ok here's the deal. My laptop motherboard just kicked the bucket and the amount I have to pay to fix it is the same as getting a new laptop so I'm not gonna do it, so I looked around to see how much laptops costs these days but then I found a thread on the GAF which is basically gives you the best deal for your buck in terms of PC hardware and it almost costs as much as a new gimped laptop so why not do it

so here are the specs

CPU+MOBO http://www.ncix.com/products/index.php?sku=40294&promoid=1004
RAM http://www.ncix.com/products/index.php?sku=25228&promoid=1042
(It's out of stock so I'm probably gonna get it elsewhere)
HDD http://www.ncix.com/products/index.php?sku=34286&promoid=1042
DVD Drive http://www.ncix.com/products/index.php?sku=38115
PSU http://www.ncix.com/products/index.php?sku=36143&promoid=1087
Case http://www.ncix.com/products/index.php?sku=20935

and for the GPU I was thinking HD 4890 what do you guys think (Manufacture wise XFX, MSI ...etc)??

here is the chipest place I could find it (BTW I'm in Canada so take that into consideration)
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&DEPA=0&Order=BESTMATCH&Description=hd+4890&x=0&y=0


now my questions

in the Heating/Cooling department is that enough ?? do I need an extra fan and if so what kind ??

also will 420W of power be enough or do I need more ??

could I build my PC myself I don't have much experience. The things I did with my old PC is changing the HDD and the DVD drive several times but not Motherboard CPU kinda of thing so how hard is it ??

that's it for now I think

Thank you in advance. I appreciate every help I can get as soon as possible (don't want to miss the sales)

I can help you out, but first tell me a few things.

1) What is your budget
2) what are you going to be using this computer for (what kind of games)

^
1- about the same as you see from the parts in the OP 750 - 800 max I'm just asking are the parts are good with no problems in the model (mainly the GPU, PSU and Heating/Cooling)?

2- it's a replacement for my laptop so I really don't care about running Crysis Very high 8XAA at 60FPS. I'm more interested in RTSs which are with MMOs the least graphical demanding games, not like FPSs or Action games.

Windows 7 is coming out in October, can you wait until then?

Ok,

If your budget is $800 i'd suggest ditching the 4890 and going for a 4870. Still a very powerful card, but the 4890 is overkill for what you are trying to do.

I'd also suggest an intel core2duo e8400 or e8500 seen here.

e8500
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115036
e8400
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115037

keep in mind you need to get an intel compatable MOBO if you switch to these, make sure it has at least 2 PCIe x16 slots.

your RAM is perfect, 4 gigs is plenty for anything right now.

overheating will never be a problem unless you overclock all of your stuff, so you are fine in that respect.

I don't see any problems with the DVD dive or hard drive, really nothing too different for those.

I would personally go to a 500w PSU, just for insurance and incase you want to upgrade to something that eats up a lot more juice in the future.


Now when it comes to actually building your machine, if you have never done it before you have to make sure you have a manual, when i buy all my parts from newegg they automatically ship one with it, i'm not sure about the site you are on.

Basically putting it together is a lot like matching the right shaped thing to the right shaped hole, there is a lot of crap to connect and it could be a little overwhelming to someone who has never done it before, but it is not impossible, most of the stuff is pretty simple to figure out, or it's very obvious where to put it.

Keep in mind you also have to buy your operating system (not sure if you already have one).

IF im not mistaken, MS is allowing a free upgrade to Windows 7 for those who buy Vista from now until sometime in early 2010, i'm not sure if this applies to homebuilt or not however.

Well thats the issue, its the lack of information. However theres the other bonus for waiting which is the 40nm Direct X 11 GPU series from AMD which will probably be quite future proofed as they would be up to date with the most modern specification.

@Squilliam

no I really can't tbh I'm on a shitty $50 PC temporarily that crashes when ever I open more than 2 tabs on Firefox with NOTHING in the backround, and the videos on youtube and what not are choppy as hell

@ph4nt

I don't know $200 MOBO + CPU vs $190 Intel CPU only not a great deal and my cousin has a new AMD PC and it works perfect with WOW and Red Alert 3 and according to this chart the X3 720 and the e8400 are really close to each other performance

about the GPU I really want to build something that will stay a looooong time and Battlefield 3 is coming probably 2011 so I want to at least run it at a decent performance

OK the PSU needs to be upgraded any specific brand I should be looking for just give me the name and I will find the best price

BTW noob question what is mail in Rebate and how does it work ??

http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103650

Thats only $20 more and it gives you another core which will give you great performance as games continue to scale to more cores, especially strategy/MMO type games which put a fair bit of strain on your CPU.

Also why not go for an HD 4850 and save the money? Its half the price but only 70% of the performance and it will play everything you ask of it. Theres no reason for banking performance from a GPU, you should only buy more performance when you need more performance as the cards are so easy to swap out and the change so rapidly.

but Squilliam thee MOBO and CPU are $200 together vs $160 CPU + $95 dollar MOBO so it's a great deal tbh

and about the GPU I want to buy something that I don't really have to upgrade for a long time (maybe till the next gen of consoles hit or something) when are the new AMD cards are coming and how much are they gonna cost from in your opinion ??

and BTW what about the differences between XFX and DIAMOND ... etc ??