First time building my own computer... Please Help...

[LoneGreyWolf20]

While I have done a few upgrades in this 5 year old computer, I have never built one from the case up so to speak. So I am trying to put together a decent gaming/general use computer. I do some dvd burning and such as well. I would also like it to be future proof for the most part.

Here is the list of parts that I have selected.

Power Supply: ABS Tagan BZ Series BZ700 ATX12V / EPS12V 700W Patent Piperock Modular Power Supply 100 - 240 V TUV, UL, CE, CB, FCC, Semko, Nemko, Demko, Fimko - Retail

Motherboard: EVGA 132-CK-NF78-A1 LGA 775 NVIDIA nForce 780i SLI ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail

Processor: Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 Kentsfield 2.4GHz 2 x 4MB L2 Cache LGA 775 Quad-Core Processor - Retail (It will be the GO stepping version as long as I can find it)

Ram: OCZ SLI-Ready Edition 4GB(2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory - Retail

Hard Drive: Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 ST3250410AS 250GB 7200 RPM 16MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM

Video Card: EVGA 512-P3-N802-AR GeForce 8800GT Superclocked 512MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card - Retail

Case: Antec Nine Hundred Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - Retail

Optical Drive: SONY 18x Internal Double/Dual Layer & Dual Format DVD±RW IDE SILVER - NEW RETAIL W/Software

OS: Windows Vista™ Ultimate Upgrade (possibly)


I am hoping that I have chosen decent parts for this new computer.

I am still up in the air about the OS though. I would like to go to Vista Ultimate 64bit version, but I have that nagging in the back of my head that says not to do it. I am also curious about an OEM copy. From what I know of OEMs is that if you have a problem with the OS (I have had plenty with activating after a reformat or repair) that your supposed to go back to the manufacturer of the computer. Well the manufacturer is me. So does this mean that MS won't talk to me if I have a problem that needs MS support?

An example of needing support is when your copy of Windows doesn't want to activate using the CD Key provided with your retail copy/OEM copy of windows. So you need to call up and work through getting a product key that does work. With an OEM version, does this mean I am out of luck if I need that type of support?

Also, with an upgrade version, you need a working disk from a previous version of windows, correct? I have a disk, but it's scratched up pretty bad and now my DvD reader won't read the disk anymore. So that may be an issue. I do have an OEM copy of Windows XP home that came with my son's computer that I can throw in, but I'm not sure if that would suffice?

I am sorry for all the questions, but I am trying to build this computer right and my wife wants to make sure I won't need to do any major upgrades for at least 3 years...lol.

Thanks in advance!

 

[LoneGreyWolf20]

Would it help if I said not to answer the questions about the Operating System? .

Just let me know how the rig I have planned out looks to you...

 

[beurling]

if your not going to use multi-gpu's, you dont need 3 PCI express slots. Get an X38 or P35 motherboard for a lot cheaper, I recommend Asus or Gigabyte.

Get an 8800GTS 512mb from EVGA, slightly mroe powerful than the 8800gt and is a bit cooler to boot for only like $40 more?

scrap the SLI memory and get some crucial ballistix memory. If you want 4gb you will need Vista 64bit, no "ifs ands or buts" about it.

If you want a quad, then the 6600 will be good, but you might want to consider a new wolfdale duo processor that was released this week, the E8400. If you want to try overclocking, it would be really easy and will run faster than the quad core in programs that are not multi-threaded. However, the quad will destroy the duo in video editing and one or two games that currently support 4 cores.

I dont know anything about that powersupply, but if you search google for "powersupply tiers" you should choose one in or around Tier 2 for high quality.

Also consider a heatsink for your processor rather than sticking with the stock cooler, there are a lot out there, I myself bought a Thermalright ultra-120 extreme, but that's just one of many top tier Heatsinks.

hope that helped, let me know if you need any more advice.

Cheers.

 

[LoneGreyWolf20]

"if your not going to use multi-gpu's, you dont need 3 PCI express slots. Get an X38 or P35 motherboard for a lot cheaper, I recommend Asus or Gigabyte."

I was told that the 780i board was a good match for the Q6600 and I was going to go SLI in the future, just not right now. Apparently the person who told me this said that it's a great board for OC'ing everything?

I'm going to stick with the quad... while I mostly game, I do burn dvds and stuff that would really benefit from the 4 cores.

Thank you for the advice.

 

[LoneGreyWolf20]

Oh... real quick something I forgot.. I am looking at the Zalman coolers for the GPU and CPU. I just didn't mention them.

 

[beurling]

Zalman is a good brand, you would not be disappointed with their cooling solutions. Their CPU heatsink can be a tad tricky to install, but it is a nice one for sure (the 9700).