Hi everyone.  I am about to build my first PC and I am very confused and have many questions.  First I will post all of the parts I am about to purchase.
 
Motherboard:GIGABYTE GA-MA770-DS3 AM2+/AM2 AMD 770 ATX All Solid Capacitor AMD Motherboard - Retail
 
Processor:AMD Athlon 64 X2 6400+ Windsor 3.2GHz 2 x 1MB L2 Cache Socket AM2 125W Dual-Core Processor - Retail
 
Power Supply:SeaSonic M12 SS-600HM ATX12V / EPS12V 600W Power Supply 100 - 240 V UL, CE, CB, TUV, FCC - Retail
 
MemoryCZ Vista Upgrade 4GB(2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory - Retail
 
[url=http://www.newegg.com/product/product.aspx?item=N82E16814130312]Graphics Card:EVGA 512-P3-N841-A3 GeForce 8800GTS (G92) 512MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card - Retail  
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Hard Drive:Western Digital Caviar RE2 WD5001ABYS 500GB 7200 RPM 16MB Cache SATA-300 Hard Drive - OEM
 
DVD Burner:LITE-ON Black 20X DVD+R 8X DVD+RW 8X DVD+R DL 20X DVD-R 6X DVD-RW 12X DVD-RAM 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-R 32X CD-RW 48X CD-ROM 2MB Cache IDE 20X DVD±R DVD Burner - OEM
 
Monitor:Acer AL1916WAbd Black 19" 5ms DVI Widescreen LCD Monitor 300 cd/m2 700:1 - Retail
 
total cost on newegg before rebates today=1205.92 I will probably have about 150 more to use when I end up purchasing later this week...
 
now on to my questions...
 
I have an older antec (sorry do not know the model type there isn't one on newegg like it?...)case that is a good bit larger than my current eMachines case...would any of you all be willing to guess that everything I am getting will fit in there...
 
Is my motherboard appropriate for my experience level (which is to say none) and will it "scale" into later when I end up wanting/needing/knowing how to overclock my stuff?
 
Is it worth it to go with 2 gbs of ddr3 1066 ram and getting an e8400 intel processor if all the computer is going to do is play games and perhaps a little bit of music stuff down the road?
 
Do I need a sound card to play games/will my onboard sound be sufficient or acceptable?
 
Will my Memory work with my motherboard, I think that motherboard uses 1.8v ram but I am not quite sure.  I also don't understand the timings and latencies part of it either, is this memory good? if not please recomend some.
 
Should I wait for the 9x00 series nvidia card that costs <350 or just stay with what I'm getting?
 
What is the deal with the black series of processors? should I just stay away?
 
Am I missing anything...will I need to get any other stuff (case fans, a fan controller [and are they necessary/what do they do] anything really)
 
and finally My monitor runs at 1440x900. under xp pro will I be able to play the following games at the highest settings Oblivion, Sins of a Solar Empire, medieval 2 and some sort of first person murder that looks all slick (for the ooh and ahh factor for my wife.) and will it run Crysis on high?
 
Thanks in advance for any and all answers and insights provided...
 
Mike
 --first post by the way
 
And Edited for greater ease

Hi Mike-  Could you do me a favor and actually put the components you are proposing in the body of the article so we don't have to click on 10 different links to see your system? I think more people will be tempted to read the article.
 
Thanks from another noob,
Evan

have an older antec case that is a good bit larger than my current eMachines case...would any of you all be willing to guess that everything I am getting will fit in there...
 
The video card you selected is a bit long, measure the internal dimensions of the case and make sure it will fit.
 
Is my motherboard appropriate for my experience level (which is to say none) and will it "scale" into later when I end up wanting/needing/knowing how to overclock my stuff?
 
 
Should be fine, although DDR3 isn't compatible with DDR2 DIMMs if you decide to go that route in the future.
 
Is it worth it to go with 2 gbs of ddr3 1066 ram and getting an e8400 intel processor if all the computer is going to do is play games and perhaps a little bit of music stuff down the road?
 
DDR3 isn't really worth it right now, the performance difference is marginal. (even though I have it, I couldn't help it). An E8400 is an excellent choice, much better than AMD's offering. I'd switch to a 680/780i Nvidia chipset and get the Wolfdale. That would get you the future option to add more than one GPU as well.
 
Do I need a sound card to play games/will my onboard sound be sufficient or acceptable?
 
You get about 2 FPS if you add a sound card, and of course much better sound quality and options. But if you're not an audiophile you likely can't tell the difference in sound quality. Most new boards have great onboard audio anyways. Just personal preference really.
 
Will my Memory work with my motherboard, I think that motherboard uses 1.8v ram but I am not quite sure.  I also don't understand the timings and latencies part of it either, is this memory good? if not please recomend some.
 
 
The memory should be fine. Latency isn't horribly important, marginal performance differences with lower timings.

Should I wait for the 9x00 series nvidia card that costs <350 or just stay with what I'm getting?
 
The 8800 series cards are great. I wouldn't wait. After all, if you are always waiting for the next greatest thing to come out, you are always waiting. The 9800 series isn't likely going to be a huge leap in performance over the 8800s anyways.
 
What is the deal with the black series of processors? should I just stay away?
 
It's an AMD thing. Supposed to have higher clocks or something, I don't really know. Intel is really the only processors I can recommend at the moment, hopefully AMD steps it up in the future.
 
