it's my first time

[shadowpr]

Hey everyone, I'm currently planning on building my first system. I'll be using it for a handfull of FPS games, and internet use. I also like to watch movies, and listen to a lot of music on my computer. I'll also probably be using quite a bit of Office, depending on my situation.

With that said, this is what I have found that I think would make a good system. I'll probably actually buy everything in about a month since I'm currently active duty and won't be home till shortly after that to build it.

Mother Board: Not sure Yet....still looking, and suggestions would be great. This seems to be the thing that is giving me the most trouble finding.

Case: Still looking

PSU: Not Yet

CPU: Intel Core 2 Duo E6700 Conroe 2.66GHz 4M shared L2 Cache LGA 775 Processor - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/product/produc...82E16819115002

Memory: G.SKILL 4GB(2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/product/produc...82E16820231122

Video Card: EVGA 640-P2-N821-AR GeForce 8800GTS 640MB 320-bit GDDR3 PCI Express x16 HDCP Video Card - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/product/produc...82E16814130071

HDD 1: for OS: Western Digital Raptor WD1500ADFD 150GB 10,000 RPM 16MB Cache Serial ATA150 Hard Drive - OEM
http://www.newegg.com/product/produc...82E16822136012

HDD 2: Storage, and other programs: Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 (Perpendicular Recording) ST3500630AS 500GB 7200 RPM 16MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM
http://www.newegg.com/product/produc...82E16822148136

Monitor: SAMSUNG 206BW Black 20" 2 ms (GTG) DVI Widescreen LCD Monitor 300 cd/m2 800:1 (DCR 3000:1) - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/product/produc...82E16824001095

Keyboard: Logitech Classic Black 104 Normal Keys PS/2 Wired Standard Keyboard - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/product/produc...82E16823126019

Sound Card: I have two that i'm looking at, any input would be great. Just want to make sure that movies sound crispy, and i have a good gaming experience.
1: Creative 70SB046A00000 7.1 Channels 24-bit 192KHz PCI Interface Sound Blaster X-Fi XtremeGamer Fatal1ty Professional Series - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/product/produc...82E16829102005
2: Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi XtremeGamer 7.1 Channels 24-bit 96KHz PCI Interface Sound Card - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/product/produc...82E16829102006

Speakers: Logitech THX Z-5300e 280 Watts RMS 5.1 Speaker - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/product/produc...82E16836121121

DVD-RW Drive: I have several that I found, but could use input as to what is recommended. I want speed, and for it to be quiet. Obviously I don't want to sacrific quality.
1: SAMSUNG Black 18X DVD+R 8X DVD+RW 8X DVD+R DL 18X DVD-R 6X DVD-RW 12X DVD-RAM 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-R 32X CD-RW 48X CD-ROM 2MB Cache SATA DVD Burner With LightScribe Technology - OEM
http://www.newegg.com/product/produc...82E16827151141
2: LITE-ON Black 20X DVD+R 8X DVD+RW 8X DVD+R DL 20X DVD-R 6X DVD-RW 12X DVD-RAM 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-R 32X CD-RW 48X CD-ROM 2MB Cache SATA DVD Burner with LightScribe - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/product/produc...82E16827106072

DVD-Drive: also have several choices. Same criteria as above.
1: LG Black 16X DVD-ROM 52X CD-ROM E-IDE/ATAPI DVD-ROM Drive Model GDR-8164BK - OEM
http://www.newegg.com/product/produc...82E16827136083
2: ASUS Black 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-ROM SATA DVD-ROM Drive Model DVD-E616A3T OEM - OEM
http://www.newegg.com/product/produc...82E16827135151
3: LITE-ON Black 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-ROM SATA DVD-ROM Drive Model SHD-16S1S-05 - OEM
http://www.newegg.com/product/produc...82E16827106039


And that will about cover it....I hope. Did I miss anything????

Can't wait to hear what everyone has to say.

Will




Edit: might have found a case that I like: Antec Nine Hundred Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/product/produc...82E16811129021

[kwbbpc]

Very good case choice from what I hear.

About the DVD drives - I'm not sure if this will hold true for you, but after reading around on different forums, I've heard of some people not being able to boot from SATA optical drives, and therefore can't install their OS. Anyone know the deal with booting from SATA optical drives? I've been wondering this a while.

Sound card- nice choice, but if you're looking to shave off some money to fit the budget, I usually go with a <$30 sound card, and lots of games still sound great. like this one: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16829102002

A tip for picking a motherboard - don't skimp on the budget here. I'd go with a high quality ASUS or Gigabyte, stick to well known brands - *usually* better support. I've had very good luck with the P965 chipset on motherboards. I like the ASUS p5B line, specifically this: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813131028 Note that this board has two PCI Express X16 slots, so if you only want one slot, you may be able to find a cheaper board.

