Buy Corsair Memory VS4GBKIT667D2 4 GB PC2-5300 667Mhz 240-Pin DDR2 Desktop Memory Kit

I purchased this product because this was the recommended memory for my computer from the Corsair website. I was operating Windows Vista with only 2 GB of RAM and was disappointed with the speed of my computer. I needed to "goose" it's performance and adding more RAM was the easy and best solution short term. This memory fit the bill and now my computer is running faster, although not massively faster. Importantly, I am getting more performance from my existing machine.

If this is the right memory for your computer I highly recommend this RAM. It arrived quickly and was easy to install. I've had no problems with it.Get more detail about Corsair Memory VS4GBKIT667D2 4 GB PC2-5300 667Mhz 240-Pin DDR2 Desktop Memory Kit.

Purchase AZZA Solano 1000 CSAZ-1000 Full Tower Case (Black)

I wanted a large case with great air flow. I got it. The fans are quiet enough. I have 8 hard drives, 1 BDR, 1 DVDR, overclocked i5 with water cooling and everything runs smooth as glass. No issues with heat (I had them before in a smaller, constricted case.) Fits the new long ati card fine. On top of the case are easily accessible ports (eSata, USB, audio) and a tray for the usb thumb drives. The only thing I can find that I would change would be the blue lights on the fans. They can be bright but I got used to them.Get more detail about AZZA Solano 1000 CSAZ-1000 Full Tower Case (Black).

Order Sapphire ATI Radeon HD4650 512 MB DDR2 VGA/DVI/HDMI PCI-Express Video Card 100253HDMI

I had never installed a card before it was frustrating at first but please take note that you must remove your current driver before you install this one. its not just put the cd in and DONE! ur resolution will drop at first with VISTA (Playing NFS Shift!)Get more detail about Sapphire ATI Radeon HD4650 512 MB DDR2 VGA/DVI/HDMI PCI-Express Video Card 100253HDMI.

Where To Buy Nvidia Geforce FX5500 5500 256MB 128-bit DDR PCI VGA/DVI/TV-Out Dual Head Video Card

I have had this card for about two years, and it worked fairly well for most games. Some of the newer games, however, will not work with it. Specifically, it is not compatible with Overlord. For about a year, the fan has been very noisy, and it eventually stopped working, (It actually fell off) which I assume burnt out the CPU on the card. I guess I got my money's worth out of it, but I also had to deal with a lot of aggravation while trying to play games.Get more detail about Nvidia Geforce FX5500 5500 256MB 128-bit DDR PCI VGA/DVI/TV-Out Dual Head Video Card.

Shop For Asus Xonar D1 Sound Card (Black)

I'M TYPING IN ALL CAPS SO YOU CAN HEAR ME OVER THE BRAVEHEART SOUNDTRACK I AM PLAYING.

This is an absolutely amazing sound card. Unlike the Creative sound card I used to have, there's absolutely no sound coming out of the speakers when there's no sound playing. None. There's just no noise. It's all pure audio goodness.

Also, the Dolby Pro Logic II sound decoding is perfect. It directs all the right Dolby audio channels to the correct speakers, unlike most sound cards which have a "surround effect" feature that either replicates the front 2 channels to all the other speakers or tries to fake it. This is real, Dolby patented surround sound.

I've used a number of audiophile grade sound devices and none of them have reproduced music as well as this card. The highs are crisp, the mids are center stage and the lows are punchy and significant.

I've heard some complaints about problems with Windows 7 drivers. My only problem was that I had to re-install the drivers once. After I did that everything worked perfectly.

The only problem I have experienced with this card is when you're using it in Ubuntu, your computer hangs for a few seconds with each notch you adjust the volume.

Note: If you want Dolby Pro Logic II Surround you have to turn it on and turn off the EAX. Dolby decoding is not on by default.

Use these settings in the Xonar DX Audio Center application:
* Audio Channel: 2 Channels
* Sample Rate: PCM 192KHz
* Analog Out: 5.1 Speakers (or 7.1 if you have 8 channel speakers)
* SPDIF Out: Off
* Check the box for Dolby Pro Logic IIx
* Uncheck the box for 7.1 Virtual Speaker Shifter

This gives you Dolby decoding for your music and movies without needing a separate tuner.

Next click on the FlexBass button and set it to On. Set the LFE Crossover Frequency so the heavy bass sounds sound like they are coming out of your subwoofer.

Finally, hit the Effect button and set the equalizer sliders to match the type of audio you're listening to, or hit one of the preset buttons.

This would be a very good card for a HTPC, with its half height retention bracket included in the box (you have to order it separately for most sound cards).

Oh and by the way, don't bother paying more for the DX2 card. The only difference is it has a wicked looking plastic cover and a fan, which you probably won't need.Get more detail about Asus Xonar D1 Sound Card (Black).

WinTV-HVR-1850 PCIe for Vista White Box PCIe Atsc HD

Some of the reviews i read before i purchased said it was difficult to install and get working right. But after purchasing and installing/setting up myself that was not my experience. I found it very easy to do. One small problem from not reading the instructions was I couldn't get video to work with my HDMI port. So I went back to the instructions and it said I needed to go to the BIOS setup and switch it from integrated card (the one I was using) to dedicated card (I think it was called a PCI Express card in BIOS). Once I did that the computer found the card and the HDMI immediately began to work. I then set up the TV through following the wizard in Media Center (the program that comes with VISTA). That was very easy. Just make sure you have your digital feed (either over the air antenna, like I had, or a digital cable feed) connected to the correct connector on the card. I am pleasantly surprised how good the HDMI looks on my HD monitor.Get more detail about WinTV-HVR-1850 PCIe for Vista White Box PCIe Atsc HD.

