building my first computer part 2!

[thubby]

hello again.
well, i think i have all the parts figured out for my computer, and i have a few questions. and want your input on parts, any compatibility issues i may have missed, and anywhere i can get the parts cheap.

cpu- Intel Core 2 Duo E8400 Wolfdale (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115037)
motherboard- Intel BOXDP45SG LGA 775 Intel P45 ATX Intel Motherboard (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813121348)
RAM- mushkin 2GB 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 (PC3 10666) Desktop Memory (http://http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820146736). I'm actually not sure about this one. I know most RAM is 2 sticks that work together, is that better? also, could i use 2 of these together?
harddrive- well, I am hoping to get a seagate barracuda, however anywhere i find them they lack cable, screws, or anything else i would need to a hook it up, and as this is my first computer i don't have any of it already.
video card- ASUS EN9600GT (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814121229)
the site doesn't list any power requirement, from what i understand it gets enough power from the motherboard, is that right?
cd/dvd drive- ASUS Black
(http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827135186)
case+power supply- Rosewill R363-M-BK Micro Black Ultra High Gloss Finished ATX Computer Case with 400W ATX 2.2 12V Power Supply (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811147099)

OS- windows xp-64 is my first choice, but I'm still not entirely sold on it.

thank you in advance for your infinite computery wisdom. *bows*

edit: oh yeah, the monitor/speakers
ASUS VH226H Black 21.5" 2ms(GTG) HDMI Widescreen (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824236051)

total cost: $668+cost of hardrive

[FdL]

Looks really nice.

I'd go for a 9800 personally for a video card, don't know if it costs a lot more really. I do think there are even newer cooler video cards.

With the hard drive I think that the cables and screws either come with the HD itself or with the motherboard and case, so it shouldn't really be a problem. Even if they didn't, which is highly unlikely, a SATA cable and a handful of screws are not that difficult to buy. You'd have to walk out of your house for those, granted. Everything else you can get delivered to your door...

Also the 400w power supply might be a bit too little for that video card. You might want to check on that, as it's a crucial point. You could buy the case with no power supply, then get yourself a good brand supply of 500-550w of REAL output. 600 might sound like too much, but I'd get it to have room in case of upgrades, and also it's better to have it performing without being pushed to its limit.

Two 1 Gb RAM sticks is better than a single 2 Gb because they work in parallel in each channel.

[BugFix]

hello again. RAM- mushkin 2GB 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 (PC3 10666) Desktop Memory. I'm actually not sure about this one. I know most RAM is 2 sticks that work together, is that better? also, could i use 2 of these together?

Yes. The P45 chipset on your motherboard is dual channel, and you absolutely, positively want to fill both of those channels (with DIMMs of the same size and speed rating, of course). Not doing so will work, but halve your memory bandwidth. A quick look at the newegg page seems to indicate that the motherboard has both DDR2 and DDR3 slots -- honestly DDR3 memory isn't all that much faster (the standard will be, as it will scale to higher clocks, but the parts and chipsets aren't there yet so the actual products on the shelf are a wash), so you could look at saving a little money and going with the older memory.


harddrive- well, I am hoping to get a seagate barracuda, however anywhere i find them they lack cable, screws, or anything else i would need to a hook it up, and as this is my first computer i don't have any of it already.

I've never seen a drive sold that doesn't come with a SATA cable, though I'm sure there's an OEM somewhere that ships them like that. The power cable comes from your power supply, and screws are generally shipped with the case. That's all you need.

[thubby]

Looks really nice.

I'd go for a 9800 personally for a video card, don't know if it costs a lot more really. I do think there are even newer cooler video cards.
I looked into that, but I would either have to spend around $50 on the card, or about as much for a more beefy power supply. and honestly I doubt I'm going to be pushing this one all that hard.


With the hard drive I think that the cables and screws either come with the HD itself or with the motherboard and case, so it shouldn't really be a problem. Even if they didn't, which is highly unlikely, a SATA cable and a handful of screws are not that difficult to buy. You'd have to walk out of your house for those, granted. Everything else you can get delivered to your door...
the light, it burnses *hissss*
all of the ones I've seen say they require a sata cable, and drivers


Also the 400w power supply might be a bit too little for that video card. You might want to check on that, as it's a crucial point. You could buy the case with no power supply, then get yourself a good brand supply of 500-550w of REAL output. 600 might sound like too much, but I'd get it to have room in case of upgrades, and also it's better to have it performing without being pushed to its limit.

various power calculators have told me the whole setup takes around 200 regularly, but I will look into the card's power needs.

edit: Seagate Barracuda ES 500GB SATA/300 7200RPM 16MB Hard Drive (http://www.geeks.com/details.asp?InvtId=ST3500630NS-R&cm_mmc=GoogleProducts-_-HardDrives-_-InternalSATAHardDrive3.5in-_-ST3500630NS-R&utm_source=GoogleProducts&utm_medium=ShoppingSites&utm_campaign=ST3500630NS-R)
it's power requirements are listed as # +5V, 0.72A, # +12V, 0.52A. however, i can't find any power supplies that support that. does that mean there is some obscure power supply I'm going to need, or is the __A isn't relevant? :smallconfused: