Quote: Original post by hplus0603The 7600GT and up aren't available fanless; only the 7600GS and below are, so if you want fanless, that's what you get. If you go for fanned, then a 7900GT might be the best bang for the buck -- still quite middle-end priced, but noticeably faster than the 7600 series.

The 7600GT is available fanless, and that's what I'm going to get I think, looks like a decent card for a very good price.

Quote: Original post by hplus0603I bought CAS2 RAM a while back, that wouldn't be stable with my ASUS motherboard. Running it at CAS2.5, it's rock solid, and only a few percent slower.

CAS2? What type of memory is that? I'm looking at PC6400 DDR2 memory, and the standard seems to be a CAS of 5, with a rare 4.

Quote: Original post by hplus0603Building your computer is fun and rewarding. Just make sure to TAKE IT EASY and do it METHODICALLY, one step at a time. And guard against static!

It's my first time completely doing it from scratch (I have already transported a motherboard from one case to another one time), and I'm sure I'll enjoy doing it :)

Quote: Original post by Lode

Quote: Original post by hplus0603The 7600GT and up aren't available fanless; only the 7600GS and below are, so if you want fanless, that's what you get. If you go for fanned, then a 7900GT might be the best bang for the buck -- still quite middle-end priced, but noticeably faster than the 7600 series.

The 7600GT is available fanless, and that's what I'm going to get I think, looks like a decent card for a very good price.

Quote: Original post by hplus0603I bought CAS2 RAM a while back, that wouldn't be stable with my ASUS motherboard. Running it at CAS2.5, it's rock solid, and only a few percent slower.

CAS2? What type of memory is that? I'm looking at PC6400 DDR2 memory, and the standard seems to be a CAS of 5, with a rare 4.

Quote: Original post by hplus0603Building your computer is fun and rewarding. Just make sure to TAKE IT EASY and do it METHODICALLY, one step at a time. And guard against static!

It's my first time completely doing it from scratch (I have already transported a motherboard from one case to another one time), and I'm sure I'll enjoy doing it :)

As long as you do your research as it looks like you are doing you should be OK.
The only thing that stumped me years ago when I put my first rig together was the motherboard standoff metal brakets/standoffs for case. I had never seen them in my life and I didn't know how they connected to metal PC case or if they were in the right spot, if the motherbord was really supposed to be touching metal standoffs instead of plastic,etc. And of course the PC case documentation was poor and has no explanations but I figured it out after messing around for a while. Kinda like the new Vista retail plastic cases. Either you get it right away how to open case without breaking it or you search internet and figure it out and have a Homer simpson Doh! on your face since it was so easy once you know the trick.

Quote: CAS2? What type of memory is that? I'm looking at PC6400 DDR2 memory, and the standard seems to be a CAS of 5, with a rare 4.

That was regular DDR memory, over a year ago. I know, stone age :-)

Also, expect that you will do something completely wrong the first time you snap it all together. If you have mysterious problems like failing to POST, just go make sure everything is plugged in: push down on your ram again b/c seating ram correctly is a dark art on some mobos, are your drives plugged in to the right SATA controler, etc...

The first time I put a machine together I had approximately 4 heart attacks during which I thought I'd broken everything. funtimes.

Be absolutely sure that you're not wearing wool and ground yourself to the PC case before touching anything.

-me