which mobo, CPU, RAM?

[VirusType2]

hey people

I need another PC.

My plan is to:

Take the mobo, cpu, and ram (all in one piece) out of my Antec 900 case and put it in a different case which has everything else ready to go.

So I need to buy a new Motherboard, CPU, RAM, and some kind of CPU cooler or fan and put it in my Antec 900 case. Whatever else do I need, some kind of thermal paste...


Anyhow, for someone who has never installed a CPU, is it possible to buy a motherboard with a cpu and fan already attached?


The 900 case is a mid-tower I think, so I should get a board that fits. I have in there now what I think is called a micro ATX board right now, and there is plenty of room for a bigger board.


I was thinking of going through newegg, since they ship to me so fast.

I'm not up on things lately. What is the best CPU for the money these days. I also need help finding the right Processor that will fit in the right motherboard.

I definitely want a multi-core processor, and the board has to have the max RAM that 32 bit Windows XP can use (4GB?) EDIT: I may eventually put Vista in here though?

I want a fast processor and fast ram, but I don't want to pay a lot.

I don't need on-board audio, and will probably not use it, since I have an X-Fi card, and I don't need on-board ethernet, since I have a card around here somewhere, but I don't think that will add to the cost much if it has ethernet built in.

I'm going to do some gaming on this computer, so it must have PCI Express.

Can anyone point me in the right direction? I'm lost when I look at motherboards. What is a great processor for the money right now?

I was leaning towards Intel.

Is there any other technology on the horizon that I will want to be ready for? For example, PCI express Audio cards?

I'm going to be looking here I guess. www.newegg.com

EDIT: Oh, and I need a lot of SATA slots. My board now only has 4 SATA slots. I've got 6 Hard drives and a SATA DVD DL burner. Also, I may get an NVIDIA 8800 or better sometime down the line, so the motherboard can't have any issues with these cards.

 

[Eejit]

E8400 is a great processor, though I hear it's overpriced at newegg.

8800GT is currently best value for money gpu if you want to run newer games.

P35 mobos should be ok, I have an Asus one and it's solid.
I'd avoid DDR3 ram for a while longer, it still seems far overpriced for the difference between it and DDR2.

 

[VirusType2]

hmm, yeah, wow. I saw some ram for $600

I'd like to get the motherboard, ram, and CPU for under $300

I've only seen one motherboard that sounds OK so far, I'll have to keep looking to make sure I get the right one for me. it can use any of the multi-core intel processors. It supports DDR2 or DDR3 and has 8 SATA slots. I could get DDR2 ram for now, and DDR3 later, when the prices are reasonable.

this one:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128082

Pros: Very stable so far running the F2 bios. I paired it with the E8400 and it just worked a treat. I have my E8400 running at 3.6 and that was my 1st try. I havn't tried pushing it yet. The bios are quite simple to understand even for noobs. People say the ide port is in a bad place. They should have had my last board. The slot was between the PCIE and the PCI slots so don't complain. The thing that sold me was the 8 Sata ports, as I have 6 hard drives and a Sata dvd burner.
Cons: None that I can think of.

I need a noob board. I've never upgraded a bios or overclocked ram or cpu before.

EDIT: Yeah, the E8400 sounds good for me. The QX9600 is over $1,000 USD so an E8400 at around $200 sounds more realistic.

I think I need to keep looking. Hopefully I can find a cheaper motherboard as I'm already at $382 without any RAM


just an update:
I've decided to go with 2GB of DDR2 ram, so that should save a bunch on ram and the motherboard. I'm running XP Pro (Enterprise) Also, I want to go with the E8400 intel processor (LGA 775)

I want at least 6 sata slots though, and I haven't found this in the lower cost boards yet. also, PCI 1x and PCI slots aren't always on the lower cost boards, and I probably will really want these.

I'm trying to learn about FSB speeds right now. I just found out that the memory speed needs to match the FSB or something like that.. hmm.

So i got the processor I want, then I find a board that fits it, with the features I want, then I find RAM that matches the speed?

Ok I'm learning. I want this shit to be fast with no memory bottleneck.

EDIT:
So If I get an Intel E8400 processor that has a 1333Mhz FSB, do I get a 1333mhz FSB motherboard and also 1333mhz RAM as well in order to run the CPU at full speed?

I have no idea what I'm doing, though I'm being forced to learn, so any help would be ... helpful.

It's starting to seem that until recently only DDR3 RAM can go to 1333Mhz, so does this mean that the E8400 processor would not be fully used if I settle for 1066 FSB/ 1066 DDR2 RAM?

the differences don't seem great in comparisons. I'm starting to get annoyed and might just build a shiny pile of shit for under $200 that is almost the same as the shiny pile of shit for $400

maybe a 1333mhz FSB processor with a 1333mhz motherboard, with 667 mhz RAM In dual channel? 667x2 = 1334

where the hell is Asus.