Custom-Built Desktop

[Prototype]

Graphics Card: From which manufacturer should I buy the 9600GT SLI from?
Hard Drive: Should I go for multiple hard drives or a single hard drive? If multiple hard drives, how many?
Memory: What kind of memory should I buy for my motherboard (standard memory: DDR2 800)?
OS: Which one should I choose Windows XP x64 or Windows Vista x64?
Optical Drive: Should I buy a Blu-ray burner? Is it neccessary? Should I go for multiple drives or just one?
Power Supply: How do I know which one to pick?
Processor: Which Core 2 Quad should I buy?
Sound Card: Does it make a big difference if I buy one?

 

[Spartan]

We really need to know the uses of the computer before we can be of much help, mate.

 

[Prototype]

Gaming, Overclocking & More

 

[Luke]

asuming it for gaming and you want it to last a year/year and a half i would go with this...

GPU:im not sure if u mean u want 2 9600gt's sli...if so the galaxy brand has good cooling, can oc well and looks very nice (i have one and will be getting another one soon)
HDD:if you don't plan to use raid 0 get one hdd :seagate 7200.11 500gig 32mb cache would be good.

Ram: 2 gb crucial ballistix or 2gb g.skill (800mhz)

OS: id say windows vista home premium 64bit.

Optical drives: blu ray is not neccisary unless u are watching blu ray movies on ur comp or burning them... just pick up a sata dvd writer,,,the only reason to get more then one optical drive is for u can have ur fav games in them for u don't have to switch,, or for u can burn a dvd/cd directly.

PSU: for that system a 620hx or pc power and cooling 610w would be perfect.

CPU: If you don't want to spen alot of doe the q6600 is still the best bang for the buck

CPU heatsink: if you want to oc go with a true,tuniq tower,, if you don't want to oc u can stick with the retail cooling or get a artic cooling freezer 7.

SC: some say a sound card does increase performance and some say it doesn't...its really up to u.

MOBO: depending on how much u want to spend on it if you want it to be upgradeable for a good while i would go with a 780i, if ur going to upgrade to mobo in a year then id say a 680i would be fine.

 

[NightSurge]

A good cpu cooler that is very cheap is the Xigmatek brand. As far as the motherboard goes, you don't have to get an nVidia chipset. Look for a good x38 board as they are usually cheaper and are very good boards.

 

[Prototype]

asuming it for gaming and you want it to last a year/year and a half i would go with this...

GPU:im not sure if u mean u want 2 9600gt's sli...if so the galaxy brand has good cooling, can oc well and looks very nice (i have one and will be getting another one soon)
HDD:if you don't plan to use raid 0 get one hdd :seagate 7200.11 500gig 32mb cache would be good.

Ram: 2 gb crucial ballistix or 2gb g.skill (800mhz)

OS: id say windows vista home premium 64bit.

Optical drives: blu ray is not neccisary unless u are watching blu ray movies on ur comp or burning them... just pick up a sata dvd writer,,,the only reason to get more then one optical drive is for u can have ur fav games in them for u don't have to switch,, or for u can burn a dvd/cd directly.

PSU: for that system a 620hx or pc power and cooling 610w would be perfect.

CPU: If you don't want to spen alot of doe the q6600 is still the best bang for the buck

CPU heatsink: if you want to oc go with a true,tuniq tower,, if you don't want to oc u can stick with the retail cooling or get a artic cooling freezer 7.

SC: some say a sound card does increase performance and some say it doesn't...its really up to u.

MOBO: depending on how much u want to spend on it if you want it to be upgradeable for a good while i would go with a 780i, if ur going to upgrade to mobo in a year then id say a 680i would be fine.

Graphics Card: Why Galaxy? What about EVGA, XFX, MSI & GIGABYTE?
HDD: What is RAID? I heard it has to be at least 2 hard drives and if one fails it will be backup in the other one.
RAM: Why 2GB if I am going with a 64-bit?
Optical Drives: I'll just use my PS3 to watch Blu-ray.
Processor: Which one should I get Q6600 or Q9450? What is the difference except it has a larger cache memory, 45nm, cost more & newer?
Case: What ATX Full-Tower looks nice?
Monitor: How many " should I get?

 

[Area-51]

Graphics Card: Why Galaxy? What about EVGA, XFX, MSI & GIGABYTE?
HDD: What is RAID? I heard it has to be at least 2 hard drives and if one fails it will be backup in the other one.
RAM: Why 2GB if I am going with a 64-bit?
Optical Drives: I'll just use my PS3 to watch Blu-ray.
Processor: Which one should I get Q6600 or Q9450? What is the difference except it has a larger cache memory, 45nm, cost more & newer? maybe Q9450
Case: What ATX Full-Tower looks nice? i think rocketfish
Monitor: How many " should I get? i think 22"

.......

 

[nOcLuE98]

I am thinking that you should go into the hardware stickies index, and read there before you ask any questions. Like which PSU to buy, that is cleary gone over.

screen size is your choice, if you give us a size though, we can recommend some brands.
if you are going 64bit.. I guess 4gb memory is fine. depends on how much you want to spend
cpu-if you are going to OC, then get the q6600.
brand doesnt really matter with gpu, look for a good warranty and good price. the components come from the same place likely.
optical, one drive should be fine, what would you use two for? I dont even use my one, cept to burn cds.
hdd-if you dont know what raid is, go read up on it. and one should be fine. make sure to get a good one though. Like a 7200.11 500gig or so. great hdd, and for only about 115 bucks, its a steal.

 

[StealthTools]

I would say if you didn't want to spend $1,000+ on a QX6700 (has unlocked multiplier for overclockers)

You need a Q6700.. it would be better for your 9 series graphics card than the Q6600 and it isn't all that more expensive..the Q6700 also overclocks fairly well.

AS for power supply I KNOW that one "9800GX2" graphics card takes 580w of power which means you need about a 1200w power supply for SLI.

Here is a link for a good CPU/MOBO combo at a cheap price:

CPU/MOBO LINK

I would go with 1200w to be safe with the 9 Series.. you don't want your PC to crash because your power supply can't keep up in an intense game..

AS for sound.. Get the Sound Blaster X-FI Xtreme Gamer FITALITY sound card it is VERY cheap now days and it is the best Sound Blaster has last I checked.

ALSO:

Search TigerDirect.com And go on YouTube and view TigerDirect's videos... they can answer any of your qoestions and more...PLUS... their prices whoops NewEgg's a*s

 

[Prototype]

I am thinking that you should go into the hardware stickies index, and read there before you ask any questions. Like which PSU to buy, that is cleary gone over. ok sorry ill go check it

screen size is your choice, if you give us a size though, we can recommend some brands. but i would like to know which resolution would be great on 9600GT SLI
if you are going 64bit.. I guess 4gb memory is fine. depends on how much you want to spend what kind of ram should i get that are DDR2 800
cpu-if you are going to OC, then get the q6600. isnt other one a better overclocker?
brand doesnt really matter with gpu, look for a good warranty and good price. the components come from the same place likely. who has the good warranty?
optical, one drive should be fine, what would you use two for? I dont even use my one, cept to burn cds.
hdd-if you dont know what raid is, go read up on it. and one should be fine. make sure to get a good one though. Like a 7200.11 500gig or so. great hdd, and for only about 115 bucks, its a steal. ok

thanks