HP p6540f or Home Build?

[guyd78]

Hi. First time poster. Thought I better get involved with some type of tech forum sooner rather than later. I'll try to make this quick.

I have a small bit of PC knowledge. Never had my hands in a computer case before. I am willing to learn, and I don't consider myself the type that couldn't figure something out given enough time and research. I do not do any gaming, and the biggest use for the computer is editing Nikon DSLR large file RAW format photos within Capture NX2 - which can be a resource hog compared to Photoshop.

Anwyays, I'm trying to decide whether to plop down $700 (roughly) for a HP p6540f or a custom build job. Not sure which way to go.

The specs for the HP can be found here:
HP Pavilion p6540f Desktop PC, Magnesium Gray Edition | HP® Official Store

The system I just put together on paper over the past day or so looks like this:

AMD Athlon II X4 630 2.8 GHz (AMD Phenom II X4 955 3.2 GHz 2nd option)
WD Cavier Blue 500GB HD x 2 for a RAID 0 setup (already have 1TB external for backup purposes)
ASUS ATX Motherboard Newegg.com - ASUS M4A785TD-V EVO AM3 AMD 785G HDMI ATX AMD Motherboard
G. Skill 4GB (2x2GB) Memory (8GB or two extra sticks 2nd option)
Lite-On 24x Lightscribe CD/DVD Drive
Rosewill RCR-IC001 40-in-1 card reader
Apevia ATX 500w Power Supply
Cooler Master Centurion 5 Computer Case
Win7 Home Pro OS

Price for this build, as of todays neweggs prices, is $710-855 depending on the above two options concerning memory and processor choice. $700 is a better price point. $850 is ok, but that would be the limit for sure. I guess it depends on how much better performance I'd get for the extra cash.

All I have now is an old very slow laptop. No desktop to come from. I want something that I can grow with, will last me a while (5 yrs.?), and something that I can upgrade easily when need be. Plus I don't want it bogging down when I'm trying to edit large amounts of bulk photos.

Which route would you suggest? Advice? Am I getting in over my head to the point I should just get the HP and call it good? Also, I just purchased a Dell 2209WA s-IPS monitor. That's all I have so far.

Thanks.

[stroyal]

Most here would never buy a pre- built, but if you have never built one before, it is up to you, if you want to learn.

I am just a Millwright, and learned in no time.

The first lesson, is Apevia power supplies are known junk.
Here is our power supply sticky.
Power Supply Info


There are dozens of known good power supplies, and they don't all break the bank, so start with quality, it is one of the most important parts.


I would post a list, but I don't keep up like I used to, and would have to take an hour or so to look everything up, and Shyguy or one of the other hardware gurus, will have poster a list by then.


Welcome to TechIMO!

Edit
If you have a good parts list, truthfully, snapping it together is easier than installing all the programs and drivers, but maybe that is the Millwright in me.

[stroyal]

The other thing I noticed, is memory.
To take advantage of, more than about 3.5 gig, you need a 64bit operating system, and more than 4gig is a waste, unless you have one of the very few programs that can use it, or other reasons for it. (like you never close a program, but not sure that would even need it.)

[ShyguyXPC]

Free Shipping:

Newegg.com - Thermaltake V3 Black Edition VL80001W2Z Black SECC / Plastic ATX Mid Tower Computer Case

2x RAID 0 (drives are bit better performing than the Blue Series) Newegg.com - Western Digital Caviar Black WD5001AALS 500GB 7200 RPM 32MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive

Newegg.com - Rosewill RCR-IC001 40-in-1 USB 2.0 3.5" Internal Card Reader w/ USB port / Extra silver face plate

Newegg.com - WINTEC AMPX 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 (PC3 10666) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model 3AXH1333C9WS4GK

2 extra 2.8GHz cores, for total of Six Newegg.com - AMD Phenom II X6 1055T Thuban 2.8GHz 6 x 512KB L2 Cache 6MB L3 Cache Socket AM3 125W Six-Core Desktop Processor HDT55TFBGRBOX

Newegg.com - Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit 1-Pack for System Builders - Operating Systems


Remaining items are low shipping cost:

After factoring in Shipping & Price of the Model you chose, this is a mere $1 more, and a newer revision/model of the drive: Newegg.com - LITE-ON Black 24X DVD+R 8X DVD+RW 12X DVD+R DL 24X DVD-R 6X DVD-RW 12X DVD-RAM 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-R 32X CD-RW 48X CD-ROM 2MB Cache SATA 24X DVD Writer LightScribe Support

