motherboards are the one thing i dont know too much about when it comes to building computers.

i had this motherboard bookmarked (planned to get): http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16813128301

but i ran across this deal today:
an eVGA 256-P2-N518 Geforce 7800GT 256MB GDDR3 PCI-E for 399 that, for this weekend comes with a FREE motherboard: http://www.newegg.com/product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16813188002

with the original motherboard, and a 7800GT(on rebate for 329) i was looking at around 435 for those parts and thats if i got the 7800GT with the rebate.

with this deal i could get a bit better 7800GT and a motherboard for only 399. save 35 dollars and get a just slightly better vid card. i wanted to make sure my motherboard quality wasnt dropping a lot tho. I checked both of them against each other and the only major difference i saw was
that the EVGA's onboard usbs were 1.1.

i guess im just looking for verification that this deal is worth it and that the EVGA motherboard is fairly equal to the Gigabyte one.

thanks a lot

10/29/2005 5:16:29 AM

its threads like this that make me cream my pants

10/29/2005 8:06:10 AM

^^ the board has 4 usb 2.0 connectors in the rear. the "onboard" connectors it's talking about are for connecting to your case's usb ports and crap.

10/29/2005 10:08:22 AM

i'd personally stick with the gigabyte board

10/29/2005 10:53:59 AM

jetway boards are shit. get this video card and a decent board. http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=1549681&CatId=1560

[Edited on October 29, 2005 at 12:38 PM. Reason : that board is a rebranded jetway]

10/29/2005 12:38:09 PM

the EVGA is a jetway youre saying right?

i saw that deal on tiger direct earlier today for the 7800GT. i might do that and get the gigabyte motherboard then (i cant afford much more than 100 on my motherboard and thats a pretty solid one for around 100)

10/29/2005 12:49:17 PM

yes, read the reviews and look at the two and compare

10/29/2005 1:21:42 PM

aight...adding onto the same thread so as not to start a new one:

comparing these two cards:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16814150108
vs
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=1549681&sku=B52-1030

10/29/2005 7:14:00 PM

the one from newegg comes with farcry and some other games. don't see anything else different really.

oh, it also explicitly states it comes with several adapters, including the HD adapter and stuff.

I'd say go with the card on newegg.

[Edited on October 29, 2005 at 7:24 PM. Reason : ]

10/29/2005 7:23:41 PM

thanks a lot. the one on tiger direct also ended up suckign pricewise...TD charges tax and a heck of a lot for shipping. ended up not saving any money anyways

*
i know a decent bit about computers but this is the first one im building completely by myself and im trying to learn a lot while im at it. trying to make sure everything is compatible (PS, harddrive, motherboard etc). also trying to figure out how big of a power supply to buy. i think 480 would do it but i think im gonna go with 500 just to be safe
*

[Edited on October 29, 2005 at 7:35 PM. Reason : ]

10/29/2005 7:33:18 PM

well i just bought this power supply:
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=876415&Sku=ULT31562

a brand i like and 500W.

looking at http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16827106992
for hte price i know some ppl who have gotten it and loved it and it has great reviews.

10/29/2005 9:00:25 PM

might want to check the tomshardware PSU stress tests.

I've never like Ultra power supplies from the getgo, now I wouldn't EVER buy one. Those fucking things are like timebombs.

Just because it SAYS 500w, and looks fucking retarded, doesn't mean it's good.

10/30/2005 9:25:58 PM

i didnt pick it because i thought it looked cool, because i could careless what my PS looks like. i got a good reccomendation on this specific power supply from 2 different people. ill check that stress test out tho.

[Edited on October 30, 2005 at 10:34 PM. Reason : ]

10/30/2005 10:30:15 PM

its not on the tests but i got two decent reviews on this product. and i probably dont need a full 500W so i should be fine, i guess we'll see

[Edited on October 30, 2005 at 10:37 PM. Reason : ]

10/30/2005 10:36:49 PM

i personally think OCZ PSUs are much more stable and better quality

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16827152047
get this drive i just bought it
its only $20 extra and well spent since it will do EVERYTHING a drive can possibly do except burn labels into the top of your dvd (but those litescribe drives arent really worth it).
and 500 reviews with 5 eggs as an average rating is pretty impressive



[Edited on October 30, 2005 at 10:52 PM. Reason : ]

10/30/2005 10:49:10 PM

thanks man.

unfortunately for the power supply part, ive already ordered it. i guess i could return it as soon as i get it and order something like this:
http://www.xoxide.com/ocz-modstream-450w-modular-psu.html

altho thats only 450W. i couldnt really afford an OCZ 500W. most of them seemed to be like 150dollars plus etc. and my budget is prolly like 80 dollars max for the power supply

10/30/2005 10:58:15 PM

yea no problem
trust me having that NEC drive to burn dvds and cds and dl dvds is awesome!
this is the PSU i have in my computer its fantastic! but they are very expensive! you get what you pay for i suppose
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16817711002
i love it
looks good
very quiet
i doubt ill ever have ANY problem from it

10/30/2005 11:05:16 PM

damn you! i think im thinking of buying this one now! hah

hopefully i can return the psu i got from tiger direct...

it sucks that i have to make this decision soon because tomorrow is the last day this deal is on! with the rebate its actually "only" 119. def way above what i was planning on spending on a psu but ah with great reccomendation on this one and some speculation from you guys on the other...i might do it.

ill def do it if i can return the psuf rom tiger direct for a full refund. otherwise i prob wont. im going to check on their return policy now.

