Need Help Building a computer, new to this

[diabloplayer75]

Newegg.com - CORSAIR 4GB(2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory - Desktop Memory I stumbled over this, was wondering if you guys think this is a reliable brand/ better deal then the Ram i selected.

this was the ram i already had chosen Newegg.com - Crucial Ballistix 4GB(2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory - Desktop Memory

[Captain Crunch]

The crucial has better timings......but is quite a bit more $
This OCZ kit here Newegg.com - OCZ Reaper HPC Edition 4GB(2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory - Desktop Memory has the same timings 4-4-4 as the crucial kit at the price of the corsair kit you just posted. And you cant beat OCZ for ram......... Personally with the timings Id go for the OCZ kit myself. Admittedly I'm paschal though. I'm sure others will chime in!
Paul turned me on to this kit, for my upgrade build I just did, and for the price you just can't beat it.
Newegg.com - OCZ Reaper HPC Edition 4GB(2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory - Desktop Memory
$59.99 after rebate!

[screwballl]

Originally Posted by Yellowhello

An AMD HD3870 is pretty recent, and is a good card. But I'd still recommend a 8800GT or 8800GTS (512MB) over the AMD card.

The mobo is good.

I think he meant the AMD Athlon64 3800+ CPU.... which is still a decent setup today but it coming towards the end of its usable gaming life, even when paired with a high end GPU.
The HD3870 is a new GPU series that is in the ring with the nvidia 8800s and 9800s.

[diabloplayer75]

is the Q9450 worth looking into? someone was telling me since it has a 12mb cache it is better then the q9300 since it is a 6mb cache, what do these cache sizes do for me?

And would i be better off trying to cut money off my case, say get the coolmaster instead of the antec, and put that savings towards the better cpu.

Also, should i consider getting a mobo with dual video card support?

[Yellowhello]

Originally Posted by diabloplayer75

is the Q9450 worth looking into? someone was telling me since it has a 12mb cache it is better then the q9300 since it is a 6mb cache, what do these cache sizes do for me?

And would i be better off trying to cut money off my case, say get the coolmaster instead of the antec, and put that savings towards the better cpu.

Also, should i consider getting a mobo with dual video card support?

The bigger the cache the faster (albeit however minute that may be) it is. The Q9450 also has a slight clockspeed improvement over the Q9300 (2.66GHz as opposed to 2.5Ghz).

About the dual video card support... it depends on how big your monitor is. If it's bigger than 24", SLI (for nVidia cards) or Crossfire (for ATI/AMD cards) will benefit you. SLI is only supported by nVidia chipsets, while Crossfire is supported under Intel and AMD chipsets. If your monitor is smaller than 24", don't bother with SLI or Crossfire, it's a waste of money.

[Parker]

Originally Posted by diabloplayer75

is the Q9450 worth looking into? someone was telling me since it has a 12mb cache it is better then the q9300 since it is a 6mb cache, what do these cache sizes do for me?

I would say go for the Q9450 over the Q9300, because of the cache sizes. Cache is used to get programs up quickly, and the more the cache the faster it is, so it'll be able to open multiple "big" app's at one time with ease.

And would i be better off trying to cut money off my case, say get the coolmaster instead of the antec, and put that savings towards the better cpu.

I would say so, the CM 590 is a good case, cheaper than the 690 and more air flow like the Antec 900.

Also, should i consider getting a mobo with dual video card support?

Well, you will only need a dual card setup if your running multiple monitors or monitors bigger than 24".
But I would look into getting a better mobo at least. I'd recommend the EVGA 750i FTW mobo, really good OC'er and you can run dual VGA's (if you really want to).

[diabloplayer75]

alright, Q9450 with the savings from other areas. hrm only comes in OEM.
those savings are better spent on the Q9450 then say a better graphics card?

Damn that motherboard is twice the price of the one i had picked out

My monitor is 19" Samsung SyncMaster 931Bf

[Yellowhello]

Originally Posted by diabloplayer75

alright, Q9450 with the savings from other areas. hrm only comes in OEM.
those savings are better spent on the Q9450 then say a better graphics card?

I'd say so. The 8800GT is a pretty able card, but If you need more power I'd go for the 8800GTS 512MB. 9800GTX is not worth it IMO, it's just an overclocked 8800GTS 512MB. And the 8800GTS 512MB is only slightly better than the 8800GT anyways.

Originally Posted by diabloplayer75

Damn that motherboard is twice the price of the one i had picked out

My monitor is 19" Samsung SyncMaster 931Bf

Yea, no need for that mobo then. The Gigabyte one you have picked out is fine.

[diabloplayer75]

Damn their out of stock on newegg for the q9450.. gotta wait a few days then.

[Parker]

Originally Posted by Yellowhello

Yea, no need for that mobo then. The Gigabyte one you have picked out is fine.

What about the PWM's? Theres only 4-Phase on that board, does it really effect so much on the quads?

Originally Posted by diabloplayer75

Damn their out of stock on newegg for the q9450.. gotta wait a few days then.

Yip just wait a couple days and grab it.
I just put together a new list of parts for you:

Newegg.com - COOLER MASTER Centurion 590 RC-590-KKN1-GP Black SECC / ABS ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - Computer Cases

Newegg.com - GIGABYTE GA-P35-DS3L LGA 775 Intel P35 ATX All Solid Capacitor Intel Motherboard - Intel Motherboards

Newegg.com - Intel Core 2 Quad Q9450 Yorkfield 2.66GHz 12MB L2 Cache LGA 775 95W Quad-Core Processor - CPUs / Processors

Newegg.com - EVGA 512-P3-N801-AR GeForce 8800GT 512MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card - Desktop Graphics

Newegg.com - CORSAIR XMS2 DOMINATOR 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory - Desktop Memory

Newegg.com - CORSAIR CMPSU-650TX ATX12V / EPS12V 650W Power Supply 100 - 240 V UL, CE, CB, TUV, FCC, CCC - Power Supplies

Newegg.com - Seagate Barracuda 7200.11 ST3500320AS 500GB 7200 RPM 32MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - Internal Hard Drives

Newegg.com - ZALMAN CNPS9700 LED 110mm 2 Ball CPU Cooler - CPU Fans & Heatsinks

Newegg.com - Microsoft Windows Vista 64-Bit Home Premium for System Builders Single Pack DVD - Operating Systems

Newegg.com - COOLER MASTER Centurion 590 RC-590-KKN1-GP Black SECC / ABS ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - Computer Cases

Newegg.com - SAMSUNG Black 20X DVD+R 8X DVD+RW 16X DVD+R DL 20X DVD-R 6X DVD-RW 12X DVD-RAM 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-R 32X CD-RW 48X CD-ROM 2MB Cache SATA 20X DVD±R DVD Burner with LightScribe - CD / DVD Burners

The price will come to $1,314.67 Taxed and Shipped Before rebates.
After rebates ($90) it comes to $1,224.67!

A couple things I changed:
Memory, 4GB is overkill if you ask me, 2GB is plenty and if you ever want 4GB you can just get another set. I have this kit of Dominators and I must say, they really do "dominate".

PSU, for $10 more you could get the Corsair 650w over the 550w (thats after rebate). I also have this PSU, it totally rocks.
The main reason I put this in is because if in the future you want to get a beefier video card, you'll have a big enough PSU to do it. This will save you money in the long run (instead of upgrading your PSU later on down the road).

BTW, the price is including Vista Premium 64-Bit.