Please help!

[Dreaded_Cheese]

Right, I have a budget of £750 to build a new computer (the one I have at the moment is soooooo slow). I will mostly be playing games, and maybe a bit of video editing. Previously I gathered my knowledge from a friend, who built his own computer a few years ago. I have now come to the conclusion that I have surpassed his knowlege.
Anyway....
Here is what I am thinking of getting:

• Gigabyte GA-P35-DS3R (Socket 775) PCI-Express DDR2 Motherboard
• Intel Core 2 Quad Pro Q6600 "Energy Efficient SLACR 95W Edition" 2.40GHz (1066FSB) - Retail
• OcUK GeForce 8800 GT 512MB GDDR3 HDTV/Dual DVI (PCI-Express) - Retail
• GeIL 2GB (2x1GB) PC2-6400C5 800MHz Value DDR2 Dual Channel Kit (GX22GB6400DC)
• Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 250GB SATA-II 16MB Cache - OEM (ST3250410AS)
• Thermaltake VC3000BWS Armour Jr SuperMidi Tower - Black
• OCZ StealthXStream 600w Silent SLI Ready ATX2 Power Supply
• Asus DRW-1814BLT 18x DVD±RW SATA Dual Layer Lightscribe ReWriter (Black) - Retail
• Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium 64-Bit Edition DVD - OEM - 1Pk (66I-00788)

I have a few questions:

1. Is 600w overkill for the system?
2. Is the GA-P35-DS3R good? (what I mean is do they have any major compatibility broblems?)
3. Would the parts fit easily into the Thermaltake Armour Jr?
4. I intend to get 4GB of ram (2 of the Geil sets), is Geil good (compared to others in it's price band)? should I get 2x2GB instead? What are the benefits if I do?

As this is my first build I probably will not overclock until I understand exactly what to do. Also, these parts prices add up to £735 so unless I could compromise some parts, I doubt I could afford anything more expensive.

 

[Pneumonic]

I have a few questions:

1. Is 600w overkill for the system?
2. Is the GA-P35-DS3R good? (what I mean is do they have any major compatibility broblems?)
3. Would the parts fit easily into the Thermaltake Armour Jr?
4. I intend to get 4GB of ram (2 of the Geil sets), is Geil good (compared to others in it's price band)? should I get 2x2GB instead? What are the benefits if I do?

1. 600w is fine for the system maybe a little on the high side but nothing to worry about!

2. I would buy Asus P5k-E but its a matter of personal preference really.. nothing wrong with that board

3. I had that case once, everything should fit in it without a problem, if you planning on just sitting it on a desk then its nice looking and will do the Job

4. The Ultra Low Latency version of that RAM would give you more room for overclocking at a later stage, but the RAM is good... would go 4*1gb

 

[DavidB]

Nah, overclocking with a new builds the best time to do it, no/less risk of problems occuring.
DS3R is a pretty reasonable budget board, have one and only have a few minor niggles with it.
a lot of people tend to suggest the western digital recent hard drives over that seagate one, though the difference is probably minimal.

That PSU is rather hit and miss, some say it can sound like a tornado taking off , some say its silent. If i were you id stick with something consistently good like a corsair 450/520w, although there lower watt's they have better amps on the rails...so perform better.

The advantage of getting 2x2gb sticks of RAM is that you can then (in the future) upgrade by adding two new sticks, rather than replacing the 2 sticks you already have in it.

The "ultra low latency" Geil offering is very good value though, so i wouldn't blame you for buying that at all.

 

[semi-pro waster]

a lot of people tend to suggest the western digital recent hard drives over that seagate one, though the difference is probably minimal.

Just for information, the 250gb version of the 7200.10 is a single platter drive and is the fastest in its capacity but as you say the difference is pretty small.

Otherwise I'd agree with all the advice given above and welcome to the forums Dreaded_Cheese.

 

[Dreaded_Cheese]

Thanks, I feel more confident now. I will probably get a Corsair HX 520W psu instead of that OCZ one. I prefer the idea of a quiet psu, I'd rather not risk another loud psu. The one on the computer I have at the moment is so loud it is hard to concentrate.

I am going to look into overclocking, the prospect of a faster pc is drawing me in.

As I am new to the world of coputer building I don't know whether any new hardware is coming out soon (between now and febuary). would there be any coming out that may interest me? (such as graphics cards) I know that the Penryn is coming out.
The fact is I don't really know where to get information from, this forum is alright, but sometimes I feel a bit left behind, I know what RAID is, I know Mb from Gb, but anything too technical is way beyond me. It's like I have hit a barrier, I know the basics but the jump from this to advanced stuff feels way too far.

 

[Aero]

/CLAIMED

Ask around the forums its one of the best ways to learn theres always people willing to help out. If your still unsure ask the poster to explain it more clearly to you.

Good luck with your build and have fun, it looks nicer than mine .

Aero