3rd Generation SATA and USB support, 8 SATA ports, Newest AMD Chipset, and decent Radeon 4250 onboard graphics. Newegg.com - GIGABYTE GA-880GA-UD3H AM3 AMD 880G HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX AMD Motherboard



Corsair is one of the Best Brands out there (with exception for maybe Seasonic, Antec, OCZ/PC Power & Cooling, Silverstone, and one or two Others, but IMO Corsair Ranks 2nd After Seasonic), and this is their lowest model, good quality PSU, more than enough power for the system, and then some (has plenty of power to add in a good mid range current Generation Video card if so desired)

Newegg.com - CORSAIR Builder Series CX430 CMPSU-430CX 430W ATX12V Active PFC Power Supply

Total after Shipping, $744.73. Not including $15 worth of Mail In Rebates.



Case was Free shipping which is why I added it, and has pretty good cooling layout with fans.



Motherboard is overkill in size of the board for what you need, unless you plan on adding in more than just a PCI Express and Maybe 1 or 2 PCI Expansion cards for additional stuff.

BUT, the Reason I added that one, rather than one of the Smaller MicroATX variants of the same board, was that those only had 5 SATA Ports, this larger one, for not much more in price has 8 total, 6 3rd Gen SATA and 2 2nd Gen connectors.

but for the total price, you have a 6 Core AMD Phenom II instead. Better Power Supply, 2 better Hard drives, for not much more than what your original list and prices came too.

8GB of DDR3 would probably run you $160 instead of the $76 or so the 4GB in my list costs. even adding a 2nd 4GB kit for a max of 8GB, you'd still come in under what your max price was on your list, $855, you'd be looking at $821.72 or so.

[ShyguyXPC]

The other thing I noticed, is memory.
To take advantage of, more than about 3.5 gig, you need a 64bit operating system, and more than 4gig is a waste, unless you have one of the very few programs that can use it, or other reasons for it. (like you never close a program, but not sure that would even need it.)

Processing Really Large Photographs in RAW format can suck up A LOT of Memory, especially if the programs their using can use that much memory.

Considering their Using a DSLR camera, their needs I'm guessing a little more than just Hobby, and more Professional or Business needs than anything. In which case, the extra RAM will/may be needed.

Although PhotoShop costs a LOT more, if the program is a resource hog, then the extra Ram may be needed, but thats also why I added Win7 64bit to the list I made as well, 4GB or more They'll need it.

[guyd78]

Thanks all for the replies. I am doing some more research, and will post a revised equipment list. I just hope I don't get everything in the mail and then not be able to get it all working.

My first question (of many to come I'm sure), Don't I need the Full version of Win7 64bit and not just the OEM version?

[stroyal]

The only difference between an OEM and a full version is, you can't transfer it to another computer, and there is no support from Microsoft.

If you feel you need those 2 things, get the full version.

Program wise, they are identical.

[guyd78]

Thanks for clearing that up. This is all fairly new to me.

I don't need Windows support - at least I never have for as long as I can remember. I only have one computer, so I don't imagine I'll need to install it on another computer. Therefore, it's OEM for me.

[stroyal]

Thanks for clearing that up. This is all fairly new to me.

I don't need Windows support - at least I never have for as long as I alltremember. I only have one computer, so I don't imagine I'll need to install it on another computer. Therefore, it's OEM for me.

Just to be clear, I wasn't talking about installing it on 2 computers at the same time.

A full version you can uninstall from computer 1 and install it on a new computer in the future. An OEM can only be installed on 1 motherboard, and when the motherboard retires, or dies, the OEM retires, or dies with it.

[ShyguyXPC]

Not necessarily, I think thats the way its supposed to work, but if you replace your motherboard for what ever reason, say it goes bad, is no longer made and you need a new board similar to the old one, but from a different company, you can still use the OEM version on the current system.

Whether thats "allowed" or not is another thing.

[stroyal]

I was just going by what the license said.

From what have herd on all the posts here, is if you explane it the right way to the right MS rep. they will let you do it.

I don't know if they changed their policy, but as Shyguy said, they are not as strict as the License says, with a bad motherboard.

