Thread: First Build/Upgrade

Originally Posted by Viktor_Olin

Be sure your DVD burner is SATA interface; I planned to use an older burner on my recent upgrade, and forgot it was IDE. Had to buy a SATA drive locally for 50% more than Newegg's price.

Yeah just checked it is an old IDE. I'm just going to buy a ASUS cd dvd rom and burner for around $20

I would reconsider this. Powersupplys lose wattage over time, so you don't really know how much it can do. 5 years is around where all of my psu's have died.... usually right after I added just 1 more cd drive, or hard drive.....

And yes I know it loses wattage but its well over my minimum and even if i buy a second video card to sli it will probably work. If it doesn't I will just buy a new one until this one breaks when I buy the second card later on

Originally Posted by kibner

Only if you have a CRT monitor (not TV) sitting handy, the ability to find/write a visual stopwatch application, and a camera that can somewhat clearly capture fast motion (not sure if most camera phones are quick enough). If you are sensitive to it, you can also just feel like your mouse movement is "off" when the monitor has heavy input lag. And yeah, it's never advertised and you won't find it on a box or official spec sheet. You generally have to depend on someone else buying it, figuring out the delay, and publishing their results somewhere online.

Speaking of which, I usually just put the model name and "input lag" into google/bing and search. The [H]ardOCP forums usually have good breakdowns of various monitors. Normally good at answering questions, too.

Another resource is the LCD Thread on Anandtech. I'm uncertain as to whether the first couple posts in it are kept updated, though. It is another good place to ask questions. The first post is fantastic at explaining more than you ever cared to know about LCD monitors, too. Highly recommend a read-through of that first post.

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I'll have to do a bit more research then and check it out then.

Looks like two of my parts are both sold out so I'm going to have to wait a bit longer than expected unless I buy it off amazon.

Originally Posted by kibner

Shit like that is why finding a monitor for myself or others takes longer than any other part of a computer. Cpu and gpu is easy; find something that gives you the performance you want (through any number of reviews) at a price you can afford.

Monitors? Hahaha. Come up with what is most important for you/your purpose, look at monitors that have that as their strong points, see if there are any deal breakers for you in that group of monitors, order the remaining ones by your list of personal criteria, then pick the best one in your price range. And, oh yeah, a lot of things are subjective, have random bad/good batches, stealth fixes/breaks, and a lot of the most important information has to be found on specialized review sites and/or message boards or isn't available anywhere.

I hate picking out monitors.

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I mean this is my first time build so I've spent most of my time research the core components such as the ram and mobo. Never knew there was this much to monitors lol I mean I don't have a big budget and I saw the great deal at best buy and it looked good. I'm going to send more on the components first but if I plan to get a new one or a second one down the road I'll be sure to check out the input lag and some of the stuff you said.

Originally Posted by Webs

And yes I know it loses wattage but its well over my minimum and even if i buy a second video card to sli it will probably work. If it doesn't I will just buy a new one until this one breaks when I buy the second card later on

I would reconsider this; when a PSU dies it can take other components with it. PSU's have shit-tons of juice going through them as well as distribution to everything else in the system. I have seen many PC's lose parts because a PSU died. I am actually replacing an HDD and a GPU as well as 1 stick of RAM in a friends computer; her PSU died and took all of those with it. I have been working on computers since the 80's; and anymore the PSU is one of my most expensive components. Further, I replace it before it dies.

If a PSU older than a couple of years, take heed.

Originally Posted by SoySoldier

I would reconsider this; when a PSU dies it can take other components with it. PSU's have shit-tons of juice going through them as well as distribution to everything else in the system. I have seen many PC's lose parts because a PSU died. I am actually replacing an HDD and a GPU as well as 1 stick of RAM in a friends computer; her PSU died and took all of those with it. I have been working on computers since the 80's; and anymore the PSU is one of my most expensive components. Further, I replace it before it dies.

If a PSU older than a couple of years, take heed.

Its 5+ years old. Is there any way to check it or know a general time frame when it could fail? I mean if it has built in surge protection do i really need to buy a new one? Do you have any recommendations if I was going to get one.

I just was looking through and here's what I was looking at if i have to get a new one. Newegg.com - Rosewill HIVE Series HIVE-650 650W Continuous @40°C, 80 PLUS BRONZE Certified, Modular Design, Single +12V Rail, ATX12V v2.31/EPS12V v2.92, SLI Ready, CrossFire Ready, Active-PFC Power Supply

Originally Posted by Webs

Its 5+ years old. Is there any way to check it or know a general time frame when it could fail? I mean if it has built in surge protection do i really need to buy a new one? Do you have any recommendations if I was going to get one.

I just was looking through and here's what I was looking at if i have to get a new one. Newegg.com - Rosewill HIVE Series HIVE-650 650W Continuous @40°C, 80 PLUS BRONZE Certified, Modular Design, Single +12V Rail, ATX12V v2.31/EPS12V v2.92, SLI Ready, CrossFire Ready, Active-PFC Power Supply

I don't know of any specific way to test a PSU to determine how much time is left. I am sure someone with enough electronics expertise could test the caps and stuff... but that is beyond what I am willing to do!

That looks like s decent enough PSU. I don't know about Rosewill; they have bought so many different small manufacturers that there products are real hit or miss. I currently really like Seasonic, Corsair and some of the higher end Antec PSU's. I am running an SLI rig with the Corsair TX650 right now and its very stable. Tight voltages and consistent amperage...

might try looking at the Corsairs, there are some that with rebates (go ahead and make a newegg account and look through the promos, you will find some awesome deals and the shellshockers are unbeatable). I saw a Corsair TX750 for around the same price after rebates I think...

Is modular a must then? The Corsair TX650 (which I can only get the new model now) isnt modular is there a real reason to get modular? Keep in mind this is my first build so im pretty new at the stuff and I thought it would be easier to manage the modular set up