[hadlove]

I'm building a gaming computer, is this a good list?
Biostar TA790GX 128M Motherboard CPU Bundle - Socket AM2+, AMD Phenom II X4 940 3.0GHz Black Edition Quad Core Retail Processor - http://www.tigerdire...14&Sku=B69-2089

Antec Nine Hundred Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - http://www.newegg.co...N82E16811129021

ViewSonic X Series VX2262wm Black 22" 5ms, 2ms(GTG) Widescreen LCD Monitor 300 cd/m2 DC 20000:1(1000:1) Built in Speakers - http://www.newegg.co...N82E16824116392

Logitech G11 Gaming Keyboard - http://www.newegg.co...N82E16823126009

Logitech MX518 8 Buttons 1 x Wheel USB Wired Optical 1800 dpi Gaming-Grade Mouse - http://www.newegg.co...N82E16826104178

EcoGreen F2 500GB 5,400RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive OEM - http://www.microcent...duct_id=0311324

CORSAIR CMPSU-650TX 650W ATX12V / EPS12V SLI Ready CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS Certified Active PFC Compatible with Core i7 Power Supply - http://www.newegg.co...k=corsair%20650
* I'm not sure if i want the 750W OCZ, any opinions?

If you have any opinions on what I have listed up there or you think I should change something please write it.
Ok, now for the hard part. I'm a computer building virgin and this is going to be my first. I'm trying to make a high-speed gaming computer with good graphics. I have no idea what video card to get that would be compatible and good for this build. I also don't have RAM up there but I know I want at least 4Gs of DDR2. I have no idea what DVD Burner and cooler to get for the processor. Any opinions or suggestions would be very helpful because i'm kinda a noob.
Thanks

[madmatt2006]

You could be getting a mainboard that supports DDR3 RAM what RAM are you getting? Also the more watts the better in the way of PSU, I'd try get a 7200RMP hard drive to.

[hadlove]

I'm trying not to get DDR3 because I have heard it is 40$ more than DRR2. I think I'm probably going to get OCZ RAM (maybe 6 or 8)and I've had someone tell me to get a 7200 rpm hard drive so ill be looking into those. Are all the items listed compatible with the motherboard and do you have any opinions about a video card?

[madmatt2006]

Yep have lots of suggestions on graphics cards I'm sure the member Noop will have some suggestions for you soon he will be online. Did you have a budget on the graphics card? what games do you want to play on this PC?

[hadlove]

Well i kinda have a budget so it can't be crazy expensive. My friend suggested I get Portal, Team Fortress 2, Crysis, Fallout 3, and Left for Dead.

[madmatt2006]

A Geforce 8800GT would run them well the GT9600 seems to choke up compared to the 8800GT or a Radeon HD 5870 would also run them well. I'm sure some other members will have suggestions

[noop]

Welcome to the site!

The harddrive at 7200 RPM is definitely a must have for a gaming computer. Your computer will usually bottleneck here since it is one of the few things that contains moving parts (unless you go solid state, which is very expensive right now). You will want to purchase a SATA hard drive that can provide up to 3.0Gb/s for a transfer rate. You should also buy a drive that has a cache size of 32MB and pay attention to the Average Latency and Average Seek times. The lower the time, the faster the drive will be.

The DVD/CD drive is definitely user preference. If you have games that require CDs/DVDs, you will want to make sure that the read rates are as high as possible.

As for RAM, DDR3 will be faster, however this could be something that can be upgraded at a later time, so if you are on a budget, you can always purchase faster RAM at a later time.

Lastly, for your graphics card, make sure the interface is PCI Express x16 2.0 and has a memory interface of 128-bits or higher. DO NOT go with a 64-bit memory interface.

What is your max budget for a graphics card? Even though madmatt says the 9600GT is kind of crappy, I would go with this care if you are on a severe budget.
http://www.newegg.co...N82E16814121320

Here is my second choice for a card if you want to spent around $100. This card will be faster than the Nvidia since the memory is GDDR5.
http://www.newegg.co...N82E16814102835

Hope this helps, let us know if you have any questions, we would be glad to help. Also, have you taken any computer courses to put a computer together? If not please let us know, we will have some tips for ya
-noop

[hadlove]

yeah im working on getting a hard drive with more rpms. It's not that tight of a budget but im trying to keep the graphics card under 150$. I was wondering if the Geforce GTX 260 was a good graphics card to get?
like this one http://www.newegg.co...N82E16814130482

[noop]

That is a very nice card! EVGA makes great products, you definitely won't be dissatisfied with it!

That should be able to play most of your games on the highest settings offered!

[madmatt2006]

Yep that card would also be fine