[ShyguyXPC]

Plus OEM is supposed to, or at least was, to be sold with a qualifying Hardware part from sites like Newegg, like a Motherboard, etc, but for years they got away with selling something as mundane as a Cheap mouse, or even for some people a cheap PS/2 to USB adapter for a mouse/keyboard LOL... now days, you can just buy OEM Software by itself (have done this three times now, Once with Windows XP Media Center 2005 Through Newegg, and Twice with Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit Through ZipZoomFly).

[guyd78]

I've got a revised list of items based on further research and also from what others on here have suggested. I also found out that my photo editing program only recognizes 3 gig of RAM at best, but will still run on a 64-bit system. So, I think 4 would do for now, and hopefully the next edition will be 64-bit and then I could add a couple more sticks if I need it. Again, this computer will be used for editing large RAW format photos and very basic home needs as well - web and documents. I don't do any gaming, and don't plan on it. That's just not my thing. Dell 2209WA monitor is all I have thus far.

Case:
Newegg.com - COOLER MASTER Centurion 5 CAC-T05-UW Black Aluminum Bezel , SECC Chassis ATX Mid Tower Computer Case

CPU:
Newegg.com - AMD Athlon II X4 630 Propus 2.8GHz 4 x 512KB L2 Cache Socket AM3 95W Quad-Core Processor ADX630WFGIBOX
or:
Newegg.com - AMD Phenom II X6 1055T Thuban 2.8GHz 6 x 512KB L2 Cache 6MB L3 Cache Socket AM3 125W Six-Core Desktop Processor HDT55TFBGRBOX
if I want to spend an extra $100.

Hard Drive x 2 for a RAID 0 setup, and 1TB capacity:
Newegg.com - Western Digital Caviar Black WD5001AALS 500GB 7200 RPM 32MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive

Motherboard:
Newegg.com - GIGABYTE GA-880GA-UD3H AM3 AMD 880G HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX AMD Motherboard

Memory (4GB for now):
Newegg.com - WINTEC AMPX 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 (PC3 10666) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model 3AXH1333C9WS4GK

CD/DVD:
Newegg.com - LITE-ON Black 24X DVD+R 8X DVD+RW 12X DVD+R DL 24X DVD-R 6X DVD-RW 12X DVD-RAM 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-R 32X CD-RW 48X CD-ROM 2MB Cache SATA 24X DVD Writer LightScribe Support

Card Reader:
Newegg.com - Rosewill RCR-IC001 40-in-1 USB 2.0 3.5" Internal Card Reader w/ USB port / Extra silver face plate

Power Supply:
Newegg.com - CORSAIR CMPSU-450VX 450W ATX12V V2.2 80 PLUS Certified Active PFC Compatible with Core i7 Power Supply

Keyboard/Mouse:
Newegg.com - Logitech Cordless Desktop EX 100 Black 102 Normal Keys USB RF Wireless Standard Keyboard and Mouse

Operating System:
Newegg.com - Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit 1-Pack for System Builders - Operating Systems

That's what I have on the list. Subtotal comes out to $697.89 or $799.89 if I get the better processor.

Some here at work have advised me against building on my own. They said I may have problems setting it all up and getting it running, and that if anything goes wrong I won't have the "one-stop" customer support for everything with HP. Am I missing anything on the list that I will need if I want to get everything in one order? Will this be overkill for my needs? Here are the already built HP versions that my co-workers have suggested:
HP - Pavilion Desktop / AMD Athlon™ II Processor / 4GB Memory / 750GB Hard Drive - p6510y
or
HP - Pavilion Desktop / AMD Phenom™ II Processor / 8GB Memory / 1TB Hard Drive - p6540y
Wouldn't the system I'm thinking of building be better than these two for the money? Or are they so similar that it would be easier to get the HP?

Apologies for the long post. Lots of questions and learning to take place on my part. I'm trying. Thanks as always for suggestions and comments. Very much appreciated.

[stroyal]

Plus OEM is supposed to, or at least was, to be sold with a qualifying Hardware part from sites like Newegg, like a Motherboard, etc, but for years they got away with selling something as mundane as a Cheap mouse, or even for some people a cheap PS/2 to USB adapter for a mouse/keyboard LOL... now days, you can just buy OEM Software by itself (have done this three times now, Once with Windows XP Media Center 2005 Through Newegg, and Twice with Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit Through ZipZoomFly).

