Hi, I'm new to this site and am looking to get some help with my computer build plans. I have always wanted to build a computer but this is my first time and I am a little rusty on the theory. Planning on building it this month. The purpose of this build is to run StarCraft 2 and possibly in the future run Crysis 2 after a graphics card upgrade (is motherboard/CPU good enough?). Then again, I might just build a newer more expensive system to run new games like Crysis 2. Justification for CPU/GPU choices come from benchmarks for StarCraft 2. I feel this setup is very inexpensive and neither the CPU or GPU are bottlenecking performance (they are about equal according to this benchmark). link: http://www.techspot.com/review/305-starcraft2-performance/ I live in Canada (remember shipping costs) but will also show prices in US currency using a 1.03 multiplier from US to CAD. All prices are pre-tax. Websites I looked on are bewawa.com, ncix.com, newegg.ca, tigerdirect.ca. I am not 100% sure yet if all the components listed are fully compatible with each other. For example, I was looking at the back of the case and I am not sure how the motherboard ports will manage to fit through those holes. Should I pick a new case? Please let me know if you feel they are not compatible. My budget is $534 US which is $550 CAD. This is what my build looks like: Amd Phenom II X2 555 Black Edition - $111 US ($114 CAD) link: http://www.bewawa.com/amd-cpu-hdz55...-555-black-edition-3-2ghz-am3-80w-retail.html GeForce 9800 GT 512 Mb - $78 US ($80 CAD) after rebate link: http://ncix.com/products/?sku=45674&...cture=Gigabyte Asus M4A77TD - $71 US ($73 CAD) after rebate link: http://ncix.com/products/index.php?s...nufacture=ASUS OCZ 2x 2GB DDR3-1333 Mhz - $77 US ($79 CAD) after rebate link: http://ncix.com/products/index.php?s...y&promoid=1058 Gigabyte ATX Mid Tower - $22 US ($23 CAD) - Is this compatible with my motherboard? See back of case and motherboard ports. link: http://www.tigerdirect.ca/applicatio...240&CatId=1842 OCZ 500W Power Supply - $58 US ($60 CAD) after rebate link: http://ncix.com/products/?sku=33040&...Z Technology Western Digital 500 GB Hard Drive - $39 US ($40 CAD) link: http://www.bewawa.com/wdc-500gb-int-3-5-in-sata-3g-16m-7200rpm.html HP DVD Burner - $22 US ($22 CAD) link: http://www.tigerdirect.ca/applicatio...241266&CatId=4 Total Cost Before Tax: $477 US ($491 CAD) Being below budget is not bad because that leaves me $59 to buy stuff like PC Toolkit, ethernet and other cables, Thermal Paste, cooling fans or heat sinks, anti-static stuff (gloves?) for when I build it (do I need all these things?). I also need to buy a new monitor so the spare cash will help me scrape together some funds for it. Was wondering what you guys thought of the build and if you have any suggestions (budget monitor suggestions welcome also). Also do you think I can save some more money from the power supply? Here are two more power supplies (at a lower cost): Ultra 550-Watt Power Supply (Lifetime Warranty) - $53 US ($55 CAD) http://www.tigerdirect.ca/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=3276574&CatId=1079 DiabloTek 550-Watt Power Supply - $47 US ($48 CAD) after rebate http://www.tigerdirect.ca/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=4252527&CatId=1079 Planning on running Windows 7 Home Premium Edition - 64 Bit OEM. Also, I would really appreciate advice about keeping the system running efficiently for a long time (ie. security software (not-pirated please), reformatting, defragmentation, use of an external hard drive, how to use Win 7 effectively, etc.) I am not against overclocking the CPU (was told that this CPU is only worth it for OCing) however I will need to learn much more and feel that I can do so safely. Thank you in advance for reading this. If you wish to help me out I really appreciate it. Chris