Sparkle SX98GT512D3L-NM GeForce 9800 GT 512MB DDR3 PCI-Express 2.0 x16 DVI HDMI HDCP Low Profile Graphics Card Review

My son's video game was nearly unplayable until we got this video card. Star Wars: Ultimate Sith Edition runs about as smoothly as it can on our system now. There are still a couple of hiccups now and then but they are due to other factors, not the video card. I would recommend this to anyone who needs a low-profile card for 3D games.Get more detail about Sparkle SX98GT512D3L-NM GeForce 9800 GT 512MB DDR3 PCI-Express 2.0 x16 DVI HDMI HDCP Low Profile Graphics Card.

SPARKLE SFPC84GS512U2LP 8400 GS 512M GDDR2 PCI Silent Low Profile HDTV S-Video DVI Graphics Card Top Quality

I'm running dual-xeons on an old server box -- it had 8mb ATI Rage integrated graphics. I plugged this baby in and installed drivers (I run fedora 11 so sudo yum install kmod-nvidia-PAE, from RPMfusion repos) and it worked like a champ. I'm currently using compiz-fusion and cairo-dock with 3d acceleration no prob. It's really a great card -- and yes to the other reviewer: my image was sharper right after I plugged it in! I think it has to do with color depth of the card.

I have 3 more PCI slots so I might get a 9400GT too...and dual/triple/quad screen?Get more detail about SPARKLE SFPC84GS512U2LP 8400 GS 512M GDDR2 PCI Silent Low Profile HDTV S-Video DVI Graphics Card.

Xion XON-630P12N ATX 12V 2.20 Version 630 Watt Power Supply SATA and SLI Ready - Retail This instant

I bought this one for the size and the features. Amazon ACTUALLY posts the dimensions! And it ACTUALLY fits my mid atx case. It's a miracle. The connectors are nice and solid, nothing flimsy there. And it's very quiet. My system's running better than ever. Only has two molex, and they're on one line together, so I had to move my HDD up to the top slot, which is probably a good place for it anyway.

Asus m3a motherboard
AMD Athlon X2 6400+ 3.2ghz
Rosewill mid ATX caseGet more detail about Xion XON-630P12N ATX 12V 2.20 Version 630 Watt Power Supply SATA and SLI Ready - Retail.

Patriot DDR2 4GB KIT PC2-6400 800MHZ 5-5-5-12 Immediately

What a great product that patriot memory sells.They absolutly have the best memory modules available.Amazon has what appaers to be the best pricing.Love the deal and the product.A+++ all the way.Thanks again amazon and patriot.Made my pc fly.Get more detail about Patriot DDR2 4GB KIT PC2-6400 800MHZ 5-5-5-12.

TP-Link 300Mbps 802.11N Wireless PCI Adapter, 2T2R, with Detachable Antenna, Model: TL-WN851N Best Quality

Unless you are real computer smart i would recomend an easier product i tried to install it my self because the reveiws made it sound so easy and much to my surprise i had to rely on the web to give me some sense of direction on how to make it work the cd is worhtless and by the way my computer is so slow with this card it's as if im watching a VCR on slow motion thats how slow it is the signal bars are showing excellent strength but it still runs slow for the price i wasnt to concerned about it working or not i just wanted to try it and see if it would work i can live with losing 20 bucks but if your gona pay more than that i would recomend an expert to install something thats gona work after doing some research around town i could've had some local shops install something better for about the same price plus if something was wrong i would've had a store in town to take it back toGet more detail about TP-Link 300Mbps 802.11N Wireless PCI Adapter, 2T2R, with Detachable Antenna, Model: TL-WN851N.

Syba SATA II 4 x PCI RAID Host Controller Card SY-PCI40010 Get it now!

This card was working just fine until literally 31 days from buying it from Amazon. One of the ports blew out and will no longer recognize any HD attached to it. To add insult to injury Amazon has a 30 day return policy so now I have to find out if the manufacturer has a warranty and see if it's worth shipping this card back to them. I don't know if I just got unlucky but regardless I now have a 3-port card instead of 4 and I am concerned that I might lose other ports.Get more detail about Syba SATA II 4 x PCI RAID Host Controller Card SY-PCI40010.

SilverStone FM121 Case Fan with Control Speed 9 Bladed Designs, 120X120X25mm (white) Buy Now

I bought the fan thinking that with the 3 different wires that come off it, I could chose to not use the controller that comes with it and instead use the fan controller I already own. Boy was I wrong. You must use THEIR controller if you want to control the RPMs at all -- otherwise it faults to full speed (2400 RPM) or minimal speed.

I tried to take the wiring apart and re-wire to allow for the connection, but ultimately trashed it. Disppointing...Get more detail about SilverStone FM121 Case Fan with Control Speed 9 Bladed Designs, 120X120X25mm (white).

Kingston ValueRAM 512MB 400MHz DDR1 Desktop Memory (KVR400/512R) Order Now

it is what it says, i bought and sent this product off to someone who seems very happy with it.
so no complaints so-far.Get more detail about Kingston ValueRAM 512MB 400MHz DDR1 Desktop Memory (KVR400/512R).

Syba PCI -Expres USB 2.0 5-port Host Controller Card Decide Now

I needed some more internal USB ports. I was tired of using my two external D-Link DUB-H7 USB hubs. Sometimes some of the devices attached to the D-Link hubs were not recognized by the early 2008 MacPro 3,1.

I recently purchased a Belkin USB PCI-Express card for my MacPro and it works great... but it cost $60. This Syba PCI-Express card costs $26. I decided to give it a try, knowing full well that I would have to attach a power cable to the DVD cable inside the Mac.

I attached the power cable and installed the card. I rebooted the machine and both the Belkin $60 card AND the Syba $26 card are recognized by my MacPro. Excellent!