Direct Deals, used to send thumb screws, the kind that hold the side of the case on.
Talk about stretching the definition of hardware upgrade.

My last 3 from NewEgg came all by their lonesome.

[ShyguyXPC]

No offense, but your coworkers are idiots, and probably have little to no experience building or are just simply technically challenged.

I've been building Gaming PC's, much more "Advanced" than a basic use PC, which more or less is what the builds here are, but with a Very Powerful CPU and lots of RAM.

I've been doing that for 10 years or more now, and yes, granted I have had problems down the road after builds, who doesn't, even on Prebuilts like HP's...

BUT, if you do your research, study what you need to know, most problems can be fixed by ones self pretty easily.

Most Problems can be alleviated by Proper Physical care for the PC, and Proper Security (Antivirus, Adware/Spyware/Malware Scans, etc), and not using the PC for risky or less than legit uses, like downloading Adult entertainment or Torrents and other File sharing practices.


With the HP's listed there, the one thing your Coworkers are painfully ignorant of, is Geek Squads Incompetence and relatively high charges on fees, just for Looking at a PC, sometimes you can get charged $100...

Sure for the layman that can't figure out how to turn the power switch on in the back of the PC to allow power to it, Geek Squad might be fine, if they can afford it. but many times I have seen myself, known friends, and even read online about how people have been "taken" by Best Buy's Geek Squad employee's.

Simply because either the employees pegged someone for an easy target to get some business, or simply because their completely ignorant about what their spouting.

Wasn't that long ago, one of my buddies from online, gaming, older guy, got a bunch of free parts donated to him from another friend, pretty high end gaming rig core parts, had THREE Geforce 9800GTX+ video cards, running in SLI together.

one of the cards had a Capacitor fall off, and rather than risk running a bad card, decided to get a replacement.

Now after countless emails, explaining to him, that coming from the simple Geforce FX 5500 he had in his current PC, even 2 of these GTX+'s would be more than enough for his needs. Since he was moving up from a Single Core Pentium 4 with Hyper Threading to a Intel Core 2 Duo X6800 Extreme Edition CPU as well.

I helped him pick out a new Case, PSU, RAM, Hard drive, CPU cooler, and video card.

anyways, he went to Best Buy to see if he could get a good replacement for the cards in his system, still a bit lacking in Knowledge, I had explained to him what he would need in a single card to get near or better than the performance he would have with 3 of those cards.

The Geek Squad girl who he had been dealing with, tried to sell him on a Geforce GT 220 (maybe it was a GT 240), but told him that the card should easily outperform the other cards by far.

which is far from the truth, the GT 220 is less than half, maybe less than 1/3rd the power of the 9800GTX+, which means it'd be at least, if not more, less than 1/9th the theoretical performance of three GTX+ in SLI.

He had also been convinced by Best buy to go for a 1000+ Wattage Power supply, but luckily he checked with me first, and was able to save him some headaches with finances.

Managed to steer him towards a decent 700-800W range unit, with plenty of head room for better cards down the road.

eventually he went online found a replacement GTX+, paid $130 for it, then a couple weeks later it went on sale for $80 LOL... but he got a replacement card, and didn't get shafted with a low low low end gaming card.


Basically you buy those HP's, sure theres the HP warranty, but if its parts replacement or whatever, usually the PC needs to be shipped away, you have nothing in front of you for days, even weeks while its being repaired, etc...

you may even need to go through Geek Squad, which can result in the same length of delays, and sometimes the problem that you had wasn't even fixed, after being charged for it, find out some other stuff was fixed instead.






If you decide to Custom Build your own, and your patient enough, and the type to be willing to read up on things, even if your not gaming or Overclocking, it can help, do things right instead of rush it, you can build the PC and have ZERO troubles and have it fire up right away the first time.

Sure you have to install Windows, and update everything, but your gaining experience working on your PC by doing so. putting together the Components etc, you also gain knowledge that way, and can save headaches down the road.

Imagine this, your having troubles with your PC, the Hard drive isn't being read properly or showing up at all, you can't figure out what the deal is, so you send your PC away under warranty for a couple weeks, only to find out that it was a Loose Hard drive Data cable or power cable.

Had you built the PC yourself, and read about making sure that the Cables were secure and connected securely, you probably would of checked those to make sure, saved yourself 2 weeks of not having a PC, and been Wiser as a result, not to mention get good enough at fixing things, it has its benefits, with Coworkers asking to fix this or that, and getting something out of it, Paid, Free Beer LOL, Trade some goods for service, etc...

