Building new computer, some questions.

[TaskTool]

So I recently started obtaining parts that I need for my new computer, i'm not a professional, and my brother is helping me in part.

So far I bought the Intel DG31PR Socket LGA775 Motherboard at Compusa. And 2, 1gb sticks of DDR2 ram, I do not know what brand.

I also have a 450 watt power supply that is in a box.

For the optical drive I plan on taking one from one of my older computers, since those seem to be just fine.

But, for the hard drive I was wondering if I would be able to use one off of an extremely old computer, or perhaps a semi old one. Only 40gb, and I think that it would make the rest of my computer look pathetic. My brother might give me a 100 something gb HD, but I am not counting on it.

Either tomorrow or soon, I will buy the Intel Core 2 Duo E8400, 3.0Ghz, from Compusa, OR online, like some folks here instructed me.

Sorry guys I had the money and I went to Compusa with the family, so I couldn't help myself. I'm wondering if the Intel DG31PR was a good choice for a motherboard.

For the case, I will get that soon enough.

I really just want a fast computer that can play left 4 dead at decent speeds, I have an eVGA Geforce 6200, 256mb, PCI Graphics Card, but I doubt it can handle modern games.
I have however seen it handle left 4 dead at really good framerates, but with some lighting problems. I will upgrade the graphics card later on, the motherboard DOES include a pci express x16 slot, I made sure it did.

Any ideas of what I should do?

 

[CrazeD]

What brand is the power supply you have?

You can use an older hard drive, as long as it is either IDE or SATA.

The E8400 is a great chip, no problems there.

That mobo you got isn't really that great, to be honest. It's a pretty low performance board, so I wouldn't expect anything special from it. When I was trying to Google exact specs of it, I could only find an mATX board with two regular PCI slots. Are you sure yours has PCI-e? If it were me, I would return that board and pick up a different cheap one. I dunno what you paid for that, but you can find some P45 boards for around $100 that are excellent. Such as the Gigabyte UD3's, and Asus P5Q's.

The GeForce 6200 is absolutely not going to handle modern games. I'd recommend you upgrade to a ATi 4830 or a nVidia GTX250 at the very least.

 

[TaskTool]

What brand is the power supply you have?

You can use an older hard drive, as long as it is either IDE or SATA.

The E8400 is a great chip, no problems there.

That mobo you got isn't really that great, to be honest. It's a pretty low performance board, so I wouldn't expect anything special from it. When I was trying to Google exact specs of it, I could only find an mATX board with two regular PCI slots. Are you sure yours has PCI-e? If it were me, I would return that board and pick up a different cheap one. I dunno what you paid for that, but you can find some P45 boards for around $100 that are excellent. Such as the Gigabyte UD3's, and Asus P5Q's.

The GeForce 6200 is absolutely not going to handle modern games. I'd recommend you upgrade to a ATi 4830 or a nVidia GTX250 at the very least.

Yeah I don't think the motherboard is great at all either, except it was cheap, only cost me 70 dollars. And yeah it does have a pci-E x16 slot, only 1, it is micro ATX. which is good to know because I found a micro ATX case designed for the boards at compusa for about 40 dollars. About the power supply, I don't know what brand it is, its just 450 Watts, and thats all I know, my brother was the one to buy it.

About my GeForce 6200, yeah I know. But if it can handle at least left 4 dead for now, I'm fine with it. I will definitely upgrade to probably a GTX250 or whatever, if I get the cash.


Edit: Guys I misspelled the name of the motherboard, it is not G31PR. but DG31PR, sorry for the typo. Classic Series.

 

[MrFeetZ]

I'd have to agree and sorry to report that your mobo prob isnt gonna do you any favors in performance. Id return if you can. Even for $70 it's overpriced compared to what you can get for $85 to $100. Try looking at boards the run the P45 chipset.

 

[M4A1]

Return everything to CompUSA and get a better deal online.

 

[baron5]

really you just need a decent video card, a 4770 or 4830 would be fine and i guess if your not overclocking the intel board will suffice. but return if u you can.