[Maulanator3]

Hi, I am a first-time computer builder, and quite honestly have no clue what I am doing, I have selected various parts, and would like information on whether or not they are a good buy, compatible, or if the system is just plain crap. I would also appreciate alternative suggestions for any bad purchases, also any other components I possibly need.

CASE:

Antec Nine Hundred

http://www.antec.com...hp?ProdID=15900

HARD DRIVE:

Seagate Barracuda 320GB 7200 RPM 16MB Cache SATA Hard Drive

http://www.seagate.c...mp;locale=en-US

GRAPHICS CARD:

Sapphire Radeon HD 3870 256-bit 512 MB GDDR4 PCI Express 2.0 x16

http://www.sapphiret...r...d=198&grp=3

DVD/CD DRIVE:

Asus 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-ROM SATA

http://usa.asus.com/...amp;modelmenu=2

POWER SUPPLY:

Antec NeoPower 650W

http://www.antec.com...hp?ProdID=28650

MOTHER BOARD:

Intel BOXDX38BT

http://www.intel.com...X38BT/index.htm

MEMORY:

Corsair 2GB DDR3 1066 (PC3 8500)

http://www.corsairmi...ducts/xms3.aspx

CPU:

Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 Kentsfield 2.4 Ghz

http://processorfind...spx?sSpec=SLACR

CPU COOLER:

Rosewill 120mm cooler

http://rosewill.com/...x?productId=988



I'm going to be getting a copy of Vista Home.

I want to know if these parts are compatible or not, I am aware that I must alter the BIOS to have my mother board properly recognize the RAM.

Should I get a sound card? Is the onboard audio for this mother board acceptable?

Is my power supply adequate? Is it adequate to run two HD 3870s in a crossfire configuration at a later date?

Thank you for any help offered, I sincerely appreciate taking time on a totally uninformed person such as myself.

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Hi there, welcome to the Geeks to Go forums.

Interesting build you have going here. I like it Just a few comments for you, hopefully they are helpful.

Firstly, you haven't given us a budget or a purpose for this system. You don't have to, but it helps to know this so we can help you in the right direction.

"Vista Home" comes in two flavours, Basic and Premium. Check out the differences for yourself, I recommend the Home Premium version.

Onboard audio is fine for 99% of systems. If you have a proper surround sound speaker set, it would pay to upgrade to a decent discrete sound card.

The PSU is fine for one card, but for Crossfire it would be pushing it. I would consider something like this (750W version).

That being said, I believe you should run a single better card, rather than run Crossfire. If you specifically want an ATI card, try looking for the HD 3870X2.

For a hard drive, you have linked to a server version. You should be looking at the fantastic 7200.11 series, the smallest is 500GB, but the performance of these drives are very good

If you are overclocking the Q6600, then look at either a Tuniq Tower or a Thermalright Ultra 120 Extreme. If you aren't overclocking, the retail cooler (standard Intel) works very well.

I'm interested in your choice of RAM. DDR3 is still expensive and has unacceptably high latencies. DDR2 comes in the 1066MHz speed with much better latencies, (link), would you consider purchasing DDR2? You would need to change the motherboard to something that will support DDR2, like this example.

Also I recommend Pioneer DVD Burners, this one is excellent quality.

I hope this helps you somewhat

Troy

[Troy]

Hi there, welcome to the Geeks to Go forums.

Interesting build you have going here. I like it Just a few comments for you, hopefully they are helpful.

Firstly, you haven't given us a budget or a purpose for this system. You don't have to, but it helps to know this so we can help you in the right direction.

"Vista Home" comes in two flavours, Basic and Premium. Check out the differences for yourself, I recommend the Home Premium version.

Onboard audio is fine for 99% of systems. If you have a proper surround sound speaker set, it would pay to upgrade to a decent discrete sound card.

The PSU is fine for one card, but for Crossfire it would be pushing it. I would consider something like this (750W version).

That being said, I believe you should run a single better card, rather than run Crossfire. If you specifically want an ATI card, try looking for the HD 3870X2.

For a hard drive, you have linked to a server version. You should be looking at the fantastic 7200.11 series, the smallest is 500GB, but the performance of these drives are very good

If you are overclocking the Q6600, then look at either a Tuniq Tower or a Thermalright Ultra 120 Extreme. If you aren't overclocking, the retail cooler (standard Intel) works very well.

I'm interested in your choice of RAM. DDR3 is still expensive and has unacceptably high latencies. DDR2 comes in the 1066MHz speed with much better latencies, (link), would you consider purchasing DDR2? You would need to change the motherboard to something that will support DDR2, like this example.

Also I recommend Pioneer DVD Burners, this one is excellent quality.

I hope this helps you somewhat

Troy

[Maulanator3]

Thanks troy!

This is a little embarrassing, but I have completely overhauled the build to make it cheaper (and thus fit in with my new budget of 1130$, including shipping), Vista will be bought elsewhere by me (hurrah for gift cards..).

I have changed processors, motherboard, and RAM.


I'm looking at these parts.


PROCESSOR:

http://www.newegg.co...N82E16819115029

HEATSINK:

http://www.newegg.co...N82E16835186134

MOTHERBOARD: (I like this one because it offers the option to upgrade to DDR3 later, while letting me buy cheap DDR2 RAM.)

http://www.newegg.co...N82E16813186134

RAM:

http://www.newegg.co...N82E16820145176


All other parts remain the same, how am I looking now?

I'm trying to build a mid-range gamer, i rather like the looks of that HD3870..

The E6750 shouldn't be too hard to get up to 3GHz? Will my power supply and cooling system support that?

Any possibilities to overclock that RAM?

Are my components still compatible?

I'm trying to make this computer viable for 4-5 years, which is one reason i rather like the look of that mother board..

Obviously I intend to buy some nice upgrades in the future (DDR3, Crossfire 3870, sound card, 45nm processor)




Thanks!!

[Maulanator3]

Just read your hard drive comment, troy.

Went to this hard drive: http://www.newegg.co...N82E16822148288

Also went back to this heatsink so I could get the nice combo deal from newegg (along with my 6750):

http://www.newegg.co...N82E16835200015

I read a comment saying its a little big for my case, made me skeptical

I'm all over the map with these parts. I'm radically changing my build every five minutes.