For the Price of the Systems from Best Buy, your getting a single hard drive and probably a basic budget drive as well (Western Digital, Seagate, Samsung, etc, but its a basic performing drive, not a higher end Black Series like I suggested. If anything it'd be a Blue or Green Series From Western Digital or Similar performing/costing)

You only get a Quad Core with both.

Cases are VERY poor for air flow and cooling (HP cases). not to mention if you should want to add in a Video card down the road, there's a 50/50 chance you'll need to upgrade the Power supply in the case, with the custom build list, thats not necessary unless your running a really high end gaming card, but I think we can safely rule that out.

As to having problems, as long as its built properly, instructions followed, etc, you shouldn't have many problems, if any.

only things really are X Factors like DOA parts or something (Usually RAM or Motherboard are culprits here, since your not factoring in a video card, thats one less thing to go wrong)

basically your build would go something like this.

take your Motherboard on a flat surface, install the CPU, clip it down, add the CPU Heatsink, clip it down (plug the CPU coolers fan into the motherboard), add in the RAM, clip it in. Set that aside, install the Hard drives in the case with a fan in front of them, most likely the front intake fan. install the DVD Burner in the case.

Install the power Supply in the Case.

Mount the Motherboard with CPU Cooler and RAM into the case (might need to replace the Rear I/O bracket for the USB ports and what not)

screw it in, then plug in the Power Supplies 20+4 Pin Power cable to the motherboard, plug the additional 4 Pin or 4+4 Pin power to the motherboard if needed for the Quad or Hex Core CPU.

plug in front and rear case fans to the Motherboard headers for those if it has any, if not then directly to Power supply. (helps to tidy up the cables while doing this, for better airflow, and less dust collecting), connect up the front Panel for the Case to the Motherboard, USB ports, sound ports, etc.

the Front panel connectors will probably be the most confusing aspect of hooking stuff up inside the case. But the manual for the case and Motherboard should have the info needed, and it really can be pretty easy to figure out most times, just a pain sometimes with wires coming off the pins when connecting other wires LOL...

kind of like a game of Wack a Mole.

Its really pretty easy, and there are more in depth steps to building than mentioned, but if done right, and patiently, it can work just fine.


I think in the past few years I've had maybe one PC that wouldn't fire up the first time, and that was because of a bad Power supply (was one I had already used for awhile, and hadn't used it for sometime, went to go use it and it was bad somehow, burning smell coming from it, and wouldn't power the PC right), replaced with a good working PSU, and it fired up right away.

last couple PC's I've built, took me forever to get around to building them, but when I did actually build them, rushed it, and they fired up flawlessly the first time each.

unlike years ago with countless jumpers and settings, and what not, todays hardware is really hard to screw up doing custom builds, unless you didn't read anything or just a Fumbles around hardware, you should do fine with a custom build.




over all if it was me, with that budget I'd go custom self built for the money, and not bother with HP, Warranty, or Best Buy.

But then again I've been using Custom Builds, self built, and in the beginning Self Picked parts, but Built by a PC repair/sales shop.

I Think the Netbook my Mom Bought this spring, is the first Prebuilt PC that we've bought in 15+ years, since 1998 I've had nothing but custom Build PC's, mostly gaming PC's. But have built some basic use ones as well.

My Current Basic Use build (have to break out the dremel and modify the heatsink a little to get it to work, but everything else is ready to go with PSU mounted in case, motherboard in case, DVD Burner in case, Hard drive In case, RAM installed on motherboard, just need to install CPU, add Heatsink, connect cabled, plug in and fire up.

Newegg.com - Intel Celeron E3200 Wolfdale 2.4GHz 1MB L2 Cache LGA 775 65W Dual-Core Processor BX80571E3200

Newegg.com - ZOTAC NF610I-K-E LGA 775 NVIDIA GeForce 7050
NVIDIA nForce 610i Mini ITX Intel Motherboard

Newegg.com - GeIL 2GB 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Desktop Memory Model GX22GB6400LX

Newegg.com - ZEROtherm ATOM 30H Low-Profile cooler for ITX, MATX, HTPC

Already Had this, so figured I'd use it, fits in case, and is Modular, so only need to use Power cables, and one strand of SATA Cables, nothing else needed coming out of the PSU.

