Building My first computor

Here are some comments and suggestions to try and help. After answering these questions, it's probable that more people will be willing to help out. My system specs are below and I genuinely like my setup but would probably recommend a few different parts for someone building a computer now.

Does the 500-700 include the cost of an optical drive, case, monitor, mouse, keyboard, etc, or does that just cover the four parts in your post?

Do you have any particular preferences for a processor?

At the moment, AMD is selling processors of equal performance for less and motherboards that fit AMD sockets are usually less expensive. However Intel's processors overclock very well, therefore if you spend less or an equivalent amount on an Intel you can get equal or better performance. So, are you willing to overclock, or do you prefer stock performance?

As far as memory is concerned, you really can't go wrong with a good name-brand set of sticks, just be careful that you pay attention to things like timing and voltage requirements. I have Patriot pc2-6400, it has awesome timings, overclocks well, and you can purchase them for cheap at many places. OCZ, Gskill, A-Data are also supposed to be good brands to go with. Look around and you can find what you need for not much money. Memory is selling for handfuls of dirt at some places.

Graphics cards can get pretty complicated. If I were buidling a $700 computer right now, I would purchase an ATI 3850. They sell for about $170 most places. This card will run most games on excellent or pretty good settings at 1600x1200 resolution. If your monitor has lower resolution you can get better settings with the 3850 or can purchase a less expensive card that will fit your needs.

Let us know more details about your build and I'm sure you'll get plenty of help. Good luck.

Yeah, agreed with KekaiGenkai. A little more information is needed about the specifics of your budget.

Yeah, the 3850 is a solid choice. If he is an Nvidia fan, he could go for the 8800GT 256MB which is also really good for the ~$200 price tag.

Just in case your not sure, I can give you a basic specs:

Intel Build
Motherboard: P35-DS3 series ($100-129)
CPU: E6750 @ 2.66Ghz ($189)
RAM: 2x1GB DDR2 800 (PC6400) - Of any brands that Kekai listed ($59-109)
Physics Board: ? You really don't need one. Save money and spend it elsewhere.
GPU: HD3850 or 8800GT 256MB ($170-210)
HDD: I find Maxtor is generally pretty good. Go with a 300-500GB 7200RPM HDD w/ 16MB cache. (~$80+)

Well thx for the help, Ibve go tmy video board, case ect.. picked out already, running duel screens with 8600 duel port. The price i dont care much about, just figuring out what a good gammign comp build is that over clocks a little and is fast. ty

Those are the olny parts im looking at, I dont want to get too expenisive like 600-800$

The build above would work pretty good for a gaming build. The 8600 isn't that great for gaming though. It's ok, don't get me wrong, but there is better. Namely the 3850HD and 8800GT 256MB (better budget cards than the 3870 and 8800GT 512MB - both which are $260+)

Edit:

Gigabyte P35-DS3L - $129.00
Intel E6750 @ 2.66Ghz - $189.00
2x1GB RAM - $69.00
____________________________
Total: $387

Should be well within your budget and give great performance to boot. If you plan on OC'ing - go with RAM with tight timings (You can check this on newegg.com). I'd recommend 4-4-4-12 or so in timings. Maybe you want to be closer to your $500-700 budget? You can swap the E6750 with a Q6600 (~$279.00) w/ G0 stepping and OC to 3.0GHz. If you buy a quad but leave it at stock settings, the E6750 will still outperform it. There is also the E6850 which is 3.0Ghz, but it costs a bit more than the E6750. (Last I saw was ~$250-300)

If you're really comfortable with OC'ing - You can go with the E2160 and OC it to 3.0+Ghz with stock cooler for only about $89.

CPU = 5000 Black = $99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...
Mobo = MSI K9A2-CF = $100
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...
Graphics Card = HD 3850 = $165
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...
PSU = Antec Earthwwatts 500W = $60
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...
Casing = CM 830 = $99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...
DVD Burner = $30
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...
Maxtor 250GB/16MB cache HDD = $60
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...
Artic Freezer 64 Pro cooler = $20
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...
Transcend 2GB RAM stick = $44
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...
Total = $678

Just a tip... anything you buy, get it off Newegg. I'm not some sales rep from newegg trying to sell you their crap, but I know they have the lowest prices I can ever find online and their shipping is awesome.

oh and I agree with rgeist554. the gigabyte p35-d3sl is a good board. its only $99 on newegg. Also, if you can, hold up just a week or so. The e6750 he recommended is a great processor. I was going to get that one. its $189 on newegg. however, the new e8400 thats coming out is faster than the e6850, only by 5% in some benchmarks, but it costs the same as the e6750, $189. It comes out jan 20th.