Am I missing anything...will I need to get any other stuff (case fans, a fan controller [and are they necessary/what do they do] anything really)
 
Should be fine if the case has one or two case fans on it. A fan controller isn't really necessary, they are only used really to slow the fans down for noise issues.
 
and finally My monitor runs at 1440x900. under xp pro will I be able to play the following games at the highest settings Oblivion, Sins of a Solar Empire, medieval 2 and some sort of first person murder that looks all slick (for the ooh and ahh factor for my wife.) and will it run Crysis on high?
 
Yep. Crysis will get a little low with everything on high, but it's like that for all hardware right now. Everything else should be 60+ FPS.

Hey Mike,  thanks for making the change.
 
For $40 more than you are spending on the 8800GTS you can get the EVGA 8800GTX on zipzoomfly. http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/Prod [...] ode=322843
 
thats $399 with $50 MIR.
 
I ordered one friday and expect to get it on tuesday.
 
Or- you could get the 8800GTS 512k from zipzoom for $269 (after $30 MIR)
 
I always check zipzoom and newegg both before I buy anything. One often has a better price than the other.
 
The only obvious thing missing is an after-market cooler, but with a 3.2GHz stock (or 3.0 on the E8400) you may not want to overclock.
 
I just bought a Q6600 for my new build and now I am second guessing the 8400. Hmmm....
 
Have fun!
Evan

If your gaming, totally serious about gaming, and want to build as close to the bleeding edge as possible, go intel. If your bald, and have no hair to pull out, go amd. I would suggest staying with the ddr2 800 ram vs 1066, the price doesnt justify it, and most ram out there will oc to this speed with no trouble.

if you go AMD, the black processors have unlocked multipliers, meaning you can overclock them EXTRA easy, without damaging any of your other components... atm, it's not really worth great value

 
Unfortunately I am on my way to being bald...why would going with amd @ 3.2 ghz cause me problems playing games.  I was under the assumption that processor speeds beyond 3 ghz handle every game and put make the limiting factor the video card? was I wrong...also I am thinking about where to spend that extra 150...would I be better served in everyone's opinion to go with an Intel based motherboard and an e8400 or to go with a better graphics card (dunno what to go with at the moment, I can't seem to find the "8800 ultra" is it the superclocked 8800gtx) thanks again

I would upgrade the processor first, you already have a great board, and ugrading is going to give you some performance, but you arent going to have the wow effect. The reason why i say stay away from amd is that it was late lastnight, and for some reason, i could have sworn you were lookin at the phenom, but thats not the case, that cpu is fine. But like i said, if you like to be on the bleeding edge or as close as you can afford, intel is the only way to go.

you were wrong... clock speed doesn't mean much... look at me 2160... if i OC it to 3.2 it will still be beat by a 8400... there's all sorts of stuff to consider; stepping, efficiency, etc... Otherwise we'd still be with P4s at 3.0GHZ touting 'hyperthreading'
 
what a load of crap that was...

so if I go with the e8400 what is a good motherboard that won't take the price through the roof or better still what motherboard manufacturers should I stay away from?

Gigabyte P35 DS3L
ABit IP35 Pro
MSI Neo2-FR
Asus P5K-E

there are four good ones... though the gigabyte will probably be the choice supported by most people

although, tbth, i have NO idea if the ABit supports the 45nm Wolfdales...

I think I'm going to go with the MSI board there, looks fully featured at the price...one question, the specifications on newegg say "2 x PCI Express x16 slots with 1x16 and 1x4 operations " does that mean that in SLI one gpu will run at x16 and the other at x4, and if so will that limit my graphics cards in SLI, also could someone that has a bit of experience with that board recommend an aftermarket cooler( that also meets this -from the Anandtech.com review "However, based upon our initial overclocking tests, if you use a vertical mounted fan with an air cooler (i.e. Tuniq 120) or water-cooling then additional air-cooling will be required on the MCH and PWM areas. In other words, the heatpipe system requires additional fan cooling or the use of a downward blowing CPU HSF fan." )
 and some good thermal paste, if I'm going with an intel system then I might as well go all out...Ease of installation is a must, and I think that I am going to try to get to 3.6 or 3.9 ghz on the overclock...so if anyone has any experience with this (and Ideas of other things that I would probably need to make my overclocking easier) please lemme know
 
thanks again
Mike

get a 22" screen or bigger. thats the part your looking at after all.
 
its kind of like buying a highend stereo and listening to it with some walmart special speakers you had lkaying around.
 
in general, I find AMD to be more furure proof than Intel
 
I'd get PCI 2.0
 
DDR3 is not worth it yet.
 
I wouldn't get the AMD CPU you mentioned, I'd either spend a little more and get a 9500/9600 now, or a cheaper CPU and upgrade in a few months to a year when AMD does a better job getting thier act together. I'd also stay away from a 125 watt cpu, that just that much more heat you'll have to disperse to keep it all running good.
 
I may be wrong but it looks like that MSI board is an SLI board with SLI disabled, so if you want the SLI option, don't get it.
 
In general I'd prefere getting midrange stuff, its up to par with the current games, and you save a ton of money to upgrade loads sooner than you otherwise could, and on average, have a better system.
 
there is absolutly no sense in getting a DX10 GPU without Vista. Vista is needed for DX10, otherwise your at DX9. you'll also need Vista 64 to see all 4 gigs, otherwise your computer will only see 3 1/2 gigs. At the price your looking to spend, I'd have 8 gigs. tom's did a writeup on how to setup your computer with 8 gigs