Building a computer...

[ramennn]

I've decided to build a computer rather than buy one from Alienware. It seems like I'll get more for my money if I just build it rather than buy one pre-made. Also, I know there's a bajillion other threads with answers for exactly what I'm asking, but I'm too lazy to sift through them all to come to a good conclusion.

My budget is around $1000 to $1500 and I think I can get something pretty good with that.

I'm thinking an Intel Quad Core Q6600, 700 watts for a power supply*, Dual 512 NVIDIA GeForce 8800 GT with SLI, 2 GB of RAM memory*, and 300 GB of HD memory*.

I don't know what kind of sound card I want, but I want something pretty good. I'm also not sure what motherboard I want or need. Also, XP > Vista Home Premium? * means dunno which brand.

Hehe, I'm not sure this might fit my budget. :P

This is what I got so far:
Computer Case - RAIDMAX Sagitta 2 Mid Tower - $40
HDD - Seagate Barracuda 500GB 7200 RPM - $100
Memory - G.SKILL 4GB (2 x 2G SDRAM DDR2 - $100
Power Supply - COOLER MASTER Real Power Pro 750W - $100
Processor - Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 2.4GHz Quad-Core - $240
Sound Card - Creative 7.1 Channels Sound Blaster X-Fi XtremeGamer Proffesional - $85

[ramennn]

Thats gonna be the only way he can get affordable parts.

And wtf is hd memory? You mean HDD Space? ROFL.

For a sound card the only one out is creative. Right now there are really no cards that can rival their xtreme series. Although I hear Asus may be getting into it soon.

With 1500 you can get everything you need from newegg. I would recommend getting 2 hard drive and RAID'ing them together to get the most our of it. For now your safe with the 8800GT, unless you want to try out the new 9xxx series cards, or you depending on the board you get crossfiring 2 ATI 3870 HD cards may not be too bad.

If you gonna use SLI or Crossfire you may want to consider a larger power supply, but I like to overestimate, and quad cores are cool.

What is RAID? Also, I think I'll stick with the 8800GT with SLI enabled. Also, how big of a power supply should I get?

[ramennn]

My suggestion would be a 8800GTX rather than two 8800GT in SLI.But if you can,that new 9800GTX looks pretty good.However,i've heard the new cards will be outdated by summer so we computer building folks better wait for news.

Now,RAIDing both HDs is a good solution.Think of it as Dual Channel for Hard drives.Oh,you need to pick a good motherboard if you got that big of a budget.The better the motherboard the better newer components optimize.And i'd suggest getting Corsair 2GBS.If you are going to get Vista,get 3GBs.

What are the advantages of buying an 8800GTX over having two 8800GT's in SLI? Also, I heard the 9 series sux. :| And I don't know how to RAID HD's. So meh.

[Jakuza]

I'd suggest a 8800 for a graphics card since its so cheap now. The one i want is $179.99 on Newegg. Buying two would pwn the shit out of any game. Crysis, even?

Get some neon lights. Neon lights are always so cool.

The power supply you want is perfect for the system. 8800s only need about 400-600 watts of power.

Are you sure about the quad-core? Some older games and even some recent ones don't support it. Unless your looking towards the future, don't get it. I mean, I'd fine a decent dual-core and just over clock if I were you.

Hmm..it seems like your missing a DVD/CD/Bluray drive. I don't know much about 'em, but you can find decent ones for cheap. If any thing, the brand I'd recommend is Samsung. They make quality products for cheap.