Building PC - Newbie Needs Help

[DarkPhysalis]

I need a lot of help so I decided to come here for help. Hopefully someone here will be able to help me out.

I'm putting together a PC obviously but I'm having some issues, the main one being what ram to go with (from Canadacomputer's selection) and which power supply (if the one I picked isn't enough).

This one will also be put together by the same shop so I'll be getting the parts from them:
www.canadacomputers.com

So some things to consider are that I'll be getting the parts from what is listed on this site. Also I'd like to be able to upgrade in the future the amount of ram (from 2GB). One last thing to consider is that these prices are in Canadian dollars so they might seem a bit higher than normal to people in other countries.

First off cooling was something I neglected on my second PC. Will I have any issues you think with this build?

Not sure about the power supply either. Will it be fine?

Any compatibility issues or something of that sort I may have missed? Last thing I want to do is discover some sort of issues exists between some parts I picked.

Finally ram. I'm not sure what to get, I was going to go with this ram but I heard of some issues with this motherboard I picked
http://www.canadacomputers.com/index.php?do=ShowProduct&cmd=pd&amp...d=01087

One thing I want to have 2GB of ram yet I'm not looking to spend a small fortune on ram (around 250 is alright).

CPU
Intel Core 2 Duo E6600 2.4 GHz (1066MHz) 4MB L2 CacheSocket 775 Processor
379.99
http://www.canadacomputers.com/index.php?do=ShowProduct&cmd=pd&amp...d=01088

Motherboard
Asus P5B Deluxe/WiFi-AP Socket 775 Intel 965 Express + ICH8R Chipset Dual-Channel DDR2 533/667/800 Gigabit Lan Intel High Definition Audio Firewire PCI-Express x16 Graphics 6xSATAII 8 Phase Power Design WiFi-AP Solo Support Core 2 Duo Processor
232.99
http://www.canadacomputers.com/index.php?do=ShowProduct&cmd=pd&amp...d=01080

Case
Thermaltake Xaser Tsunami VA3000BNA Aluminum Home Theater Tower (Black-Mirror Coating)
119.5
http://www.canadacomputers.com/index.php?do=ShowProduct&cmd=pd&amp...d=00507

Ram
? (need help here)

Video Card
BFG GeForce 8800 GTS nVidia GeForce 8800GTS Chipset (500MHz) Shader Clock (1200MHz) 640MB (1.6GHz) PCI-Express Graphic Card 96 Stream Processor Shader Model 4.0 2x Dual-Link DVI-I HDTV TV-Out Support HDCP DirectX 10 SLI-Ready Built for Windows Vista
519.99
http://www.canadacomputers.com/index.php?do=ShowProduct&cmd=pd&amp...d=01170

Sound Card
Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi XtremeMusic 24-bit Crystalizer Dolby Digital EX Decoding Sound Card
99.99
http://www.canadacomputers.com/index.php?do=ShowProduct&cmd=pd&amp...d=00851

Also I'm considering the Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi Fatal1ty FPS 24-bit Crystalizer EAX Advanced HD 5.0 109dB SNR DTS-ES and DolbyR Digital EX Decoding Sound Card. I don't know if it's really worth it, I don't think it is but I thought I'd mention it.

HD
Western Digital Caviar (WD5000KS) 500GB SATAII 7200RPM 16MB Buffer (OEM)
192.99

HD 2
Western Digital Caviar (WD5000KS) 500GB SATAII 7200RPM 16MB Buffer (OEM)
192.99

Yes I want two HDs on this PC.

DVD Drive
LG GSA-H22L 18X DVDRW Black Internal, LightScribe W/Software (OEM)
http://www.canadacomputers.com/index.php?do=ShowProduct&cmd=pd&amp...d=01143

Power Supply
Enermax FMA II EG-565P-VE ATX 2.2 535W SLI Power Supply ROHS SATA, PCI-Express x 2 and Convertible 24P Connector
109.95
http://www.canadacomputers.com/index.php?do=ShowProduct&cmd=pd&amp...d=01114

Sorry for the trouble but with my last PC I neglected some things and I'd like to get it right this time. Also yes I am a bit of a newbie so any help is appreciated.

 

[moosey]

What's your overall budget? Also, are you going to overclock? You links don't seem to work either.
Here are just some general observations..

Motherboard is a good choice, the one without wifi is about $15 less I saw incase you don't need it.

Video card is a great choice.

I think your PSU should be fine, only other alternatives I found similar in price were these 3,
http://www.canadacomputers.com/index.ph...owProduct&cmd=pd&pid=009916&cid=PS.808
http://www.canadacomputers.com/index.ph...owProduct&cmd=pd&pid=010503&cid=PS.808
http://www.canadacomputers.com/index.ph...owProduct&cmd=pd&pid=006876&cid=PS.808

RAM choice can depend if you're going to overclock or not.

