I'm building my first system in 48 years (stated with a CDC 160A). I don't have any experience but consider myself to be capable and trainable. My needs in order of priority are:
1. Converting, editing, rendering 35 years of movies, VHS, video (some 16x9 HD) slides, photos, and creating DVDs for my grandkids.
2. Media center stuff including using a large 1080p TV, streaming video and music.
3. Gaming. I don't do much but would spend a little more to have a more capable system.
4. Surfing, and general purpose work (word processing, spreadsheets, scanning) while doing 1 and 2 above.

I'm not limited by a budget but not interested in wasting $. If spending a little more will provide a noticeable improvement I'll do it

I have
Antec 900 case and 650w True Power Trio PS mod TP3-650
2 - WD Caviar SE16 sata300 500gb HDs

Plan to buy a Q9450 CPU (I think it's worth the $100 premium over Q9300)

Need help with MB, memory, video card, and what ever else I need.

I understand some of the issues with DDR3 vs DDR2. I'm leaning toward 4mb ddr3 and expanding when pricing becomes normal. DDR3 is the future and I want the system to last.

I'm thinking about the Asus P5E3 Deluxe MB and a Radeon HD 3870 video card. No clue as to memory speed or brand

I'll run Vista but which version and 32 or 64 bit?

Would a third HD ( Raptor ) for the OS make a noticeable difference?

I'm not sensitive so let me know what you really think. I'm really not very confident in the direction I'm going or do I understand the problems I'll have with the newer stuff but I don't want to wait to build. TIA jmk

This post has been edited by jkohm: Apr 5 2008, 06:52 AM

Hello and welcome to G2G


DDR3 is pretty new right now, so just like the DDR2 when first released, the price > value. Unless your a advent overclocker, get DDR2 for now.

As for Motherboard, It looks good. (thats all i know about it. srry) and you should be able to support DDR3. Should last for a while.



Thats a good card. you should easily be able to play any game on market with this card and that proc.




64bit is the way to go. 32bit only recognizes up to 3gs of memory (depending on system) while 64bit can recognize any amount you can throw at it.

Watch out thou, 64 bit does have some software compatibility problems, but most are patched now. So when getting software, make sure to patch them.



I would not suggest it. A Raptor is faster, but unless you are a EXTREME tech enthusiast, you won't notice the difference.




~Zane