Need help building

[Puma7]

I'm (trying to) build my first custom computer. I want quad processor and 2-4GB of RAM. I'm trying to keep it around $1000. Here's what someone has recommended to me so far:

Core 2 Quad Q6600 289.99

Gigabyte DS3R 129.99

Crucial Ballisitx 109>69.99 (40 dollar rebate)

Thermaltake Tsuanmi 109.99>89.99 (after 20 dollar rebate)

Seasonic S12 550W 129.99

Pioneer DVD +/- RW 33.99

8800GTS 289.99>269.99 (20 dollar rebate)

I also may need a new HDD. If I do, what brand would you recommend? How does this list look to you?

 

[peterhuang913]

Newegg.com - CORSAIR CMPSU-520HX ATX12V v2.2 and EPS12V 2.91 520W Power Supply 100 - 240 V UL, CUL, CE, CB, FCC Class B, TUV, CCC, C-tick - Retail
Newegg.com - Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 ST3320620AS (Perpendicular Recording Technology) 320GB 7200 RPM 16MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM
Newegg.com - Sony NEC Optiarc Black 18X DVD+R 8X DVD+RW 8X DVD+R DL 18X DVD-R 6X DVD-RW 12X DVD-RAM 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-R 32X CD-RW 48X CD-ROM 2MB Cache E-IDE / ATAPI DVD Burner - OEM

 

[Deadpixel]

Newegg.com - CORSAIR CMPSU-520HX ATX12V v2.2 and EPS12V 2.91 520W Power Supply 100 - 240 V UL, CUL, CE, CB, FCC Class B, TUV, CCC, C-tick - Retail
Newegg.com - Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 ST3320620AS (Perpendicular Recording Technology) 320GB 7200 RPM 16MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM
Newegg.com - Sony NEC Optiarc Black 18X DVD+R 8X DVD+RW 8X DVD+R DL 18X DVD-R 6X DVD-RW 12X DVD-RAM 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-R 32X CD-RW 48X CD-ROM 2MB Cache E-IDE / ATAPI DVD Burner - OEM

Whats wrong with the Seasonic peter? (I linked him here from a different forums). I myself would go with the Seasonic, b/c more watts, and no rebates..

 

[Vaanish]

Nothin wrong with it @ all. Seasonic actually make Corsairs' PSUs, so they are both of an equal quality. I would go for the SeaSonic but thats just me.

 

[b1gapl]

Hey Puma7

SeaSonics are very good power supplies. But getting the Corsair 520HX at buy.com, you just can't beat the price, for the power is offers:

Buy.com - Corsair 520W SLI Certified Modular ATX Power Supply - CMPSU-520HX

 

[krazyq]

I just bought mine from buy.com too.
Just use google checkout and you get 10 more dollars off and shipping is free.

 

[krazyq]

And if you dont need raid you could save money and get the same mobo for a lower price.

Newegg.com - GIGABYTE GA-P35-DS3L LGA 775 Intel P35 ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail

Reminder- this does not have raid.

 

[Puma7]

What is raid?

 

[Ethereal_Dragon]

Lol, if you don't know what it is.... you won't need it....

There are many different forms of RAID, but the most common at consumer level is RAID 0 or RAID 1. You need at least 2 hard drives for both.

RAID 0 stripes the data between the 2 hard drives. Say you have two 500 Gig drives. The RAID 0 array in your windows explorer will show up as a SINGLE 1,000 Gig drive. The down side is that if 1 of the drive dies, you lose ALLLL of the data....

RAID 1 mirrors data between the drives. Say again, you have two 500 Gig drives. The RAID 1 array will show up as a single 500 Gig drive in explorer. The upside here is that if one drive fails, you have an exact duplicate drive onhand, if all is well....

 

[TRDCorolla1]

I always though RAID 0 didn't combine the total drive space. For example, you have 2x 80GB drives. If you put them in RAID 0, it's still 80GB. But if it is the combined total, 160GB, then I'm going RAID 0 in the future.