My First Computer Build... Please Check My Selection and answer questions

[NightSurge]

In regards to the Circuit City guy saying you cannot use Blu-Ray soon due to Copyrights:

That is entirely false. I think he is a very poorly educated employee. There is HDCP regulations in set so that in the future you MAY NOT be able to use Blu-Ray if you aren't using a digital signal, but as long as your video card has DVI or HDMI you will still be able to play Blu-Ray content as well as many other forms of media without any trouble. So you see, the issue is not with Copyrights, it is with HDCP regulations that may or may not go into affect in the near future.

If it is a matter of getting these parts at the lowest price and having it configured/built for you at the lowest price, please take notice to my signature

 

[Kjølen]

Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi Platinum Fatal1ty Champion 70SB046A00003 7.1 Channels PCI Interface Sound Card - Retail 179.99 (is having X-Ram really worth 180? what else am I getting here, or would the 780I onboard sound be just as good?)

Any sound card Audigy SE and up will be much better than any onboard audio you have. Plus, having a separate sound processor takes away the strain from your CPU. However, if you're set on getting an X-Fi with the X-RAM, the regular Xtreme Gamer edition has 2MB of X-RAM and is only about $91 on Newegg. The Xtreme Gamer Fatal1ty Pro has the full 64MB of X-RAM and is $136 ($86 after a rebate, currently). One of the newer high-end X-Fi cards, the Platinum Fatal1ty Professional is $140 (Nearly the same price as the former card, minus the rebate) which uses a revised version of the older sound processors, a card casing, a PCI-Express 1x slot, and appears to not need a power jack. It's basically the same card you're looking at without the front bay panel.

If you were to ask me, I'd get the Xtreme Gamer Fatal1ty Pro at $86 before the rebate goes, because it's normally about $150 at a place like Best Buy. I'm thinking about getting one myself, actually. However, if you simply want something better than your onboard without the bells and whistles, an Audigy SE will perform admirably at $28.

Sorry, I realize you had an entire system planned here, but everyone else had already touched on the other topics for you.

 

[brandonlowe2]

thanks alot for the insight on the sound card I guess I just have to figure out what I want to spend on a sound card. i think the pro for 86 sounds like the ticket