Solved Help with building a computer

[xDeathSwitchx]

Hello everyone. I first came here for excessive BSODs. After much troubleshooting, this forum helped me overcome them for a while, but later I found out I had some hardware issue. But I thank you all for the support you gave me.
Thread link: http://www.sevenforums.com/crashes-debugging/223739-very-frequent-bsods.html

Now that I have some cash to play around with I want to get some new hardware. After months of investigating I came to the conclusion that I need a motherboard and power supply. While I'm at it, I need a case for an ATX motherboard.

Here's a list of what I have and what I plan to get. I just need your help making sure everything is compatible.

What I own:

CPU: [URL="http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103704"]AMD Athlon II X4 630[/URL]

HDD:[URL="http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136317"]Western Digital 1TB 32MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive[/URL]

Graphics Card: [URL="http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130572"]EVGA GeForce GTS 450[/URL]

RAM: [URL="http://www.samsung.com/global/business/semiconductor/product/computing-dram/detail?iaId=693&productId=5608"]Samsung 2GB DDR3 1333MHz x3[/URL]
I couldn't find a link with all the details but here's some info I found on them.

Brand: Samsung

Part Number: M378B5673EH1-CH9

Technologic Type: DDR3 SDRAM

Storage Capacity: 2GB each

Pins: 240 Pin

Bus Type: PC-10600

Error Correction: Non-ECC

Cycle Time: 1.5ns

Cas: CL9

Data Transfer Rate: 1333MHz

Memory Clock: 166MHz

Voltage: 1.5

Hardware I plan to buy:

Motherboard: [URL="http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813138362"]BIOSTAR A960A3+ AM3+ AMD 870 ATX[/URL]

Power Supply: [URL="http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817822002"]Diablotek PHD Series PHD450 450W ATX12V V2.2 Power Supply[/URL]

Case: [URL="http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811147159"]Rosewill REDBONE[/URL]

I do believe everything will work together. I would go for some better items but I'm on a low budget. If I missed anything please let me know. Thank you for your time.

 

[Layback Bear]

First things first. Every thing in the computer have one thing in common, the power supply. IMO your choice isn't of the quality you need. Check out this site.
Google

A little more money but you won't regret it. You can check other sites this is just one I found.

 

[xDeathSwitchx]

The only reason why I don't want to get a bigger power supply is because that is the reason why I need a motherboard. A while back when I knew nothing about hardware and was just a gamer that wanted a upgrade. I was going to get a graphics card and my friend told me I needed a new PSU. So that's what I got. He picked one out for me and i got it. Well my little stock micro ATX MB from HP couldn't handle a 750w PSU. While it was still under warranty I had it repaired for free, got a new motherboard and everything was fixed. A few months later my warranty ran out and my MB was fried again.

So I used Newegg's little handy wattage calculator and I need 400w. I don't wanna get more than I need because I don't wanna go through that again.

How about any of these?
Newegg.com - Computer Parts, PC Components, Laptop Computers, LED LCD TV, Digital Cameras and more!

If I had more money I would start from scratch and build an awesome system. But I'm limited to about $150 right now.

 

[Britton30]

A big PSU won't cause anything to burn out due to being over powered. The machine will only draw what it needs. Even if you had a 1200W PSU but the machine needs 250, that's what it would put out. However an el-cheapo PSU could do that because of poor power regulation or making "dirty" power.

none of the one in your link are high quality units. If you have $150 to spend on one, try one of these.

Newegg.com - Seasonic SS-460FL Active PFC F3, 460W Fanless ATX12V Fanless 80Plus Gold Certified, Modular Power Supply
Newegg.com - CORSAIR Gaming Series GS700 700W ATX12V v2.3 80 PLUS Certified Active PFC High Performance Power Supply
Newegg.com - FSP Group AURUM GOLD 500W (AU-500) ATX12V /EPS 12V 80PLUS GOLD Certified Compatible with Core i7 Power Supply

Having more power available than you need is better than having "just enough".
Out of curiosity which PSU did your friend get for you?

