Newbie attempting to build a comp, help/advice welcomed!

[LeMoph]

Hey all, thanks for clicking the link to this thread. If anyone feels compelled enough to take some time to help, I could really do with some advice.

I've been struggling on with this computer for some time, it's not so bad, but it's not so great either (about 6 years old - 2.4Ghz).

I've decided to go for this CPU: Intel Core 2 Duo Desktop Processor E8400, 2 x 3GHz / 1333MHz FSB.

However, when I take a look through the motherboards, I simply can't get a good grip of what I want or need. It looks like there's far too much choice, but again it looks like only a few would be suitable.. I need help.

Some I've looked at are:
Asus P5E-VM HDMI Motherboard
MSI P7N Zilent *Zalman Limited Edition* Bundle 1333FSB
Asus P5N-D, NF750i SLI
XFX MB-N780I-ISH9, nForce 780i SLI

Motherboard requirements I need are:
Socket 775
1333 FSB

I'd like to be able to run decent RAM 2 Gig at least, possibly 4 depending on cost (800Mhz? 1066?).

Is it worth getting an SLI motherboard? Taking Age of Conan as an example, would it be worth it there, or for the future? Am I restricted to using two cards with the SLI, or can I just use one, and future proof it for SLI in the future, or perhaps would it be better to buy another motherboard for this in the future when I need it?

Also, as a side note, I have a 23" Widescreen HD TV I use as my monitor, will I need a particular motherboard to make use of the HD? (Perhaps this is better left for the future also?
I suppose it all depends on cost here, SLI? HDMI board?

Minor concerns are number of SATA or IDE connections, also the manufacturer of the card.

Is there anything else I should be looking for from the motherboard? /confused



Memory (RAM):
4GB (2x2GB) Corsair TwinX XMS2
or just a couple of sticks of: CCL Value 2GB DDR2 800 Memory?
Or is that wise considering I have Vista 32-bit to put on it? :x

Graphics Card, tempted to pick up an XFX GeForce 9600GT Graphics Card.

After that it's just a few other bits and pieces I'll need, a case, a fan, some thermal paste, and perhaps a new power supply depending on how the final setup looks.
I'll be using my current screen, keyboard and mouse, so perhaps a KVM switch is half worth looking at too :freak:.

I guess I just want to make sure I'm aware of where this system will get limited first, and hopefully it won't mean buying all new components.

So, any help will be greatly welcomed and appreciated, and thanks for reading so far if you have!
It seems each time I look back at components things change, so if you don't like anything you see above, feel free to speak your mind

 

[stevei48]

Hi welcome to the forums the guys on here are great and have taught me alot i.m building my second comp. with their help look around on this link it has a tutorial on putting a build together and recomended parts to use
http://www.techist.com/forums/f75/hardware-stickies-index-142552/

 

[veg1992]

q6600 is more future proof than an e8400 (Because its quad-core)
get 4gb because its also future proof, but remember you need a 64bit Operating system to see all of it
if that 23'' monitor is 1920x1200 or above then we'd recommend SLI, but this isn't the case for you, in your case you don't need an SLI board (but I'd recommend the 750i FTW instead)

 

[LeMoph]

Brilliant! thanks for the help guys, I'll have a read through that tutorial right now.

About the processor, if it's not multi-threaded software, then does it mean that it will only use one of the two 3Ghz processors? and in that sense, isn't it better to get a Dual 3Ghz processor, rather than a quad 2.4 Ghz?.. i.e. single threaded applications will only use a 2.4 processor instead of a possible 3? Or am I totally mistaken? Anyway, will go read that tutorial now and see if I can soak up more info
(I shouldn't be multitasking much on the computer either, so more cores would only be better for me if the software is truely multi-threaded.. I think).

I guess that would be good future proofing, but the motherboard says it can handle either dual cores or quad cores, since I'm just looking to run Age of Conan at the moment, (and I seem to have read that it only makes use of two cores at the moment, and sometimes it's better to turn one core off) would it be better to put that dual core in, and then in the future swap to that processor when/if I need it and once the prices have come down with say.. a 3Ghz quad core?

Hmm, just a quick question about the RAM.. when you say, 4 gig would be better for future proofing, and a 64-bit OS would be needed to 'see' all of it, does that mean that it would just be unseen, or would the RAM above 4 Gig go used or unused?


I'm a bit lost with my screen to be honest.. the way I have it hooked up at the moment with the normal monitor connection, 1280x768 is the max resolution it can handle. I have tried connecting it with an HDMI lead and it could take a lot more, although the colour depth seemed to have dropped and there was a great deal of overscan, and I didn't manage to fix this.
I think I'll stick without SLI for the time being as advised then, and perhaps visit this possibility in the future.

Again, thanks for the help!
*Goes off to read through the tutorial*

 

[blackhawk13]

Any RAM above 3gb on a 32-Bit OS will go unseen (and not used). You need to have a 64-Bit OS to utilize anything more than 3 gigs.

 

[Redmo0n]

Currently most games and applications do not use all 4 cores of the Q6600. The E8400 would be a better choice for now, but, when applications start using 4 cores it will be like getting a new cpu for you.

The E8400 and the q6600 are both good processors and will run similar with both having excellent performance (especially if overclocked)

If you want to buy the E8400 now and then in a few years buy a Quad core then you could, but you would just be wasting money.

Quad Core - 6 Years life

Dual - 3 Years life