Advice on my new PC

[jzh1554]

I am currently choosing parts for my modest gaming rig, and would like some advice from the experts on compatability amongst my parts as well as bang for my buck regarding a few pieces. I have extensive experience with computers, although I'm not terribly familiar with all aspects of hardware.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115036

Intel Core 2 Duo E8500, One part I didn't want to skimp on, it seems from the reviews this is a very decent processor and will stay with me throughout the years.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128358

Gigabyte P45 Motherboard, *UPDATED* to support DDR2 ram, as I was unaware that my old one only supported DDR3. Thanks Raidur, let me know if this one looks alright

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102803

Sapphire Video Card, It seems for the price this is about the best I could get, and it looks like it will hold me over for at least a couple years.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827136152

LG DVD Burner, seems pretty standard, and I love the price

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136319

Western Digital Hard Drive, *UPDATED* as well, courtesy of Raidur

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16833315041

Wireless card, thanks to Raidur

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231122

Good reviews for this ram, I figure that about 4 gigs is the sweet spot for my set up, above that seems a little redundant

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.158005

Great deal for a case and power supply, both had great reviews, although I'm not familiar with the company

*UPDATE* As Gkay pointed out, my other heatsink wasn't compatible with my cpu, and I believe this one is. Thanks!

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835233001

So, basically I want a PC I can play high end games on, maybe not on max settings but at least have them look nice. I'm planning on dual booting XP and linux, perhaps Ubuntu, havent decided yet. I know Linux has compatability issues with certain hardware, if any of these have terrible problems that would be good to know. Also I have yet to pick out a wireless card, if anyone can point me in the right direction that would be nice. I'm a computer science major and am going to be developing software, although I don't think that will come into play as that isn't generally hardware intensive.

Thank you in advance, I look forward to your replys.

 

[Raidur]

First things first, http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136319 is the hard drive you want.

Also, did you plan on overclocking your CPU? The E8500 will usually get to at least 3.6 without even raising the vcore and is one of the best dual core overclockers on the market. Aftermarket heatsink will be needed if you plan to.

Oh, and that motherboard supports DDR3 ram. DDR2 will not work on a DDR3 board and IMO DDR3 is not worth the price, yet. You'll have to pick out a different motherboard, or ram.

Cheap audio = Use the audio that is integrated into the motherboard, they work good these days.

As for the wireless card, http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16833315041 is probably the best for the price, best rated as well. My friend has been using it for quite a while now with zero problems.

But then again... what do I know? I'm just a newbie.

(I know this isn't everything, just all I had time for)

Good luck!

 

[jzh1554]

Thank you for the advice, I will update my post to reflect these changes after I pick out a new motherboard. Thats good to hear that I don't need to spend money on a sound card.

 

[jzh1554]

Ok so I updated my list to reflect the suggestions kindly made by Raidur, I hope that the motherboard is friendly with the rest of my parts, and I found the heatsink that i somehow lost track of. I will probably be overclocking my cpu, nothing too crazy but I want to get my money's worth. Also if I am forgetting anything crucial it would be nice to know, I've never built a PC before. Thanks again!

 

[gkay09]

Check for the compatibility of te heatsink....says amd sockets...but i mayb wrong...

Try tis frm the same manufacturer...and its quieter than the one u have...
Rosewill RCX-Z775-EX 92mm 2 Ball CPU Cooler - Retail
$24.99
Free Shipping*
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835200026

 

[gkay09]

But i would suggest u to change the heatsink to a xigmatik rifle or dark knight ....u wil nt regret it...But go for these if u intend to overclock ur cpu..else the stock itself would be suffice...

 

[jzh1554]

So I found a new heatsink, thanks gkay, I went with the xigmatik rifle, as I am on somewhat of a budget. If anyone sees anywhere I can cut down on the cost without losing any/that much performance that would be great, as I have to buy a monitor as well so that will make it around $1000. Again if anyone sees any compatibility issues that would be most excellent.

 

[Raidur]

The new motherboard looks good. Compatibility looks good from here, I haven't used Linux much so I couldn't tell ya on the compatibility with that but my guess is you'll be fine.

You are at a pretty sweet spot for performance/price ratio. You could back down to a E7300 CPU and save $60 without too much gaming performance loss (all though I do LoVe the E8x00s). As for the rest, its up to you what you are willing to sacrifice. Less hard drive space (might lose speed when leaving Western Digital black edition though), less ram (2GB for xp is fine usually), all up to you really.

Are you getting a monitor from the egg? Which?

 

[jzh1554]

I read some in depth reviews of my motherboard and it seems absolutely perfect for what I want to do.

And I believe I am getting a monitor from newegg, as bestbuy is the only other real option and their prices are just disgusting, although I might check out Circuit City because they are still liquidating where I am. The monitor I have in mind is a 21.5 in ASUS

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824236051

Seems like the most bang for my buck, as with the rest of the junk i've put together

 

[Raidur]

I've been wanting to try out one of those Asus monitors.
1920x1080 should look good at 21.5".