FYI, if you decide to place a Syba PCI-Express card in your MacPro, you will have to temporarily remove the DVD player to access the molex power cable. Well worth the cost saving in my opinion.Get more detail about Syba PCI -Expres USB 2.0 5-port Host Controller Card.

Patriot PVT36G1600ELK Extreme Performance Viper Series PC3-12800 DDR3 1600 6GB 3 x 2GB Intel XMP Ready CL 9 Non ECC Triple Channel Kit (Blue) Right now

When I was building my gaming rig I accidentally installed the memory the wrong way by the other end, so I started smelling some sort of fire-like smoke so I opened my case and saw the ram installed the wrong way so I immediately turned off the power supply and disconnected the cables,then I gently removed the memory from the DIMM hoping it will still work.I waited about an hour before I would install it back again so before I did I called tech support and told them what happened,and may I say,they answered very fast just one minute after I called,he explained to me what to do and said that if it didn't work I will have to replace it free of charge with its lifetime warranty support,but I didn't have to,after I installed it again it work fine and had no damage what-so-ever.I would definitely recommend this and also say that I like there award winning ACC cooling technology.Get more detail about Patriot PVT36G1600ELK Extreme Performance Viper Series PC3-12800 DDR3 1600 6GB 3 x 2GB Intel XMP Ready CL 9 Non ECC Triple Channel Kit (Blue).

Lowest Price Patriot Memory 'Sector 5' G Series 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 PC3-10666 1333MHz CAS 9-9-9-24 Dual Channel Kit PGV34G1333ELK

I am very pleased with this memory, it worked on my ECS motherboard with the new AMD phenom II /x4 955. Right off the bat.

no problem so far, it was rated 5.9 by Windows Vista, I might buy another pair of them, on my next purchaseGet more detail about Patriot Memory 'Sector 5' G Series 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 PC3-10666 1333MHz CAS 9-9-9-24 Dual Channel Kit PGV34G1333ELK.

Low Price Sapphire Radeon HD 5970 ATI Video Card - 2GB GDDR5, PCI-Express 2.0, CrossFireX Ready, Dual DVI, Mini Display Port

I've gone through many video cards over the years and have had experience with a variety of series and brands. I've used a 5200, X800, X850, X1900, X1950XTX, 7800GTX, 8800GTS, 8800GT, GTX260, GTX285, 5850, 5870, and now the 5970. As you can now tell, I'm not partial to either ATI or NVIDIA, but I am a fan of good performance in general. I will usually go for whoever has the king of the crop, whether it be all out performance or money for the dollar. In the case of the 5970, you definitely are not getting cheap performance, but you do get what you pay for in high-end bliss!!

I purchased this card a few months ago from a local store. I admit I was thoroughly surprised they even had one of these for sale at this place. It's a small, local chain of computer repair/sale shops. Anyway, they were selling the card for $649, so even after the tax I got the card for the same price I would have buying it online. It was a good deal... especially since it always sucks having to wait on shipping.

I was using the following rig with this card over my first weekend with it. In case anyone is wondering, I used to be restricted to using only micro atx motherboards because I had an Antec Mini P180 micro atx case at the time of these purchases. I had taken out the bottom hard drive rack (thank god it's removable) in order to fit the past couple cards. This 5970 is definitely the longest I've ever used. Also, the motherboard I owned was NOT built to handle any overclocking whatsoever. I could never get any stable overclocks with the following setup.

Intel Q9400 @ stock 2.4ghz settings
4GB DDR2-800 memory
Sapphire 5970 with 10.3 Catalyst (current drivers)
Windows 7 64-bit (fresh install)

I knew that my system was starting to show its age but I didn't realize by exactly how much. When I started using the 5970 in this setup I noticed a difference in Crysis and Crysis Warhead, but in most of my other games I didn't really see a huge benefit over my GTX285. The framerates were slightly better, but I wasn't getting the framerates that the reviews and benchmarks all over the web were getting. Here's the numbers I was seeing in my tests with this last-gen setup. All tests were taken at 1920x1200 resolution and with maxed out graphics detail with any exceptions listed next to the game. I used FRAPS for the majority of the benchmarking, unless the game had a built-in tool.

Crysis Warhead - No AA - 29-41 seemed to be the typical framerate range I was getting here... little lower dips here and there but only for a second or so.
Metro 2033 DX10 (DX11 supported but KILLS framerates) - 33-85 was commonly seen. It seems with the highest settings turned on the major lighting REALLY drops the framerates on this title. You can go from 80fps to 24 just by turning a corner and walking into a room with special lighting effects.
Counter Strike Source - 255 avg (caps at 300 and I hit 300fps for about 30% of the test)
World in Conflict - 21min/43avg/97max - used built-in benchmark test
World of Warcraft - Dalaran 16-20fps - Zangarmarsh - 44 avg
Far Cry 2 - 71min/81avg/120max
UniGine benchmark tool - default settings - 4min/28avg/73max
3DMark Vantage - 13300 (rounded to nearest hundred)


Needless to say, I was not impressed and not happy with the performance I was getting here after having spent $700 on this card. It didn't seem worth it... and for the price paid, it is NOT. After researching online, I came across a brand new article that showed me what this card could really do if aided with the proper system to run it. Amazon prohibits external links so I will tell you how to get to the article I read. Using the google search engine, search for "Radeon 5870 crossfire cpu scaling" and check out the "Performance Part 2" article there. It is a great one that shows fairly close to what you can expect to get from the 5970, when combined with the proper system to run the card at its true potential.

It was because of this article that I decided to step up and order a new motherboard, cpu, and memory to run with this 5970. I ordered these parts and put the setup together. I stayed up until 2:30am running a bunch of tests. I simply could not stop until I had finished initial testing. I was hooked, lol. New setup listed below.