10/31/2005 12:30:49 AM

i think im gonna call em to see if there is going to be a restocking fee or not they arent clear on their website. it says "some" will have a restocking fee.

if i return it im guessing id pay for return shipping and then the original shipping still and get refunded the rest if they let me. if thats the case then ill consider buying this power supply


Welp i cant get through to tigerdirect customer service. ill be on hold for a few minutes and then it rings twice and then just sits there and never does anything again

[Edited on October 31, 2005 at 12:57 AM. Reason : ]

10/31/2005 12:40:41 AM

finally got through. as i hoped (and figured) if i dont open it then i wont get charged the restocking fee which should mean that i would get refunded for everything but shipping i imagine

10/31/2005 1:12:29 AM

(ahhh i keep JUSt missing the 30 min limit).

what would you think about this one:

http://www.xoxide.com/ocz-modstream-520w-modular-psu.html

its an ocz but its a modular psu. and its not a bad price and its 520W as well. im gonna have to make a decision tomorrow since the rebate offer is gone off of the one you showed me tomorrow. but this looks like a good deal

10/31/2005 1:47:19 AM

dude yovue made a few mistake aready.

Find out everything you need then order.
If possible order everythign from the same site. I used to prder part by part, i adde dup all the shipping fees to over 100 bux. If i had orded everything from the same site, i may have paid 5 bux more per part but still would have saved 50 bux as far as shipping.

If its your first computer dont go complicated, dont plan to overclock right off the bat get it working.

Buildign comptuers is EASY. however most n00bs have no idea how to troubleshoot, so if you have a problem you will be clueless. My mother could build a computer, but if things just didnt plug right up or if she got a bad part then she would have no idea how to proceed.

Read all your manuals, before touching any hardware. Make a build list, follow thigns and put htem together in order. Dont touch a power button until you have daouble checked every connection.

There are quite a few people on this board who build computers, try posting a complete parts lsit when you get one together, Some of them may be willing to help you out for pizza or beer, it might be worth it. Because people will want more when you run into trouble.

10/31/2005 6:37:05 PM

i appreciate your contribution to trying to help man. but i should be pretty well set besides this power supply

the power supply was the only thing i didnt research extensively (i didnt know there was a big difference so i didnt put a lot of time into it). and every single part (besides the original psu) is being ordered from new egg. shipping is free on almost every item so ive just been buying them as each becomes rebated. even the power supply is now being bought from new egg (i thought i had a great deal from tiger direct, only reason i went with them for one part).

ive actually done plenty as far as repairing,upgrading computers before for troubleshooting once ive got this thing put together: installing heat sinks, replacing harddrives, ram, video cards, etc. But just in case for the first time of putting it all together i am having a friend who puts computers together come over and help me out.

this has been a great learning experience tho. ive actually gotten to understand all the numbers beyond the pure memory size and cas latency of the ram and gotten to understand the differences in video cards and motherboards etc.

hopefully once he helps me put it all together ill be experienced enough to do it on my own in hte future

10/31/2005 7:29:38 PM

cool man
yea when getting a computer
the brand and type of component you buy makes a big difference no matter what component it is
weather its a case
mobo
psu
processor
its all important to know whats good and what will break if you buy it
http://www.anandtech.com
is a great place to go to to see them test a bunch of different brands and kinds of components so you can get an idea of whats good.

[Edited on October 31, 2005 at 8:35 PM. Reason : ]

10/31/2005 8:34:38 PM

anyone know if i order a bunch of parts from NewEgg that are in stock will they ship them together? if i order them all at once and in stock?

10/31/2005 10:13:37 PM

probably, but they might not ship from the same place. I think new egg has a couple distribution warehouses, and the items might not be in stock at the same warehouses so they may ship at the same time, but take different times to get there.

10/31/2005 10:14:48 PM

ok thank you.

10/31/2005 10:49:25 PM

When I ordered my pc from them, all nine parts came in one box.

10/31/2005 11:47:26 PM

word. i ordereda few parts last week at a great deal i ahd been watching for awhile and those should get here this week. but im about to order all the remaining parts at once and i might be shipping it to my friends house instead of dealing with shipping more stuff to my apartment and i didnt want to inconvenience his parents with like tons of diff boxes arriving haha

11/1/2005 12:22:20 AM