A few questions about buliding a computer

[Perf]

Hi everyone, just a few questions. I'm building a new PC soon and I need a few things straightened out in my head before I pick the final parts. So far I'm looking at these parts:

Mobo - Intel board? Not sure how to describe it
Newegg.com - Intel BOXD975XBX2KR LGA 775 Intel 975X ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail

Processor - Intel Q6600 2.40 GHz
Newegg.com - Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 Kentsfield 2.4GHz 2 x 4MB L2 Cache LGA 775 Quad-Core Processor - Retail

RAM - 2 x 1024 Corsair
Corsair Dual Channel TWINX 2048MB PC6400 DDR2 800MHz E.P.P. Memory (2 x 1024) TWIN2X2048-6400C4 at TigerDirect.com

Hard drive - 160 GB Western Digital Caviar
Newegg.com - Western Digital Caviar SE WD1600AAJS 160GB 7200 RPM 8MB Cache SATA-300 Hard Drive - OEM

Optical drive - pretty standard Lite-On CD/DVD drive
Newegg.com - LITE-ON Black 20X DVD+R 8X DVD+RW 8X 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 DVD Burner - Retail

Several things before I pick the monitor, graphics card and power supply:

1) What kind of card would you guys recommend? I was thinking either an 8800 GT or 9600. Based on my budget (~$1000) I was thinking of going with the 9600, but I heard it's not very good. Also, stupid question, but all the 9600s are PCI-E 2.0 - would I have to pick a new mobo, or can a PCI-E 2.0 card plug into a normal PCI-E x16 slot?

2) Would it be sort of a waste to buy an analog input monitor? Is the difference in image quality between an analog input and VGA input very noticeable? Actually, it would help if someone could briefly explain analog vs. DVI vs. VGA to me. >.<

(I was looking at this monitor: Newegg.com - Acer AL1706Ab Black 17" 8ms LCD Monitor 270 cd/m2 500:1 - Retail)

3) On the topic of monitors, how is gaming on a widescreen monitor? Does the game get compressed vertically?

4) How powerful should my PSU be based on the setup so far?

Thanks in advance. May have more questions to come.

 

[thirdshiftdj]

Google DVI and VGA. Your chipset is outdated and yes pci-e 2.0 is backwards compatible. 9600 is a good card it just falls short of the 8800 gt. I like DVI cause it looks more crisp. Meaning text and pictures are sharp.

edit: If your gonna spend that much on a mb I would choose one of these new chipsets. Either x38 or P35
Newegg.com - ABIT IX38 Quad GT LGA 775 Intel X38 ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail
Newegg.com - ASUS MAXIMUS FORMULA LGA 775 Intel X38 ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail
Newegg.com - Foxconn X38A LGA 775 Intel X38 ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail

 

[heffer]

1) I'd go with the 9600gt. don't worry, it will fit into the motherboard you chose.

2) i'm not sure but i think vga is the same as analog. in any case, you'd want DVI inputs because that's the standard now and most gfx cards use DVIs, and you wont have that many compatibility issues like having to use a VGA to DVI converter.

3) i think most games now support widescreen, so u'll get the right aspect ratio. some games wont so u'll probably get stretching, unless there are special resolution settings like cropping the sides or play in window mode in the game settings. but it depends on the game.

4) 500W power supply is enough but i would get a 600W. it's more than you need now but it's good if you're upgrading later on like adding another video card or another harddrive or another PCI device, etc.

and personally, i wud have more storage space on your HDD.

 

[Perf]

Thanks a lot third and heffer. Another stupid question: PSU PCI-E connectors should work for both conventional and 2.0 PCI-E slots right? Seems obvious but I wouldn't want to buy an incompatible PSU, open it up, then realize I made a mistake.

 

[Luke]

your psu does not connect to the pci-e slots, it just connects to the board (the board distributes power), i would get the asus maximus formula board over that intel.

EDIt: lol, i just learned something on another thread, the newer gpus have power cables.i still have a 7600gt that doesn't so i had no idea. soory about that.

 

[B.S.O.D.]

Don' go with a 9600. It is nothing more than a dishonest marketing technique. The 9600, although branded with the "9k" series label is a cheaper to produce g92 core card (essentially, a scaled down 8800gt) It performs about 30% slower in most games compared to an 8800GT.

 

[Luke]

the 9600gt isn't ment to be a high end card, its a low end. its ment to compete with the 3870x2 when in sli.

 

[Puddle Jumper]

Here is a comparison of the 8800gt and the 9600gt along with the Ati HD3850 and HD 3870.

Nvidia's GeForce 9600 GT Tested | Tom's Hardware

 

[maroon1]

LOL

B.S.O.D. is telling people not to get 9600GT in every thread !!

Just don't listen to him

9600GT is just slightly slower than 8800GT, and performs as good as HD3870. Please check 9600GT reviews