Computer Build Advice

[PerfectCreature]

My computer I had hooked up to my tv recently died. I got some money from a scholarship that I can use for a new computer. I asked the people they said it counts if I use it on stuff to build one. So I would like to make one, since you can get better performance for your money if you do so.
Anyway my question is this, for alll you tech savvy people will this build work?
Also am I missing any components.
Are there any suggestions to it, maybe areas to improve without breaking the bank? Also, do I need to buy anything else with this stuff so that I can build it, like cables or anything like that?
Thanks.

LITE-ON CD/DVD Burner - Bulk Black SATA Model iHAS124-04

XION Solaris XON-403 Black with Green LED Light Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case

Western Digital Caviar Blue WD2500AAJS 250GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive

GIGABYTE GA-MA770-UD3 AM2+/AM2 AMD 770 ATX AMD Motherboard

Radeon HD 4670 512MB 128-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video Card

CORSAIR CMPSU-650TX 650W ATX12V / EPS12V SLI Ready CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS Certified Active PFC Compatible with Core i7 Power Supply

Patriot Extreme Performance Gaming Series 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Desktop Memory Model PGS24G6400ELK

AMD Phenom II X2 550 Callisto 3.1GHz Socket AM3 80W Dual-Core Desktop Processor Model HDX550WFGMBOX

[tonyb]

Have you ever built one before ?

If not,I suggest buying the parts you need and putting the actual build process in the hands of someone with experience. I know there is a member here who does just that,name is on the tip of my tongue...damn.

[fatchowmein]

I know there is a member here who does just that,name is on the tip of my tongue...damn.

Were you thinking Sami?

[Lasareath]

Maybe this will help maybe it won't, I just ordered 6 new PC's for a client from Dell and they are the fastest PCs I have ever worked on. after hitting the power button and waiting 5 seconds Windows is up and outlook is open with all emails displayed!!

[bobman1235]

Have you ever built one before ?

If not,I suggest buying the parts you need and putting the actual build process in the hands of someone with experience. I know there is a member here who does just that,name is on the tip of my tongue...damn.

Why would you suggest that? Putting together a PC is pretty easy if you have all the parts in front of you. Pretty much everything fits together in only one way.

[Lasareath]

Have you ever built one before ?

If not,I suggest buying the parts you need and putting the actual build process in the hands of someone with experience. I know there is a member here who does just that,name is on the tip of my tongue...damn.

If you want to go this route I have a friend who builds PCs for a living, his ebay acct has 100% feedback. Pm me if you want his contact info, I have two PCs he built here that I use every day and he has Sold around 30 PCs to my clients.

[PerfectCreature]

My uncle can help me, he does stuff like that I was going to give him a call once I got the parts.
I checked out the dell they don't show me the computer you ordered, and by the looked of it...it basically triples my price.
Thanks though :D

[Lasareath]

Why would you suggest that? Putting together a PC is pretty easy if you have all the parts in front of you. Pretty much everything fits together in only one way.

people get scared of the of thermal paste

[bobman1235]

Ah I guess that's one legitimate spot where you can run into trouble, but still, it is very straightforward. Plug in wires where they fit and you're good to go :)

[PerfectCreature]

The silver compound right?
So I should add that in too?
Any other thoughts on this pc?
Improvements or what not?

[polkatese]

given the same components' quality, how much money can you save vs. ordering from Dell?

I used to do this more than a decade ago, and I did some calc back then, and came to the conclusion that Dell has too much buying cloud in making their TOTL systems a better buy vs. self-build.

[PerfectCreature]

So. Are you saying i should just buy a prebuilt from dell?
Instead of build my own?

[polkatese]

If I were you, a resounding yes. think about burn-in and warranty.

however, if you are interested to learn the intricate details of putting together a PC, load OS, learn C: prompt, power-supply size, eSATA vs. EIDE vs. SCSI, etc. etc. , then the journey (for me) was fun and got me some useable knowledge.

[PerfectCreature]

Well, any computers come to mind with around the same specs as the one I was going to build?
Around the same price would be nice as well.
Thanks.

[polkatese]

I am not the right person to advice you on what's a good option. But, what I would do is to build a specs on dell.com just like what Sal did in the post above, and get it to come out closer to your budget.

