Help with Building a PC

[intense.ego]

I am a first time builder and am planning to build a PC and I have several problems I need help with.

1. My motherboard is microATX, is there anything wrong with this? Are they worse than normal ATX motherboards?

2. Is there anyway I can see if the parts I am getting are all compatible with each other, or will all hard drives, wireless-G adapters, PSU's, and graphics cards work with virtually any case and motherboard?

3. Will buying the following parts (I know I'm missing a PSU) for a total of 392 british pounds (650 us dollars) be a good deal?


AMD Phenom X4 9650 2.3GHz Socket AM2+ 2MB L3 Cache Retail Boxed Processor
Asus M3A76-CM 760G Socket AM2+ onboard VGA DVI 8 channel audio mATX Motherboard
Antec 300 Three Hundred Black Case - No PSU
Samsung EcoGreen F2 1TB Hard Drive SATAII 32MB Cache - OEM
Tenda Wireless-G PCI Adapter
Kingston 4GB (2x2GB) DDR2 1066MHz/PC2-8500 HyperX Memory CL5 2.2V
MSI HD 4870 1GB GDDR5 DVI HDMI VGA Out PCI-E Graphics Card


Thank you in advance
intense.ego

[omar8]

How much is the Phenom X4, if it more than £80 it might not be worth it? it might be worth it to just spend a bit more money and buy a Phenom II X3 (which should give same performance if you spend about £80 but without the power/temperature issues) or X4 as they seem to be much better than the original Phenoms.
Another thing, ATI still haven't got thier act together with drivers in Linux, I expect about a year before the opensource drivers will actually allow the full power of that card to be unleashed - by that time it will be out dated.
So unless you intend on using Windows for games (in which case you should order Windows 7 now as it is much cheaper) I recommend an NVIDIA card.

[Skripka]

Get a full ATX board. There's no reason to get a mATX board with a mid tower--they are far more cramped and a pain to work on-unless you REALLY need the tiny platform.

ATi makes great cards-but their drivers suck. I'd get an Nvidia if I were you.

Get a PhenomII and not a PhenomI--the first gen are a great deal slower run a great deal hotter, and need a lot more power to run.

Get a syringe of Arctic Silver 5 and use it in place of the stock thermal compound on the HSF. Stock thermal compounds stink. And the extra $15 bucks is worth it.

[kayvortex]

Looks fine to me -- that should all hook up OK. You'll have to be careful to buy a PSU capable of running all that (i.e. the graphics card), but that doesn't look too bad for about 400 quid (maybe don't go much more than that). Just make sure you've read up the reviews on the motherboard (check that there aren't any complaints about it being made out of cheap/defective components) and have looked around for the best deal -- don't be afraid of waiting for the right price.
I'd also not recommend getting an ATI card for driver reasons, even if it means getting a slightly reduced performance nVidia card; but regardless of how good they all are, they'll all be seriously out of date in 3 years anyway!

Edit: Yeah, if you're buying a case too, there's no point in getting a microATX case: the only reason to get a microATX mboard is if you're already stuck with a case that you can't be bothered to replace.

[DownTown22]

I'd say try to find a case made by either Thermaltake or CoolerMaster. From my experience, they have the best airflow going.

My recommendations for a PSU are Corsair, OCZ or Coolermaster. I recently bought an OCZ it is bar far the quietest and coolest PSU I've ever owned.

And yeah, it's always a better choice to go for an nVidia card. I'm running an eVGA 8500GT on my desktop and an XFX 9600GT in my media center and they both work fantastic.

I've never used Kingston RAM before, but I like Corsair, OCZ and G-Skill. Lots of people recommend Crucial as well.

[intense.ego]

Yeah, I also received a suggestion that I should get a Phenom II X3 core (2.8 ghz) instead of my current processor, is that a good idea? I heard a lot of bad things about the Phenom I processors.

Also about the PSU, how many PCI/PCI-e slots will I need, and what exactly do I connect to them?

Once again, thank you for all the help.

EDIT
If I was to get a slightly lower end graphics card, which one would you recommend? Is it worth it to get such a high end graphics card, like the 4870?
Thank you once more for answering all my questions

[Warpnow]

There is nothing wrong with an mATX motherboard. The only differences are:

1. Smaller
2. Fewer Ram Slots
3. Fewer PCI Slots
4. Less likely to have as many panel connections.

But mAtx motherboards are usually alot cheaper than ATX, so I often go with them on budget builds.

Edit: Here's a very good list of graphics card rankings that's kept up to date: http://www.tech-forums.net/pc/f76/graphics-performance-list-212331/

[DownTown22]

Yeah, I also received a suggestion that I should get a Phenom II X3 core (2.8 ghz) instead of my current processor, is that a good idea? I heard a lot of bad things about the Phenom I processors.

