Sorry, I didn't notice the link. [I think it was added while I was typing the last post] I've never personally heard of Tagan before, but after a reading a few reviews it appears that they're a high-end brand originating from Germany [a market known for demanding very high quality products]. Also some reviews of the particular PSU model seem to suggest it would be a good PSU to go for.

__________________
Thanks,
Ash
CF Founder
Great Webhosting. Shared starting at $2 per month. VPSes starting at $6 per month.
www.Centicero.com
Want to get in touch? Send me a PM | Do you want to continue receiving free help? Or do you want this site to close? Become a premium member.

Try using this site as a tool it will calculate the watts you'll need for your system.eXtreme Power Supply Calculator - What Power Supply Do I Need

I know I said it already. I'd go core 2 duo over Pentium D--the pentium D processors run very hot and consume A LOT of power. Anyway, here's a review of the Pentium D 945 versus the Core 2 Duo E6300 performance. In almost every test, the C2D far surpassed all of the test CPUs, especially in gaming and media encoding.

X-bit labs - Articles - Intel Core 2 Duo E6300 + ASUS P5W DH Deluxe: Ideal Mainstream Platform? (page 11)

As far as the power requirements of your new computer go, with only a single video card, you'd probably not need more than a 550 watt power supply max with a fully-loaded system.

__________________
AMD Athlon 64 X2 4400+ (@2.6 GHz)
2x1GB OCZ Spec. Ops. PC3200
ASRock Dual939-SATA2
Antec TruePower 550 watt PSU
80 GB Seagate Barracuda SATA 7200 rpm
300 GB Seagate Barracuda SATA 7200 rpm
120 GB Maxtor ATA/133 7200 rpm
ATI Radeon x1950 Pro

Thanks for all your advice. When I can work up enough money, I'm getting a new computer. I was planning on getting the core 2 duo. I was gonna get a psu with 480W.

If you want to run the 8800 GTS it will need more power, also it will depend on many componets you have installed such as hard drives and opitical drives. I would suggest at least a 700watt and one with at least 28amps on your 12 volt rails. The link that I had in my previous reply in very good for gauging what size PSU to get. Hope this helps.

Would you recommend any CPU heatsinks for the core 2 duo?

I think, though I'm not completley sure, that the C2D comes with a heatsink in the package, particularly if you brought a retail package as opposed to OEM. But I could be wrong.
________________________
This user added the following:
________________________
After checking, it looks like Core 2 Duo CPUs in retail packages come with a fan and heatsink.

__________________
Thanks,
Ash
CF Founder
Great Webhosting. Shared starting at $2 per month. VPSes starting at $6 per month.
www.Centicero.com
Want to get in touch? Send me a PM | Do you want to continue receiving free help? Or do you want this site to close? Become a premium member.

I'd say that unless you're immediately going to try to overclock your new CPU, just go with stock cooling. However, it's easiest to replace the HSF (heat sink/fan) before the computer is fully assembled, so if you wish to go with aftermarket cooling, you might as well do it during assembly. But if you're not going to overclock to any great extent (I'd say stock cooling is fine for about 200 MHz increase in most cases), then just go with the stock cooling.

I don't have any specific coolers in mind, but generally the larger (with more fins/surface area to dissipate the heat) the better. Also, larger heat sinks can use larger cooling fans, which can run quieter but move more air volume, which in my opinion, is the greatest motivation to move to a HSF like that. Zalman and Antec make okay aftermarket coolers. But make sure that they'll fit inside your case with all of your components you have. Also make sure that the heat sink will mount to your motherboard--some will not--just look at the type of mounts vs. what your motherboard looks like.

__________________
AMD Athlon 64 X2 4400+ (@2.6 GHz)
2x1GB OCZ Spec. Ops. PC3200
ASRock Dual939-SATA2
Antec TruePower 550 watt PSU
80 GB Seagate Barracuda SATA 7200 rpm
300 GB Seagate Barracuda SATA 7200 rpm
120 GB Maxtor ATA/133 7200 rpm
ATI Radeon x1950 Pro

Oh, I was not aware of the fact thats they come with heatsinks and fans. Since I probably am not going to overclock, I think I'll stick with stock cooling.
________________________
This user added the following:
________________________
Also, is the E6600 worth double the price opposed to the E6300?
________________________
This user added the following:
________________________
Sorry I meant the E6400 compared to the E6600. So, is it worth $100 more for the E6600, or should I get the E6400. I would be planning on playing games like crysis, and I would most likely get vista too.

If you're going to dabble in playing crysis, then I'd go for the E6600--not because of clock speed, but because it has double the cache--4MB vs. 2MB, and games love cache--I'm assuming that crysis is going to be no different regarding that.

But if you are concerned about clock speed (like for media encoding, etc), then I'd save your money and get the E6400 and OC it later if you think you need more speed.

__________________
AMD Athlon 64 X2 4400+ (@2.6 GHz)
2x1GB OCZ Spec. Ops. PC3200
ASRock Dual939-SATA2
Antec TruePower 550 watt PSU
80 GB Seagate Barracuda SATA 7200 rpm
300 GB Seagate Barracuda SATA 7200 rpm
120 GB Maxtor ATA/133 7200 rpm
ATI Radeon x1950 Pro

I want to know the advantage of the 4mb cache over 2mb. Is the 2mb more really worth it for the extra $100? I just want a fast processor that won't slow down my computer, and that can take advantage of parts like the geforce8800. Please tell me if it is important to have a bigger cache.
________________________
This user added the following:
________________________
Also, I'm not sure if the motherboard I'm getting(Newegg.com - ECS 945P-A (1.1) ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail) supports the geforce 8800GTS. If it doesn't, please recommend one for around $100- $150 that does.

As for cache, I'd say that the extra 2mb is definatley worth the extra $100 or so if you want great, top-of-the-range performance. I'm no expert of the inner workings of processors, but I do know that the cache is extremley important to the workings of the CPU. Think of it as the stratchpad that your CPU uses when calculating things [it really is just a very powerful calculator]. Because your RAM is significantly slower than the cache on the CPU, it would mean that if your cache was in your RAM your computer would be slow. But if the cache is small, then the CPU can't perform as many calculations in a certain amount of time or else it will run out of room. So the bigger the cache, the more your CPU can do in a short amount of time.

__________________
Thanks,
Ash
CF Founder
Great Webhosting. Shared starting at $2 per month. VPSes starting at $6 per month.
www.Centicero.com
Want to get in touch? Send me a PM | Do you want to continue receiving free help? Or do you want this site to close? Become a premium member.

k, I guess I'll probably get the E6600 then, but will the geforce 8800GTS be compatible with this mobo Newegg.com - Once You Know, You Newegg

We could probably tell you a bit more about the motherboard if you told us which one on the list you linked is the one you're interested in. However, I can't say this for 100% certainty, but any motherboard with a PCI-E x16 slot should be fine for the card.

__________________
AMD Athlon 64 X2 4400+ (@2.6 GHz)
2x1GB OCZ Spec. Ops. PC3200
ASRock Dual939-SATA2
Antec TruePower 550 watt PSU
80 GB Seagate Barracuda SATA 7200 rpm
300 GB Seagate Barracuda SATA 7200 rpm
120 GB Maxtor ATA/133 7200 rpm
ATI Radeon x1950 Pro

This is the mobo Newegg.com - ECS 945P-A (1.1) ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail , and this is the vid card Newegg.com - PNY GeForce 8800GTS VCG88GTSXPB HDCP Video Card - Retail . Please tell me if the two are compatible. Thanks for your advice.