Looking to buy a computer, thoroughly intimidated

[ArneHD]

Ok, I am going to buy a new computer. At the moment I only have a laptop that can't play EU3 or ANY decent game for that matter (Intel graphics chipset). Right now I'm looking at a few options:

General:
I'm looking to put together a gaming computer to play some of the games I have missed and those that are up and coming, m oney isn't much of an issue here, due to the extremely favorable Krone to Dollar conversion rate. I'd still appreciate that it didn't break the bank though. I am, however, not very experienced with computer parts, which means that I would appreciate any help that could be given.

CPU:
According to Tom's Hardware, it seems that the best CPUs on the market now are Intel, however, most of these are somewhat above what I am willing to pay: 250 - 350$ seem to be the norm for the top end ones (judging from a quick glance here). This means that I'm at a bit of a loss as to what to choose, while I would like to have something that will last a while, I am not going to do any heavy 3D rendering, just playing games.

Graphics/video card:
Here too, I'm at a bit of a loss. As I said I am not very experienced, so what exactly am I looking for? According to this nVidia cards are currently the best, but what sort of card should I look for? Is the best cards worth the performance?

RAM:
I was thinking something in the range of 2 gigabytes DDR 2, but I wouldn't trust myself with specifics. In addition DDR 3 is just entering the market (or so I read here), and would it be wiser to get DDR 3 instead?

Motherboard:
Here I am, more or less, completely lost. What to look for, what to get, I don't know at all, and I really need some help here.

Hard drive:
Here I am a bit lost again, but luckily not as lost as with the motherboard. I am not overly concerned about size, but between 200 and 400 would be very nice. Otherwise I am as clueless as ever.

Sound card:
A bit lost here as well (as usual), but I did come across this card, which seems pretty good.

Case and cooling:
Any good suggestions? I have an old case lying around somewhere, it's a few years old, but it is still usable. Cooling, primarally looking for a 120mm fan, as they are quieter (apparently).

Rest:
Power supply and speakers are really what remains.
If you can see something that I missed, please shout out.

Ok, that's the end of the post, if you have any advice, suggestions, or other comments please speak (or write) out.

PS: I will probably be getting some help putting the PC together by my brother who has a bit more experience with these things then I.

 

[taper]

CPU:
If going with Intel, get the fastest Core 2 Duo you can afford. Quad core aren't worth the money yet in most cases.

Graphics/video card:
NVidia 8800GT is the best bang for the buck, bar none in the upper range.

RAM:
2 GB is good. DDR3 is quite a bit more expensive than DDR2. Brand somewhat matters here, I like Corsair Value Select, there's lots of other good, and some bad brands. Visit your motherboard's website or forum to see if they have recommended brands.


Motherboard:
You should match CPU slot, then read reviews and choose on price. Make sure all your other parts are compatible with this, sometimes otherwise good parts don't work well together.

Hard drive:
Get a 160, 250, or 320GB 3.5 in 7200rpm SATA HD. It's very easy to add more drives in later if you find you need more room.

Sound card:
Didn't read the link, but in general even a cheap sound card is better than onboard sound, but you don't need to spend a lot unless you have really, really good speakers.

Case and cooling:
The bigger and the more the fans the better, as long as you get airflow over the parts. The case is mostly personal preference, as long as they have enough room for everything.

Rest:
Get a quality power supply. I think there was a recent thread here about them, 500-600 watts should be good for you. Speakers depend on your budget and music files. $20 dollar speakers won't care if you encode to lossless, $300 speakers won't matter if you play low rate mp3s on them.

Update: If buying an OEM processor, it doesn't come with a heatsink. You have to get one separate, but it also lets you pick out a good one, some stock heatsinks aren't that great. You'll also need some thermal paste between the heat sink and chip.

 

[Zelig]

Responses here are to both the OP and to taper:

CPU: Quad cores are the way of the future. Most programs and games can effectively use dual-cores by now, so if you want to multitask further than a single such application/game running full speed, quads are essential. Q6600 is the best bang for the buck quad core, and will destroy any dual cores in applications which actually take advantage of all the cores.

