building a new computer first time please help

harvest · Post by **harvest** » Sat Apr 03, 2010 3:36 pm

Well ya, building a computer for the first time mainly to play games nothing really hardcore though WoW:LK, maybe mass effect 2/ Dragon age origins.

I bought a book a while ago since i was thinking about making a gaming computer years ago titles "Build the Ultimate Gaming PC" from extreme tech, now im actually reading it and i realize that the book is about 5sh years old so most of the items in here will be pretty outdated so i started to think i should compile a list of parts and then just put it together.

at the moment i am looking at the cases section of the book and trying to find a case that is newer but similar to the case in the book, The book suggested a Thermaltake Armor VA8000 now i looked at that case and i liked the way it was designed and the looks tbh so i went to thermaltakes' website and found a similar case http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 2167&SID=
and was wondering if i could get your opinions on it whether or not it i should even try to build my first pc with this case or not and if not i was hoping you could recommend some alternatives

Thanks

JamieG · Post by **JamieG** » Sat Apr 03, 2010 5:59 pm

To me at least, that case looks huge and unnecessary for a reasonably powered gaming computer. It also looks like it has the potential to be quite noisy.

Have a look at some Antec or Lian Li cases, or perhaps some Lancool cases. Personally, I like the Antec P183 and the Lian Li PC-B10 for a mix of airflow and quiet potential, the Lian Li PCP-50, Lancool K60 and Antec 300 for more gamer-style cases and the Antec Solo for a more quiet-orientated case.

Since you're posting here, I assume you're looking for a quiet gaming system (if not, have a look here and pick something that is close to your budget).

Speaking of which, do you have a budget in mind? How long do you want this system to last before upgrading it?

Anyway, for a quiet and reasonably low powered gaming system with no overclocking, try something like this:

Antec Solo case
Nexus Value 430W PSU
Core i5 750 CPU
Scythe Mugen 2 CPU cooler
Gigabyte P55A motherboard
4 Gb low voltage DDR3 RAM
Powercolor 5750 Passive GPU (or Sapphire VaporX 5770 or Sapphire VaporX 5850 if you want more grunt)
1Tb Samsung EcoGreen F3 7,200rpm HDD
DVD drive of your choice
Windows 7 Home Premium
1 x Nexus Real Silent 120mm fans
2 x Nexus Real Silent 92mm fans
3 x Zalman Fanmate 2's or some other form of fan controller

Replace the rear case fan with the Nexus 120mm fan and install the 2 x 92mm fans in front of the case with the Zalman fanmates connecting to the motherboard. Use the fanmates to find a nice balance of noise and cooling capacity.

Anyway, I know I've gone beyond what you were asking in your post, but picking a case is something fairly personal in terms of style and preference. Knowing what system you're putting into a case is usually a good idea.

Hope some of that is helpful to you!

Michael Sandstrom · Post by **Michael Sandstrom** » Sat Apr 03, 2010 11:53 pm

Instead of addressing your hardware questions I have some advice you might find useful.

Go to the Tweak Guides site and download the free Tweaking Companion PDF file for your Windows version. The Tweaking Companion is a comprehensive Windows guide which includes a wealth of information re OS and driver installation. There are other guides on the site which are very useful for gamers.

judge56988 · Post by **judge56988** » Sun Apr 04, 2010 2:10 am

I'd also suggest looking at the Silverstone FT01, FT02 and RV02 cases.

ces · Post by **ces** » Sun Apr 04, 2010 3:33 am

JamieG wrote: Antec Solo case
Nexus Value 430W PSU
Core i5 750 CPU
Scythe Mugen 2 CPU cooler
Gigabyte P55A motherboard
4 Gb low voltage DDR3 RAM
Powercolor 5750 Passive GPU (or Sapphire VaporX 5770 or Sapphire VaporX 5850 if you want more grunt)
1Tb Samsung EcoGreen F3 7,200rpm HDD
DVD drive of your choice
Windows 7 Home Premium
1 x Nexus Real Silent 120mm fans
2 x Nexus Real Silent 92mm fans
3 x Zalman Fanmate 2's or some other form of fan controller

Replace the rear case fan with the Nexus 120mm fan and install the 2 x 92mm fans in front of the case with the Zalman fanmates connecting to the motherboard. Use the fanmates to find a nice balance of noise and cooling capacity.

A very good, balanced, low cost, configuration in my opinion