Hey. Total nub to the forum... and yeah, I'm planning on going about my first build. My laptop isn't cutting it out for my performance needs, so about time I get a nice desktop unit...something I can use for gaming on a college budget. Really want to try Age of Conan...that game looks sick. I feel out of the loop.
Here's what I'm looking at for my tower:
Mobo
ASUS P5N-D LGA 775 NVIDIA nForce 750i SLI ATX Intel Motherboard
Had to think long and hard about this... I was also looking at a Gigabyte board that supported DDR2 and DDR3 ram... I'm unfamiliar with DDR3, if somebody wants to comment. Also, I like how this board has two PCIex16 slots, in case I wish to add a second video card in the future.
VCard x 1
EVGA 640-P2-N829-AR GeForce 8800GTS SSC 640MB 320-bit GDDR3 PCI Express x16 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card
Processor
Intel Core 2 Quad Q6700 Kentsfield 2.66GHz LGA 775 95W Quad-Core Processor Model HH80562PH0678MK
CPU Fan/Sink
ZEROtherm Nirvana NV120 120mm 2-ball UFO Bearing / Transparent CPU Cooler
My mobo is coming with a cooling fan...but would that be enough? The case I chose (below), also seems to be well geared for cooling.
Memory
CORSAIR XMS2 DHX 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model TWIN2X4096-6400C4DHX
Hard Drive
Western Digital Caviar SE16 WD5000AAKS 500GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM
Power Supply
XCLIO GREATPOWER X14S4P4 750W ATX12V Power Supply
Optical Drive
Pioneer 20X DVD±R DVD Burner Black SATA Model DVR-215DBK - OEM
Does anybody have any Blu-Ray compatible recommendations...? I was curious about this, though I suppose I can rely on PS3 once the MGS4 bundle is released in a few weeks.
Case
APEVIA X-JUPITER G-Type X-JUPITERG-BK Black Aluminum ATX Full Tower Computer Case
I'm going with a larger case... For a first build, I feel the more room to work with the better... And I've heard the 8800GTS cards tend to be large. I like the fans and LCD monitor... can come in handy.
I am so open to questions and comments. I want this to come together smoothly, so please, make suggestions!
Also, just remembered... would this mobo be open to future upgrades? I'm open to upgrading my PC once its built...just don't want it to be immediately outdated. Thanks!
Here's what I'm looking at for my tower:
Mobo
ASUS P5N-D LGA 775 NVIDIA nForce 750i SLI ATX Intel Motherboard
Had to think long and hard about this... I was also looking at a Gigabyte board that supported DDR2 and DDR3 ram... I'm unfamiliar with DDR3, if somebody wants to comment. Also, I like how this board has two PCIex16 slots, in case I wish to add a second video card in the future.
VCard x 1
EVGA 640-P2-N829-AR GeForce 8800GTS SSC 640MB 320-bit GDDR3 PCI Express x16 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card
Processor
Intel Core 2 Quad Q6700 Kentsfield 2.66GHz LGA 775 95W Quad-Core Processor Model HH80562PH0678MK
CPU Fan/Sink
ZEROtherm Nirvana NV120 120mm 2-ball UFO Bearing / Transparent CPU Cooler
My mobo is coming with a cooling fan...but would that be enough? The case I chose (below), also seems to be well geared for cooling.
Memory
CORSAIR XMS2 DHX 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model TWIN2X4096-6400C4DHX
Hard Drive
Western Digital Caviar SE16 WD5000AAKS 500GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM
Power Supply
XCLIO GREATPOWER X14S4P4 750W ATX12V Power Supply
Optical Drive
Pioneer 20X DVD±R DVD Burner Black SATA Model DVR-215DBK - OEM
Does anybody have any Blu-Ray compatible recommendations...? I was curious about this, though I suppose I can rely on PS3 once the MGS4 bundle is released in a few weeks.
Case
APEVIA X-JUPITER G-Type X-JUPITERG-BK Black Aluminum ATX Full Tower Computer Case
I'm going with a larger case... For a first build, I feel the more room to work with the better... And I've heard the 8800GTS cards tend to be large. I like the fans and LCD monitor... can come in handy.
I am so open to questions and comments. I want this to come together smoothly, so please, make suggestions!
Also, just remembered... would this mobo be open to future upgrades? I'm open to upgrading my PC once its built...just don't want it to be immediately outdated. Thanks!