Also about the PSU, how many PCI/PCI-e slots will I need, and what exactly do I connect to them?

Once again, thank you for all the help.

EDIT
If I was to get a slightly lower end graphics card, which one would you recommend? Is it worth it to get such a high end graphics card, like the 4870?
Thank you once more for answering all my questions

I currently run an AMD PhenomII X3 710 without any problems...I say go for it.

Most new PSU's these days have adequate connectors for everything you'll put in case, shouldn't need to worry there.

I can't stress enough to go with an nVidia card. That ATI card seems rather high-end, you'd have no problems going with a lower end nVidia like a 9xxx series. I run an XFX 9600 GT without any problems. Mind you, it doesn't have an HDMI output.

[DownTown22]

There is nothing wrong with an mATX motherboard. The only differences are:

1. Smaller
2. Fewer Ram Slots
3. Fewer PCI Slots
4. Less likely to have as many panel connections.

But mAtx motherboards are usually alot cheaper than ATX, so I often go with them on budget builds.

Edit: Here's a very good list of graphics card rankings that's kept up to date: http://www.tech-forums.net/pc/f76/graphics-performance-list-212331/

They don't always have fewer RAM slots. I have an ATX board with 4 RAM slots and my new mATX board also has 4 RAM slots.

[intense.ego]

Is it wise to get a 350w-400w PSU?

I have realized that components in the US are much cheaper than their identical British counterparts. If I get a component in the US, but it turns out to be faulty, will the warranty apply in the UK? If not, are there any components that have little to no chance of failing, so it would be worth the risk to get them in the US anyway?
Thanks
intense.ego

[DownTown22]

I've had pretty good success rates with stuff not failing...I think the only I've had fail is a wireless mouse. But for me, I'd rather buy stuff in the country I live, just in case it does break down.

As for PSU power, I always go with at least 500W.

[kayvortex]

I have realized that components in the US are much cheaper than their identical British counterparts. If I get a component in the US, but it turns out to be faulty, will the warranty apply in the UK?

There are shipping costs associated with importing things, and you will probably be charged a fair few pounds I think, either by the company or customs directly. I've always thought the hassle wouldn't be worth the small savings, but if it's really a relatively large saving, then I wouldn't want to put you off it: just make sure you do the research. I think customs should be able to tell you how much they'll charge if you phone them up, I think.

As for warranty, if the company will ship it, then the warranty should still be applicable, but you can always ask the company to be sure.


Also about the PSU, how many PCI/PCI-e slots will I need, and what exactly do I connect to them?

I'd also suggest 500W+ for the PSU, just to be on the safe side. But, it really depends on the graphics card -- most decent reviews will state how power hungry the graphics card is. But, again, look at reviews of the PSU since, even with decent companies, the lower-end units (compared to some of the really high-end stuff they put out) might just be made out of inferior components.

If you mean how many slots do you need on your motherboard, then that only depends on what you'll put in them. Besides the graphics card, you probably wont ever use them. But, still, have a few slots free just in case. I also wouldn't worry about the PSU not having connectors for them: a 500W+ unit would expect you to have an intensive graphics card and lots of other things to connect to. In any case, under UK law you're allowed a 7 day (I think it's 7 days) "cooling off" period for things bought online. So, you are entitled to return something that's not compatible with your system.


If I was to get a slightly lower end graphics card, which one would you recommend? Is it worth it to get such a high end graphics card, like the 4870?

The 4870 is a pretty high-end card, and not bad of a bargain; you might be able to get a nVidia 260 series for about the same amount of money (depending on what sort of a deal you were getting for your HD 4870) -- I'm looking at one for £120 (http://www.overclockers.co.uk/productlist.php?groupid=701&catid=56&subid=927). But, for most purposes, the cards in the same sort of performance band are all the same -- for most purposes. You may be able to last a year or so longer, at most, playing the most demanding crysis-esque games if you shell out £50-100, but even they'll be outdated by the next generation of games: I bought a 7900 GTX when it came out, and it could handle FEAR, COD4, R6V2 etc. when they came out 3-ish years later, but it is now showing its age against GTA IV. My advice would be, unless you're willing to update your graphics card regularly every 4/5 years or so, then you shouldn't worry about performance too much: choose either what you need (to play a certain game, for instance) or otherwise as good a card as your maximum budget allows for.

Also, don't be afraid of bargaining: find the cheapest you can of whatever and then ask other shops and sometimes even online stores (if they have a sales contact number or something) if they are willing to better it: they will most of the time, even if not by much.

[Warpnow]

They don't always have fewer RAM slots. I have an ATX board with 4 RAM slots and my new mATX board also has 4 RAM slots.

True, but an ATX board has the oppurtunity to have more than 4, and an mATX sometimes only has 2 slots.