Intel Core i5 750 quad core OC'd to 4.0ghz
4GB DDR3-2000mhz speed memory (huge increase over 800 speed!)
Sapphire 5970 (of course)
New Antec Nine Hundred Two Case

So here are the results from the new setup.

Crysis Warhead - No AA - I seemed to average a fairly stable 55fps the majority of the time now. Once in a while I'll see fps dip into the mid-40's but the majority of the time I was getting a solid mid 50's. I would often see highs get into the 60's and even break 70fps. It was incredible! Finally!!! A setup to run this game *well*!
World of Warcraft - Dalaran.............. omg........... really!?........... 41-46fps average, even with 50+ people onscreen. This is so cool! Anyone who's played this game and had the misfortune of entering this city knows the frustration it will bring about to any system. I was very inspired that I could handle this. I didn't think anything could at maxed out settings. Zangarmarsh I was seeing about 90fps average now.
Counter Strike Source - 296fps... once again... because the benchmark was limited to 300fps in this game, and I now ran the test at 300fps for 97% of the testing time, who knows what the average really would be if it was not limited.
Far Cry 2 - didn't change much, was seeing roughly the same framerates. Not sure why this was the case here, but this game ran well anyway, even before.
Metro 2033 - My average framerates seemed to stay in the 58-85 range, but I'm still seeing dips into mid 20's in those severe lighting situations (VERY demanding game!!)
UniGine - 8min/55avg/150max - big improvements here too
3DMark Vantage - 22700 (rounded to nearest hundred)

Needless to say, by simply upgrading from my older setup to an overclocked i5 with some fast DDR3 memory, I have seemingly doubled my framerates in most cases. I am stunned at how well this card really dishes out as long as it's given the proper setup. Suggestion here... stick with a 5850 or GTX285 if you are also limited by your cpu and memory. Now in some cases, even an older E8500 OC to 3.6ghz can perform very well with this card, but it's still not going to be as good as an i5. Also, having seen the benchies from that article I see that the i5's are beating the i7's in framerates when run at the same frequencies. Good deal for me... I saved money by going with an i5 instead of the i7... and I didn't have to slouch on the performance.

If anyone would like to request any information and has a game they would like me to benchmark... or perhaps run at a lower resolution, I would be happy to do so. I will do my best to support any and all requests. I wrote this review to provide good information to anyone who wants to know what this card can do. I think I really showed how the cards performs both in last-gen and current-gen equipment. I hope you got some good information out of this and hopefully it has pointed you in the right direction. Happy gaming everyone!

**** Update ****

I purchased a new 30" LCD monitor with a 2560x1600 native resolution. Most of these games still run very well at that resolution. I ended up leaving Crysis and Metro 2033 at the 1920x1200 resolution on the new display because even with this monster rig they start to struggle a bit at higher detail settings when using the 1600p resolution range. If you plan to use this resolution and still play any game on max settings and maintain perfect framerates you are going to want two 5970's.Get more detail about Sapphire Radeon HD 5970 ATI Video Card - 2GB GDDR5, PCI-Express 2.0, CrossFireX Ready, Dual DVI, Mini Display Port.

Save Zotac GeForce GTX 480 1536MB 384-bit GDDR5 Pci Express Graphics Card ZT-40101-10P

When I got this, I thought it was going to be loud. In fact, it's quieter than my gtx 295. When gaming, the fan goes to medium speed which isn't that loud and when it gets too hot, it speeds up a bit until the temp lowers than it goes back to medium speed. When I play less demanding games like Prototype, it doesn't even spin to medium. It'll go there once in a while. I was surprised given all the reviews about the card. Those were basically all lies. It is much better than my gtx 295. My 295 can play games decent enough but this card plays games smoothly and with no problems in SLi. With 2 of these in SLi, I won't need to upgrade for probably about another 3 years.

One example of how I find this card better than the 295 is when playing prototype. The 295 kind of chokes when throwing around cars and blowing them up (settings at 16x AA) but this card eats through it no problem with an fps score of 100 average with just one 480 card with SLi disabled (getting an SLi bridge). I've noticed slight microstutter. Well, not the same as the 295. It's when you jump to a high intensity scene from a low intensity scene. Basically you go from 150 fps to 100 fps in 1 second and it causes a stutter that is a fraction of a second. It's noticeable but it's not really significant and doesn't happen a lot.

Overall good product. A bit pricey considering the 5000 but Nvidia has a good rep with drivers.Get more detail about Zotac GeForce GTX 480 1536MB 384-bit GDDR5 Pci Express Graphics Card ZT-40101-10P.

Discount Sapphire Radeon HD 5870 1 GB DDR5 Dual DVI-I/HDMI/DP PCI-Express Graphics Card 100281-3SR

Up and running in crossfire and eyefinity with a core i7 930, EVGA X58 Micro ATX, 6gb Corsair Dominator DDR3 and Corair 850HX.
Combined total resolution of 5760x1080. Cards have been ROCK solid, absolutely no problems. Really impressed with ATI this time around.
Would absolutely consider buying again. I am not a fanboi, had SLI GTX285's in my rig before this one.Get more detail about Sapphire Radeon HD 5870 1 GB DDR5 Dual DVI-I/HDMI/DP PCI-Express Graphics Card 100281-3SR.

Cheapest Scythe "MINI KAZE ULTRA" 40 x 20 mm Silent Mini Fan

My computer has it's GPU (Graphics processor) as part of the motherboard instead of a graphics card. You usually get better performance from graphics cards but for my needs the motherboard graphics are plenty good enough.