Newegg.com - OCZ ModXStream Pro OCZ500MXSP 500W ATX12V V2.2 / EPS12V SLI Certified CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS Certified Modular Active PFC Power Supply compatible with core i7



though I want one of the newer cases with enough room to use a Full size video card, this one will do for now: Newegg.com - LIAN LI PC-Q07 Black Aluminum Mini-ITX Tower Computer Case

Also bought this Video card for it, since I have a couple PCI Express x1 to x16 Riser adapters.

Newegg.com - ECS NGT220C-512QZ-F GeForce GT 220 512MB 128-bit DDR2 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready Low Profile Ready Video Card

the motherboard has a x1 slot, but the risers convert it to a x16 slot, for most video cards, its not great for gaming, but still offers far more bandwidth and speed than old school PCI slots.

so its ok for very light 3d gaming. but of course, a few months down the road, this card comes out, made specifically for x1 slots, and is probably only 2/3's to 1/2 the performance of the card I have, but still leaps and bounds over the onboard video. Newegg.com - ZOTAC ION-GPU-A-E ION Graphics Processor 512MB DDR3 PCI Express x1 HDCP Ready Low Profile Ready Video Card



ok, going to stop for a bit, starting to ramble on LOL...


Edit: Just realized, you don't need that 450W unit for PSU in your list, the 430W for less will be more than enough for your needs, Newegg.com - CORSAIR Builder Series CX430 CMPSU-430CX 430W ATX12V Active PFC Power Supply

[ShyguyXPC]

Just for sh*ts and giggles I was wondering what a Mini ITX build would run with similar specs...


Newegg.com - LIAN LI PC-Q07 Black Aluminum Mini-ITX Tower Computer Case

Non Modular, but sleeved cables, tucking them away in that case will be a bitch, but doable: Newegg.com - CORSAIR Builder Series CX430 CMPSU-430CX 430W ATX12V Active PFC Power Supply

Newegg.com - Logitech Cordless Desktop EX 100 Black 102 Normal Keys USB RF Wireless Standard Keyboard and Mouse

Newegg.com - Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit 1-Pack for System Builders - Operating Systems

No 3.5" bay for card reader so external is next best thing: Newegg.com - Rosewill USB 2.0 External 74-in-1 Card Reader / Aluminum Body / Supports SDHC and SDXC / WINDOWS 7 Compatible


Single 1.5TB Black Series drive with 64MB Cache (can help with large file read/writes), Not RAID 0, but since the case only has one 3.5" mount and one 2.5" mount, makes it kind of hard to run 2 3.5" Drives, though could opt for running 2x 2.5" drives using a drive mounting adapter.

Newegg.com - Western Digital Caviar Black WD1501FASS 1.5TB 7200 RPM 64MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive

Newegg.com - LITE-ON Black 24X DVD+R 8X DVD+RW 12X DVD+R DL 24X DVD-R 6X DVD-RW 12X DVD-RAM 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-R 32X CD-RW 48X CD-ROM 2MB Cache SATA 24X DVD Writer LightScribe Support

Motherboard will only support up to 95W CPU's, and this is the best there is for 95W models currently: Newegg.com - AMD Phenom II X4 945 Deneb 3.0GHz 4 x 512KB L2 Cache 6MB L3 Cache Socket AM3 95W Quad-Core Desktop Processor HDX945WFGMBOX

Newegg.com - ASUS M4A88T-I Deluxe AM3 AMD 880G HDMI USB 3.0 Mini ITX AMD Motherboard

Yep, Motherboard uses Laptop RAM, LOL: Newegg.com - G.SKILL 4GB 204-Pin DDR3 SO-DIMM DDR3 1066 (PC3 8500) Laptop Memory Model F3-8500CL7S-4GBSQ

Total After Shipping is $750.69.

which isn't TOO bad, but for Mini ITX with some parts you pay a premium, since its still kind of a niche thing.

In this boards defense, it does have a full length PCI Express slot, to accomodate a full video card if needed. the case will accomodate up to an 8" long single slot width video card, if the power connectors are on the top of the card or no power connectors, if there's connectors at the back, only a 7" or so card will work.

could even install a much lower powered Shorter length front to back MicroATX power supply, like one of these:

Newegg.com - FSP Group VR 400 350W(400W Max.) ATX12V v2.3 Power Supply

and bunch up and zip tie the cables not needed, behind the PSU.

especially if you don't plan on using a video card or plan on using a lower end $50-75 card down the road.


but was surprised to see a similar spec'd build to not cost too much farther off than a full size one, usually with Mini ITX its at least 50% more with higher spec'd hardware builds.