 

[xDeathSwitchx]

This is the one my friend told me to get and I bought it.
Newegg.com - Antec EarthWatts Series EA-750 Green 750W ATX12V v2.3 SLI Certified CrossFire Certified 80 PLUS BRONZE Certified Active PFC Continuous Power Supply

After I was having all the problems I took out that PSU and put in an old 300w from a prebuilt pc. It worked for about one month but I think the damage was already done at that point.

I meant also that I had $150 total, sorry for any confusion. I may have to save up a bit more before buying.

 

[Layback Bear]

Mr Britton 30 once again is correct. Your power supply will only put out what is demanded of it. Any power supply that is working close to it max output will produce poor volts and amps and create heat. Their is no such thing as a cheep quality power supply IMO. You can save money many places in a computer but the power supply shouldn't be one of them. Seasonic is another quality brand.

 

[xDeathSwitchx]

Thank you for all of the info about PSUs. I might have just got a bad unit and that is why I was inclined to believe my sysrem was being "overpowered". I'm going to save a bit more and see if I can't get a pretty nice one. Other than the power supply, does the motherboard seem to be completely compatible with my other hardware?

 

[DeaconFrost]

Another fellow Pennsylvanian! May I suggest a better quality board than BioStar? I normally recommend Asus, Gigabyte, or Intel, and in this case, Intel wouldn't be possible.

 

[xDeathSwitchx]

Hello there! I was looking to buy an ASUS at first. The only cheaper one I found that would fit was an Open Box sale. I didn't really wanna trust that to much. Like I said though I'm going to save some m ore money.

 

[Britton30]

Here's another two possibilities, the first two.
Newegg.com - Computer Hardware, Motherboards, AMD Motherboards, ASUS, Micro ATX, AM3+
I would recommend the 880G chipset though I have one and it seems to perform very well. The board I have is the open box one. Well it was new when I got it.

 

[UnknownReverent]

I'd have to agree with a different power supply. I'd only trust the good names brands. I've never heard anything about Diablotek. A good Asus board would be nice too, but there are other alternatives like the others mentioned.

 

[xDeathSwitchx]

Newegg.com - ASUS M5A97 AM3+ AMD 970 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX AMD Motherboard with UEFI BIOS

I wan planning on an ATX MB for the sake of room. This one seems pretty nice.

 

[ignatzatsonic]

You say the New Egg calculator said you needed 400 watts.

Here are some decent and fairly inexpensive PSUs around that output level:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817151072
Seasonic 380 watts; 54 bucks.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817371046
Antec 400 watts; made by Seasonic; 60 bucks

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817371030
Antec 520 watts; made by Seasonic; 60 bucks

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817151074
Seasonic, 430 watts; 60 bucks

Those are the best I can find at that price point.

Make sure the one you choose has the right connectors for your motherboard.

 

[lhorwinkle]

There's no shame in not knowing how to build a computer. But the solution is simple: Just buy a computer from HP or Dell. Simpler. Cheaper. More reliable. No build-induced headaches.

 

[UnknownReverent]

There's no shame in not knowing how to build a computer. But the solution is simple: Just buy a computer from HP or Dell. Simpler. Cheaper. More reliable. No build-induced headaches.

It may be simpler, but most of the time not cheaper. Building a computer gives you a better chance to get what parts you want or need. Buying a pre-built computer doesn't give you that chance and it's overpriced for what they put in it so they can make a profit.

 

[Victor S]

What you want to do is see what's working well for other people playing the games you want to play. Being your own test bed can get expensive real fast. Reading owner reviews and even looking at specs posted on Youtube work for that. Some vid cards really have trouble with some games. Unfortunately, sometimes people have the card before the game comes out. Game designers can't test every possible combo. That's why I prefer mainstream Intel/nVidia - more likely they were tested during game design testing. But many combos not tested still work well, and finding them isn't hard to do.
Some MB/vid card combos don't work well together. What's in my specs has worked well with everything I've thrown at it, but there are many setups that work.
Mine is already pretty old, and the only thing I've noticed wrong in playing many high-demand games was the spider webs blocking some passages in Skyrim were invisible. So when I got stopped I just started hacking, then they showed up.
I wouldn't get any MB/vid combo that I didn't see working well for the games I play.
Of course "issues" can still rear up when new games are released, usually solved by new drivers.
Best not to get into that driver issue in the first place. I'm still using the drivers I installed 2 1/2 years ago when I built this system.