Except... any time I run a 3d game the temperature of the GPU goes sky high. The GPU on a graphics card would do the same but those have heat sinks and cooling fans to control that. My GPU only has a small heat sink.

I needed a way to cool it off.

I couldn't find anything! Search for GPU cooling and you find other people complaining in online forums but no solutions. But I knew something had to be out there.

I wrote emails to some PC cooling specialty stores.

CoolerGuys wrote back quickly with detailed recommendations! Turns out I was looking for the wrong thing. Instead of a GPU cooler, I needed a northbridge cooler (the GPU is part of the northbridge). And they had many ways to cool the northbridge.

One of their suggestions was this fan. What's impressive about the pick is that this fan wouldn't normally be considered as a northbridge cooler. But CoolerGuys figured out a clever way to use the fan's screws to latch onto the northbridge heat sink.

I decided to give their suggestion a try.

Before using the fan my GPU would typically run at 180f and would zoom towards 210f during graphically intense games (I never found out how high it might go as I would stop the game when the temperature got that high).

After installing the fan the GPU runs at 120f! And, during those games, the max temp levels out at 132f!

That's a fantastic result for a five dollar fan*.

And the fan is quiet. Since it's quieter than my CPU fan and my computer's case fan it I can't even hear it!

Summing it up. The fan is good but CoolerGuys are GREAT!

*I did have to pick up a power adaptor to plug the fan into a molex plug on my computer's power supply. Those are cheap.
Get more detail about Scythe "MINI KAZE ULTRA" 40 x 20 mm Silent Mini Fan.

Cheap OCZ OCZ3G10664GK PC3-8500 DDR3 1066MHz Gold Edition 4GB Dual Channel Kit

Just installed these in my Gateway SX2800-1 (it came with 4GB and I wanted to max it out to 8 GB). It works fine so far. However, when I first installed them my machine wouldn't boot and I thought this new memory was defective. But I tried again (made sure I had inserted them fully into the socket, etc.) and then it worked fine. So based on my experience, if it doesn't work at first, try a few more times before giving up on them as defective. In sum, good cheap way to expand my PC's memory.Get more detail about OCZ OCZ3G10664GK PC3-8500 DDR3 1066MHz Gold Edition 4GB Dual Channel Kit.

Buying Diablotek 350-Watt ATX Power Supply PHD350

First One I received did not work but will fit just right Second one I received perfect. Should fit into older HP cases. Mine is a HP a450n.Get more detail about Diablotek 350-Watt ATX Power Supply PHD350.

Buy SilverStone SC00L121 Suscool Ultra Quiet Fan with 9-Bladed design

I purchased two of these to help cool a large LCD HDTV in a cabinet with less than the recommended ventilation clearance. I run them on high speed (disconnected temp probe) and can barely hear them with the TV off. They do make the TV run cooler. I have felt the screen vs. a display model at the store and mine is quite a bit cooler.Get more detail about SilverStone SC00L121 Suscool Ultra Quiet Fan with 9-Bladed design.

Purchase EVGA 132-BL-E758-TR x58 SLI Mainboard with Intel LGA 1366 chipset

I was a bit nervous when choosing a motherboard for my i7 build because there were so many, finally I decided to go with EVGA mainly because of it's overclocking capability. I am very happy with my purchase, worked right out of the box and it's a great looking board.

pros
-Fast and easy to setup
-supports tri-SLI without case modifications
-Great BIOS
-Overclocks like a charm
-LCD displays on board displays temperature
-lots of accessories
-RAID works well
-shiny
cons
-POST takes like 10-15 seconds
-Will not fit large coolers like Noctua
-no PCI x1 at the top for sound card

Get more detail about EVGA 132-BL-E758-TR x58 SLI Mainboard with Intel LGA 1366 chipset.

Order Syba SD-SATA150R PCI SATA 2x Port RAID Controller Card

installed the card and the OS recognized it right away, installed drivers and then the drives connected to it were available. doesn't get any simpler.Get more detail about Syba SD-SATA150R PCI SATA 2x Port RAID Controller Card.

Where To Buy Sabrent SATA-ES2P Internal SATA to 2-Port eSATA II 3GB External Host Bracket Cable (6.3 inches)

I'm not sure what they were shipping before, but the pair I received were excellent quality -- the cables were well shielded and the both connectors appeared to be high quality. The cables measured exactly 18 inches from connector tip to connector tip -- longer than I needed, in fact. It appears obvious from earlier reviews that these probably were 6.3 inches at one time - the label on the bag still has that length printed on it.

I haven't found any other dual-connector backplane brackets of this quality for this low price, and I'd buy this one again should I find myself needing another.Get more detail about Sabrent SATA-ES2P Internal SATA to 2-Port eSATA II 3GB External Host Bracket Cable (6.3 inches).

Shop For MSI AM3 NVIDIA nForce ATX AMD Motherboard NF750-G55

had the board for few months runs great awsome onboard sound. The first start up was kind of tricky need to press delete to get to bios but its in instruction. haven't used the over clock feature yet need a beter heat sink fan running AM3 3.0 quad core so pretty fast any way. great vaule for the moneyGet more detail about MSI AM3 NVIDIA nForce ATX AMD Motherboard NF750-G55.

Intel Core i7 950 3.06GHz 8M L3 Cache LGA1366 Desktop Processor

Contrary to popular belief, CPU chip fabrication is really an imprecise art, and manufacturing perfection cannot be found in this industry. The same series of chips, in this case the i7 900 series, are all manufactured from the same wafer. Whether or not they get the extreme designation and specified number is based on testing done on each chip after the fabrication process is complete. However not every chip is tested for a specific range in the series (e.g. 975).

