Hi this will be my first complete build. I was inspired by something I saw on this site. Please advise. Do I need a cpu cooling fan and if so a recommendation would be helpful.

Thanks Bob




NZXT TEMPEST Crafted Series CS-NT-TEM-B Black Steel / Plastic ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - Retail

BIOSTAR G31-M7 TE LGA 775 Intel G31 Micro ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail

EVGA 512-P3-N975-AR GeForce 9800 GT 512MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card - Retail

Rosewill RP550V2-D-SL 550W ATX12V v2.01 SLI Ready CrossFire Ready Power Supply - Retail

Intel Core 2 Duo E7300 Wolfdale 2.66GHz LGA 775 Dual-Core Processor Model BX80571E7300 - Retail

A-DATA 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model ADQVE1A16K - Retail

Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 ST3250410AS 250GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM

Logitech G15 2-Tone USB Wired Standard Gaming Keyboard - Retail

SAMSUNG T240HD Rose-Black 24" 5ms HDMI Widescreen HDTV Monitor - Retail

Logitech G9 Black 5 Buttons Tilt Wheel USB Wired Laser Gaming Mouse - Retail

Sony NEC Optiarc Black IDE DVD-ROM Drive Model DDU1615/B2s - OEM

HT OMEGA STRIKER 7.1 Channels PCI Interface Sound Card - Retail

EDIMAX EW-7128G PCI Wireless Card - Retail

first go with a p43 chepo

Are you going to overclock? If not you can use the cooler the CPU comes with. I think you could find a better video card and power supply for this system. What is your budget and who are you buying your parts from? Do you need the sound card? Get a SATA DVD drive as the smaller cable will allow better airflow in the case.

1- Why get integrated video when you also get a video card ? I would look at getting a p45 chipset if you don't need the integrated video

2- The 9800gt is a good card but you will not be able to push settings on your 24" monitor with newer games. I would look at ATI 4870 or NVIDIA 260gtx 216.

3- Rosewill psu's are not well rated. Look at Corsair, Antec, PC Power & Cooling, BFG ....

4- Drop the IDE optical drive and go for sata.

Thanks for quick response. Budget's not a real problem. But I go a month or so between games and didn't want to spend a whole lot, just more than consoles. This machine will serve no other purpose and will play crysis and crysis warhead. Parts are coming from NewEgg.

I'm not overclocking, so thanks.

Okay here's my fix, mobo, video, power, and dvd. Is not the HT OMEGA STRIKER 7.1 Channels PCI Interface Sound Card a adequate card?

ASRock P43Twins1600 LGA 775 Intel P43 ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail

EVGA 896-P3-1265-AR GeForce GTX 260 Core 216 896MB 448-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card - Retail

PC Power & Cooling S75QB 750W ATX12V / EPS12V SLI NVIDIA SLI Certified (Dual 8800 GTX and below) CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS Certified Active PFC Power Supply - Retail

LITE-ON Black SATA DVD-ROM Drive Model DH-16D3S-04 - OEM

smartel he's looking for a cheap pc build

1) P43 is basically same as P45 w/o the CF, I doubt he will go two graphics card solution so go with P43 cheaper

2) 4870 and 260 is out of his budget I assume being low $1xx card (9800GT) vs mid $2xx card. Depending on how much you are getting the 9800GT for, the 4850 could be had for $150 if you find the right deal and offers 20-30% more performance

3) I agree with this point, regardless of the other components in your PC, never try to save money on the PSU as it is the 'heart' of the computer. Bad PSU can mess up your PC real bad at times. Not trying to say all other PSUs are bad, but definitely a safer way to go with a quality one.

4) I agree as well they are similary price just go with sata, thinner wires provides better airflow

a) you could consider getting the Antec Three Hundred case, that is a very nice case for 1/2 the price of your choice of case

b) never heard of HT OMEGA STRIKER 7.1, but your choice, personally I think onboard sound is decent enough and i am no audiophile to hear the real difference

c) if you want to save money you could omit the wireless card, plus gaming stability would be better with wired connection

d) try to choose a newer Hard drive, the 7200.10 is old as I know there are 7200.11 which is suppose to be faster drives

e) spend a bit more cash and get urself at least an e8400 (9x multipler) or an e8500 (9.5x multipler). They come with more cache that will help you in some games and some applications.

f) huge screen you are getting, I just saw this now, better to go with 4850 than 8800GT in this case. 4870 (general rule of thumb is at higher screen size/resolution you will need more graphics onboard ram, 512mb should just cut it about right but 1gb version would be definitely safer and especially on some newer games) would be a good choice, but that is also a bit more as well.

