First time system builder - Need help deciding

The short version of what you linked would be "spread a thin layer of the compound on top of the CPU" yes?

Yes.

What is CPU die?

For the purposes of TIM, the CPU die is the mating surface of the CPU - the top of the CPU.

also, I understand what grounding is which is noted there

You do, or don't understand what grounding is?

thanks I do understand it

Sounds good.

How will this video card fare with todays games? I realize I could get better, but I don't need top performance right now.

I lied, how about the previous video card's performance vs. this one. I need both CoD 4 and 5 also, so it's an added bonus.

Second choice is much better. No question. If you want more detail please ask.

Nope, I believe you. And if I were to go out and buy CoD 4 / 5 combined would be more expensive than the second one anyways. Also, I ended up getting the MSI board by accident I didn't realize it was in my cart, which is fine, but worries me because all the poor reviews.

This one?

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx…N82E16813130210

Motherboards will always get mixed reviews as they depend on all the other parts.

Depending on the CPU and RAM the board itself can exhibit different behaviors.

Here are more reviews:

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=+…mp;aq=f&oq=

Also you should have no problem sending it back and exchanging for what you want.

Newegg is very good about such things.

yeah thats the one I got a friend of a friend that builds computers for a living and he is going to help me out I was talking to him and he said I shouldn't install vista cause its a resource hog =P What are your thoughts on that?

Just another thought at Newegg: if they have not shipped yet you can probably get someone on the phone to change the order. As to an OS I'd wait till Windows 7 comes out. Probably in the fall. You can get the Release Candidate in mid April to tide you over.

Yeah I will probably do that

Everything is up and running and works great, worked off first boot up. One thing to note, the guy that guided me along insisted that it was pointless to add any TIM to the cpu heatsink since it comes pre applied. Isn't it best to remove the pre applied stuff and add your own? Too late now if that's the case. Oh well. It works /shrug Well it's ridiculously faster than my old desktop which makes me happy So far I am using onboard video until my 9800GT arrives on monday. I'll update how it plays a few games tomorrow when I have the time. Cheers

One thing to note, the guy that guided me along insisted that it was pointless to add any TIM to the cpu heatsink since it comes pre applied. Isn't it best to remove the pre applied stuff and add your own? Too late now if that's the case.

It is not pointless. But for many, the best thing to do is use the pad - this is because a poorly applied layer of TIM is worse than a pad. It is important to note that a pad will work just fine in most applications if (1) the case provides adequate cooling, (2) no overclocking, and (3) the pad is "fresh" - that is, the heatsink has never been removed since the pad was first melted in place.

That said, a properly applied layer of TIM will typically provide a few degree improvement in temperature or a standard OEM pad - never a bad thing.

Video Card comes today…

Should I download the drivers for it before or after I install/boot up with it?

EDIT: Nevermind, I found this http://www.whatthetech.com/2009/04/04/disa…-graphics-card/

Extremely helpful =)