Like any company, Intel has manufacturing quotas, so a certain number of 975s have to be produced each month, but beyond that, they don't run the harder tests involved with the 975s. So in reality, you could technically get a 965 or a 975 in the 950 mix, assuming all quotas were met for any chips above 950 in that particular month of fabrication. The main reason for this is due to the limited demand on the 965s and 975s. In the end, it's more-or-less the luck of the draw.

Technically, this means you could by chance end up with a 920 that matches the quality of a 950 or higher. However, the chances are more likely that you could get a 975-quality from a 950 batch, since both would come from the same vicinity on the wafer (that vicinity being the area that consistently yields the best chips) whereas the 920s are coming from a known lesser-quality area of the wafer. The 920s typically are the bottom of the barrel in the series.

So if you're absolutely picky and you must have top-of-the-line equipment, definitely go with the 975 or one of the other extreme edition CPUs, because you're guaranteed to receive a chip of the highest quality (assuming you can afford it).

However, if price is any concern at all, but absolute top performance is certainly not an issue, go with a 950 (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002A6G3V2?tag=a52-20&ie=UTF8) and take your chances on getting something better, especially if you're considering overclocking. It really all depends on your cooling solution, settings and the chances of drawing something better than the label suggests, but from what I've seen the chances are actually pretty decent.

I've benchmarked the 975, 965 and 950, all overclocked. The 975 ran only 1.8% faster than the 950, but the 950 ran even better than the "extreme" 965. In the end, I was certainly satisfied with the results of the 950 for the price. For anyone on the fence with price vs performance, you certainly won't be dissatisfied with the 950. Even if you have the extra cash to plop down on the 975, save your money and get an SSD with the extra cash flow. That's where the real bottleneck is in computing these days, and you shouldn't ever run such a top-of-the-line system without having a high-speed hard drive!

For those who are curious, here is what I chose for my machine's final configuration:
Mobo: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001KA9PZK?tag=a52-20&ie=UTF8
CPU: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002A6G3V2?tag=a52-20&ie=UTF8
Cooler: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001KUV2KQ?tag=a52-20&ie=UTF8
Memory: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001VNLDN8?tag=a52-20&ie=UTF8
Hard Drive (SSD): http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002IGT7IU?tag=a52-20&ie=UTF8
PSU: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001M3G42W?tag=a52-20&ie=UTF8Get more detail about Intel Core i7 950 3.06GHz 8M L3 Cache LGA1366 Desktop Processor.

Fujifilm 512 MB XD Type M Picture Card ( 600002308 ) Review

I am disappointed with the purchase I made on Amazon. I ordered my item over a month ago! I still have not received my item. There was an expected delivery date, and it has now been over a week since they said it would be delivered by!! I have been charged for the item I bought, and I still do not have it! If it does not come soon, I will never order from Amazon again!Get more detail about Fujifilm 512 MB XD Type M Picture Card ( 600002308 ).

Noctua for Intel CPU Cooler NH-U12P SE2 Top Quality

Product is very nice..... when it says in the instructions turn screw till it stops.. they mean it... the screw will snap if you torc it at all... but they will send you new ones free....

Fans are very quiet,,,,, unit is very very tall... I installed the Noctua CPU heatsync solution in in a Coolmaster 690 II Advanced case and could not install the upper side cover fan with the Noctua heatsync in the system. Case is too narrow or heatsync is too tall depending on how you look at it.

The Noctua instructions say you may have to remove the fins from Dominator memory installed with this heatsync solution but this was not required with the fans oriented to blow towards the rear of the case (recommended for optimal air flow) on an ASUS P6X58D systemboard.

I really like the Noctua CPU heatsync solution and would buy it again.
Fans are very very quietGet more detail about Noctua for Intel CPU Cooler NH-U12P SE2.

EVGA GeForce 9500GT 1GB DDR2 PCIe Graphics Card (01G-P3-N958-LR) This instant

This is a very good graphics card, at least for the average user (a mix of games and home productivity tools). It really improves the performance of the video (noticeable mainly on games). Very easy installation. I bought one for my Win XP and one for my Windows 7, both worked flawless. The fan is not so bulky, so there is no problem with the space between slots. And the price is good. So in general, it is recommended. I don't know about more professional applications, but for COD4, COD5 and similar graphic applications/games it is very good.
Product packaging was also very good (I packed both cards with my luggage to go home from Florida and they had no problems)
Service was fast also, I used the second day delivery, and arrived on-time.
Thanks. DanielGet more detail about EVGA GeForce 9500GT 1GB DDR2 PCIe Graphics Card (01G-P3-N958-LR).

1GB Upgrade for a Dell Dimension 2400 Series System (DDR PC2700, NON-ECC, CL=2.5) Immediately

The memory upgrade was just what I needed. The only difficulty -- as with any memory installation -- is to be sure it is properly seated.Get more detail about 1GB Upgrade for a Dell Dimension 2400 Series System (DDR PC2700, NON-ECC, CL=2.5).

ATI Rage XL 8MB PCI Video Card Best Quality

I bought this because I wanted to add a second LCD monitor, and my five year old Dell computer's onboard video only has one output. The original monitor looks and works great with the onboard video card, as does the new widescreen monitor, but both the original LCD monitor and an old Sony CRT monitor look blurry when connected to this card, even with the correct drivers for card and monitor, and running the monitor at its native (1280x1024) resolution.

It's a cheap outdated card that I thought would perform well enough for web browsing, but I'd have a hard time recommending it even for that. I don't know, and don't have the motivation to find out, if it doesn't like to coexist with another card, or with the latest Windows XP hotfix, or the moon phase when I installed it.

I didn't spend enough money on the card for it to be worthwhile troubleshooting, so as soon as I find something that actually will work, this card is destined to join my collection of dead hard drives, motherboards, and other obsolete components in the cactus garden.Get more detail about ATI Rage XL 8MB PCI Video Card.

