Newbie Computer Questions

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COA23

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Hello, everyone!

I've never built my own computer before. I took classes in college that discussed computer parts and different things like that, but I barely remember anything about it.

This is the parts list I have put together and it all totals around $400.

Case: Antec Performance P-100 ($80)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-F2A8XX-D3H ($75)
Processor: AMD Anthon X2 clocking at 4Ghz ($57)
Fans: 2 x Corsair Air AF120 ($21)
Hard Drive: WD Green 2TB (SATA) ($80)
Graphics: Sapphire Radeon R7 ($88)

Totals around $401.

I'm not looking for a computer to compete with the best. I'm just wanting something that will get me through, that will monitor well, and will handle me pushing heavy Metal through it. Something I can record, mix, and master on. All prices are Amazon prices.

Thanks everyone! You're all awesome!
 
Like you, I've never built a computer before. But one thing I do know is that they go better with some RAM inside. Or maybe you've got one of those motherboards that includes RAM in the deal.
 
garryknight said:
Like you, I've never built a computer before. But one thing I do know is that they go better with some RAM inside. Or maybe you've got one of those motherboards that includes RAM in the deal.
Click to expand...

I'm gonna have some RAM lol I just haven't decide how much yet. Leaning towards 12 GB DDR3 1866. (One 8GB stick and one 4 GB stick)
 
A matched pair will work best, i.e. two chips with the same capacity and speed.
 
That's a gigabyte dual channel board, so I'd go with identical pairs of ram.

If price is a factor, don't feel you have to go with 1866. 16gb @ 1333 would be preferable to a mismatch of higher speed sticks.

It's personal preference but try not to buy RAM that you can/will replace. Put 2x8gb in it. If there's ever a need you can add another pair without taking a loss on smaller modules. :)
I put 3x8 in my mac pro where 6x4 would have been cheaper, but 3x8 makes sense in terms of future upgrading. (it likes multiples of 3)
 
Steenamaroo said:
That's a gigabyte dual channel board, so I'd go with identical pairs of ram.

If price is a factor, don't feel you have to go with 1866. 16gb @ 1333 would be preferable to a mismatch of higher speed sticks.

It's personal preference but try not to buy RAM that you can/will replace. Put 2x8gb in it. If there's ever a need you can add another pair. :)
I put 3x8 in my mac pro where 6x4 would have been cheaper, but if I ever needed to upgrade I would have had to sell the 6 x 4 and buy 6x8, see?
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Right. The motherboard also called for DIMM RAM. UDIMM won't work in these slots will it?

Will more than one stick generate more heat or would running on just one stick do that?
 
I'd ditch the graphics card if you're not using this machine for gaming. It'll be yet another fan to generate noise, and your motherboard and CPU's integrated graphics should be plenty to run up to 3 monitors (HDMI, DVI, D-Sub).

You're going to need a power supply as well. Without the graphics card, you'll be able to get away with less wattage. That processor is rated at 65W. I really wouldn't try to use less than a 400W power supply, just in case, but that's just me. You could get away with less.

Good choice on the 120mm fans, they should be nice and quiet.

Any old 240-pin DDR3 DIMMs will work. I've been using 1600 MHz and I've been more than satisfied. That motherboard will support up to 64 GB of RAM (!!!)

Also, take a look at WD Black HDDs. I think they'll outperform the Greens. It'd also be a good idea to get 2 drives: 1 for a system and application drive, and one for your audio/samples/etc.
 
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Just a mention- your bottleneck will probably be the hard drive read speed- I would suggest getting a SSD (solid state drive) in addition to the main drive to run your projects/cache off of especially if they are large. Of course it depends what you can afford but they are not too expensive anymore.

Edit: ^ What he said about the black.... dont skimp on the HD speed
 
Tadpui said:
I'd ditch the graphics card if you're not using this machine for gaming. It'll be yet another fan to generate noise, and your motherboard and CPU's integrated graphics should be plenty to run up to 3 monitors (HDMI, DVI, D-Sub).