[stroyal]

Wow that will be hard to add to. I totally agree.

Don't forget, each individual part is under warranted, and will be easier to get replaced, than a pre-built.

I've been playing with computers, for more than 20 years, and gave up on factory support, over 20 years ago.

Our less expert members, know more than any manufacturers support.

Also NewEgg has a lot of clout with their manufacturers, so you have a second party to help out on bad parts.

If you read the NewEgg reviews, you will see Manufacturers, offering help to people that have had problems, with replacement parts.

The only advantage over price, that pre-builts used have was the software package.
Those packages are such crap now, that advantage is gone.

You can compare the CPU here, I know it is just 1 kind of benchmark, but it will give you a pretty good idea of where they stand, especially since they are the same speed.
PassMark Intel vs AMD CPU Benchmarks - High End

You will find your 2 @ 5,168 and 3,246
I think when they use the same number of cores, they are closer in speed.
Maybe Shyguy can comment on that.

Edit
We have clout also.
I have seen manufacturers, posting on our sight, to straiten out problems.

[guyd78]

Wow. Lots of information there. Thanks for the thoughts.

I think I've decided that I can probably build it on my own from what you've written. I don't have any hands-on computer build experience, but I give myself more credit than what my co-workers might give me. I've played with electronics before, installed car stereos, setup entertainment centers, got my grandparents new computer all setup rather easily (albeit new), etc... so I guess this would just kind of be my next step so to say.

The 450w power supply might be a little overkill, but then again it might leave me a little more flexibility in the future and it's a little "greener". My main concern would be which processor I should go with - I want quality, speed, and something that won't be out of date in a year, but not overkill for my needs either. Also, if everything I listed is all compatible and will work together, and if there is anything I was missing on the list - zip ties, wrist-wrap, tool kit, SATA cables, glue, RAM slot shielders, and on and on and on. I don't know exactly what I'll need, and I don't want to get something just to have to return it. I guess that's my next research project today.

[stroyal]

To me the most important question is do you enjoy this kind of stuff.

If you do, you should learn quickly.
You can use wrist straps if you want to, but I wouldn't be caught dead with that apparel, and I have a home made pair.

If you hold the part you are installing, in your right hand, then touch the case with your left hand, you equalize the charge, and are safe.

If your hard drives are OEM, they most likely won't have a cable.
Edit
Pretty much all you need is a standard size Philips head.
Most screws are also 1\4 hex, so either will work.

[ShyguyXPC]

If you've installed Car stereos, and Entertainment centers, then you should be fine, there's some more to it than those, but if you have the skills to set those up, and get them working, building a PC shouldn't be that much harder.

Mainly connecting plugs and wire leads from fans and cases, are the most complicated things (that and Socket 775 Intel CPU coolers LOL, but thats not the case here, AMD CPU Coolers are pretty easy to install by comparison)

Just need to read directions, look up info, be patient, and remember to ground yourself when touching the components, buying a cheap Anti Static Wrist strap can be handy as well.

Newegg.com - anti static wrist strap

main tools you'll need, Long Cross head screw driver (sometimes larger head, some times Smaller finer head, sometimes both, depends on the amount of components you'll need to screw in), Needle Nose Pliers or Bent Needle Nose, mainly to grab screws out of case that fall down or hold one in place while other hand lines up driver and screws it in.

also comes in handy, a battery powered screw driver, speeds things up sometimes like mounting PSU, or case panel screws, etc.

But considering the lack of extra's in this case, I think the most Screwing you will do is the Motherboard, Power Supply, looks like the case uses easy plastic mounts for the rest of the drives in the case.

though for the Hard drives its usually recommended to have a better secure mounting than plastic easy release clips, mainly do to vibration/noise issues. But the clips should be plenty to hold the hard drives, as long as the case isn't bumped around a lot.

but pretty much Motherboard and PSU will be the main things to screw in, everything else fastened with the easy mounting/release clips, and there's no rear expansion cards listed to screw securely in place (one thing with most cases, is the rear fastening mechanisms, as in this case and others like it, are almost never enough to secure the card, its almost always recommended to screw down the video card at least).