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Help a noob

Forum Homebuilt Systems : New System Build - Help a noob

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Hello, first post here. Yes I'm a noob, never built a system before, have a relative understanding of it. I want to build a mid-rangish gaming pc.

First I have a few questions about general PC stuff:

1) what the hell is the difference between ATX and mATX? What does ATX actually mean and which is better...?!

2) I have this brand new unopened RAM:
OCZ 4GB KIT DDR2-800MHZ PC2-6400 Dual Channel
http://www.dabs.com/productview.as [...] ationKey=0

I'll go 64bit Vista so it will use the 4gb

I would like to use the E7200 cpu, so I would like a good motherboard to go with it. Something in the region of £50ish or whatever. I don't know anything about mobos so any help here would be greatly appreciated. Ideally something that will overclock well with the cpu.

3) graphics cards. 8800GT, 9600GT or 9800GT (all 512mb versions) What is the difference between these? I've read that one of them is just a rebranded 8800GT, so which would be best value for the power? If I was to overclock would the card be affected by this? I've been reading some charts that show the 8800GT outperforms the other 2 while gaming...

4) Power supply, I'm pretty much clueless as to what to look for here.

5) so how well would a system like this run games like TF2?

6) if you overclock, what additional cooling would you need?

so hi, I'm in the UK btw

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1. mATX is a smaller form factor of the ATX standard. ATX form factor stands for (advanced technology extended). There is no better form factor, it really depends on your needs. mATX benefits you when you want to build an HTPC or a SFF computer, while ATX usually have more expansion slots for PCI or PCI-E (but is larger).

3. 8800GT = 9800GT. The 9800GT is just a renamed 8800GT used to clear the remaining inventory of the 8800GT chips. 8800GT = 9800 GT > 9600 GT. When you overclock if you set the PCI-E bus speed in BIOS to a set number like 100 mhz, then it won't be affected by overclocking.

4. Usually the newer video cards consume quite a bit of power, a decent 500W PSU would suffice for anything (as long as you aren't running SLI or CF setups that use two video cards). Check this chart: http://www.xtremesystems.org/forum [...] p?t=108088 anything tier 3 or above should do the job.

5. With 8800GT or 9800GT, you're able to run TF2 at all high settings with AA turned on even at 1920*1200 resolution.

6. A decent CPU cooler is all you need for overclocking as long as your case has good air ventilation. Something like the Xigmatek HDT-S1283 or the Sunbeam Core Contact Freezer are great coolers.

------------------------------ "If you don't plan on listening, why ask?"
Reply to johnyeah

Sorry, if I didn't answer number 2. I don't know the exchange rate for £50 to USD and I'm a bit lazy to look it up. I'm sure someone else can answer that for you.

------------------------------ "If you don't plan on listening, why ask?"
Reply to johnyeah

Thanks dude

The exchange rate is about 2USD to 1GBP, but if something is $100 then we will likely pay £100 after our damn taxes are added on

Reply to sn00pie

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