You're going to need a power supply as well. Without the graphics card, you'll be able to get away with less wattage. That processor is rated at 65W. I really wouldn't try to use less than a 400W power supply, just in case, but that's just me. You could get away with less.

Good choice on the 120mm fans, they should be nice and quiet.

Also, take a look at WD Black HDDs. I think they'll outperform the Greens. It'd also be a good idea to get 2 drives: 1 for a system and application drive, and one for your audio/samples/etc.
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Well, the AMD processor doesn't have graphics, so I figured the monitor wouldn't show anything without it. Unless I'm misunderstanding something or missing something.

I haven't totaled up all the wattage yet. I was going to go with 650, which would give leeway to add things in the future.

Good call on the WD Black. It's also 5 dollars cheaper than the Green. Two of those is a good idea.
 
Tadpui said:
I'd ditch the graphics card if you're not using this machine for gaming. It'll be yet another fan to generate noise, and your motherboard and CPU's integrated graphics should be plenty to run up to 3 monitors (HDMI, DVI, D-Sub).

You're going to need a power supply as well. Without the graphics card, you'll be able to get away with less wattage. That processor is rated at 65W. I really wouldn't try to use less than a 400W power supply, just in case, but that's just me. You could get away with less.

Good choice on the 120mm fans, they should be nice and quiet.

Also, take a look at WD Black HDDs. I think they'll outperform the Greens. It'd also be a good idea to get 2 drives: 1 for a system and application drive, and one for your audio/samples/etc.
Click to expand...

What about this power supply? Used a calculator at NewEgg to determine my approximate wattage. 500 watts should be plenty, I think.

Amazon.com: Corsair Builder Series CX 500 Watt ATX/EPS  80 PLUS (CX500): Computers & Accessories
 
+1 on ditching the graphics card, but beware! A very few MOBOs do not have On Board Graphics. I got caught a year ago with an otherwise excellent Asus board.

If perchance you DO need a graph card got for as cheap a passively cooled one as 'Zon will give you. As Mr T said, you don't need stonking video for music.

Operating System? If going for Win 7, and I would, do bear in mind that Home Premium has a limit of 16G of ram but unless you are doing some really heavy lifting like complex video, eight should see you right.

Dave.
 
COA23 said:
Well, the AMD processor doesn't have graphics, so I figured the monitor wouldn't show anything without it. Unless I'm misunderstanding something or missing something.
Click to expand...

Oh good point, I didn't notice that the processor didn't have a GPU. If you're not gaming, you could surely find a graphics card that has passive cooling, just so it doesn't need a fan that'll add more noise to your build. Either that or find a comparable processor that has an integrated GPU.

Also, I think that power supply you linked to looks fine. 500W should be more than enough. I think that my audio build is using a 500W power supply for an Intel i7 4770k and it's more than ample.
 
Tadpui said:
Oh good point, I didn't notice that the processor didn't have a GPU. If you're not gaming, you could surely find a graphics card that has passive cooling, just so it doesn't need a fan that'll add more noise to your build. Either that or find a comparable processor that has an integrated GPU.

Also, I think that power supply you linked to looks fine. 500W should be more than enough. I think that my audio build is using a 500W power supply for an Intel i7 4770k and it's more than ample.
Click to expand...

How's this graphics card look? I like the idea of the "0dB cooling," provided it's true. It's Asus and they're reputable, so seems legit enough.

Amazon.com: ASUS Corporate Stable Model 2 GB Graphics Cards GT610-2GD3-CSM: Electronics
 
Looks like a pretty good deal. It's passively cooled, so no fans to make noise. It'll just rely on your chassis fans to whisk away heat, so put one at the front of the chassis to take in cool air, and one at the back to eject warm air, and if this card is in-between there somewhere it should cool just fine.
 
Hmm... try to get a motherboard with fully installed onboard graphics and save the cost of the video card (if your not a gamer)

GA-F2A88X-D3H

APU with integrated AMD Radeon™ HD 8000/7000 series graphics:
* To use the onboard graphics port, you must install an AMD APU with integrated graphics.
 
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