CyberPower vs Build myself ? Getting crazy here...
 

Sorry for another post like this one,but everybody has differents configs,this is mine will be my 1st time building my own PC.Please give some feedbacks.

This is from CyberPower:

ATX MEDIUM TOWER CASE 350 WATT (BLACK)
THERMALTAKE 480WATT POWER SUPPLY
(939-pin) AMD ATHLON64 3500+ Processor
AMD CERTIFIED CPU FAN & HEATSINK + 2 EXTRA 3-COLOR LED CASE FANS
ABIT AV8 VIA K8T800 MAINBOARD
1024 MB PC3200 400MHz DDR MEMORY (Major_Brand)
MAXTOR 80GB 7200 RPM ATA 133 HARD DRIVE
nVidia GF 6800 GT 256MB 8XAGP
SONY 16X DVD-ROM (BLACK)
SONY DW-U18A DUAL FORMAT 8X DVD±R/±RW + CD-R/RW DRIVE (BLACK)
3D WAVE ON-BOARD 5.1 SOUND CARD

Price: $1558.00 + S&H

This is mine from Newegg.com:

Case - Aspire X-Dreamer II(Black) ATX Mid-Tower Case with 350W Power Supply
Mobo - ABIT "AV8" K8T800 Pro Chipset Motherboard for AMD Socket 939 CPU -RETAIL
Processor - AMD Athlon 64 3500+ Processor 939 Pin
Memory - Corsair Value Select 184 Pin 1 Gig DDR PC-3200 - OEM
Floppy - SONY Black 1.44MB 3.5inch Floppy Disk Drive, Model MPF920
DVD Player - SONY Black 16X DVD-ROM Drive, Model DDU1613/B2s, OEM
DVD Burner - Nec 8x Dual Layer DVD+/-RW Model ND 2510A SW
Fan - Vantec 120mm Case Fan
CPU Fan - Zalman Pure Copper CPU Cooler
Video Card - EVGA NVidia GeForce 6800GT 256MB
PSU - Antec P4 450 Watt Power Supply with 2 fans
Hard Drive - Western Digital Special Edition 80GB 7200RPM IDE Hard Drive, Model

Total $ 1600.00 Plus S&H

Should I get a sound card or go with onboard,I use headphones so I don't need sorround sound.
Should I get a NIC card or use the onboard one ?
Do I need a Thermal paste or not ?

Thanks for all replies.
rock:

Is cyberpower a good company? I've never heard of them. Personally, I would stick to recgonizable names who we know put decent parts in the computer, while cyberpower could be putting anything in there.

I'm thinking of getting a new comp and I believe i'm going to build it myself. I really want to do that. You get exactly the parts you want and pay for.

Sound card - i've never used an actual sound cared believe it or not. I just never wanted to go out and buy one while the onboard was right there. I really don't know the difference, but everyone buys them. If i'm getting a new comp, i'm netting new surround sound speakers so i'll get a sound card for maximum quality. Onboards can be a pain sometimes with cartain games. I had trrouble running moh and bf with my onboard but that was a year or two ago. Todays should be pretty compatible. If you just need sound and aren't looking for extremly high quality etc. onboard is fine i think. My music sounds fine with onboard.

I have always used the onboard network card. Works fine for me. again i don't really know the difference between getting one with your mobo, and then paying an extra 50 or 100 for another one.

Thermal paste...i suppose if you wanted the best possible connection between the cpu andthe heatsink, then yeah. but remember you only need a very thin layer. If you do it too thick, it doesn't work. very thin is all you need.

Major_Brand memory. oOo:

Anyone else ? nag:

you definatley want a sound card, especially for games and if you are using 5.1+ speakers. onboard sound will play music and what not, but with a good sound card you can set your sound high say for example on cod, and it takes a load off the cpu and puts it on the sound card and you will get 3D sound, alot better then onboard.

Build your own.



Most good sound cards will give you better sound quality and a small performance increase. It's not needed, but still nice. A lot of new onboard sound is decent though.

Onboard LAN is good enough.

Of course you need thermal paste, your CPU will fry without it,

This one should do it ?
http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDe ... 107&depa=1

I don't want to spend much money on Sound cards.

Thanks

im not too good on sound cards, but this one looks ok for the price..

http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDe ... 166&depa=1

I don't listen music on my PC nor watch DVD's,the only time I use my headphone is for gaming. eek:

Well if you only use headphones...is it really worth it? You decide.

if he wont OC the crap on the HSF should be fine

Still a good chance it could fry if you get a pocket of air stuck between the CPU and HSF. The heat spreaders are never perfectly flat. Also your temps will be very high, effectly shortening the life of your CPU.

Always use thermal paste.

hmm
 

if you were to get a sound card... i say get the sound blaster 5.1 live which is roughly only 40 bux tops... superb sound for mp3`s , gaming .... etc you name it... i have one and it runs like a dream...

but if you were to get a top of the line stick with a creative labs sound blaster model...

also get your self a better heatsink fan... http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDe ... 036&depa=0

my friend has this and he runs at like 85 degrees F and like only 98 when maxing out his graphics...thats when he doesnt even have air condition and yes get some thermal grease...

Thermaltake sucks. Never buy their products. They are cheap, loud, and perform horribly for how much they cost.

Zalman and Thermalright make the best heatsinks. If you want a quiet HSF that performs better than most coolers with loud fans then you want the Zalman CNPS7000.




If you are going to buy a sound card, you might as well go high end. Get a Creative Sound Blaster Audigy2 ZS for $70(good for games, okay for music) or a M-Audio Revolution 7.1 for $80(good for music, okay for games).

Build your own, I built mine and am loving it :D