Need to build a computer

[{7}21|Gef.Jupiter]

My computer broke down last night, more specifically the harddrive. I went this morning and bought a new one and was quite sure my computer supported SATA2, well bought one came home and discovered that nope, only SATA1.

At this point since the computer is quite old by todays standards i decided to build a new one. I havent put one together for a few years now and im not totally up to date about whats a good setup at the moment.

Anyways here is what im thinking of buying:

1 x Antec Sonata III 500 - ATX, 500W 99.90e
1 x MSI K9N2 SLI Platinum nVidia 750a SLI AT 123.90e
2 x MSI GeForce 8600GT PCI-E 256MB DDR2 129.80e
1 x AMD Phenom 9550 2.2Ghz Boxed 143.90e
4 x Kingston HyperX 1GB 1066MHz DDR2 CL5 118.90e

..., and the SATA2 harddrive i already bought.

[AToW.DaMan]

I would get a higher rated PS maybe a 700Watt

[{7}21|Gef.Jupiter]

Ok, now im happy i posted here. Are there any guidelines for determining power consumption?

The only one that had a note about consumption was the cpu (95W).

[AToW.DaMan]

You should be able to look up what the 8600 use, they could be quite hungry, I know my 8800's are.

[SnowBall]

The big power hogs are going to be your CPU and your video card. I run a dual core intel 2.8Ghz and a 7950GTOC. My 450 watt does fine with it. But its a higher quality then most of the crap you buy online. Expect a good $120+ USD for a good 700 watt.

[Raptor-6]

I'd try for at least an 8800 if I were you. try for a 8800 GTS 512 G92. It's more money than the 8600 but I think you will like the performance gain.

here is a link that might be helpful. It's a little dated but you will get the idea.

http://www.firingsquad.com/hardware/nvidia_geforce_8800_gts_512mb/

Also there may be a switch configuration on that SATA2 drive to force it to run on in SATA1 mode for your SATA1 controller. I seem to remember a problem with that combination until I found the switch setting!!

Good luck in your build!!!

[[DI]I|SSGT.Sprite]

SATA2 Hard disks are almost all backwards compatable...

[[DI]I|SSGT.Sprite]

OK sorry for double post:
This comes to a total of 754.56e Its an intel based rig, all high end, well made parts. Some aren't in stock with us at the minute but will be in soon. I am aware that the memory is clocked slower. We do offer a 1066 pack of geil 4GB somewhere.

http://www.cclonline.com/product-info.asp?id=21585 - memory
http://www.cclonline.com/product-info.asp?id=17993 - psu
http://www.cclonline.com/product-info.asp?id=18490 - Graphics (get two if thats what your wanting to do price includes that)
http://www.cclonline.com/product-info.asp?id=24073 - motherboard
http://www.cclonline.com/product-info.asp?id=12316 - cpu (easy overclock to 3GHz)

Yes I work for CCl, but no I don't get commision (I work in the reutrns, non of these parts EVER come back faulty and are faulty)

[{7}21|Gef.Jupiter]

Hmm, if SATA2 should be backwards compatible (and i bought what i think is a drive of good quality - Western Digital) it would indicate that my motherboard is the one that is ****ed up, right?

Thank you all for providing directions and suggestions. I'll definitely upgrade that PS to 700W and i'll have to reconsider the other parts as well.

:salute:

[Raptor-6]

Hmm, if SATA2 should be backwards compatible (and i bought what i think is a drive of good quality - Western Digital) it would indicate that my motherboard is the one that is ****ed up, right? :salute:

Not sure, there should be a jumper setting on the HD itself that should make it work with you MB controller. I believe it has to do with slowing down the transfer rate to 150MB/s from 300.

[[A]1|Sgt.Gunther]

1st|GSgt.DaMan;73732']I would get a higher rated PS maybe a 700Watt

The wattage of a PSU is merely a measure of what the PSU is capable of delivering. Most (if not all) computers use a much lower wattage than their PSU is capable of.

To use 700 watts, said computer must have EVERYTHING spinning and working: all the CPUs cores maxed, hard drives reading and writing, while installing a game, and playing 3 games of Supreme Commander on max graphics.

[{RET}Th3flyboy]

for videocard, ether get an 8800 gt or better yet... a 9800 gtx. you can get the 8800 for about $130 or the 9800gtx for about $200 now adays.

[Raptor-6]

@Gunther,
650-700 watt PSU's are pretty much the low end for gaming rigs these days. Even if you don't use all the capacity, it's still better to have a PSU rated above your usage so you don't beat the crap out of it. A 700 watt PSU will last a lot longer and stay a lot cooler providing 500 watts of power than a 500 watt PSU will.

[[A]1|Sgt.Gunther]

@Gunther,
650-700 watt PSU's are pretty much the low end for gaming rigs these days. Even if you don't use all the capacity, it's still better to have a PSU rated above your usage so you don't beat the crap out of it. A 700 watt PSU will last a lot longer and stay a lot cooler providing 500 watts of power than a 500 watt PSU will.

Good point.

Conceded.

[{UN}.Nurmdog]

High WATT P/S is great, but you want to consider a high efficiency unit. Get an 80 plus certified if you can, most ps are 70% - 78% efficient, meaning if they take in 100 watts of AC power they cover it to 70 - 78 watts of DC power. That means more electrical bills for you and more heat for your PC. The more efficient the PS the less heat you will have. I purchased an Antec Quattro 850 on sale and love it, more then 80% efficient and not too bad on heat.