First timer, building a gaming PC

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Why 6GB RAM?? That's nothing for that build. With all the other hardware you got (i7-950) and your budget, I would have gone with Crucial 8GB - 12GB. If you got the 3x 2GB sticks, you should eventually get another set of 3x 2GB to get you 12GB. (Assuming you got the Mobo that EoADark posted which has 6 slots.)

I currently have 8GB, I'm not a gamer and I still wish I had more. Don't let the RAM send you home with that "Go big or go home" rig.
 
From what I've heard, you don't really need all that much RAM unless you're playing five different games at once. 4GB is enough for the average user, and 6GB should be enough for most gamers/resource-heavy app users. My computer peaks at just over 3 gigs of RAM usage while folding, working on CS4, using Google Chrome, and typing something on Word simultaneously.
 
Yeah that sounds about right for those apps running. For cs4 applications though, it depends on what files you have open. The larger the files, the more ram you'll need to keep from accessing the hdd too often. Also, idk about you but I often have over 10 tabs in each browser I have open. I do have a bad habit of keeping applications open long after use, but having a sufficient amount of RAM makes that ok hah. It all depends on what software you're running. But like I said... Having 6GB of RAM with an i7-950 sounds weak to me. That processor is a beast.
 
I have 4gb on my laptop and it runs high end processing and lots of multitasking is CS5, Maya and such.. I haven't run out of memory, even without a paging file.

6gb should be more than enough for gaming.
 
Realizing that the parts I bought didn't include an ethernet card. Stupid question, but I definitely need one of those, right?
 
Well, I put everything together, took about 6 hours...and like I expected, it doesn't work. When I turn it on, there's no signal to the monitor, and the fans and lights come on for about 5 seconds before shutting off for another 5 seconds and then it repeats the process. So, where should I start looking to fix this? I've only got three days before I leave for two weeks and would like the computer done by then...
 
Your board has an onboard speaker. Is it giving you any beeps in a series, long and short? Have you double-checked to make sure you have all your power connections plugged in good (mobo, graphics card [takes two I do believe], etc)?

Shut it down and remove the RAM. Now start it. It should beep at you . If it doesn't then something is wrong with either the speaker of the mobo.

I would reseat everything on the board if it were me... RAM, CPU, heatsink, graphics card, everything, just to make sure it all was in good. The same would go with the power connectors... unplug and reseat.
 
Nope, no beeps. So basically check my connections, try it again, and then if it doesn't work take it all apart and start over. I did have trouble getting a few parts in, like the graphics card took a few tries before I got it to fit.
 
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