Another Neophyte!

[seatrend]

Guys/Gals,

I am not as sophisticated as most of you but I did buy my first PC in 1985, a Compaq "suitcase" with 2 20MB hard cards for more that $3500. I've had to upgrade about every three years since then. I am trying to get as much life as I can out of this next one so I stretched to put together the best I could afford that would do my general PC stuff, control my entertainment system and give my 13 yr old some gaming capability. What do you think of my configuration? Do you have suggestions on improving? Do I any compatibility issues? Am I forgetting anything?

11-112-115 CASE LIANLI|PC-60APLUSII window Sil
13-131-025 MB ASUS P5W DH DELUXE/WIFI-AP GREEN
14-130-061 VGA EVGA 7950GT KO 512-P2-N635-AR R
15-116-628 HAUPPAUGE WINTV-PVR 1081 RT
17-371-002 PSU ANTEC|TP3-550 RT
19-115-003 CPU INTEL|C2D E6600 2.4G 775 4M R
20-145-034 MEM 1Gx2|COR 240P TWIN2X2048-6400C4
22-144-392 HD 320G|WD 7K 8M ATA100 WD3200JB %
27-106-027 DVD-ROM LITEON|SHD-16P1S BK R
Another Liteon DVD/CD compo writer with 5x Ram DVD capability
32-116-171 SW MS MED CNT 05 URP2 SP2B 1PK DSP
35-186-134 CPUCOOLER|ARCTIC P4|ACFZ7-PRO R

Thanks in Advance!

[flanzig1]

I would lookat the Asus P5B series of motherboards.
You want SATA hard drives. Seagate 7200.10: fast and 5 year warranty.
Ram: If not doing OC, this is standard: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820145098
The Intel heatsink will do your system fine.
Will need an OS: XP Home oem

[newbuilder14]

Any reason why you chose a 975x motherboard? You won't be using Crossfire with the Nvidia card and the P965 boards are newer. The Asus P5B Deluxe is my recommendation.

Yes, definitely switch the hard drive out for a SATA one, 7200.10 would be great.

C5 latency memory offers the most stability from what I've heard. Corsair ValueSelect would be best.

Make sure you include a DVD burner.

Use stock cooling to retain warranty, as it is plenty and I am not even sure if that HSF is certified to cool a Core 2 Duo.

Lastly, make sure you check out Newegg.com, looks like you were searching somewhere else.

[seatrend]

Your feedback is very useful. I have some questions. First, what is the difference between ATA and SATA. The motherboard I choose is AUS P5W DH Deluxe WiFi 975x and it cost $224. As I compare it to the P5B you suggest, I see three primary differences, 975x vs 965 express, ATA vs SATA, and the one I selected has Digital Home built in. Since one of my primary purchasing points is to max out my home entertainment system, I thought this was a good feature. One of you suggested Corsair Value Pack and that is what I have spec'd. The one you linked was 667 and the one I have selected is 800. Does the Duo Core Processor come with its own cooling fan? I tried to find a separate Intel fan on Newegg but I could not, that’s why I choose the Artic Cooler. All my equipment selection and quotes come from New Egg.

Again, thanks for your help. I don't want to get this wrong.

Seatrend

[LeftyAce]

ATA is the old standard, with the wide gray cable. SATA (Serial ATA) is a much thinner cable, for better airflow, and is faster (I think..) it's the new standard. I'm not sure on the other two differences between the mobos, someone else can comment on them.

If you're not planning on overclocking, the 667 value select ram is fine. And the 6600 comes with a HSF. (At least this one does http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16819115003 )

[Cricket]

Originally Posted by seatrend Your feedback is very useful. I have some questions. First, what is the difference between ATA and SATA.

ATA is older technology while SATA is the new standard. Many newer chipsets don't have native support for ATA/IDE drives and you may run into issues because of this.

Originally Posted by seatrend The motherboard I choose is AUS P5W DH Deluxe WiFi 975x and it cost $224. As I compare it to the P5B you suggest, I see three primary differences, 975x vs 965 express, ATA vs SATA, and the one I selected has Digital Home built in. Since one of my primary purchasing points is to max out my home entertainment system, I thought this was a good feature.

Sorry, can't help you with this...I don't know what the Digital Home feature is.

Originally Posted by seatrend One of you suggested Corsair Value Pack and that is what I have spec'd. The one you linked was 667 and the one I have selected is 800.

667 is what you want if you plan to just run your computer at stock speeds. You'd only need 800 if you plan to overclock.

Originally Posted by seatrend Does the Duo Core Processor come with its own cooling fan?

If you get the retail processor it comes with the appropriate Intel heatsink/fan and it's a good quality unit. The OEM processors don't come with anything and have no warranty from Intel, only what the vendor gives you.

Cricket

[windsleeper]

"Digital Home" is a sort of standard. The motherboard comes with an IR remote so that it can be turned on/off remotely. I guess for those that would incorporate it as part of a home entertainment system. Not sure what all the features of this standard are.

[glc]

If you do want the P5W, I can't complain. All other comments regarding ram and hard drives are valid no matter which C2D board you go with. If not overclocking, Corsair Value Select DDR2-667, otherwise XMS2 DDR2-800 CAS/CL5. Seagate 7200.10 SATA is the only way to fly.