- Joined
- May 7, 2004
- Location
- Wisconsin, USA
Hello,
Well it's that time again, and I'm putting together a new computer. I've been out of the game awhile, and I wanted to run it past the experts before I bought it. I think I'm past my serious overclocking days, and I'm really just looking for something fast and reliable.
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-X38-DS4
It seems like a pretty solid board. I've been using Abit boards forever (BH6 anyone?) but I've read that they've been slipping lately. I was thinking about going with a P35 chipset, but I really like what the X38 has to offer.
CPU: Core 2 Due E6750 2.66GHz w/ 1333MHz FSB
Fairly straightforward. A good CPU for a good price.
RAM: G.Skill 4GB DDR2 PC2 6400
It seems like it will work for what I need it too. Since it's so cheap, I was planning on buying two kits for a total of 8GB. I know it's a lot, but I'm not planning on overclocking, so I don't really see a downside. Of course, I'll be using Vista 64 bit.
Video Card: MSI Radeon HD 3870 512MB
Tom's hardware says nothing but good things about it. I've been an nVidia man since I traded in my Voodoo 2 card, so this is a big jump for me. I figure I can buy one now, and once prices drop I can get another for some Crossfire action. This card is one of the reasons for the X38 chipset (PCI-Express 2.0, full bandwidth, etc.)
Hard Drives: WD Caviar SE16 500GB 7200 RPM SATA
They come highly rated on Newegg, their fairly cheap, and I've had good experiences with Western Digital. I'm planning on running two of these in a Raid 1.
Monitors: Acer 22" 5ms DVI Widescreen LCD
I'm planning on getting two of these and running a dual monitor. I've yet to use either an LCD or a widescreen monitor, so this is another jump for me. They come highly rated on Newegg, seem big enough, and have a high max resolution. I'm coming from a pair of 17" CRT's, so I hope I'm impressed with these.
DVD Burners: ASUS Black 20X SATA DVD Burners w/ LightScribe
Once again, highly rated on Newegg. I think they should work during OS install, but if they don't I've got some backup IDE drives that should. I can't tell if they come with the full version of Nero. Anyone know of any other good burning software?
OS: Windows Vista 64-Bit Home Premium - Single Pack
There doesn't really seem to be enough benefit for me to buy the Ultimate version.
I've got a good Coolermaster Case, a kick *** OCZ Power Supply, and enough fans lying around to keep everything cool. So, am I forgetting anything? Anyone have any advice or comments?
Thanks for taking the time to look over my thoughts.
Lejend
Well it's that time again, and I'm putting together a new computer. I've been out of the game awhile, and I wanted to run it past the experts before I bought it. I think I'm past my serious overclocking days, and I'm really just looking for something fast and reliable.
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-X38-DS4
It seems like a pretty solid board. I've been using Abit boards forever (BH6 anyone?) but I've read that they've been slipping lately. I was thinking about going with a P35 chipset, but I really like what the X38 has to offer.
CPU: Core 2 Due E6750 2.66GHz w/ 1333MHz FSB
Fairly straightforward. A good CPU for a good price.
RAM: G.Skill 4GB DDR2 PC2 6400
It seems like it will work for what I need it too. Since it's so cheap, I was planning on buying two kits for a total of 8GB. I know it's a lot, but I'm not planning on overclocking, so I don't really see a downside. Of course, I'll be using Vista 64 bit.
Video Card: MSI Radeon HD 3870 512MB
Tom's hardware says nothing but good things about it. I've been an nVidia man since I traded in my Voodoo 2 card, so this is a big jump for me. I figure I can buy one now, and once prices drop I can get another for some Crossfire action. This card is one of the reasons for the X38 chipset (PCI-Express 2.0, full bandwidth, etc.)
Hard Drives: WD Caviar SE16 500GB 7200 RPM SATA
They come highly rated on Newegg, their fairly cheap, and I've had good experiences with Western Digital. I'm planning on running two of these in a Raid 1.
Monitors: Acer 22" 5ms DVI Widescreen LCD
I'm planning on getting two of these and running a dual monitor. I've yet to use either an LCD or a widescreen monitor, so this is another jump for me. They come highly rated on Newegg, seem big enough, and have a high max resolution. I'm coming from a pair of 17" CRT's, so I hope I'm impressed with these.
DVD Burners: ASUS Black 20X SATA DVD Burners w/ LightScribe
Once again, highly rated on Newegg. I think they should work during OS install, but if they don't I've got some backup IDE drives that should. I can't tell if they come with the full version of Nero. Anyone know of any other good burning software?
OS: Windows Vista 64-Bit Home Premium - Single Pack
There doesn't really seem to be enough benefit for me to buy the Ultimate version.
I've got a good Coolermaster Case, a kick *** OCZ Power Supply, and enough fans lying around to keep everything cool. So, am I forgetting anything? Anyone have any advice or comments?
Thanks for taking the time to look over my thoughts.
Lejend