[PerfectCreature]

Ive tried that, most of the build a computer starts out at around 600 anyway.
When I try to match the specs and ratings they always come short...
I may try it a little later tonight see if I can get one that is close to all of it....

[mdaudioguy]

Have you factored in the cost of an OS? What are you planning on using? Windows will cost you money. Ubuntu, or one of many other Linux variants, is free. It depends on what you want, and what you intend to do/run on it.

[MacLeod]

What are you going to be using this for? If its just for internet and watching movies, that's good enough gear.

A couple tweaks:
Get an Athlon II X2 quad core instead. Theyre not as fast as that 555 but theyre capable of more work and multitasking. So for the same money, you have a much more capable rig in terms of workload. If this were a gaming setup, the 555 would be a better choice because it screams!

Try to get a 4850 instead of the 4670. Theyre about $20 more but have about 5 times more muscle.

Unless you plan on a lot of upgrading, you won't need a 650 watt power supply. Get the 400 watt Corsair instead.

[bdaley6509]

Drop the Athlon altogether and go Intel. You'll be glad you did.

[polkatese]

+1. and I would go all the way to i7

[MacLeod]

Yeah, go Intel. Spend 200% more money and get 5% more performance.

[renowilliams]

+2 on the i7. You will definatly not be disappointed. I built an i7 860 (1156 socket) around Christmas. If you plan on encoding video with this new computer, you will like the performance. It is difficult to build cheaper than buying prebuilt but I just prefer to build my own. Look around as some companies have barebone computers or bundle deals for mother board and processors.

Good Luck

[polkatese]

Mac, it's called prevention against early planned obsolescence. :)

[Fongolio]

I've spent years building and repairing computers and I have to agree with polkatese, Intel is the way to go. I've just seen way too many problems with AMD's. As for self build, I say go for it. My very first comp was bought from a local assembler but after that I've built every one myself. About thermal past, it is essential unless the processor is brand new and has the factory "goo" on the heatsink/fan unit. The hard drive you've picked is reasonably fast but kind of small by today's standards. At a day after Christmas sale last December I picked up a Seagate 1 TB drive for $69 Canadian dollars. I recomend a minimum of 500 gigs to start. That rig that Lasareath is recomending is fantastic and has a Solid State Drive which makes it blazing fast but also everything state of the art is expensive. I'm holding out on SSD until prices come down a bit more. Last thing, as stated above, you haven't mentioned OS. You'll need one of those as well.
Have fun.

Kelvin

[bdaley6509]

Yeah, go Intel. Spend 200% more money and get 5% more performance.

Get your facts straight...

[nadams]

Go with a larger HD, and make it a Caviar Black instead of the Blue. 5 yr warranty...

I wouldn't put anything less than a 750 gb drive in my main system (and that's with another 750 for storage). The extra speed for the increased areal density is well worth it, even if you don't "need" the extra space.

[exalted512]

given the same components' quality, how much money can you save vs. ordering from Dell?

I used to do this more than a decade ago, and I did some calc back then, and came to the conclusion that Dell has too much buying cloud in making their TOTL systems a better buy vs. self-build.

You can save quite a bit hardware wise, its the software that gets you.

If you have to buy everything new, and want things like Microsoft Office as well, going to Dell is usually slightly more expensive, but not by much...

Not enough to justify the effort and not having any body to turn to software wise if something doesnt work right.

I build my own, but I was also a student and had win7 and office purchased through my school for about $45 between the two of them :)
-Cody

[fatchowmein]

As others have asked, what O/S are you building but I also wanted to ask what you intend to do with this PC build?

front end HTPC?
gamebox?
casual user (surf internet, office suite, email)?
All of the above in one box?

[bobman1235]

Get your facts straight...

Yeah, it's only 150% more money for 3% performance increase.

[AsSiMiLaTeD]

I'm a fan of intel at the moment if you need the most power, but if you just need a media pc or something along those lines the amd will work fine.

I like my i7 chips, but they're way overkill for the vast majority of people out there. You also need to consider things like power and heat.

I could not disagree more on going with Dell over building your own. You may get similar specs with a comparable price, but the quality of components in a Dell are no where near what you can build on your own