Semi-final parts list.

[Karamazov]

First of all, hello everybody! Hope asking for advice in a first post isn't frowned upon here, I was told this is a good place to come for advice.

Below are my initial picks for a new gaming computer. I was building this thing with a $2,500 budget in mind, but won't be buying a new monitor. Also, this is the first computer I will be building from scratch. I've installed new memory, and a graphics card in my current computer, but beyond that this will all be new to me.

Now on to the nitty gritty....

Case: LIAN LI PC-65B Black Aluminum ATX Mid Tower Computer Case

Motherboard: ASUS P5N32-E SLI LGA 775 NVIDIA nForce 680i SLI ATX Intel Motherboard

Graphics Card: BFG Tech BFGR88768GTXOCE GeForce 8800GTX 768MB GDDR3 PCI Express x16 OC HDCP Video Card

Power Supply: SeaSonic M12 SS-700HM ATX12V/EPS12V, 80Plus, Active PFC, RoHS, Dual-Fan, 700W Power Supply

Processor: Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 Kentsfield 2.4GHz LGA 775 Processor Model BX80562Q6600

Memory: CORSAIR XMS2 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model TWIN2X2048-6400C4PRO

Hard Drive: 2X Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 ST3320620AS (Perpendicular Recording Technology) 320GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive

DVD/CD Drive: LITE-ON LightScribe Black 20X DVD±R Burner with 12X DVD-RAM write Black IDE Model LH-20A1H-186

Aftermarket CPU cooler: ZALMAN CNPS9500 LED 92mm 2 Ball Cooling Fan with Heatsink

I'd like to try overclocking the CPU (or is this a bad idea?), and using the two hard drives in a RAID setup. For the time being I'd like to keep using XP (should I go with 64 bit, or stick with 32?), and then upgrade to Vista some time in the future. And around the time I upgrade to Vista I'll probably add two more gigs of ram. I've done some research but most of what I read was conflicting, and in the end I ended up more confused than when I started. If you see anything wrong with this, or have any suggestions for improvement then please post here and let me know.

Thanks.

 

[Cutthroat]

Welcome to the forums.

So, I would not get the 680i board, especially that one, I think you'd be better off with a P35 board. I recently killed an Asus P5N32-e SLI with a bad BIOS flash, and I'm not the only one. I bought an Asus P5K Deluxe afterwards and this is the best motherboard I have ever owned.

So they make 20X DVD-RW's now? Why since I can't buy any discs that support over 4X? Just something that always kinda bothered me. Don't pay extra for extra speed, if that drive costs more stick with a cheaper slower one, if it's the same price fine.

That's not a great CPU cooler, get something with a 120mm fan for the top of a recent review. I won't give any specific recommendations because there are so many equally performing ones now. Just try to pick something that you like and won't have too much trouble installing on the motherboard you pick, you need to do your research for this one.

IMO, not overclocking a C2D/C2Q would be a shame, they are so easy to overclock that you might as well get the most performance you can for your money.

You don't have to go with Vista right now, but I would. You won't have any incompatibility problems with new hardware, and you can get used to it now and not have to reinstall and then figure it out when you get that new DX10 game that you wanna play.

 

[Wicked Akuba]

+1
Better motherboard would be Abit P35 PRO.