Will these parts be compatible?

[rahpsrelyt]

I'm building a PC and this is my first time doing it. I just wanted to get an opinion from someone who knows for sure if the parts I'm planning to buy will all be compatible with eachother.

This is the hardware I plan on buying:

Motherboard: ASUS Crosshair IV Formula - AM3 - AMD 890FX - DDR3 - Republic of Gamers - ATX Motherboard


CPU: AMD Phenom II X4 955 HDZ955FBGIBOX 3.2 GHz/6 MB L3/125W Processor (fan included)

Graphics Card: Sapphire HD5670 512MB Eyefinity ATI Radeon HD5670 GPU

I already have a PSU at 400 watts, though I'm not sure the model, brand etc.

Hard Drive: Western Digital 1 TB Caviar Green SATA Intellipower 64 MB Cache Bulk/OEM Desktop Hard Drive WD10EARS

DVD-ROM Drive: LG GH24LS50 24x Lightscribe Sata

(Wasnt sure if the last 3 were needed, but put them in anyway. Also I havent looked into sound cards, feel free to suggest some )

[pam123]

Is this primarily a games computer ?
If so, you need a better video card, the 5770 or 5830, and a power supply of 550 watts or more.
An older 400 watt psu won't work for a modern gaming build.
What RAM do you have in mind?
Make your choice from the Asus QVL list for that motherboard.
On board sound is pretty decent these days so try it before you decide you need a sound card.
Also, we usually recommend WD Black drives for system drives and the Green drives for back ups and usb/eSATA enclosures.
What OS do you have on hand?

[rahpsrelyt]

Yes it is primarily for gaming, thanks about the video card info.
Oh sorry I forgot to mention the RAM, the one was looking at buying was: Team Group Xtreem 6GB (3 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333.
Will that work, or is it better to pick from ASUS QVL?
Oh ok, I'll remember that (about the Hard Drives).
I have both XP Black and Windows 7 on hand.

Thanks a ton for all

[orbrit]

First of all you need a dual channel kit - you have a 3 x 2Gb triple channel kit - it'll work, but in dual/single mode.

I'd make the following changes:
Motherboard is overkill - step down to either
ASUS M4A87TD EVO AM3 AMD 870 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX AMD Motherboard (for single GPU)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813131647

or

ASUS M4A89TD PRO/USB3 AM3 AMD 890FX SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX AMD Motherboard (if you want to add a second video card)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813131655

Memory:
start with one 2 x 2Gb kit - Corsair, Kingston, or Crucial

Power supply:
CORSAIR CMPSU-550VX 550W ATX12V V2.2 SLI Ready CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS Certified Active PFC Compatible with Core i7 Power Supply
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817139004

[pam123]

Windows 7 64 bit will let you use the ram current, and forth coming, games need.
Minimum would be 4 GBs and yes Corsair would be a good choice.
Don't go nuts here, the super-expensive stuff (DDR3 2000) only make sense if you over clock.

edit : The qvl list is where you go if you want trouble free (or as trouble free as possible) builds.
When you're more experienced you can ignore it but it that case you'll already know why you're ignoring it and what it is you need the computer to do.

[rahpsrelyt]

Ok thanks a ton for this! It will help alot!

[glc]

That WD EARS drive should NOT be used with XP. It's an advanced format drive and it will NOT get along with XP at ALL.

XP Black is pirated and as such, we will not support it here. Don't even talk about it.

[rahpsrelyt]

OK So I was wondering, Do I need to have 2 hard drives or can I just use 1 big one (say 1 TB) and do my backup onto DVD Discs? Alternatively can I get one Internal Hard Drive and one External Hard Drive, instead of 2 Internal Hard Drives?

[glc]

The best cost-effective solution for a good backup system is 1 internal and 1 external hard drive.