What am I missing?

[imported_MrPresident]

So far these items have been ordered from various internet retailers:

Antec Solo Mid Tower
Intel E6750
Gigabyte ga-P35-ds3l MOBO
Corsair 520hx Power Supply
Crucial Ballistix 2x1GB DDR2 800
2x WesternDigital 160GB 7200RPM SATA drives (I'd like to partition one of them somehow to use part of it as a backup drive)
Lite-On 20x DVD/CD lightscribe drive SATA
2x Antec Tricool 92mm case fans to put on the front of the case for the HD's

I plan on using my current video card (Radeon 9700 Pro AGP) for a little while as well as my wireless adapter, monitor, speakers, mouse, keyboard, etc...

What am I missing? Are there wires and cables that will be needed in addition to those that come in the retail packages for the items I bought?

Maybe some thermal paste? Or will the E6750 come with something to use for now? I don't plan on OCing for a while so no need now for an upgraded heatsink/cooler right?

I'd like to find a nice front panel card reader. Or would I be better off just buying an external one that runs off of a rear USB?

Any tips for me from here out? I'd appreciate any help or tips you guys and gals might provide.

 

[bruceb]

Artic Silver thermal paste is a good choice. Also, if you want to use SATA
check out: http://satacables.com/ ... you want to get some good quality SATA
cables, preferably with the locking tab .. personally I would add a second CD/DVD
Drive .. most mobos have an onboard NIC and you may want a better sound card.
You may also need cable extensions to bring USB, Firewire and Audio to the Front Panel.

 

[cozumel]

You can't use the 9700PRO AGP as there usn't an AGP expansion slot on the DS3L.

So you need a new GFX and depending on your budget and if you plan to game then I suggest an 8800GT as if offers the best value out there at the moment.

Have you got a sound card?

 

[imported_MrPresident]

Eeks... I knew I'd screw something up.

Any sound card recommendations? I don't need "media center" ins and outs. No surround sound or anything fancy, just enough to plug in my pair of little Creative speakers.

Guess I'll shop around for an 8800GT unless I can find a cheap GeForce7900 somewhere.

As far as the SATA cables... will the WD drives and other SATA devices come with some? That was just a recommendation to upgrade them right?

 

[cozumel]

Sound:
It all depends on your budget. You could use the on-board sound for now as it will save you money. If you're loking at best berformance in gaming then you need a board with X-RAM. The cheapest Creative model model is the X-FI Xtreme Fat1lty Gamer whilst the Auzentech Prelude is more expensive but takes it up another notch and is better built with quality components. Both will marginally improve fps due to having their own on-board memory.

 

[walterthedog]

I just put together my first machine - used the GA-P35-DS3L, too.

If you're just powering little speakers and/or a headset, the onboard sound on the motherboard has worked for me... but I know very, very, very little - so ymmv.

Also, if you're switching to Vista from XP, you might want to make sure that you can find drivers for your wireless adapter.

 

[DSF]

Originally posted by: MrPresident
Eeks... I knew I'd screw something up.

Any sound card recommendations? I don't need "media center" ins and outs. No surround sound or anything fancy, just enough to plug in my pair of little Creative speakers.

Your motherboard has onboard sound. I'm not saying you shouldn't get a soundcard, but I wanted to make sure you knew that you don't need one.

As far as the SATA cables... will the WD drives and other SATA devices come with some? That was just a recommendation to upgrade them right?

Were your drives listed as OEM/Bulk or Retail?

Retail drives come with cables. OEM drives don't. Your motherboard will come with two, but if all of your drives are OEM, you'll need to find another one somewhere. Maybe a friend has one you can use, or you can pick one up in the FS/FT part of the forum. Otherwise, places like monoprice.com or satacables.com have reasonable prices on them.

 

[imported_MrPresident]

My drives were OEM from NewEgg. What cables and how many will I need for the drives? I'll just hit up satacables.com.

Also, I'm not ready to drop $230+ on an 8800GT I think. What's a good option for a sub $150 card that will run C&C Generals, and LOTR Battle For Middle Earth 2? I don't play Crysis, or UT, or any newer graphics intensive games. I might like to try out a new AOE or Supreme Commander though.

 

[DSF]

Originally posted by: MrPresident
My drives were OEM from NewEgg. What cables and how many will I need for the drives? I'll just hit up satacables.com.

Also, I'm not ready to drop $230+ on an 8800GT I think. What's a good option for a sub $150 card that will run C&C Generals, and LOTR Battle For Middle Earth 2? I don't play Crysis, or UT, or any newer graphics intensive games. I might like to try out a new AOE or Supreme Commander though.

You'll need one SATA cable for each drive, so 3 total. Your 520HX should have all the SATA power plugs you'll need.

Edit: Remember, your motherboard comes with two SATA cables.

As far as graphics, this article from Tom's Hardware gives their recommendation for the best graphics card at each price point. I linked you to the page with the $130-180 cards. If you're feeling stingier, the $100 cards are on the previous page.

http://www.tomshardware.com/20...aphics_card/page3.html

 

[cozumel]

My suggestions for video cards within your budget:
HIS Hightech H260PRQT256DDN-R Radeon HD 2600PRO 256MB 128-bit GDDR2 PCI Express x16 HDCP Ready Video Card
or
EVGA 256-P2-N615-TX GeForce 7600GT 256MB 128-bit GDDR3 PCI Express x16 SLI Supported Video Card

EVGA NVidia option DX9 - $79.99 after rebate
HIS ATI option DX10 - $71.99 after rebate

 

[imported_MrPresident]

Alrighty... an XFX 8600GT DDR3 256MB PCIE X 16 = $97 Total after ship and rebate. That's something I can do.

I think I'll buy another cheapy CD/DVD drive as well. Not another burner but a regular ole' reader drive.

Thanks everyone for your help.