First time computer builder, help please

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Cisco13

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#1 Cisco13
Member since 2006 • 171 Posts

OK so I am building my first computer and i was looking for some advice. I need advice on if I need an audio card, I'm not crazy about sound but if my mobo's on board will be bad the I need reccomendations. Also I need a reccomendation on an OS I heard Vista can be buggy and have security issues. so I was thinking of getting XP but then I cant take advantage of Dx10. and the 64 and 32 bit thing, if that matters. anyways my planned specs are below. and please tell me if there could be compatibility issues with the parts. and if there is anything I should know about them.

sorry for the long list of requirements but I want my pc to turn out perfect :D

Motherboard: eVGA 775 NVIDIA nForce 780i SLI ATX

Processor: Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 Kentsfield 2.4GHz

Memory: CORSAIR XMS2 DHX 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400)

Video Card: PNY XLR8 VCG98GTXXPB GeForce 9800 GTX(G92) 512MB In SLI

Hard Drive: Seagate Barracuda 250GB 7200 RPM 32MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb x2

Drive: ASUS Black 20X DVD+R 8X DVD+RW 8X DVD+R DL 20X DVD-R 6X DVD-RW 14X DVD-RAM 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-R 32X

Power Supply: CORSAIR CMPSU-750TX 750W ATX12V

Case: NZXT TEMPEST

CPU fan: ARCTIC COOLING Freezer 7 Pro 92mm CPU Cooler

Thanks in advance everybody

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BladeOfHeaven

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#2 BladeOfHeaven
Member since 2006 • 6027 Posts
The onboad sound should be decent. Although i heard from some people, when they get that board it wasn't working properly. If that's the case, and you want to buy a sound card, i;d ask someone else since I'm no help in that department :P. You could also always order the board and see if you like the sound, if not then just order a better sound-card :) (also, maybe putting the topic in PC hardware forums would help ;) )

As for the OS, if you want a less buggy and more stable version, go for XP. If you want a somewhat buggy, but not to bad with DX10, go for vista. With your system vista shouldn't be a problem, so i would most likely go with it.

As i said before, if you put this thread in the PC Hardware forum, you'll most likely get some more detailed answers.

hope i could help some :)

BLADE
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Fuzzy_Bear123

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#3 Fuzzy_Bear123
Member since 2007 • 638 Posts

For the video card why don't you go with a single ATI 4870, it gives great performance at a very good price, look at some benchmarks to compare.

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fenriz275

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#4 fenriz275
Member since 2003 • 2394 Posts

You don't need a sound card but it will give you a little better performance since it takes some of the load of the cpu. If you can get a copy of XP then go for it. It uses less resources than Vista and is better for gaming. No, there's no "official" DX10 support for XP available but there aren't many games that take advantage of DX10 anyway. So far DX10 has been a dud. Also, there are some unofficial XP DX10 upgrades in the works. Get a 32 bit OS, hardly any software is written to take advantage of 64 bit OSes and a lot of software out there won't work on a 64 bit OS.

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QuoVad

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#5 QuoVad
Member since 2008 • 25 Posts

Beg, borrow or steal to get an Audio card.....you won't be dissapointed.

You do not need Vista because your video cards are not DX10. (I would upgrade those cards tho)

Soundblasters (audio card) are cheap.....don't skimp on this important feature. Audio is just as important as video!

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DanielDust

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#6 DanielDust
Member since 2007 • 15402 Posts

Beg, borrow or steal to get an Audio card.....you won't be dissapointed.

You do not need Vista because your video cards are not DX10. (I would upgrade those cards tho)

Soundblasters (audio card) are cheap.....don't skimp on this important feature. Audio is just as important as video!

QuoVad

9800GTX not DX10, when did that happen?

Good PC but try to get a DVD-WR from LG or Plextor. I had lots of problems with Asus drives and processor wise for a quad core the "sound card gets load off the processor" is irrelevant, but if you want a little more quality to the sound get a sound blaster as somebody already suggested.

Excellent choice of case :)

Enjoy it :) it's a good PC ;)
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QuoVad

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#7 QuoVad
Member since 2008 • 25 Posts
Sorry.....you're right, they are. Too much beer tonight!
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Cisco13

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#8 Cisco13
Member since 2006 • 171 Posts

Thanks so much for the help everyone!

I may be sounding like an idiot but is this the kind of drive I should be looking for? I mean, it reads disks too, right?

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827136117

EDIT: duh it says right there sorry bout that lol NVM

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Cisco13

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#9 Cisco13
Member since 2006 • 171 Posts

sorry for double post but I decided on windows XP Professional and I am having trouble finding which verson would be best for me would be best for me.

there is a list to pick from http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&N=2060350368+1179212716&name=Professional

and if you guys could help me out that would be great. :D

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DanielDust

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#10 DanielDust
Member since 2007 • 15402 Posts
You need the 64bit version for your 4GB of RAM + 1GB of VRAM.
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Cisco13

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#11 Cisco13
Member since 2006 • 171 Posts
really 64bit? i thought that less programs ran on it? what performance would I lose if i used a 32 bit?
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DanielDust

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#12 DanielDust
Member since 2007 • 15402 Posts
You would lose 1GB of RAM and almost all 32 bit programs run on 64 bit and those that don't work have an 64 bit version and there are a few that don't work, but usual software and games work so don't worry ;). You won't lose any performance if you switch to 64 bit and there is absolutely no reason to not get XP 64+ you have too much RAM for the 32 bit version and as I said it won't recognize/use all of it.
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#13 jfsebastianII
Member since 2007 • 1084 Posts
i'd get a quad-core processor and a bigger hard drive - 250GB isn't v much these days - you can get a 1TB drive for not that much more and it'll be able to cope however many games, songs, pictures, movies you wnat to have stored
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DanielDust

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#14 DanielDust
Member since 2007 • 15402 Posts

i'd get a quad-core processor and a bigger hard drive - 250GB isn't v much these days - you can get a 1TB drive for not that much more and it'll be able to cope however many games, songs, pictures, movies you wnat to have storedjfsebastianII

That one is a quad core processor (Q6600) and the HDD depends on his needs. No need to get 1 Tb lol it WILL slow down the PC, more medium sized HDD's are better then 1 with huge amounts of space.
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Cisco13

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#15 Cisco13
Member since 2006 • 171 Posts
I am getting a quad. and since i will have 2 hard drives meaning half a TB. I use a laptop for media an it has a like 250 GB total so i think i will be ok and 64 bit it is. thanks for all the help!
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#16 jfsebastianII
Member since 2007 • 1084 Posts

I am getting a quad. and since i will have 2 hard drives meaning half a TB. I use a laptop for media an it has a like 250 GB total so i think i will be ok and 64 bit it is. thanks for all the help!Cisco13

OK i didn't read your post properly - sorry :oops: