So I have finally put my uncertainties aside and have decided to try my hand at building my own pc...I have very limited knowledge about computers, but after a decent amount of research I have come up with this system :

LIAN LI PC-7B plus II Black Aluminum ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - Retail $109

ASUS P5N32-E SLI LGA 775 NVIDIA nForce 680i SLI ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail $229

GeForce 8800GTS 320MB GDDR3 PCI Express x16 HDCP Video Card - Retail $279

CORSAIR CMPSU-620HX ATX12V v2.2 and EPS12V 2.91 620W Power Supply - Retail $189.99

Intel Core 2 Duo E6600 Conroe 2.4GHz LGA 775 Processor Model BX80557E6600 - Retail $226

CORSAIR XMS2 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model TWIN2X2048-6400C4 - Retail $159

X 2 Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 ST3320620AS (Perpendicular Recording Technology) 320GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM $159.99

Hanns·G HW-191DPB Black 19" 5ms DVI Widescreen LCD Monitor - Retail $199.99

Sony NEC Optiarc 18X DVD±R DVD Burner with 12X DVD-RAM Write Black SATA Model AD-7170S-0B - OEM $32.99

Microsoft Windows Vista 32-Bit Home Premium for System Builders Single Pack DVD - OEM $119

Tuniq Tower 120 P4 & K8 CPU Cooler - Retail $64.99

total will be around $1650


I have heard that xfi xtreme gamer sound cards have problems with vista and so I am going to wait until better drivers come out and use on-board sound for now.

Now this is a rig that i want to OC at some point, i will probably try to just get it together and get it running stable for a little while and then try my hand at OC'ing. One thing I am worried about with oc'ing is the cooling. Also I really dont know much about the proper voltage and tweaking needed for OC'ing. Any good online guides out there?

I have also chosen the ASUS mobo instead of the EVGA one because newegg reviews said that ASUS' manual is very comprehensive and easier to install (simple and easy is a must for me at this point).

I plan on running the HD's on a raid-o configuration....if i can get it set up correctly that is. Does anyone have any experience with setting up a raid configuration on vista? how does that work? Do the drivers and everything come on the disk?

Lastly, I am a gamer, playing cs source at the moment while waiting for other games to come out. i want this computer to have optimum performance on source and be able to run future games on high settings as well. Just somethign to keep in mind when critiquing this build.

So i really just want feedback/suggestions considering that I am really new to all this and im sure your guys' knowledge far exceeds mine.

Thanks in advance for any input/advice!!

The build looks good, great infact.

The Tuniq Tower and PC-7B are kinda incompatable. The hsf fits in the case fine, but the speed control thing for the fan does fit in the expansion slot where it's suppost to reside, the knob is too big. My solution was just to destory the speed controller with a hammer and run the fan at full RPM all the time, which isnt really a problem, since it's quiet. Besides that the PC-7B is an awesome case, well built, easy to insall components in, and the black, anodized aluminium looks awesome.

One of the best C2D oc'ing guides is by Wusy, and can be found here.

Thanks...I just ordered it...cant wait till the bad boy ships