first time build, upgrading from 8 year old comp

[deskport]

oh yeah, woops i was just browsing through a bunch of the other options for the fractal case and i guess i just randomly used that in my pcpart build aha. yeah i definately want a titanium one, that one looks the best out of the white black options. ill be grabbing the titanium grey windowed r4 described by anyaka21.
as for the ssd I honestly dont think i'd be filling my ssd up with anything atm other than lol or wow so thats not a problem for me.

thanks for your input whiterussians and chazus. i dont know why i chose oc vertex over crucial but that build looks pretty solid to me. ( think it was cause i thought it looked aesthetically better since it was all black and the other was just boring in the photo they provided) regardless i think in terms of build I've pretty much finalized what i was looking for. just another question though, ive never heard of microcenter but apparently they have one near where I live in orange county but they don't seem to be well received when i looked at ratings from yelp. i also looked at the site and some of the stuff i was looking for wasnt even in stock. how exactly do you get deals such as discounts from that store? i also have a fry's nearby that i can go to. its actually closer than microcenter

[vesseblah]

Just a thought, 128gb ssd drive is pretty limiting. Just built a system, and here's the scoop. Windows 8pro, SWTOR, GW2, Assassins Creed 3 = 115gb.

Turn off hibernate and limit pagefile to 1GB and you'll have 10-20GB more free instantly.

[Idrinkwhiterussians]

The only thing you really want to get from Microcenter is the CPU/MB.

If you get a 3570k with the MB, you get a $40 discount. That is on top of the already heavily discounted CPU. (It is about $30 less than anywhere online)

Otherwise, their parts really are not anything to write home about, as far as pricing.


I cannot however say anything about Fry's, as I just don't know.

[Parrin]

I cannot however say anything about Fry's, as I just don't know.

Fry's is pretty great for convenience and browsing the little things that you might need, like adapters. My main issue with them is their online products are often sold out in the stores. Find out when they get their shipments, and stop by during your lunch break if you want to pick up any competitively priced high-end products.

[anyaka21]

Fry's is pretty great for convenience and browsing the little things that you might need, like adapters. My main issue with them is their online products are often sold out in the stores. Find out when they get their shipments, and stop by during your lunch break if you want to pick up any competitively priced high-end products.

frys is also great for convenience if you have one locally that you can go to. They'll price match anything online, at least so they say and I've never had a problem with them doing so. So while they might be expensive on some things, if you do your research, you'll be able to price things out pretty easily and pick them up locally.

[deskport]

cool, i guess i will buy the cpu and mobo at microcenter on sunday since its my day off. thanks guys ! ill update when i can

[Idrinkwhiterussians]

Since you are planning on going there, it actually is best to call them or have them set the parts aside ahead of time. This will guarantee that you will get them when you get there.

I forget what the exact service is called, but you should take advantage of it. It is something like 18 minute pick up. You get a confirmation e-mail about the parts you selected, so all you have to do when you get there is go up to the counter and give them the email. That way you are not tempted to get any extras and end up spending more than you expected

[deskport]

so just a quick update, i got my mobo and i5 processor from microcenter, and one of the helpers actually gave me a coupon for 20 off the samsung 840 SSd so all of it came out to 400 with tax. saved around 60 bucks which was really cool i ordered my fractal r4 case yesterday so i still hve the video card, hd, optical drive, memory, psu, and fan with heatsink.

i was wondering if there is anything else i would need for me to complete building my computer. a friend of mine pointed out something about thermal paste or something? not sure about that

edited* forgot psu

[n0cturnal]

Most CPU heatsinks come with thermal paste.

[deskport]

ah i see, ok well i finally got to order all the parts i wanted after waiting for deals and such. got 40$ off retail price for my video card and now im just waiting for it to come. all thats left is to physically build it which im pretty excited for, I wanted to ask if I would need any specific drivers to connect to the internet or anything else thats left that I could be missing. My friend would be giving me a windows 7 os cd and im asking because on my current trash comp that still runs xp, after i reformat it I would have to install drivers that I had on my usb every time.

thanks for all the help again also, can't thank you guys enough

[n0cturnal]

ah i see, ok well i finally got to order all the parts i wanted after waiting for deals and such. got 40$ off retail price for my video card and now im just waiting for it to come. all thats left is to physically build it which im pretty excited for, I wanted to ask if I would need any specific drivers to connect to the internet or anything else thats left that I could be missing. My friend would be giving me a windows 7 os cd and im asking because on my current trash comp that still runs xp, after i reformat it I would have to install drivers that I had on my usb every time.

thanks for all the help again also, can't thank you guys enough

Just download the latest drivers from the motherboard manufacturers website and the same for the GPU.

[deskport]

Just download the latest drivers from the motherboard manufacturers website and the same for the GPU.

its because on my current computer i cant even access the internet without these drivers installed. i learned that the hard way and since then I kept these drivers on a cd. would that not be the case, im assuming i wouldnt be connected to the internet without drivers

[n0cturnal]

its because on my current computer i cant even access the internet without these drivers installed. i learned that the hard way and since then I kept these drivers on a cd. would that not be the case, im assuming i wouldnt be connected to the internet without drivers

Well no, without some kind of working driver you wouldn't, that is correct.

[chazus]

My friend would be giving me a windows 7 os cd

Is he giving you just the CD, or a license key as well? Depending on the system, Win7 MIGHT be smart enough to have generic drivers. But I'd recommend downloading your new motherboard drivers and tossing them on a flash drive to have ready to go.

[deskport]

Is he giving you just the CD, or a license key as well? Depending on the system, Win7 MIGHT be smart enough to have generic drivers. But I'd recommend downloading your new motherboard drivers and tossing them on a flash drive to have ready to go.

uhh, just the os without a license key i think..do i need one? lol sorry im not very knowledgeable about these things

[chazus]

Yes, yes you do. Usually without the key, Windows will enter a "Reduced Functionality Mode" which pretty much lets you do nothing but activate. You cannot use the same key that is on your friend's system, either. It needs to be one that is not being used. =/

[deskport]

Yes, yes you do. Usually without the key, Windows will enter a "Reduced Functionality Mode" which pretty much lets you do nothing but activate. You cannot use the same key that is on your friend's system, either. It needs to be one that is not being used. =/

is there any way for me to obtain one without buying a legitimate copy? lol i know it sounds wrong but I didn't hear anything about the license key and how I wont be able to use windows until i activate it. I was kind of looking more into it and apparently I would need to get the (home edition) windows 7 retail premium?? oem system builders are like, 80 bucks cheaper but they tie into your whole hardware system and so if i change parts or whatever, it will stop working. at least thats what i read about. i really dont want to pay 150-200 for a os....

*adding on, I would not be able to use any functiosn whatsoever until I activate, thats what you mean right or would i be able to use windows with some restricted functons

[deskport]

well i figured everything out with the help of my friends and i want to conclude this thread with a big thank you to everyone who helped me. thank you so much. im typing this on my brand new computer as we speak. thank you again so much guys ! appreciate it