Okay here's what 1800.00 will get me from NewEgg I can afford to go higher but I'm trying to stay low.

NZXT TEMPEST Crafted Series CS-NT-TEM-B Black Steel / Plastic ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - Retail

Intel Core 2 Duo E8500 Wolfdale 3.16GHz LGA 775 65W Dual-Core Processor Model BX80570E8500 - Retail

Seagate ST3640323AS 640GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM

A-DATA 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model ADQVE1A16K - Retail

ASRock P43Twins1600 LGA 775 Intel P43 ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail

EVGA 896-P3-1265-AR GeForce GTX 260 Core 216 896MB 448-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card - Retail

PC Power & Cooling S75QB 750W ATX12V / EPS12V SLI NVIDIA SLI Certified (Dual 8800 GTX and below) CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS Certified Active PFC Power Supply - Retail

LITE-ON Black SATA DVD-ROM Drive Model DH-16D3S-04 - OEM

Logitech G15 2-Tone USB Wired Standard Gaming Keyboard - Retail

SAMSUNG T240HD Rose-Black 24" 5ms HDMI Widescreen HDTV Monitor - Retail

Logitech G9 Black 5 Buttons Tilt Wheel USB Wired Laser Gaming Mouse - Retail

HT OMEGA STRIKER 7.1 Channels PCI Interface Sound Card - Retail

EDIMAX EW-7128G PCI Wireless Card - Retail

That's a pretty solid system ! Have fun with your build !!

if you really want a budget build, i would go for an e5200 along with a 4850...my current rig plays crysis warhead very well (on all gamer settings...havent tried enthusiast yet...) on my 24" monitor. Get at least 2gb of ram for xp or 4gb for vista

Your build looks pretty nice, only I would suggest getting 4gb of ram since you can get ddr800 so cheap now a'days.
Whether your running 32 bit or 64 bit, its still nice to have that extra ram.

Here is a really good choice, and only $62 after MIR:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6820146731

Yeah + 1 for the 4gb.

dude I dunno at $1800 you should rethink your build definitely. Here is your run down.

NZXT TEMPEST Crafted Series CS-NT-TEM-B Black Steel / Plastic ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - Retail $109.99

Intel Core 2 Duo E8500 Wolfdale 3.16GHz LGA 775 65W Dual-Core Model BX80570E8500 - Retail $189.99

Seagate ST3640323AS 640GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM $84.99

A-DATA 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model ADQVE1A16K - Retail $34.99

ASRock P43Twins1600 LGA 775 Intel P43 ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail $69.99

EVGA 896-P3-1265-AR GeForce GTX 260 Core 216 896MB 448-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card - Retail $299.99

PC Power & Cooling S75QB 750W ATX12V / EPS12V SLI NVIDIA SLI Certified (Dual 8800 GTX and below) CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS Certified Active PFC Power Supply - Retail - $144.99

LITE-ON Black SATA DVD-ROM Drive Model DH-16D3S-04 - OEM $17.99

Logitech G15 2-Tone USB Wired Standard Gaming Keyboard - Retail $89.99

SAMSUNG T240HD Rose-Black 24" 5ms HDMI Widescreen HDTV Monitor - Retail $489.99

Logitech G9 Black 5 Buttons Tilt Wheel USB Wired Laser Gaming Mouse - Retail $79.99

HT OMEGA STRIKER 7.1 Channels PCI Interface Sound - Retail $79.99

EDIMAX EW-7128G PCI Wireless Card - Retail $23.99

here are some of my additional thoughts regardless of price at this point

<modular and this is a really good PSU as well>
CORSAIR CMPSU-520HX 520W ATX12V v2.2 and EPS12V 2.91 SLI Certified CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS Certified Modular Active PFC Power Supply - Retail $114.99

<$5 bucks more get to burn dvds>
SAMSUNG 20X DVD±R DVD Burner Black IDE Model SH-S202J - OEM - $22.99

- get 4gb of ram if you use vista, but I am guessing your going with xp, then 2gb is fine.

Additional thoughts:
Your computer build alone without the extras (lcd/mouse/keyboard/soundcard/wireless card) is around $1000. You are spending $800 more for those accessories.

Unless you're into sound editing the onboard sound card is more than enough.
Unless you really need it to be wireless, it will only result in instability when gaming online.
4gb of ram is cheap and will make a big difference, even in XP.
You should probably look into the Antec Nine Hundred case.
You don't need 750W for a single gpu, 550W is more than needed.
If you're spending so much on a system, you might as well spend $40 more to get a good P45 motherboard.