a series of questions

[detour31]

im quite openly a noob. i do know quite a bit theres just a few things i'd like to clear up though.

Q1) in retail CPUs is it important to buy thermal paste as well?

Q2) when you build a pc what are the important bios settings to configure?

Q3) if im not overclocking does it matter if a get a cheap MoBo (e.g. gigbyte K8N- Pro SLI)?

Q4) is 4GB RAM Really Nessacery?

anyway hope people can help me thanks in advance.

 

[Lord AnthraX]

q1. Yes its called AS5

q2. It depends on the motherboard and your pc I think

q3. Always a good Idea to get a Good quality motherboard...I reccomend MSI, ASUS, and DFI in no particular order

q4. NO right now Windows cant even reconize 3 gb so 4GB will acctually Slow down your computer...2gb should be enough unless your doing extreme DVD buring and all that stuff....

 

[baronvongogo]

1. no you get a thermal pad with the CPU

2.turn off RAID if you dont use it and usb keyboard and mouse if also you dont use them unless you do then set them to enable.

3.get a good motherboard but not too cheap want it too last, gigabyte and MSI are good but no point in getting SLI overpriced and expensive.

4. no one has 4 gigs windows doesnt even use it 2 gigs is all you need at present until windows vista.

 

[GuitarFreak1857]

im quite openly a noob. i do know quite a bit theres just a few things i'd like to clear up though.

Q1) in retail CPUs is it important to buy thermal paste as well?

Q2) when you build a pc what are the important bios settings to configure?

Q3) if im not overclocking does it matter if a get a cheap MoBo (e.g. gigbyte K8N- Pro SLI)?

Q4) is 4GB RAM Really Nessacery?

anyway hope people can help me thanks in advance.

1- Yeah of course, most come with a thermal pad which is crapola.

2- RAM voltage is a big one...

3- if your not overclocking then no needing thermal paste.

4- nope, 2GB will run better.

 

[ulater6000]

1.) No, but it is a good idea

2.)Boot order, and other little inimportant misc. stuff

3.)Cheap motherboards work fine as long as they are reliable. Read the reviews before you buy!

4.)No, I do not reccomend more than 2gb. In fact 1gb should be fine for most applications.

 

[old_geekster50]

Q1) in retail CPUs is it important to buy thermal paste as well?

Q2) when you build a pc what are the important bios settings to configure?

Q3) if im not overclocking does it matter if a get a cheap MoBo (e.g. gigbyte K8N- Pro SLI)?

Q4) is 4GB RAM Really Nessacery?

Q1) It is not necessary, however, most people will recommend it.

Q2) I recommend a DFI Ultra-D. See this link for some good info: http://www.dfi-street.com/forum/index.php?

As for which BIOS settings to change, it will depend on what you want to accomplish. If OC'ing, you will change several of them.

Q2) The DFI Ultra-D is $134.99 on the Egg. To answer your question, I wouldn't go to cheap on the mobo. It will limit you later if you decide to expand your knowledge.

Q4) No. As stated, it is becoming more important to have at least 2GB of RAM. Games are getting more and more involved and if you want to game without delay/gitters, then more RAM is the only way to make that happen.

 

[john3]

1) Not needed unless u are Overclocking, most CPUs come with their own thermal paste or a thermal pad which is enough

2)Turn off RAID if ur not using it, change settings for mouse and keyboard, if ur Keyboard is USB make sure that Legacy USB is on, keyboard wont work if its not on

3)Read reviews, some cheap ones are good, recommended brands are: DFI, MSI, Gigabyte, Asus

4)2GB of Dual Channel ram is the best choice, although Windows XP can use 3gigs, it is much better to have Dual Channel, and since it would be 3 sticks, u just ruined the dual channel setup, btw if u do get Dual channel, make sure u put the ram sticks in color coordination, that is how you utilise dual channel