What to get????

[Justmax]

I'm building my first computer with help of my dad.I have budget of $900.00.I bought my case enermax case in yellow with matching keyboard and mouse.I very confused with the motherboards.I do play games on line and I surf lot.I have need for speed,but it has to be bulletproof. So I could use your suggestion.Very much of noobie in building computer,but good with my hands.Marine needs help!!!!!!!

[Biff]

Hi & welcome to XPc justmax......

For gaming I would say you need to get the fastest CPU your budget can handle, along with a good video card. Prob 256 MB ram and a good sound card (gotta hear those screams good as you blow em up eh!) hdd around 40 gig mark. It's never gonna be big enough anyway, if you can afford larger, go larger.

Surfing the web is no big deal, CPU and ram is not going to speed that up any. Although you would prob want a high speed connection if your playing online.

Bulletproof: hmmm stability I guess, some components are more compatible than others. Motherboards for example may require specific brands as well as makes of ram, check the documentation of your parts, and post back here too.

I think the best bang for your buck would be a P4 2.5 Gigger, there are board and CPU combos out there for well under 300 bucks. Some may argue Athlon, it's cheaper and faster. it's a matter of personal preferences I guess. Myself I'd go the P4 route, nothing against AMD I have dual AMD setup.

I'm going to leave out specific boards and model numbers, I'll leave that for the more experienced gamer.

Good luck, and keep posting
Biff

[Justmax]

So what do you think of the Soyo Dragon KT 333???

[Mntsnow]

The Soyo company makes some good solid boards Justmax. I think you would be very happy with that board. I have one and like it and have used it a couple of times for other builds.

Enjoy! and welcome to XPC!