 

[DeaconFrost]

There's no shame in not knowing how to build a computer. But the solution is simple: Just buy a computer from HP or Dell. Simpler. Cheaper. More reliable. No build-induced headaches.

There's no shame in that...but there's also no harm in trying it. I've taught dozens of people to build them, including my wife, and they have all remakred at how simple it was after doing it. All you need is patience and a basic understand of the parts. Having someone shadow you who has done it before helps tremendously, but isn't necessary.

 

[Britton30]

Newegg.com - ASUS M5A97 AM3+ AMD 970 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX AMD Motherboard with UEFI BIOS

I wan planning on an ATX MB for the sake of room. This one seems pretty nice.

It's a nice board but make sure your HP case will accept the ATX size.

 

[Sardonicus]

Since you're on a budget, I'd consider the Antec over the Diablotek.
It's currently $6.00 more.
Newegg.com - Antec VP-450 450W ATX 12V v2.3 Power Supply

 

[xDeathSwitchx]

You say the New Egg calculator said you needed 400 watts.

Here are some decent and fairly inexpensive PSUs around that output level:

Newegg.com - SeaSonic S12II 380B 380W ATX12V v2.3 80 PLUS BRONZE Certified Active PFC Power Supply
Seasonic 380 watts; 54 bucks.

Newegg.com - Antec High Current Gamer Series HCG-400 400W ATX12V v2.3 / EPS12V v2.91 80 PLUS BRONZE Certified Active PFC Power Supply
Antec 400 watts; made by Seasonic; 60 bucks

Newegg.com - Antec NEO ECO 520C 520W Continuous Power ATX12V v2.3 / EPS12V 80 PLUS Certified Active PFC Power Supply
Antec 520 watts; made by Seasonic; 60 bucks

Newegg.com - SeaSonic S12II 430B 430W ATX12V V2.3/EPS12V 80 PLUS BRONZE Certified Active PFC Power Supply
Seasonic, 430 watts; 60 bucks

Those are the best I can find at that price point.

Make sure the one you choose has the right connectors for your motherboard.

Thank you for the suggestions I'll make sure they have all the connectors I need.

What you want to do is see what's working well for other people playing the games you want to play. Being your own test bed can get expensive real fast. Reading owner reviews and even looking at specs posted on Youtube work for that. Some vid cards really have trouble with some games. Unfortunately, sometimes people have the card before the game comes out. Game designers can't test every possible combo. That's why I prefer mainstream Intel/nVidia - more likely they were tested during game design testing. But many combos not tested still work well, and finding them isn't hard to do.
Some MB/vid card combos don't work well together. What's in my specs has worked well with everything I've thrown at it, but there are many setups that work.
Mine is already pretty old, and the only thing I've noticed wrong in playing many high-demand games was the spider webs blocking some passages in Skyrim were invisible. So when I got stopped I just started hacking, then they showed up.
I wouldn't get any MB/vid combo that I didn't see working well for the games I play.
Of course "issues" can still rear up when new games are released, usually solved by new drivers.
Best not to get into that driver issue in the first place. I'm still using the drivers I installed 2 1/2 years ago when I built this system.

I'm defiantly going to look up reviews on any new products before I buy them. I already have the CPU and GFX card in my old PC and they worked great together. Thanks for all the info!

It's a nice board but make sure your HP case will accept the ATX size.

I'm getting a new case so I don't have any heat or ventilation issues. Also It'll look pretty

Since you're on a budget, I'd consider the Antec over the Diablotek.
It's currently $6.00 more.
Newegg.com - Antec VP-450 450W ATX 12V v2.3 Power Supply

Thanks for the suggestion. I'll make sure It has all the right connections and consider it for sure.