Getting a new computer

[Chaos Armed]

Hey all, I'm new to Neowin(Which is awesome), and I'm getting a new PC for my 16th Birthday. I don't really have a budget, but money saved is money earned. I'm new to building PC's, but I've been reading reviews and this is my build so far. Please, any comments or concerns will be greatly appreciated, I'm still not even 75% sure on some of these parts. If there is anything wrong with this , please let me know. Also, I know that new stuff is just around the horizon, and I have until late November to change this, so I will change it to accommodate the future when it arrives. Thanks for reading! :)

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Processor:

Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 Quad Core Processor 2.40GHz

Motherboard:

EVGA Nforce 680I LT SLI Conroe LGA775 ATX 2PCI-E16 2PCI-E1 2PCI SATA2 Sound GBLAN Motherboard (122-CK-NF67-T1)

Case:

Apevia X-CRUISER 11X Drive Bays 17 in Metal ATX Case W/ Side Window Black

RAM:

2: OCZ Gold XTC PC2-6400 2GB 2X1GB DDR2-800 CL5-5-5-12 240PIN DIMM Dual Channel Memory Kit for a total of 4GB

Power Supply:

Apevia Iceberg Alu 680W Green Power Supply W/SEE Thru COVER,SLI 2X80MMFANS, 1XFAN CTRL, SLI Ready(Would prefer blue, NCIX didn't have)

Video Card:

EVGA E-GEFORCE 8600GTS 675MHZ 512MB 2.0GHZ GDDR3 PCI-E Dual DVI-I HDTV Out DIRECTX10

OS:

Windows Vista Home Premium 64-Bit

[chconline Veteran]

Good choice on the processor, otherwise change the motherboard, case, RAM, power supply, and video card. :p

Mobo -> Asus P5K-Deluxe

RAM -> OCZ Platinum XTC Rev.2 2x1GB

PSU -> Seasonic S12/S12+/S12II/M12, whatever that fits your needs and budgets

Gfx -> X1950 Pro, it's cheaper and better performing.

[HTF]

i second that motherboard! and the rest of his suggestions. i would consider antec p180(or p182) case, unless your really set on showing off the inside of your computer.

[Chaos Armed]

Thanks for the fast responses guys. I'm not gonna be doing any overclocking or anything, FYI. Also, That Motherboard is perfect, I just found out that my USB Wireless Network Adapter doesn't have 64 bit drivers! I'm not sure about ATI though, but I will definitely read up on it.

[HTF]

i personally have had great luck with ati. i had a ati radeon 9250 256mb card for like 3 years or so. and i had never had any problems with it. it was actually a really good card for its specs.

[alexisicon]

Unless you are going to play Halo 3, put XP pro on it.

[lexecutil]

I agree with everything chconline says. I overlooked a decent power supply in my first build and regretted it. Seasonic make some of the best power supplys - see the ones mentioned by chconline. Also getting a sturdy and quite case can be very worthwhile! :) I personally don't recommend boards with Nforce chipsets, you are generally better off with Intel's chipsets (they are generally more stable from what I have heard). Intel P35 is the way to go at the moment. The Asus P5K range are all very good. P5K, P5K-E or P5K-Deluxe is what I would go for, depending on your budget and needs.

Daniel

[Chaos Armed]

Can anyone recommend a better but still cool looking case? Also, I'm looking at the Radeon x1950 Pro but for some reason it's more expensive for the nVidia I listed, which was at $219.99.

[Chaos Armed]

Sorry for the double post, but I'm not sure about the motherboard. If I'm not doing any overclocking, and probably getting one of the new Nvidia cards that is releasing soon, should I go with an Nvidia chipset or an Intel chipset on the mobo. It's possible I will need SLI if in the future I need to upgrade, should I get a new card at that time, or just put get a second one, and put put them in SLI. I really don't know what to do...

[+shift. MVC]

  Chaos Armed said:

Can anyone recommend a better but still cool looking case? Also, I'm looking at the Radeon x1950 Pro but for some reason it's more expensive for the nVidia I listed, which was at $219.99.

X1950 PRO is ~$150

[Edge00]

I would prolly recommend looking at an Intel Core 2 Duo E6750, its cheaper and faster (both fsb and clock speed), but that is just my two cents. There maybe something I don't know but, it looks better on paper.

[Edge00]

  Edge00 said:

I would prolly recommend looking at an Intel Core 2 Duo E6750, its cheaper and faster (both fsb and clock speed), but that is just my two cents. There maybe something I don't know but, it looks better on paper.

oops, i just noticed you were looking at a Q6600 not a e6600, big difference. disregard my comment

[Chaos Armed]

Oh, lol. I thought you were just a little crazy with the faster part. So basically, I still have my question:

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If I'm not doing any overclocking, and probably getting one of the new Nvidia cards that is releasing soon, should I go with an Nvidia chipset or an Intel chipset on the mobo. It's possible I will need SLI if in the future I need to upgrade, should I get a new card at that time, or just put get a second one, and put put them in SLI.

And also, what wattage will I need on the power supply, for some reason I can't find any Seasonic's on Canadian websites, but I did find CoolerMaster Real Power Pro 650-Watt Power Supply - SLI, SATA-Ready, 120mm Fan, Active PFC. I think it will be ok, but I'm not 100% sure.