I've done a lot of reading and already gotten some good advice (thanks fastvfr). I'm getting ready to build a new computer, and this will be the second one that I've ever built. My other PCs have been store bought in the box computers. Here are the components that I've decided on:
-Pentium 4 3.2GHz Prescott
-ASUS P4C800-E Deluxe mother board
ASUS P4C800-E specs
-1 GB Corsair XMS DDR400 memory
Corsair RAM
-Probably a GeForce 6800 GT or Ultra video card
I'm still very new to this so I have a few questions:
1. The motherboard is set up for SATA/RAID, but I wanted to use my old hard drive for now. Will I be able to hook up my 2-year old Western Digital 80GB 7200RPM ATA hard drive using an IDE ribbon cable? Or will I have to buy a new SATA hard drive?
2. I've read that this CPU runs HOT when playing 3D games. Can anyone recommend a better heat sink/fan for the CPU that runs fairly quiet? I've got a pretty large Antec case with 400W power supply and 3 80mm case fans. Right now it's pretty loud. My current CPU is an AMD Athlon XP 2100+ with the factory heat sink and fan on an ASUS board. I have no problems with heat with this setup.
3. For 3D gaming (Half Life 2, Doom 3) is it worth the extra $$$ to get a 256MB video card, or would I be ok with a GeForce 6800GT 128MB card?
Thanks in advance for the help. There are some very knowledgable people here, and I greatly appreciate the advice.
Eric
-Pentium 4 3.2GHz Prescott
-ASUS P4C800-E Deluxe mother board
ASUS P4C800-E specs
-1 GB Corsair XMS DDR400 memory
Corsair RAM
-Probably a GeForce 6800 GT or Ultra video card
I'm still very new to this so I have a few questions:
1. The motherboard is set up for SATA/RAID, but I wanted to use my old hard drive for now. Will I be able to hook up my 2-year old Western Digital 80GB 7200RPM ATA hard drive using an IDE ribbon cable? Or will I have to buy a new SATA hard drive?
2. I've read that this CPU runs HOT when playing 3D games. Can anyone recommend a better heat sink/fan for the CPU that runs fairly quiet? I've got a pretty large Antec case with 400W power supply and 3 80mm case fans. Right now it's pretty loud. My current CPU is an AMD Athlon XP 2100+ with the factory heat sink and fan on an ASUS board. I have no problems with heat with this setup.
3. For 3D gaming (Half Life 2, Doom 3) is it worth the extra $$$ to get a 256MB video card, or would I be ok with a GeForce 6800GT 128MB card?
Thanks in advance for the help. There are some very knowledgable people here, and I greatly appreciate the advice.
Eric