GPU: 8800 GT is the best bang for the buck. The 512MB 8800 GTS is also good, more money, but better speed than the 8800 GT, and has a cooler which exhausts hot air from the case rather than just circulating is.

RAM: Ram is cheap, go with DDR2, you can get 4GB for under $100. Unless you have some reason for staying with a 32-bit operating system, I'd recommend 4GB. Brand isn't real important, since most brand companies use the same actual OEM chips as each other.

Motherboard: You want something that works with all your other parts, there are lots of quality options at any price range for motherboards.

Hard drive: Best deal for $/GB is in either 500gb or 750gb drives, get whichever you prefer.

Sound Card: This is dependant on speakers. Most onboard sound solutions are fine in modern motherboards, I wouldn't bother getting an add-in soundcard unless you have a set of Logitech Z-5500, Creative S750, Klipsch 5.1 Ultra, or are hooking your computer up to a real set of speakers.

Case and Cooling: Find a case you think looks good for a good price, read some reviews, put some fans in all the fan locations.

Power Supply: Lots of good models and bad models, and plenty of brands that put out some of both (and all qualities in between). If you're looking for a point of reference, Silverstone and Corsair both have a generally good reputation, and something in the area of 650 watts should do you for that system.

Speakers: I'm not a fan of "computer" speakers, but since I'm guessing you want to spend less on your speakers than on the rest of your computer, I'd recommend going out to some retail stores and listening to some speakers personally. Bring some cds or an mp3 player with your favourite music, if the store is good, they'll hook it up for you to demo.

 

[gomms]

I am recieving my new computer in the mail today.

I was going ot purchase a computer from a local place who custom build them very cheap, they ahd this Quadcore Q6600 clocked to a 3.0ghz with a whole lot of extra's and quality gaming machine for 2.4k with no screen and plug ins...

then i found dell.com.au was giving $600 cash off their XPS420, i pounced on it,

Quadcore Q6600
4gig RAM @ 800mhz
1tB Memoery
24" Widescreen monitor
512mb Graphics card 8800GT

i also purchased from a seperate source a:
Logitech MX Revolutions $150
Icemat Siberia Headphones - White $100
Leather Chair $170

all up i spent alot on this computer

DONT FORGET PRICES ARE AUSTRALIAN DOLLARS!!!

 

[GVBN]

CPU:
Core 2 Duo E8400 - $216.80
Core 2 Quad Q6600 - $278.90

GPU:
Geforce 8800GT, 512mb - $249.99

RAM:
2 x 1gb DDR2-800 - $38.99
2 x 2gb DDR2-800 - $75.99

Motherboard:
Gigabyte GA-P35-DS3L - $88.99

Hard drive:
WD5000AAKS, 500gb - $104.99
WD7500AAKS, 750gb - $154.99

Sound card:
M-Audio Revolution 5.1 - $77.99
Or use mobo's onboard audio

Case and cooling:
Whatever case looks nice and has good airflow
Stock coolers should be enough

Power supply:
PSU around 500w and 25a on +12v is probably enough. Might as well get one of those 600w-750w with 4 rails

Speakers:
No idea. I prefer headphones
Onboard sound: get cheap speakers
Sound card: get good speakers

Rest:
DVD drives cost about $30, a floppy drive isn't really needed

 

[warpus]

Install a floppy drive anyway, you might just need it.

I didn't think I would need one in my new rig.. but then I needed to provide Windows RAID drivers during install, and the only way to do that was via a floppy.

 

[Zelig]

Install a floppy drive anyway, you might just need it.

I didn't think I would need one in my new rig.. but then I needed to provide Windows RAID drivers during install, and the only way to do that was via a floppy.

Or you can put raid drivers on a usb flash drive.

I haven't used a floppy drive in any computer in well over 5 years now.

 

[warpus]

Or you can put raid drivers on a usb flash drive.

I haven't used a floppy drive in any computer in well over 5 years now.

Yeah, I didn't have one of those handy.

I haven't used one in 5-7 years either, but then.. BOOM.. all of a sudden it came in handy.