Building new Gaming PC

[Runfox]

I have my new Motherboard, EVGA 113-M2-E113-TR.
Good or bad, it is what I have, got it free as an RMA from EVGA so it is what I'm building my new gaming PC on. It's Spec's:
Proccesor AM2+
Mem Dual Dimm DDR2 533/667/800
Expansion PCIE 2.0, with on board e-Geforce 8200, 500mhz GPU
Storage SATA II 300mb/sec
My choices so far:
Processor-AMD Phenom II X4 940 ( EVGA said this board will handle this 125w proccesor)
Mem- G.SKILL 2GB 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 ( 2x2gig sticks 8gig total)
HD-Western Digital Caviar Black WD5001AALS 500GB 7200 RPM 32MB Cache SATA 3.0G
Optical-LITE-ON Black 24X DVD+R 24X DVD-R SATA Black 24X DVD Writer

My plan is build it and use onbaord GPU for now, then next pay buy high end GPU to install. looking at Geforce GTX 295.

Now for some help, need suggestions for a good CPU cooler, Power supply that can also handle the high end GPU, many recommend 680W, and a case. I would like to build this PC to be quiet as possible.

 

[Muffin Man]

the x4 940 is a good cpu, but you could try and find out if the mobo will support a x4 955, which is an am3 cpu, so it should work with this mobo (since its am2+ and its also 125w) and youll be able to move it on to another build if/when you upgrade again and its only $10 more. just a thought.

what else are going to be doing with this rig? if its main purpose will be for gaming, then you wont need more than 4gigs of ram. it would be better to put that money you wouldve spent on more ram towards something else or just save it.

i would not be looking at a gtx 295 right now, unless youre a real nvidia fanboi and are willing to pay the extra money for that. an hd 5870 would be a better choice. its a single gpu card so it will run cooler and its fan wont need to be as loud, it uses a good bit less power, and it supports dx11 and eyefinity. plus, i know this is just a small detail, but you know, its like $100 cheaper [/sarcasm]

if you still want to stay w/ nvidia though, i would get a mid-end card for now like a gts 250 or gtx 260 and wait for nvidia to release their new gpus, which will be sometime in q1 of this year.

the hdd you picked is a good choice, but we need to know your budget to suggest parts for the rest of you build.

 

[Runfox]

Thanks Muffin Man:
CPU, the MB has an AM2+ socket, the EVGA rep told me it could handle the 940 which is also socket AM2+ 125v, I dont see how it could handle the 955 since it is a diferent socket AM3??

RAM, sorry I didnt make it clear, I plan to max the MB out 8 gig of DDR2 800 ( 4 sticks of 2gig each = 8gigs) DDR2 800 mem is fairly cheap right now.

This will mainly be gaming, video edit, photo edit PC, box only , larger monitor, (24") to come later.

Budget, dont really have a firm limit, looking to get the basic PC built using on board graphics, for now , under $1000 would be good. Looks like I should be able to do for say $800 ??

Looking at ANTEC cases, I have a Antec P183 Black Aluminum / Steel / Plastic ATX Mid Tower Computer Case now, love the quiet operation, and built in filters, only thing I hate is doors or front covers you have to open to get to the optical drives, will likly buy another ANTEC.

Need suggestions for a power supply, and CPU cooler, I know nothing about either.
Power supplies, I am looking for cool, quiet, efecient. I guess 80 plus certified, I dont know what the ATX12v is, needs to be PCIE x16 2.0 compatible to have power supplies for a high end GPU.

Like I say, I know nothing about best brands power supply or anything about CPU cooler???

 

[Muffin Man]

am3 cpus are backwards compatible with most am2+/am2 mobos with a bios update. just keep in mind that it doesnt work the other way around, as in, you cannot use am2+/am2 cpus in an am3 mobo.

why not just sell your mobo though? with your budget, you would be able to get a nice i5 build with that which would be better.

edit: actually, now that i think about what i said above, if you did this you might end up with a less powerful gaming machine (which is supposed to be its main purpose) because parts can be a bit more expensive for an i5 build.

some suggestions for coolers
Noctua NH-U9B SE2 92mm SSO CPU Cooler - Retail
Tuniq Tower 120 Universal CPU Cooler 120mm Cooling Fan and Fan Controller/Heatsink - Retail
Vigor Monsoon III LT Dual 120mm Fan CPU Cooler Socket 1366 Ready - Retail
XIGMATEK Intel Core i7 compatible Dark Knight-S1283V 120mm Long Life Bearing CPU Cooler - Retail

cant really suggest a psu until i know what hardware youll be running.

 

[Runfox]

Wow I learn something new all the time on this board!! I never knew the AMD AM3 cpu's were backward compatible with AM2+ scoket. I guess my next question would , what are the pro's and cons of using an AM3 CPU on my AM2+ board? I know of course the AM3 CPU's would be faster, more powerfull, but would they be throtteld or slowed down by being in an AM2+ socket? Would that be worth the extra money for a AM3 CPU over an AM2+ cpu??

Thanks for the cooler links. I guess all the new CPU coolers are towers huh? I guess I'll have to measure my case and see how they will fit a new case, reading some reviews it sounds like that is the biggest problem, to make sure the cooler will fit in the case. Some of those coolers are monsterous large, I can only imagine if my memory or whatever else wil fit around some of them.

I like the XIGMATEK Dark night, the design makes sense, one fan would make less noise than 2, and looking at their website, looks like the CPU fan blows air from the front to back as the MB sits in the case, a deffinit plus so that all the air flow in the case would be from front to back! And hte physical size does not appear to be too large.

 

[Muffin Man]

no, it wouldnt really cause a bottleneck by using an am3 cpu in an am2+ socket. i just mentioned this because if you ever decide to upgrade in the future to straight am3/ddr3, you would be able to move the cpu over and continue using it. and like i mentioned before, from the x4 940 to the x4 955 is only like $10 more.