Could I Please Get An Opinion?

[Bourbs]

Hi, We are planning on buying a new computer, a couple things that are important to us are gaming and my husband being a teacher and using it for his work. Any advice will be so mcuh appreciated:

CASE: Hot New! NZXT Zero Aluminum Full Tower 420W Case (Black/Silver Color)
CPU: (Sckt775)Intel® Core™ 2 Duo E6600 CPU @ 2.4GHz 1066FSB 2x2MB L2 Cache EM64T
MOTHERBOARD: (Quad-Core Supports) Asus P5N-E nForce 650i SLI Chipset LGA775 FSB1333 DDR2 Mainboard
MEMORY: (Req.DDR2 MainBoard)2GB (2x1GB) PC6400 DDR2/800 Dual Channel Memory (($40 off Mail-In Rebate) Corsair XMS2 Xtreme Memory w/ Heat Spreader)
VIDEO CARD: SPECIAL!!! NVIDIA GeForce 7900 GS 256MB 16X PCI Express (XFX Extreme Edition Powered by NVIDIA)
VIDEO CARD 2: NONE
LCD Monitor: NONE
HARD DRIVE: Single Hard Drive (400GB SATA-II 3.0Gb/s 16MB Cache 7200RPM HDD)
Data Hard Drive: NONE
Optical Drive: LiteOn LH-20A1H 20X Double Layer DVD+-RW Super Allwrite + Lightscribe Technology (Black Color)
Optical Drive 2: NONE
SOUND: HIGH DEFINITION ON-BOARD 7.1 AUDIO

1397.00 free shipping

Thank You, Marie

[keakar]

upgrade to the geforce 8000 series video card with ddr3 memory and get one in a 512mb size video card because games need that much with all the detailed grafics and such. make sure your motherboard has 4 ram slots to be able to add another 2gb ram later on if needed. i noticed cooling is something you left out, i have about 2 dozen noisy fans in my closet i went through as the noisy drone of humming fans drove me nuts. expect to trash any fans that come with your computer case they are cheap universal fans that blow lots of air but are noisy. slower air flow will keep dust build up down to a minimum so you dont have to open and clean your case every couple of months. i would say to get the best silent running fans (look at the dbl level or sound volume and the cfm rating or air flow). fans are inexpensive so why not get the better ones. some of the best fans now are the ones with fluid dynamic bearings or the frictionless magnetic fans. many fans claim to be quiet but then when you look at the dbl or noise they make, they are just barely below what the noisier ones put out, so look at the dbl rating not what they claim or say. you also may want to wait a while to buy your cpu since intel's prices are going down this summer or early fall as they clear out old inventory to they get ready for 2008. also the power supply they put in cases are usually not high quality so keep that in mind as well as getting more than a 420 watt. i cant say just how big you should go but a 420 watt is barely enough for your needs so i would suggest nothing less than 500watt. also the watts they rate them at are not always true or accurate, often thats the output if used at 230volts but it may only put out 390 or 400 watts at 120volts. read the small print to be sure. last opinion is check prices against newegg.com website as i have rarely found better prices at other stores. sorry for rambling on but you did ask.

[Bourbs]

upgrade to the geforce 8000 series video card with ddr3 memory and get one in a 512mb size video card because games need that much with all the detailed grafics and such. make sure your motherboard has 4 ram slots to be able to add another 2gb ram later on if needed. i noticed cooling is something you left out, i have about 2 dozen noisy fans in my closet i went through as the noisy drone of humming fans drove me nuts. expect to trash any fans that come with your computer case they are cheap universal fans that blow lots of air but are noisy. slower air flow will keep dust build up down to a minimum so you dont have to open and clean your case every couple of months. i would say to get the best silent running fans (look at the dbl level or sound volume and the cfm rating or air flow). fans are inexpensive so why not get the better ones. some of the best fans now are the ones with fluid dynamic bearings or the frictionless magnetic fans. many fans claim to be quiet but then when you look at the dbl or noise they make, they are just barely below what the noisier ones put out, so look at the dbl rating not what they claim or say. you also may want to wait a while to buy your cpu since intel's prices are going down this summer or early fall as they clear out old inventory to they get ready for 2008. also the power supply they put in cases are usually not high quality so keep that in mind as well as getting more than a 420 watt. i cant say just how big you should go but a 420 watt is barely enough for your needs so i would suggest nothing less than 500watt. also the watts they rate them at are not always true or accurate, often thats the output if used at 230volts but it may only put out 390 or 400 watts at 120volts. read the small print to be sure. last opinion is check prices against newegg.com website as i have rarely found better prices at other stores. sorry for rambling on but you did ask.


Hi Keakar,

Oh, don't apologize for rambling! This is a lot of wonderful advice. Just the sort of advice I was looking for. I can't thank you enough for taking the time like you did to help me.

Blessings, Marie