looking at new PSU's right now.

[Skittles]

I have my uncle also who is gonna build it with me

Cool! Get a notebook to take notes!!!

[The Snake 87]

I will for sure! And I have found a new PSU...

BFG Tech GS-550 550W ATX12V V2.2 / EPS12V V2.8 SLI Ready CrossFire Ready Power Supply

Copied right from Newegg. The only 5 Egg PSU within the price range of $25 - $50. I think 550W will be enough.

[Skittles]

Copied right from Newegg. The only 5 Egg PSU within the price range of $25 - $50. I think 550W will be enough.

Newegg is where I shop too... And I've been told to get more memory instead of SLi... I'm looking into that... and a tech I spoke with in a store suggested 600W minimum for SLi. I'm looking into that also.

[The Snake 87]

Yeah, that would make sense... my personal opinion though is it depends on the size of the gfx card if you are going to SLi. I'm only going to be using 1 XFX 9600GT 512mb DDR3, which will hopefully give me good fps in FS9 so I can have maxed out scenery and get those scenery add-ons and such. But it's also low profile so it uses less power.

[Skittles]

...which will hopefully give me good fps in FS9 so I can have maxed out scenery and get those scenery add-ons and such...

Have you ever heard of http://www.fs-gs.com Check it out.

[The Snake 87]

This is something I would love to do, but I probably can't do this until I am older when I have an established income.

[Skittles]

This is something I would love to do, but I probably can't do this until I am older when I have an established income.

That's fine, just keep it stuck in the back of your mind. I used this service and HIGHLY recommend it to everyone!

[The Snake 87]

I'm looking at the downloads, and I will definitely try some products like the scenery manager and Autostart when I finish my PC.

[Skittles]

[quote]I'm looking at the downloads, and I will definitely try some products like the scenery manager and Autostart when I finish my PC.

[jaime]

Copied right from Newegg. The only 5 Egg PSU within the price range of $25 - $50. I think 550W will be enough.

Newegg is where I shop too... And I've been told to get more memory instead of SLi... I'm looking into that... and a tech I spoke with in a store suggested 600W minimum for SLi. I'm looking into that also.

i can confirm the minimum of 600 for sli (although I recommend NO LESS then 650 minimum to give a buffer)

I burnt out (an already shitty and slowly dieing PUS) that was a 500 and all I had was the mother board, the ram and CPU, and two video cards (optical drive was an external drive that had its own power system) and even with that oh and three HDDs i managed to burn out the PSU...sad but true...


@skittles:

I'm looking at the downloads, and I will definitely try some products like the scenery manager and Autostart when I finish my PC.   

And I just saw your food for thought.

I have the Adobe CS3 Master Suite, which I plan on using a lot. Though I won't use all the programs, those will eat up a lot of memory. I am an avid Photoshopper, and I want to get into website coding and movie editing too. I also have other Microsoft programs like Office 2003 Student edition, and other games. Plus I want to be able to have my iTunes on my PC too 

Is this going to be just "your" computer? I suggest you e-mail me at skittles@anadrac.com if you would like to learn how to organize your drives better. I only ask because... if you're interested, we don't clog up this thread. I won't spam you.

why email just him? post your knowledge so every one can share in the wealth of Info...I will share any knowledge I have with people here my self too anyways now I guess its time to figure out my PhysX card situation...