Kingston 1 GB Secure Digital Flash Card ( SD/1GB ) (Retail Package) Get it now!

It works like any other SD card does. I use this in my Garmin system to hold the extra stuff you can download and it has not failed yet. I have owned it for quite a while as well. I have always used Kingston for my memory needs and have never had a problem with them and is always rock solid in reliability.Get more detail about Kingston 1 GB Secure Digital Flash Card ( SD/1GB ) (Retail Package).

NETGEAR GA311 - Network adapter - PCI - Ethernet, Fast Ethernet, Gigabit Ethernet - 10Base-T, 100Base-TX, 1000Base-T Buy Now

I bought this because my on-board LAN no longer works well.
It works nice as it promises. I'm using it for multi-booting PC with different OS-es, and it works nice on all the OS-es.Get more detail about NETGEAR GA311 - Network adapter - PCI - Ethernet, Fast Ethernet, Gigabit Ethernet - 10Base-T, 100Base-TX, 1000Base-T.

Kingston ValueRAM 4GB Kit (2x2GB) 667MHz DDR2 DIMM 240-pin Desktop Memory KVR667D2K2/4GR (Retail) Order Now

The 4GB Memory Kit was advertised on Amazon for $45.50. I ordered it but only received a 2GB strip. I contacted the shipper and was told it was a mis-print. I bought 4GB as advertised, should have received what I purchased. Not happy with the whole thing.Get more detail about Kingston ValueRAM 4GB Kit (2x2GB) 667MHz DDR2 DIMM 240-pin Desktop Memory KVR667D2K2/4GR (Retail).

Corsair TR3X6G1333C9 XMS3 6 GB 3 x 2 GB PC3-10666 1333MHz 240-Pin DDR3 Core i7 Memory Kit Decide Now

FYI, as with the 1 star post, the memory does not seem to be compatible with my Intel motherboard. All the 5 star posts seem to be from people with other brand boards. So if you have an Asus board or any other brand but Intel, get this, it will work great (others say), but if you have an Intel board stay far far away!Get more detail about Corsair TR3X6G1333C9 XMS3 6 GB 3 x 2 GB PC3-10666 1333MHz 240-Pin DDR3 Core i7 Memory Kit.

NZXT Whisper Black No Power Aluminum / Steel ATX Full Tower Computer Case - Retail Right now

Large enough for big power supply, raid array & 2video cards & atx board. Good sound damping, Very quiet with great ventilation via included fans. Well thought out case.Get more detail about NZXT Whisper Black No Power Aluminum / Steel ATX Full Tower Computer Case - Retail.

Lowest Price ASUS LGA1156 Intel P55 DDR3 - 2133 ATX Motherboard P755D Pro

I have had this working in my computer for about a week. I assembled a computer from all new parts built on top of this motherboard. It took me about three weeks to get all the parts together and put the OS on it.

Think standard 30 day return policies. Now just into 5th week the On-board network card has failed. It can no longer establish connection.

Designed obsolescence? In the market for mother boards there are plenty of good brands I suggest you try another one.

As for me it is going to take a weekend to tear the computer down to remove the motherboard. Another weekend to build the computer back up with a new motherboard. On top of that, I am the one that is going to pay to return the board. Beyond that when I decide to brand switch I'll get charged again.

All this because ASUS's quality assurance failed. So why am I paying for their choices, when it is ASUS that decides how much they are going to invest in quality?Get more detail about ASUS LGA1156 Intel P55 DDR3 - 2133 ATX Motherboard P755D Pro.

Low Price Patriot PVS24G8500ELKR2 Extreme Performance Viper Series PC2-8500 DDR2 1066MHz 4GB CAS 5-5-5-15 EPP Ready Enhanced Latency Dual Channel Kit (Black)

I first bought some similar Corsair RAM but one of the sticks was DOA so after reading the positive reviews bought this instead. I really like the fact that it has proper timings and voltage preset in the SPD so its plug and play. It set itself up at 5-5-5-12 1066 at 2.1v on my Gigabyte P35-DS4 motherboard. It was perfectly stable with memtest 86+ v4 for several hours.Get more detail about Patriot PVS24G8500ELKR2 Extreme Performance Viper Series PC2-8500 DDR2 1066MHz 4GB CAS 5-5-5-15 EPP Ready Enhanced Latency Dual Channel Kit (Black).

Save Hitachi Deskstar 7K2000 - Hard drive - 2 TB - internal - 3.5" - SATA-300 - 7200 rpm - buffer: 32 MB

I put one of these in a Firewire Enclosure and it works extremely well, maxing out the read/write speeds of the enclosure. This drive is the most affordable 7200rpm 2TB drive. It starts up quickly and works great.Get more detail about Hitachi Deskstar 7K2000 - Hard drive - 2 TB - internal - 3.5" - SATA-300 - 7200 rpm - buffer: 32 MB.

Discount Crucial CT2KIT25664BA1067 4GB 240-PIN PC3-8500 DIMM DDR3 Memory KIT (2GBx2)

This is a well known brand with respected chip technology by Micron. They operate perfectly at their stock timings. They tested without any problems on Prime95 4-blended torture test for 4+ hours on a overclocked AMD Phenom II X3 720 unlocked 4th core at 3.5GHz.

Wish they had a heat spreader for the money, but I opted to go with a known quality brand and can always add a spreader later if I decide to drop the timings and raise voltage.Get more detail about Crucial CT2KIT25664BA1067 4GB 240-PIN PC3-8500 DIMM DDR3 Memory KIT (2GBx2).

