New Computer

[kayson]

This is my first post here. I'm not overclocking my comp now because I have a laptop. I plan on building a computer after my bday so I will have enough money to get what I want. I look forward to participating in the community.

Anyways: Here's what I'm looking at to start:

Motherboard: Asus P5AD2-E Premium
CPU: Intel 3.46 ghz Extreme Edition
Storage: 2x 74GB WD Raptor (RAID 0)
Case: Thermaltake Shark Full Tower Aluminum Case (Silver)
Video Card: ATI X850 XTPE (It will be out by the time I get it) or Asus equivalent
CD-Drive: Asus 52X Silver CD-ROM Drive
PSU: OCZ PowerStream 520W PS w/ Adjustable Rails
Monitor: Undecided, but I want a Silver 19" LCD
RAM: I kind of need some help with this. I'm definitely going to overclock it, so I need something easily "overclockable." I'm looking for 1 gb sticks, but I also want something that can hit the 711 mhz advertised by Asus

Questions:
Should I consider an optical drive? Is there one that's silver (I <3 silver)? And I am somewhat of a newb: what exactly is an optical drive?

I'll be overclocking with the stock cooling system at first, so obviously not too much. As soon as I get the extra money, I'll be getting the following WC system:

2x Noise Isolator HDD Liquid Cooler http://www.noiseisolator.com/hd-wbk.html
1x Noise Isolator FC-525PW 5.25" Bay Fan Speed Controller http://www.noiseisolator.com/fc-525pw.html
1x Swiftech MCR120-FB 120mm Radiator http://www.swiftnets.com/
1x Swiftech MCW20 Chipset water block http://www.swiftnets.com
1x Danger Den Round (Cylindrical) Reservoir http://www.dangerdenstore.com/home.php?cat=28
1x Danger Den Copper TDX Block for Intel 775 Processors http://www.dangerdenstore.com/product.php?productid=21&cat=21&page=1
1x Danger Den DD12V-D4 Pump http://www.dangerdenstore.com/product.php?productid=36&cat=23&page=1
1x Danger Den Arctic Silver 5 http://www.dangerdenstore.com/product.php?productid=72&cat=52&page=1
4x Danger Den 1FT 1/2" Blue UV Tubing http://www.dangerdenstore.com/product.php?productid=58&cat=33&page=1

So...Hi, and help me please :)

[gvblake22]

WELCOME TO THE FORUMS!!! :clap:

That looks like a pretty damn nice system ya got goin there so far!
As for the optical drive, its the same thing as the "CD-Drive" you listed. It is going to be any drive that has an optical reading eye sensor in it (CD-ROM, CD-RW, DVD-ROM, DVD-RW) Since it appears as though you have a pretty good chuck of money to spend on this thing, I'd go for a double layer DVD-RW (DVD burner) drive because it can read and write CD's as well as read and write DVD's; very versitile. The second best setup would be to get a DVD-ROM (which also reads reagular CD's) and a nice 52x CD burner so you can have two optical drives and be able to copy cd's and stuff right from one drive to the other at the same time. Or even a DVD burner and and a DVD-ROM together if ya want the DVD burner.
Silver DVD-ROM (http://www.performance-pcs.com/catalog/product_info.php?cPath=27&products_id=1969&osCsid=2f762eae152c9effa7aa090ac7005701)
Silver CD burner (http://www.performance-pcs.com/catalog/product_info.php?cPath=64_28&products_id=193&osCsid=2f762eae152c9effa7aa090ac7005701)
Another silver CD burner (http://www.newegg.com/app/viewProductDesc.asp?description=27-120-176&depa=1)
Silver dual layer DVD burner (http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=27-152-037&depa=1)
You can always get a beige or white drive and spray paint the faceplate silver.

I'm not an intel know-it-all but I believe that motherboard/chipset requires DDR2 memory instead of the more traditional/widely available DDR memory. DDR2 is nice because they are rated for really high speeds and low voltage but have to use really slow/relaxed timings. DDR2 is maturing more and more and OCZ came out with some new low latency DDR2 memory that would be worth taking a look at:
http://www.anandtech.com/memory/showdoc.aspx?i=2306

[kayson]

Thanks for the info on optical drives. I'd get a double layer dvdrw, but I'd never use it, so I'll probably stick to the shiny silver drive. That chipset/mobo does use ddr2, which is partly why I want it.I'll definitely check out the ocz ram.