First build - Compatibility? Suggestions?

[downloaddom]

Hey everyone!

I'm building my first PC which i intend to use specifically for games and homework. I have a budget of roughly £400 ($785) and i intend it to be able to run Windows Vista. I will recycle the hard drive from my current computer on to my new build. Sorry about most of the prices being in pounds if you're not from the UK. Please could you check my hardware for compatibility or give other suggestions.

So far i have come up with:
CPU: Intel Core 2 Duo E6300 £114.57 inc VAT - I may overclock this, but only if necessary.
Mobo: Gigabyte GA-P965-DS3 - £76.44 inc VAT
Graphics Card: Nvidea GeForce 7900GT - £84.99 inc VAT - I am not convinced about a 7 series card because apparently they don't support DirectX 10 - would i be better off waiting and buying a low end 8 series card so that it would support DirectX 10?
RAM: 2x 1gb corsair xms2 6400 4-4-4-12 - £138.23 - Would a 2gb stick be better than 2 x 1gb sticks?
Case & PSU: Antec Bundle - £63.09 Inc VAT.

I will probably buy a 19" flat-screen monitor at a later date, but if I was to buy one then I had this one in mind. This won't be included in my budget.

Thanks in advance!

[Alaron]

Welcome. Your lists looks fairly solid, I have a couple suggestions though.

Switch the motherboard to the Asus P5B. Asus boards are higher quality then Gigabyte and the price is the same: http://www.dabs.com/productview.aspx...avigationKey=0

For the video card, we have been recommending that people use a cheaper card as a place holder and then upgrade to DX10 when the full range of cards is out later on. The Geforce 7600GT is a great bang for the buck.

For the RAM, if you don't plan to overclock, DDR2-667 is fine. DDR2-800 is overkill. Go with 2 sticks for a Dual Channel performance boost.

The power supply in that Antec case is a bit low for your setup. If you make the switch to the 7600GT, go with the Antec Sonata II. It comes with a good quality 450w PSU that will power the system just fine. You may need to upgrade it later on if you changed video cards though.

[downloaddom]

Ok that all sounds good. I followed your advice for the RAM and choosen this. I've also switched the motherboard over to the Asus P5B.

I'm slightly confused about the video card though, I'm happy to go for a 7600GT and upgrade to an 8 series later on but I don't seem to be able to find a 7600GT card that's less than a 7900GT. Also most of the 7600GT cards say DDR3 on them - would this still be compatible?

Thanks in advance.

[jayb1234]

The DDR3 refers to the RAM on the video card itself and isn't related to your system RAM.

No problem there.

And you might want to get a SATA DVD drive.

A lot of people have had problems installing the OS from an IDE optical on that chipset.

[glc]

I would actually recommend XMS2 DDR2-800, but in CAS 5, not CAS 4. If the 7600GT is as expensive as a 7900, then look at a 7600GS.

[downloaddom]

OK, here are my proposed specs:

CPU: Intel Core 2 Duo E6300
Mobo: Asustek S775 Intel P965 ATX Audio Lan
Video Card: Nvidea GeForce 7600GT - Upgrading to an 8 series later when they are released and have gone down in price.
RAM: 2x 1gb corsair xms2
OR
Corsair xms2 PC2-6400 (800) CAS 5 - Bit more expensive
Case: Antec Sonata II

I will also probably get this 19" widescreen monitor. Any problems with it?

I don't really understand about the SATA DVD drive. At the moment I have a Sony DVD RW drive which I was planning to salvage and use on my new build.

Thanks in advance!

Edited for bad link.

[jayb1234]

Your motherboard link doesnt work.

Take a look at this thread for more about the SATA DVD issue, it explains it a little better than I can off the top of my head.

But basically the problem is with the fact that the IDE controller runs off the add-in jmicron controller rather than being native to the 965 chipset.

That has given some people trouble recognizing IDE optical drives.

If you do some checking around you might be able to determine whether or not it is an issue with that particular motherboard or not.

Also aren't already aware of it Vista comes on a DVD, so just a CD drive wont work.

[downloaddom]

OK, I don't think the SATA issue will be a problem because on the motherboard specification it says that it has 'ASUS SATA on the Go'. Perhaps you could check this over for me because I still don't completely understand about SATA and IDE.