[xZoDiACx]

I have some parts picked out for a computer I'm going to be building and want some advice on it. I've looked around and thought about each piece a lot, but if you know something that will save me money I'd be glad to hear it. Also keep in mind that everything is in Canadian dollars, so if you link me to a site in USD there will be that difference.

Right now my main concern is the case, I'm going to look around and see if I can find a good full tower case to get rid of the expensive cost of shipping it when buying online.

Case: http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product...82E16811103011
Hard Drive: http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product...82E16822136319
Motherboard: http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product...82E16813128376
Video Card: http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product...82E16814150357
Power Supply: http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product...82E16817139006
Ram: http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product...82E16820146785
CPU: http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product...82E16819103300
Fan & Heatsink: http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product...82E16835185125
OS: http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product...16832116488CVF

[Carbon]

- The GTS 250 is a poor buy, the 4770 or 4850 is much better, what res are you at?
- You don't need a 750TX for a single card like that, just grab a 400CX/450VX. You could also get a 520HX if you like modular PSUs, but I think that money could be spent better elsewhere.
- The X3 720 will be a modest upgrade but for $100 it's probably not worth the extra money.
- The AC7 isn't really worth it - if you must have a aftermarket HSF, grab the Xigmatek S1283.
- You can save $140 by just running the Windows 7 release candidate, it's better than Vista in any case. You'll have to pay for it eventually of course but that may be a better option.

After refining that see if you want to spend any of the excess budget on anything else or just pocket it and we'll go from there.

[xZoDiACx]

I've seen the specs for both GTS 250 and 4850, and they are both pretty much the same. The only difference I see is that the clock speed on the GTS I picked is 100mhz higher than any 4850 for same price. Is there some other reason for this? Maybe quality of 4850 compared to GTS? Please let me know.

Also I'm willing to dish out the extra 40$ on the PSU since it's on sale for -$100. I won't need it's full power now, but perhaps at a later time.

I've been trying to decide about my OS. I am most worried about Windows 7 having compatibility issues with programs or giving me other general problems like vista did before patches made things better. Also, this will be the first computer I build completely myself, and I'm worried about figuring out many little things, and trying to figure out how to install Windows 7, and even getting to where I can install(get on disk), adds to that.

[philthomas]

Well Windows 7 RC is free and will run until March 2010, so it costs nothing to try it.

You can download the iso file direct from Microsoft here and it's ready to burn to DVD.
To burn the disk, you can use Nero, if you have it, or if not, you can grab a free copy of ImgBurn

Installing is pretty much the same as any other OS really ...i.e. just boot from the DVD.

Quite a few folk here are running Windows 7 and so far most people have nothing but good to say about it, but if you need further help, just post back.

[xZoDiACx]

Until my stuff comes in I think i'll try and build a comp with old stuff I have here and see if I can get windows 7 on it. Downloading right now. It'll be good because that will save me $140 for now.

I'd still like to know about the video card before I order tonight. I like the one I picked out because it comes with free cod :D and has the best specs fro the price, but if another one would work much better I'll get it instead.

[4D(Fordy(Ford) Ollie]

Honestly mate, if Carbon says the 4850 is better, then it is.

He's the wisest Hardware dude on these forums

Plus I've seen him reccommend it a million times before to people who say they're gonna buy the 250, they're always happy they listened.

Also, you say you may need that extra nearly 300W in the future - I doubt it. 520HX is a good buy, I'm going to be buying one myself soon - and by the time you need that 300W more, PSU's will probably have leapt forward in technology, and you'd need a "then modern" one to power whatever the standard is then for hardware.

Buy for now and the very immediate future - don't ever try to build something you intend to last for 7 years. It' won't. We had a whole thread on that

Best of luck mate

[xZoDiACx]

Lol I'm fully aware that it won't last long, but I may make changes in the near future (within year). Also 100$ off seems like too good a deal to pass up when it comes to a good PSU unit. Don't want any problems ^_^

I guess I'll get a 4850 and pass up the free COD :( lol...
Quickly found two that look decent:
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product...82E16814161244
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product...82E16814121272 this one seems to have a lot of bad reviews though. Mostly problems with heat from what I've read.

[4D(Fordy(Ford) Ollie]

Ok, fair enough if it's that much on offer.

I'd get the 4850 over the GTS though.

[Carbon]

Clock speed doesn't matter. The 8500GT is a last generation, horrible card, but it has a higher clock speed than a 4850. Doesn't mean it's any better. If you're going to buy CoD anyway and it is less than the difference, by all means get the GTS 250, as its main downside is that it's just more expensive.

Also, the PSU is just not a good deal. It's a CWT design, and it's not "$100 off" - that's like me saying my computer is originally $20,000 and then saying I'll offer it to you for only $2000 saving you $18000 when the thing's really worth about $500. NewEgg "before-sale" prices really never exist, they're just ways of kinda-sorta making it look like a good deal. If you want a "luxury" PSU, the 520HX is the best option: if not, just grab a 450VX and pocket the difference.

[xZoDiACx]

Ok well people on different forums are telling me different things, but I think I'll go with the advice you have Carbon.

I managed to find a couple of things to save me a bunch so I'm thinking looking into different parts. I'd like this computer to be able to play most/all games at high graphic settings, and from what I've heard Phenom would be the best for doing that. That said, what motherboard and CPU combo would be best for under 300$? I know my motherboard supports some phenom, but I'm sure there are better.

I quickly looked around and found 3 that would work. The $230 one less likely unless a motherboard under 100.
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product...82E16819103471
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product...82E16819103649
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product...82E16819103291

Also, if you could tell me if the (probably first) video cards I posted above would work better than the GTS that'd help my video card decision. I won't necessarily buy CoD, it would be nice, but I don't want to sacrifice quality for a free game.