Beginner's Computer Build List

Do you need the sound card?

If you could afford to wait, wait for Penryn/Wolfdale (whichever is the desktop core).

Get a widescreen monitor.

What OS are you running?

You can get 2 or 3 boards for the price of the striker extreme. I would get a backup board instead if you plan on keeping your system for more than 3 years (typical asus warranty). That way, you can replace your dead board and not have to reinstall windows. Boards are typically available for 2-3 years, then you have to look for one on ebay used.

isn't the Asus Extreme striker an sli board? but your buying an ATI graphics card! if this is the card you want o1die is right You can get 2 or 3 boards for the price of the striker extreme.

5) Hard drive: SAMSUNG SpinPoint T Series HD501LJ 500GB 7200 RPM 16MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM think a retail version would be better, longer support i got 3 years with mine and got it replaced free of charge when i ran it into the ground. but check it out

Thermalright Ultra-120 Extreme CPU Cooler.... depends on if you are ocing core cpus do quite well with stock cooling solutions, compaired to intels previous generations of cpus

1. Good choice id stick with the Q6600

2. Striker is a waste of cash (especially if you are getting an ATi card as this board is SLI not Xfire) If you want to stick with the ATi card i recommend a Asus P5K (depending on your needs P5K-e is well featured) If you want SLI get an NVIDIA card ie 8800gts or GTX that way you can use the SLI feature but look at P5N32-E SLI rather than the striker its cheaper and does the same job.

3. As above if you stick with the 2900XT get P35 chipset. If you want SLI get 8800series

4. 19" monitor will not give you a nice res to play your games on, a 2900xt or 8800 series maybe wasted on a screen this small. Id go with a 22" for more res or 24" for even more res.
Benq 22"
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&DEPA=0&Description=22+benq
Dell 24" 2407
http://accessories.us.dell.com/sna/productdetail.aspx?c=us&l=en&s=dhs&cs=19&sku=320-5647
Others are Samsung, Planar . Viewsonic and Acer are cheap but still do an ok job.

5. I wouldnt get a Samsung hard drive better off with a Seagate or WD...

6. Nice RAM and well matched with the Q6600 and should allow for some nice OCing if your into that

7. Cases with a 2900XT or 8800series (GTX more so) you need plenty of room. Antec P182, Antec 900, Thermaltake fulltowers and most Lian-Li will do the job and are high quality cases. Heres a link to a thread with links to cases that would be suitable for bigger GPUs
http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/244981-33-8800gtx-case-compatibility

8. The Thermalright is a good cooler, a cheaper less hefty choice would be Artic Freezer Pro ... or an underrated Thermaltake VX

9. Unless you are an audiophile id get the sound card out of there. If you do need this id go with an ExtremeMusic or Fatal1ty edtion.

10. Speakers go with the Z-5500s if you are into surround they are nice and loud plenty of connectivity and go well with the onboard- or X-fi for gaming  

Alright ... can you tell me anything about my list? Everything's good about the soundcard and I don't think that'll be that much of a problem ...

1) CPU: Intel Q6600

2) Motherboard: ASUS P5K-V LGA 775 Intel G33 ATX Intel Motherboard

3) Graphics Card: ATI 2900XT

4) Monitor: BenQ FP222W Black 22" 5ms DVI Widescreen LCD Monitor 300 cd/m2 700:1

5) Hard drive: SAMSUNG SpinPoint T Series HD501LJ 500GB 7200 RPM 16MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM

6) RAM: G.SKILL 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400)

7) Computer case: Thermaltake Armor Series VA8003BWS Black Full Tower Case w/ 25CM Fan

8) Cooling: Thermalright Ultra-120 Extreme CPU Cooler

8) Sound card: Suggestions?

9) Speakers: Logitech Z-5500 505 Watts 5.1 Speaker

How do you go from a Striker Extreme too P5K-V (this isnt even a P35 chipset)

I would get either the P5K-E or Deluxe

lol it is the p5k is the p35 chiplet its a fine board too

Just about how fast or how much performance are we getting out of the Penryn/Wolfdale compared to the core 2 duos and core 2 quads. I've been kinda out of the loop for awhile. I know its suppose to be more efficient energy wise.

@sharp910sh

Maybe you should check this site out... and notice that the P5K-V has a G33 Intel chipset
http://www.asus.com/products.aspx?l1=3&l2=11&l3=542&l4=0&model=1652&modelmenu=2

Even looking at what OP said in last post

Looks like it says G33 to me

Here is a quality build for $650, before MIRs and without an OS, monitor, keyboard and mouse. Most people already have them but if not you can get everything including a 20" Samsung widescreen for under $1000 + shipping before MIRs.

Most of the parts are from ClubIT or NewEgg or MWave or ZipZoomFly.

PSU:

CORSAIR CMPSU-550VX - $83.9 + $20MIR - ZipZoomFly
http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/Prod [...] e=10006757

Motherboard:

GIGABYTE GA-P35-DS3L LGA775 Intel - $98.99 - ClubIT
http://clubit.com/product_detail.cfm?itemno=CA4830813
or ABIT IP35 which is $89.95 at MWave + $20MIR
http://www.mwave.com/mwave/skusear [...] ia=BA23929

Memory:

OCZ Platinum Revision 2 2GB (2x1GB) DDR2-800 - $79.99 - $44.99 after MIR - ClubIT
http://clubit.com/product_detail.c [...] 8301&nav=3

CPU:

Intel Pentium Dual Core E2160 - $77.99 - easy OC (It is so easy to OC to 3.0GHz which is really speedy eliminating the need to purchase a more expensive CPU) Save your $$ for an upgrade to the viideo card.
http://clubit.com/product_detail.cfm?itemno=A1938427 ClubIT

Case:

COOLER MASTER RC-690-KKN1-GP Black SECC/ ABS ATX Mid Tower - $64.99 - $20MIR
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6811119137 NewEgg

HDD:

Seagate Barracuda 500GB 7200 RPM SATA 3GB - $110.99 - ClubIT
http://clubit.com/product_detail.cfm?itemno=CA3476919

DVD Burner:

Samsung 20X SATA DVDRW - $29.99 - NewEgg
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6827151153

Video Card:

MSI GeForce 8600GT OC 256MB 128bit GDDR3 PCI Express x16 Video - $109.99 - $89.99 after MIR
http://clubit.com/product_detail.cfm?itemno=A9654018

It is a G33.

OP: You don't need on board graphics get a P35. You may not need a sound card, try the on board sound first and decide whether you need to spend the extra cash. the Ultra120 Extreme needs a fan, I recommend Scythe S-FLEX SFF21F 120mm Fan. Take some of the money you save and get a Silencer® 610 EPS12V Power Supply