Mieser

Hello all. I'm a newbie and have decided to roll up my sleeves and try to build my first computer. I'm looking to build a mid-range gaming computer and would like to spend around $1200 on it. This computer will mainly be used for gaming (and specifically an "older" game, NASCAR Racing 2003 Season) and I plan on running XP on it as well. I have decided to go with the Intel Core 2 Duo E8400 3.0GHz processor and am trying to decide on what motherboard I should get. Any suggestions on what would work well with the E8400? I really don't plan on doing any overclocking at this point, just want to make sure I get a mobo that will work well with the E8400 and XP.

I'd appreciate any suggestions you all could give me.

Thanks!

wrench97

Gigabyte GA EP45 UD3R is still my favorite for this type of build, second is the ASUS P5Q E
Have a look at the Price difference between the E8400 and the E8500 CPU's Should be around $15.

What are you looking at for a Video card and PSU?

Mieser

I really plan on spending a good chunk of change for a better video card. Right now I'm looking at the XFX GeForce GTX 260 Black Edition 896MB.

Haven't looked too much at PSUs yet.....although I'm guessing that I'll need one with around 750W? Am I completely off base here......what do you suggest?

Mieser

I also looked at the price difference between the E8400 and E8500....looks to be about $20 at newegg. Is it worth the extra money for the E8500?

wrench97

If you plan on doing any overclocking the E8500 is worth the extra.
For Nvidia Cards it's hard to beat EVGA for support and warranty the GTX260 is an awesome card, A good quality 750w would run it but I prefer to use a 850w with it to allow some future upgrade room and overclocking overhead. Something like the Corsair 850tx or the PC Power & Cooling 860w.

Mieser

Thanks for the advice. The Corsair 850TX PSU looks good. I'll definitely check that out. What about RAM? I'm thinking at least 4GB (should I go for more?) Also, what manufacturers are good?

wrench97

For the P45 chip set I use a lot of Corsair, Crucial, Ocz if the client wants it.
For 32Bit 4Gig is the limit and with the current ram pricing 2, 2 gig sticks TWIN2X4096-6400C4DHX In Corsair > http://www.corsair.com/configurator/...aspx?id=754031
or in Crucial
BL2KIT25664AA80A > http://www.crucial.com/store/mpartsp...F1EE06A5CA7304

Use the part numbers to search your favorite online store for the best prices.

I don't see any reason to use more then 4Gig even with a 64Bit os.

Mieser

Thanks for the advice wrench97. How about cases? What do you recommend? Just want to make sure the one I pick will fit the PSU. Are any brands better than others?

You've been a great help....thanks again.

wrench97

There is a lot of difference in quality in cases, I use a lot of the coolermaster Centurian and Elite series on budget builds> http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...119115&bop=And
Depends a lot on what is pleasing to your eye to some it matters a lot and others it could be a plywood box and be ok

Upgraded cases like the Antec 900,1200 or the Coolermaster Cosomos line and the Thermaltake Armour series are also good.

Mieser

I really like the Antec 900 Black Steel case......think I'll go with that one.

Okay, how about hard drives? I'm looking at the Western Digital Caviar Black WD1001FALS 1TB drive. Any concerns with that hard drive?

Thanks!

wrench97

1T drives are large takes a lot to back them up, I prefer 2 smaller drives easier to handle, My preferred drives are Seagate I think they more stable then WD's and the recent issues if you've read about them seem resolved and look to have been a batch problem.

Mieser

So would I be better off getting two 500GB drives instead? I looked on newegg at the Seagate drives. Seems to be a lot of choices. Which Seagate drive(s) have you had good luck with in the past?

wrench97

This is the 500 I use > http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16822148288
Or a combination of a 250 and 500 depends on your storage needs I've set them up as a Boot drive and a Data drive for clients only to find out a year later that the boot drive is 50% full and the Data drive is empty.

Mieser

What brand of DVD/CD Burner do you recommend? I've been told that the CD writer should be at least 48X and the DVD writer should at least be 8X or higher (preferably 16X or higher).

wrench97

I have used a lot of different ones and keep going back to a Asus branded one if it's in sale
(not at the moment) This looks to be a newer model number > http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16827135186
Or the old standby Liteon They are noisy but work well
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16827106288

Mieser

I'm looking to get a 24" LCD monitor for my new build also. Suggestions on brands?

wrench97

I've never used this in 24" but the 22" ones are nice> http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16824236052

grimx133

Antec now has the 902 also. It's a 900, but the inside is black and there are dust filters on the two front intakes. Looks a lot more like the 1200 than the original.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16811129058