If you plan on using Windows Vista with this build, 4GB of RAM will work, but if you're only going to use XP (32bit edition), I'd go with just 2GB of RAM. Not a huge fan of G.Skill's website, but I've used their RAM before, and had a good experience.

[Cricket]

Originally Posted by shadowpr And that will about cover it....I hope. Did I miss anything????

What motherboard are you going to use?

Cricket

[eiji]

A lot of people on here recommend Asus for your motherboard, and to be more specific p5b boards. After looking/researching I agreed with them and went with ASUS P5B-E LGA 775 Intel P965 Express ATX Intel Motherboard.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813131070

[LeftyAce]

Firstly, what's your budget? That'll help us tailor your list for best performance/price.

Get the regular ASUS P5B motherboard unless you have stuff that uses firewire. (Saves you ~30 over the price of the P5B-E).

The e6700 processor isn't enough better than the e6600 to justify the extra $100. (http://www23.tomshardware.com/cpu.ht...=431&chart=170)

The Corsair 520HX PSU is high quality, and will power what you've got listed.

I'd recommend Corsair Value Select ram if you don;t plan on overclocking; 2GB is plenty for today's applications.
Also, stick with windows XP for now; wait 'till vista has a service pack out to upgrade. Vista just has too many wrinkles that need to be ironed out.

The ASUS P5B motherboards have issues with their IDE chipset......you SHOULD get SATA opticals, and they will boot fine.

[shadowpr]

Originally Posted by Cricket What motherboard are you going to use? Cricket

not sure yet. i'm more then open to suggestions from everyone. i won't lie...i don't know much about how to determine if a motherboard is good or not. i'm sure i could find one that would work well, but at this point i think i would like to see what everyone suggests since they probably have more experience then me.

[shadowpr]

Originally Posted by LeftyAce Firstly, what's your budget? That'll help us tailor your list for best performance/price.

i would like to keep it under $2500. and that's without an OS or shipping. So i do have quite a bit of room to splurge.

Originally Posted by LeftyAce Get the regular ASUS P5B motherboard unless you have stuff that uses firewire. (Saves you ~30 over the price of the P5B-E).

will keep that in mind, thanks.

Originally Posted by LeftyAce The e6700 processor isn't enough better than the e6600 to justify the extra $100. (http://www23.tomshardware.com/cpu.ht...=431&chart=170).

i'll also keep that in mind, but since as i said, my budget would allow me to get the E6700. Apreciate the suggestion though. You got me thinking now....

Originally Posted by LeftyAce The Corsair 520HX PSU is high quality, and will power what you've got listed.

Thank you. I'll get to looking at that right now.

Originally Posted by LeftyAce I'd recommend Corsair Value Select ram if you don;t plan on overclocking; 2GB is plenty for today's applications. Also, stick with windows XP for now; wait 'till vista has a service pack out to upgrade. Vista just has too many wrinkles that need to be ironed out.

I was thinking about just starting off with Vista. New system, new OS. My friend has it and hasn't encountered any problems as of yet. But I've noticed most people here seem to be shying away from Vista. I'll take that into consideration.

As for the 4gb of ram, I just figured thta i would save my elf from an upgrade later, plus it's still within my budget. Would you still cut it back to only 2gb, or would you try and get a different maker?

Originally Posted by LeftyAce The ASUS P5B motherboards have issues with their IDE chipset......you SHOULD get SATA opticals, and they will boot fine.

Any suggestions on the ones I have listed above??

[Alaron]

The second DVDRW you have listed (SATA Retail LiteOn) is a great choice. Any of the three DVDROMs are fine. I found that Asus drives are slightly quieter then LiteOns.

As for the RAM, Corsair is very high quality. GSkill doesn't have a track record either way as far as I know. I think 4GB of RAM is a bit overkill, but if the budget allows, go for it. RAM is particularly inexpensive right now.

[shadowpr]

Originally Posted by Alaron As for the RAM, Corsair is very high quality. GSkill doesn't have a track record either way as far as I know. I think 4GB of RAM is a bit overkill, but if the budget allows, go for it. RAM is particularly inexpensive right now.

do you think this would be better:
CORSAIR XMS2 4GB(2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820145176

[LeftyAce]

If you're not planning to overclock, XMS2 is overkill. Get some Value Select DDR2 667 ram.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820145098

I've been thinking, with your budget, you could easily fit in an 8800GTX video card (They're ~ $500, but they're the absolute top of the line right now).