Want to check my compatibility?

[guitar4life]

Ok, same scenario. Building my first PC, it's going to be primarily for gaming, and recording later (studio recording). I have all of my parts picked out (minus monitor, keyborad and mouse) Money is not an issue, I'm not really worried about costs (as long as it's reasonable...my pockets aren't bottomless). Am I going to be oc'ing? I'm not really sure because I'm not really sure I understand what overclocking is and how to do it. Will someone check my compatibility so I don't buy a lot of parts that won't work together. Here's the list:

Mobo:

ASUS P5WD2-E Premium Socket T (LGA 775) Intel 975X ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail
-CPU Type Intel Pentium EE/Pentium D/Pentium 4 HT
-FSB 1066/800MHz
-Supported CPU Technologies Hyper-Threading Technology
-North Bridge Intel 975X
-South Bridge Intel ICH7R
-Number of DDR2 Slots 4x 240pin DDR2
-DDR2 Standard DDR2 800
-Maximum Memory Supported 8GB
-Dual Channel Supported Yes
-AGP Slots None
-PCI Express x16 2
-PCI Express x1 1
-PCI Slots 3
-Other Slots 1 x Universal PCI-E (max. x2 speed)
-Onboard Video No
- etc., etc., etc., more info at http://www.newegg.com/product/produc...82E16813131589


CPU

Intel Pentium D 940 Presler 800MHz FSB 2 x 2MB L2 Cache LGA 775 Dual Core, EM64T Processor - Retail
-Operating Frequency 3.2GHz
FSB 800MHz
L1 Cache 24KB+32KB
L2 Cache 2 x 2MB
Process Type 65 nm
Hyper-Threading Support No
64 bit Support Yes
Multimedia Instruction MMX, SSE, SSE2, SSE3
Voltage 1.25-1.4V
Cooling Device Heatsink and Fan
Warranty
Manufacturer Warranty 3-Year
more infor at http://www.newegg.com/product/produc...82E16820145590

Hard Drive:

Seagate Barracuda 7200.9 SATA NCQ 3Gb/s ST3160812AS 160GB 7200 RPM 8MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM
Basically title says it all, but more here
http://www.newegg.com/product/produc...82E16822148105

RAM:

CORSAIR XMS2 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM Unbuffered DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit System Memory - Retail
Matched pair, with Heat Spreader
Timing 5-5-5-12
More infor at http://www.newegg.com/product/produc...82E16820145590

Video Card:

HIS Hightech H180GTOQT256DVN Radeon X1800GTO 256MB 256-bit GDDR3 VIVO PCI Express x16 CrossFire Ready IceQ3 Turbo Video Card - Retail
Basically the title says it all, but more info here:
http://www.newegg.com/product/produc...82E16814161012

DVD Drive:

Pioneer Black 16X DVD+R 8X DVD+RW 8X DVD+R DL 16X DVD-R 6X DVD-RW 16X DVD-ROM 5X DVD-RAM DVD-ROM 40X CD-R 32X CD-RW 40X CD-ROM 2M Cache ATAPI 16X DVD±R DVD Burner With 5X DVD-RAM Read - OEM
More info at http://www.newegg.com/product/produc...82E16827129001

CD Drive:

ASUS Black 52X CD-R 32X CD-RW 52X CD-ROM 2M Cache E-IDE/ATAPI CD Burner - OEM
Data Transfer Rate CD-ROM: 52X Max. 7800 KB/sec (CAV)
DAE: 52X Max. 7800KB/sec (CAV)
More at http://www.newegg.com/product/produc...82E16827135052

Sound Card:

M-AUDIO 9900-40906-00 5.1 Channels 24-bit 192KHz PCI Interface Sound Card - Retail
Features top-quality surround sound up to 5.1
high-definition 24-bit/192kHz playback on up to 6 channels
PCM, AC-3 and DTS
professional 24-bit/96kHz mic/line recording
supports Sensaura, EAX, DirectSound and A3D
More at http://www.newegg.com/product/produc...82E16829121122

I haven't picked out my case or psu yet. my case will be Mid Tower ATX, just can't decide on design and cooling options. I'm not sure how much power I will need, but I was thinking 650w, may not need that much, but I was thinking that for upgrades if I need more power I'll have it.

Got any suggestions? I'm open to anything.

[blue60007]

I would picker a higher end video card if money isn't an issue. Also, I'd consider dropping to an ASUS P5LD2 and Value Select DDR2-533 or 667. I'd hold off on overclocking on such an expensive list of parts.

An Antec TP-II 550 would be a good choice of power supply.

[Ghost(BOO!)]

In my opinion you should only over clock if you don't have the funds for an upgrade and need an extra boost

[guitar4life]

blue60007 said, "Also, I'd consider dropping to an ASUS P5LD2 and Value Select DDR2-533 or 667."

Just out of curiosity, why would you do that. I have no clue, that's why I'm asking. Why the lower mobo and ddr2? What's your suggestion for a higher end video card? SLI? crossfire?

[glc]

Go ahead and get a P5WD2 series, it's an excellent board - but you don't need the top line one unless it has features you want or need or you must have the 975X chipset. The standard P5WD2 has a 955X chipset and costs a lot less. You really don't need 800 speed XMS ram unless you ARE going to be overclocking - 533 speed value ram will do just fine, anything faster does not give you any appreciable benefit. That's a good video card - for a $200 card. It's not a GREAT gamer - if you really want to game, spend some more. I would not think about SLI or Crossfire - that's more of a gimmick to sell more video cards than a real improvement.

All that said, can you wait a couple months? It may be well worth it waiting for the Core 2 Duo.

[guitar4life]

Is there a specific video card you have in mind?

[glc]

No, that's up to you and just how strong a game performer you want.

[guitar4life]

So do you know of any where that will give me a list of video cards from best to worst? I mean I can look at specs all day long, but I'm not the biggest computer wiz, so that doesn't mean a whole lot to me. I am an intense gamer and my system now is outdated and cannot be upgraded any further without basically replacing most every part. So, I want a very solid and strong video card that will last atleast couple of years without the worry of having to replace it everytime a new game comes out.

[Alaron]

Depends on your video card budget. I would take a look at the Geforce 7900GT. It is an incredible bang for the buck. Here's a great deal, only $237 after rebate: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814130028

[guitar4life]

Alaron,
if money weren't an issue, which video card would you get? Would you go with a 512mg card? I already have a pentium D cpu and smoking mobo, so I want my video card to be smoking also.

And by the way, what are some things to look at when getting a video card? (besides the obvious like 256mg, pci-e 16x, etc)

[Alaron]

I personally think a card like the 7900GT is an excellent choice. It is powerful enough to play any games with the eye-candy turned on, and it is a great value. Sure you could spend $600 on a 7950GX2 or some other ultra-high end card, but I think at a point the performance to dollar ratio diminishes. I would spend the $250 on the 7900GT now and then upgrade it later on when you feel you need to. I wouldn't want to spend $600 now to find out that a better card is coming in a few months. (None is that I know of, but better to be safe).

Right now the big thing with video cards are pixel pipelines. More are better. The 7900GT has 24, compared to the 12 on the X1800GTO. With more pipelines the card can move more data faster, giving you a big performance boost.

[guitar4life]

What does openGL mean?

[blue60007]

It's another 3d API (Application programming interface). If you know basically what DirectX is, OpenGL is basically the same thing. It allows programmers to interact with your 3d hardware. (2 examples would be Quake 3 and Doom 3 engines - they both use OpenGL - I think)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Opengl