Also, if you were tight on budget, you could get a lower processor and o/c it, if you were planning to do that.

The main components seem fine though.

 

[DarkPhysalis]

Sorry you're right my links for some reason aren't working. The main site is www.canadacomputers.com

As for ram I have no intention of overclocking. All I need is ram that is reasonably priced and doesn't have any known issues (with this motherboard).

Really I'm looking for reassurance that I haven't screwed up since this is a rather large purchase. I mean I haven't neglected anything like cooling and such (as far as I know).

It's been about four or five years with my current PC and I'm dying to start fresh with a new one but of course I don't want to until I'm sure that I've picked the right parts.

In any case thanks for the quick response.

 

[engiNURD]

No overclocking? sooo... any reason for the crossfire board? If not, go with a cheaper P965 Express or nForce 650i chipset based board instead. Asus P5B-E or P5N-E SLI are good alternatives if you don't need crossfire functionality (which I assume you don't since you chose an NVIDIA gpu). If you want to save even more money, go for the Gigabyte GA-965P-S3 instead. All of the boards I mentioned can OC very well, if and when you decide your CPU is too slow (probably a few years from now).

Oh yah, RAM... Since you won't be overclocking, get the cheapest 2GB kit that operates at 1.8-1.9v out of the three speeds (DDR2-533/667/800). If DDR2-800 is only ten bux more, go for it, so you have the headroom to OC later on if and when you need it. Oh, if you get OCZ, get either value, vanilla, soe, or platinum sticks. gold has some problems.

http://www.canadacomputers.com/index.ph...wProduct&cmd=pd&pid=010267&cid=RAM.475

 

[DarkPhysalis]

engiNURD
Yeah I don't really need crossfire, I've only looked up reviews on the board I mentioned and picked it as it seemed to get good reviews.

I've spent the time since I first made this topic trying to figure out what to go with. Right now you got me reconsidering my choice of motherboard.

I'm considering switching to the Asus P5B-E or P5N-E SLI and OCZ (OCZ2P8002GK) DDR2-800 PC2-6400 Platinum XTC 2GB. I was going to go with Corsair XMS2 Dominator TWIN2X2048-6400C4D 2GB kit but the price put me off.

I'm going insane with worry about making the wrong choice.

 

[DarkPhysalis]

Well after spending yet some more time I think I've finally assembled a good PC without any issues (that I can see):
CPU
Intel Core 2 Duo E6600 2.4 GHz (1066MHz) 4MB L2 CacheSocket 775 Processor
379.99

Motherboard
Asus P5B-E Socket 775 Intel 965 Express + ICH8R Chipset Dual-Channel DDR2 533/667/800 Gigabit Lan Intel High Definition Audio Firewire e-SATA PCI-Express Graphics Slots 6xSATAII Support Core 2 Duo Processor
189.99

Case
Thermaltake Xaser Tsunami VA3000BNA Aluminum Home Theater Tower (Black-Mirror Coating)
119.5

Ram
OCZ (OCZ2P8002GK) DDR2-800 PC2-6400 Platinum XTC 2GB (2x1024MB) Dual Channel Kit
271.99

Video Card
BFG GeForce 8800 GTS nVidia GeForce 8800GTS Chipset (500MHz) Shader Clock (1200MHz) 640MB (1.6GHz) PCI-Express Graphic Card 96 Stream Processor Shader Model 4.0 2x Dual-Link DVI-I HDTV TV-Out Support HDCP DirectX 10 SLI-Ready Built for Windows Vista
519.99

Sound Card
Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi XtremeMusic 24-bit Crystalizer Dolby Digital EX Decoding Sound Card
99.99

Hard Drive (1)
Western Digital Caviar (WD5000KS) 500GB SATAII 7200RPM 16MB Buffer (OEM)
192.99

Hard Drive (2)
Western Digital Caviar (WD5000KS) 500GB SATAII 7200RPM 16MB Buffer (OEM)
192.99

DVD Drive
LG GSA-H22L 18X DVDRW Black Internal, LightScribe W/Software (OEM)
47.49

Power Supply
SEASONIC S12 550W SLI/CF SSI ATX Power Supply (550HT-F3BLR)
129.99

 

[moosey]

Nice choices, good luck. I didn't see the P5B-E when I was looking, must've missed it.

 

[engiNURD]

Looks good. If you want silence, pickup a Scythe Ninja Plus Rev.B and run it without the fan.

http://www.ncix.com/products/index.php?...1163&vpn=SCNJ-1100P&manufacture=Scythe

 

[DarkPhysalis]

One quick follow up question. I went with Windows Vista Home Premium OEM.

I heard that it includes both the 32 and 64 bit versions. So when I install which should I install?