After owning a couple Dell desktops over the years, I have decided that I'd like to try building my next one. I have experience doing memory upgrades and installing various drives and such but I've put a computer together from scratch so I'm not entirely sure how complicated this will be.
I plan to use the computer to do general stuff such as internet surfing and word processing, but I will also be gaming and video editing on it as well. I know almost nothing about overclocking at this point, but I think it's something that I may want to explore in the future but when I do, I believe it would be a mild overclock if any.
Here are the parts I am considering getting so far:
CPU: Intel Core 2 Duo E6600 Conroe 2.4GHz 4M shared L2 Cache LGA 775 Processor - Retail $230 -- Will the stock heatsink be sufficient for a mild overclock?
Mobo: ASUS P5W DH DELUXE/WIFI-AP LGA 775 Intel 975X ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail $209.99
Memory: G.SKILL 2GB 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Desktop Memory - Retail x2 $319.98 --Considering 4gb of memory but I would be ok with 2gb if the money is better spent on another part. I figure it couldn't hurt with my video processing.
GPU: EVGA 320-P2-N815-AR GeForce 8800GTS 320MB 320-bit GDDR3 PCI Express x16 HDCP Video Card - Retail $299.99 -- I was told that since I will be running in 1280x1024 resolution, that this card will more than accommodate me.
PSU: I'm unsure about this part. Any suggestions? Would like to get enough power to allow for moderate PCI card or hard drive additions later on.
Hard Drive: Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 (Perpendicular Recording) ST3500630AS 500GB 7200 RPM 16MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM $129.99
DVD Drive: SAMSUNG Black CD-ROM 2MB Cache SATA DVD Burner With LightScribe Technology - OEM $38.99
Sound Card: Do I need a sound card or is the onboard sound sufficient? If I do need one, any suggestions?
Case: No idea what case I'd like. I'd prefer that it not be huge but I would also like a decent balance between its ability to maintain cooling and stay quiet and it should be able to accommodate the hardware that I have chosen without much trouble.
Current Total: $1228.94
Aiming for a grand total of around $1600 USD. I will be reusing my monitor, mouse, keyboard, and speaker setup from my old system. I plan to install a copy Vista x64 I have sitting around as well. I am also unsure as to my cooling needs? Are the stock coolers that I will be getting work to keep my system cool at stock speeds? How about with a mild overclock?
Are there any obvious incompatibilities? Is there anything I should know about building a PC that might not be obvious to someone who has never done it before?
Thanks.
I plan to use the computer to do general stuff such as internet surfing and word processing, but I will also be gaming and video editing on it as well. I know almost nothing about overclocking at this point, but I think it's something that I may want to explore in the future but when I do, I believe it would be a mild overclock if any.
Here are the parts I am considering getting so far:
CPU: Intel Core 2 Duo E6600 Conroe 2.4GHz 4M shared L2 Cache LGA 775 Processor - Retail $230 -- Will the stock heatsink be sufficient for a mild overclock?
Mobo: ASUS P5W DH DELUXE/WIFI-AP LGA 775 Intel 975X ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail $209.99
Memory: G.SKILL 2GB 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Desktop Memory - Retail x2 $319.98 --Considering 4gb of memory but I would be ok with 2gb if the money is better spent on another part. I figure it couldn't hurt with my video processing.
GPU: EVGA 320-P2-N815-AR GeForce 8800GTS 320MB 320-bit GDDR3 PCI Express x16 HDCP Video Card - Retail $299.99 -- I was told that since I will be running in 1280x1024 resolution, that this card will more than accommodate me.
PSU: I'm unsure about this part. Any suggestions? Would like to get enough power to allow for moderate PCI card or hard drive additions later on.
Hard Drive: Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 (Perpendicular Recording) ST3500630AS 500GB 7200 RPM 16MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM $129.99
DVD Drive: SAMSUNG Black CD-ROM 2MB Cache SATA DVD Burner With LightScribe Technology - OEM $38.99
Sound Card: Do I need a sound card or is the onboard sound sufficient? If I do need one, any suggestions?
Case: No idea what case I'd like. I'd prefer that it not be huge but I would also like a decent balance between its ability to maintain cooling and stay quiet and it should be able to accommodate the hardware that I have chosen without much trouble.
Current Total: $1228.94
Aiming for a grand total of around $1600 USD. I will be reusing my monitor, mouse, keyboard, and speaker setup from my old system. I plan to install a copy Vista x64 I have sitting around as well. I am also unsure as to my cooling needs? Are the stock coolers that I will be getting work to keep my system cool at stock speeds? How about with a mild overclock?
Are there any obvious incompatibilities? Is there anything I should know about building a PC that might not be obvious to someone who has never done it before?
Thanks.