Outdated... Need advice on my new highPer PC

[OnlyCurious]

Hello everyone,
Wow, it's been awhile since I've been on this thing. Ok, I looked at the thread for getting parts for building your own PC but it seems to be out of date ( still says AMD is better and stuff).

This is for a new PC I am planning to build, I need suggestions. My budget is between $1000 - $1500 and I want a monitor with it.
Anyway, I'm planning to get a Core 2 Duo E6600 and 2-4gigs of ram. I plan to use if for anything and everything including gaming; and if it can game, I'm sure it can handle school work/ internet stuff. I'm planning to buy from Newegg.com.

Graphics: ati or nvidia? card type? model?
Case/Mobo: anything that can handle the core2duo e6600 and has good interface like usb ports in the front and stuff
Ram: 2-4 gigs
Sound: integrated or sound card? still deciding....
Monitor: i'm looking into a samsung... any suggestions? sony?
PSU: around 550watt?

Do I need to buy a heat sink or does that come with the case?
Most likely a 56k modem just in case. Windows Vista Premium.

Does the Core2Duo come with the thermal paste already on it?

This is my FIRST time building a computer so any advice would be good. Thanks.

 

[jonny_uk]

good choice in processor, nobody can argue that!
Ram, 2 GB will be enough, i dout 4 will see you much improvement so save some cash there.
Usb ports on the front is not determine by the mobo it depends on the case and the mobo will have the connections for the front usb anyway. Sound, after having onboard and then buying an X-Fi card i can say the sound is much clearer and my sub has sprung to life, so to speak, so if your well into your sound/music id say a sound card would be worth it.
Samsung moniter? cant go wrong really like the processor.
Psu, 500/550w, good brand name will be more than enough juice for it.
Heat sink? no that would come with the processor but if you plan on oc'ing then look into a heatsink.
And i think the processors if you buy them retail will come with the thermal paste all ready to be installed............... id have thought but maybe someone else will no for definate.
Gpu i had an ati card (x1600) but i hated it, it was so noisy when playing games, then i got a 7600GT which was silent, then i got my 7950GT 512mb which is also silent and it runs all my new games at max settings, so id sway towards nvidia if it was me(thats my opinion)
Just a brief answer to all your questions, if your looking for recommendations for each part then im sure someone will look for you(im from uk so no point me giving you a uk website)

 

[zerodayATK]

hmm i say a e6600 a ds3 or asus p5b seires mobo... 2 gb of either valueram or good oc ram.. crucial ocz.. geil gskill good companies... monitor... sony samsung viewsonic.. i think samsung has the best widescreens ..550 should be enogh power... if you get a card that supports sli or crossfire i would then say 600 or more... do you know/plan to sli/crossfire?

 

[Genocidist22]

nvidia gpu, amd athlon 64 3500 and up, 2gb of dual channel ram, abit or asus motherboard, 100gb sata harddrive or more. thats it for internals, and soem fans to cool things down!

 

[zmatt]

i have a Geforce7900GS, it runs quiet, and plays most of my games maxed out, the only problem is that it cant take oblivion at full. so if you want to run everything at its best, get a 7950GT or an 8800GT.

 

[Cdub89]

nvidia gpu, amd athlon 64 3500 and up, 2gb of dual channel ram, abit or asus motherboard, 100gb sata harddrive or more. thats it for internals, and soem fans to cool things down!

Why would you put a athlon 64 3500 in any computer now a days?

 

[OnlyCurious]

awesome guys.. Thanks for everyone's advice. I'll have to research this a little more myself.... Once I find the right parts I'll repost with the specifics and maybe you guys can give me more pointers. Thanks!