Cheapest Gigabyte G41M-ES2H Intel LGA775 MAX-8GB DDR2 mATX PCIE16 3PCI

I love this little motherboard. It is cheap, supports modern LGA775 CPUs and has all the essential peripherals for building a budget PC or home theater PC. It is rock solid stable with just enough overclocking and underclocking features. Most importantly, it has DVI and HDMI ports. This is VERY rare in this class of motherboard. I cannot understand why motherboard manufacturers skip these ports and put VGA connectors only. In most motherboards, you have to put in an external card to get a digital monitor signal which defeats the purpose of the on-board integrated G41 graphics.

While on the G41 subject, this chipset is great for DVD decoding, but forget Blu-ray. While it does MPEG2 and VC1, it does not do AVC/H.264 decoding which is a very common codec for Blu-rays. If you play Blu-rays, your CPU pegs at 100% and the video stutters. I suppose you could put in a quad-core, but again that defeats the purpose of a low-power (quiet) HTPC.

Another "feature" of the G41 chipset is that it uses the older ICH7 southbridge. What that means is that this uses the last Intel chipset to natively support IDE ports, floppy, etc. While you may not care about PATA (IDE), the only motherboards I've found with rock-solid emulation/mapping of SATA to PATA are ICH7 motherboards. This is important because a lot of system utilities, flash BIOS, imaging, recovery, utilities, etc., boot from CD-ROMs and need the old legacy port mapping. This motherboard flawlessly runs every OS and utility (from like the past 10 years) that I have thrown at it.

Finally, I had no problems with audio over HDMI to my Denon receiver as long as you don't plan on running more than 5.1. None of the Intel chipsets will do this (and I don't think even ATI or nVidia will either) except for just a handful of the very latest cards or the just-released i3, i5 CPUs with integrated GPU.

In short, this is a great little motherboard for any low-mid usage.
Get more detail about Gigabyte G41M-ES2H Intel LGA775 MAX-8GB DDR2 mATX PCIE16 3PCI.

Cheap Sapphire Radeon HD5450 512 MB DDR2 VGA/DVI/HDMI PCI-Express Video Card 100291L

I bought this for my Windows 7 32 bit HTPC.

+ Fanless
+ Low Profile
+ HDMI

My HTPC connects to my Windows Home Server which is where I store all of my media. I have not had any issues - even streaming Blu Ray. I have a wired gigabit ethernet connection between the two computers.

This card was the last piece in the puzzle - and I have not had a single issue with it at all.Get more detail about Sapphire Radeon HD5450 512 MB DDR2 VGA/DVI/HDMI PCI-Express Video Card 100291L.

Buying Corsair TR3X6G1600C7D Dominator 6 GB PC3-12800 1600 MHz 240-pin Triple Channel Core i7 DDR3 Memory Kit

Good, solid, fast ram.
Cant go wrong with Corsair, and if theres ever any problem, their customer service and warranty policy is the best.Get more detail about Corsair TR3X6G1600C7D Dominator 6 GB PC3-12800 1600 MHz 240-pin Triple Channel Core i7 DDR3 Memory Kit.

Buy Cooler Master Elite 310 ATX, MATX Mid Tower Case with Window RC-310-OWN1-GP (Black/Orange)

The only thing that made me surprised was that this case does not come with any powersupply!Get more detail about Cooler Master Elite 310 ATX, MATX Mid Tower Case with Window RC-310-OWN1-GP (Black/Orange).

Purchase EVGA P55 SLI Mainboard 132-LF-E655-KR

I have mixed feelings about the EVGA P55 series in general. I first started with the P55 FTW board and ran into issues installing Windows 7. Luckily with the help of the EVGA forum community, I was able to figure out that the Intel SpeedStep feature was causing my BSODs. Updating to the latest BIOS and drivers didn't help, so I eventually returned that board. Next I bought the P55 SLI (because I really did not need all the advanced O/C features of the FTW) and ran into other issues. Windows 7 installed fine with SpeedStep enabled this time, but in Windows, only 2 out of my 4 GB RAM was being used. Windows and third party tools were able to recognize my 4 GBs, but only use 2. Again with the help of the EVGA forum, I had to re-sit my CPU in its socket to get my other 2 GBs back. (This had to do with the memory controller being in the socket.)

This is my 12th build in the last ~10 years and it was a very frustrating weekend dealing with these random issues, but I am finally all up and running. The board itself looks amazing and laid out very well. The EVGA forum is great with a ton of knowledgeable members. I would have hoped everything would have worked the first time, but I am going to cut EVGA some slack.

Overall, this board and the P55 series in general, get 4 stars out of 5.Get more detail about EVGA P55 SLI Mainboard 132-LF-E655-KR.

Order OCZ OCZ2RPR10664GK PC2-8500 DDR2 Dual Channel Reaper Series 1066MHz 4G Kit CL 5-5-5-18 Memory

It took a long time to receive, but worth the wait. Only 1 other problem, 1 stick in 4 turned out defective.Poor c/service from OTZ, Amazon was 1st rate.Get more detail about OCZ OCZ2RPR10664GK PC2-8500 DDR2 Dual Channel Reaper Series 1066MHz 4G Kit CL 5-5-5-18 Memory.

Where To Buy ZOTAC ECO GeForce 9800GT 512 MB 256-bit GDDR3 (550MHz/1800MHz) Graphics Card ZT-98GES3M-FSL

I was looking at this or a GT240 for my HP computer which does not have any PCI-E power connectors. I bought this and did not regret it. Works fine for the video games I play, and has good performance. Very quiet too, almost silent. Bought this over the 1GB version of the same card as I heard the other one is louder.Get more detail about ZOTAC ECO GeForce 9800GT 512 MB 256-bit GDDR3 (550MHz/1800MHz) Graphics Card ZT-98GES3M-FSL.