Building my own computer!?

Question

I'm looking to build my own gaming computer.

The only things I do know I want are: A dual core processor, lots of ram, and a kickass tower.

What I need to know is what video card I should buy? Should I go all out on the new geforce 8800 series or wait? If i get an ok video card now, will i be able to put the 8800 series ones in my motherboard? And if so, what will do for now? So I need a mother board that will support future upgrades, (the motherboard to me is the most confusing part.)

Also, if I get a dual core, either AMD or Intel, will a 2.2ghz x2 processor play a game that needs like 3.1ghz. Anyone have any experience with this?

Thanks all, I know its a lot. :P

Answer 1

Most gamers prefer AMD processors because they overclock easier and stay a bit cooler than Intel chips. Try the AMD Athlon 4600+ Dual-Core one of the more popular processors. You may also want to consider a mobo capable of supporting SLi video cards, i.e. two video cards hooked in tandem. WD "Raptor" SATA HDDs are also a must! Then you'll have to keep all of this equiptment cool, so look at some type of liquid cooling system. WinXP Pro operating system for now, wait till all the bugs are worked out of "Vista".

Answer 2

"Also, if I get a dual core, either AMD or Intel, will a 2.2ghz x2 processor play a game that needs like 3.1ghz. Anyone have any experience with this?"

Your Duo should run fine. The 3.1 Ghz single core PC is doing all of the work that the OS and background programs do. You can setup the Duo so that it devotes 1 core to your game so you don't need as many cycles to get good performance. Also, the Duo is much better at executing code than a regular P4 which is why they don't need so much clock speed.