First Build Suggestions please

[Milford]

Well as you may have guessed by the topic this is my first build, this computer will basically be used for gaming. I have not kept up to date with what is new out there as much as I would like to so I ask of you two things.

1) What is a good way to keep updated on new hardware coming out and
how to read benchmarks.

2) Suggestions on certain components.

Components and accessories I already have:

Mouse: Logitech G7 Cordless Mouse

Keyboard: Logitech G11

Dvd Burner: Sony Dual Layer Dvd Burner

Backup Power Supply: APC ES 650

Sound System: Logitech X-540

Components I have yet to buy:

Case: NZXT Lexa

PSU:

CPU: Was thinking of a high end dual core amd or a quad.

Motherboard: I was thinking of a ASUS motherboard.

Hard Drive: Does partitioning a drive slow it down much? if so I will buy
two Hard Drives.

RAM:

VideoCard: Geforce 8800?

Sound Card: needs to be 5.1 or up

OS: Windows XP Professional, x64 or the keep with the 32?

I thank you for your time and your opinions, I am also a Canadian resident so if you know of a few canadian websites to order some of my parts from I would greatly appreciate it.

 

[drummerdude]

how much do you plan on spending?
places to order from: Canadacomputers.com Tigerdirect.ca Ncix.com

 

[clue69less]

What is a good way to keep updated on new hardware coming out and how to read benchmarks.

Read here and Anand for starters. Join the XtremeSystems forum if you want to learn alot about performance aspects, overclocking, etc. Pick up a magazine subscription or three, like MaximumPC, CPU or other such fluff if you like to look at pretty pictures and kill a few trees.

Components I have yet to buy:

PSU:

CPU: Was thinking of a high end dual core amd or a quad.

Hard Drive: Does partitioning a drive slow it down much? if so I will buy two Hard Drives.

RAM:

Don't scrimp on the power supply. Determine your +12V current needs manually or with an online calculator, then add 20 or 30% for headroom and possible future growth. If you expect to get another GPU and do SLI, allow for that now and you won't have to upgrade later.

The CPU arena has been in such flux over the last 8 months or so and with the recent AMD price drops, it's not a simple process to choose right now. You really need to think about what you need in terms of processing power. I would not splurge on CPU plus mobo right now unless you have money to burn and really need the horsepower. In a year or two, power users will have so many options available, it will be staggering.

WRT partitioning, I once saw a bench on a server forum that claimed a small slowdown on highly partitioned arrays but to my eye, it looked to be lost in the noise. But HDs are incredibly cheap now so having a dedicated OS drive is a pretty good idea. I like having the OS and apps on a 74GB Raptor, then have data, music, images, etc., on other drives.

RAM: I'm partial to Mushkin but it really depends on what your needs are, if you plan to OC, etc.

 

[Milford]

spending limit is about 2g