BleepingComputer.com: Going to build my first computer... should I buy parts now or wait?

So I was going to attempt building my first computer from scratch (I've done a lot of upgrading of separate parts over the years, so I think I'll be OK) and the parts I'll be buying are:

Case + PSU: Antec Sonata III w/ 500-Watt power supply (probably will switch out this PSU for the 600W one I currently have)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-P55A-UD4P
Processor: Intel Core i7-860
RAM: Crucial 8192MB (4GB) PC3-12800 DDR3
Video: ASUS GTX 460 768MB 192-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0
Hard drive: Western Digital Caviar SE16 640GB 7200rpm SATA 300 MB/s
DVD RW: ASUS Black 24x (not sure if I'll be getting this or not yet)
OS: Windows 7

My one question is should I buy the parts now or wait until cyber monday (I believe the first monday after thanksgiving, right?) I remember newegg had a lot of good deals last year on cyber monday, do you think I would be able to get any deals on those parts during that time?

I think if I order them now it will cost me around $1,200 give or take a few (didn't really total in shipping or anything yet)

(In case you didn't know I pretty much based my build off of the one from www.mysuperpc.com since it seems to be right up my alley for what I need)

This post has been edited by spr2: 22 August 2010 - 11:58 AM

Just a general observation...seems to me that the only computer components which go up in price over time...are older parts which are not readily available in the volume that mainstream parts are.

That doesn't guarantee a price drop...but the pure business end says that inventory item won't be worth as much two months from now as it is today.

Louis

Are you going with the 32-bit or 64-bit version of Windows 7?

If you are going with the 32-bit version then you should only install 3GB of RAM.

A 32-bit Windows operating system will recognize up to 4GB of RAM, but will not be able to utilize the total amount because the address space is only 4GB in size, the draw from critical functions such as the system BIOS, motherboard resources, memory mapped I/O, AGP, PCI, PCI-E, and other memory allocations for PCI devices use this space as well.

Different onboard devices and different add-on cards (devices) will result in different total memory size. This means that the more PCI cards installed will require more memory resources, resulting of less memory free for other uses. Typically a 32-bit operating system will see between 3.3GB and 3.5GB of total RAM.

Probably just 32-bit, so will do thanks!

Oh and I changed the GTX 260 to a GTX 460. The 460 seems to be more reliable, better performance and same price.

But now I'm debating on if I should stick with the i7-860 and GA-P55A-UD4P, or should I drop down a level and get the i5-750 and then the GA-P55A-UD3? How much would this decrease performance? It would save me a good deal of money though (mostly on the CPU)

This post has been edited by spr2: 22 August 2010 - 11:46 AM

Make sure that your PSU will support the graphics card, not just the voltage, but the current rating of the 12v rail.

This post has been edited by dc3: 22 August 2010 - 11:45 AM

Yeah I don't remember the exact specs of my PSU as it's been a while since I've worked with it but I'll open up my case later and double check the ratings but I'm pretty sure it should be good.

The manufacturer usually will post the minimum system requirements for the graphics cards, this usually will include the PSU voltage. They don't usually include the 12V rail requirements unless it draws a large amount. If it does include this, then you really should find out what the current rating is for the 12V rail/s.

I'm pretty sure it was at least 20A, perhaps even 25A but I'll double check. Also it might be 650W not just 600W, again it's been awhile since I've looked at it.

EDIT: Ok I decided to switch up some of my parts as I had previously said I might. My current setup is a little easier on my wallet, how does everything look/is it all compatible?:

Case: Antec Sonata III
Motherboard: GIGABYTE GA-P55A-UD3
CPU: Intel Core i5-750
Video card: ASUS GeForce GTX 460
RAM: Kingston 1GBx2 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 (going to buy 2 of these for 4 GB total)
Hard drive: Western Digital Caviar Blue 640GB
CD Drive: ASUS Black 24x
OS: Windows 7 64-bit

I changed my motherboard and CPU like I was thinking of doing. I also then changed my RAM because the RAM in my original post wasn't compatible with the new motherboard (right? I don't think it is at least?)

I also went with Windows 7 64-bit after all since a little further shopping around has shown me that I can get 64-bit as the same price as 32-bit, so hey why not?

This post has been edited by spr2: 22 August 2010 - 01:55 PM

I would seriously reconsider the RAM choice.

A 2X2gig 1600 setup would give you more options (overclocking included), plus you won't have to worry about stability problems running with all the memory slots full.

Yeah I was a little hesitant about that at first.

How about 2 of these instead: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16820148313
Only thing that makes me hesitant about buying that is there aren't that many reviews, but I've heard good things about Crucial Ballistix RAM. Anyone else?

Also, just to make sure I'm not unnecessarily narrowing my search, since my motherboards (GA-P55A-UD3) memory standard is DDR3 2200/1333/1066/800, that means I can only buy DDR3 RAM of those types, right?

Also, upon further inspection the PSU I'll be using is an Ultra X-Connect 600W PSU with 35A on the +12v rail (there is only one 12v rail). I don't really know anything about the Ultra brand, do you think I should stick with this one or buy a newer one?

This post has been edited by spr2: 22 August 2010 - 08:44 PM

I think I'm also going to change my case to this: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16811129066

I don't really see the point in spending so much extra on a case pretty much just for the PSU when I already have a PSU I'll be using. Plus that one seems to have better cooling.

This post has been edited by spr2: 23 August 2010 - 08:43 PM

FWIW: I've been using Ultra PSUs for 5 years now or more...I think they are pretty decent, never had a problem with one and they tend to be priced where I want to spend. I currently have a 550-watt and 600-watt unit in my respective desktops.

Louis

Spr2,

If you are still looking over case choices you might consider the Antec Sonata Proto case.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16811129086

It is very similar to the Antec Sonata III case but it does not come with any PSU.

[ Unfortunately, a $20 off promo code for the Proto case ended on Sept. 2nd. ]

The Sonata cases are supposed to be quieter than most cases which is one reason they do not have many openings in the case.

The Sonata Proto is about the same $$ as the Antec Three Hundred Illusion case.
Hope your new PC build turns out well whatever parts you use.

JB