EggXpert

Hi, i'm building a system for the first time, getting my know how basically from here and newegg; Having no experience first hand, I have some questions.  First, would I need to get a sound card if the onboard audio specs for the motherboard i'm getting say:

Audio Chipset - Realtek ALC889A

Audio Channels - 8 Channels

Audio quality isn't a concern for me, so i'm not sure if I would need a sound card in order for the onboard to function.

I'm probably going to have a few more questions in the near future, i'll put them in this thread if anyone is interested.

Thanks!

No, most on-board sound devices are very admirable in quality. You only want a dedicated card if you're taking your music and other HD stuff seriously. I mean, I got a decent set of Cyber Acoustics on my onbaord and its great. The realtek is one of them and comes with a nice feature rich interface. Some boards will have driver issues, but you didnt leave us a board to surmise.

Peace, Penewah!

Thanks, that saves me some money on a sound board.

Now, I don't have a clue of what ways different parts can be compatible or incompatible with eachother, but I have a list of parts that (I think) make up a full system.  I'll list links to their specs here and, if it's not too much trouble, can someone tell me of any problems I might have with compatibility if I use the parts listed?  Thanks again!

Case

XION II XON-101 Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case 450W Power Supply

Hard drive

Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 ST3250410AS 250GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM

Monitor

Acer AL1916WAbd Black 19" 5ms Widescreen LCD Monitor - Retail

DVD/CD burner

Pioneer 20X DVD±R DVD Burner Black IDE Model DVR-115DBK - OEM

Motherboard

GIGABYTE GA-MA78GM-S2H AM2+/AM2 AMD 780G HDMI Micro ATX AMD Motherboard - Retail

Keyboard/Mouse

Logitech 967557-0403 Silver/Black USB + PS/2 RF Wireless Slim Cordless Desktop S 510 Mouse Included - Retail

Memory

G.SKILL 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model F2-6400CL5D-4GBPQ - Retail

Processor

Intel Core 2 Duo E8400 3.0GHz LGA 775 65W Dual-Core Processor - Retail

Video card

MSI NX8800GT 512M OC GeForce 8800 GT 512MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card - Retail

Well, to start you need to get a chipset and a motherboard that are compatable for eachother. I see you picked an AMD Mobo and an Intel chipset. You must choose a combination of either AMD Mobo and chipset or Intel Mobo and chipset.

And do you have an Operating System disk already? You will also need one of those if you are starting from scratch.

You will also need your SATA cables and Ribbon cable but I'm not sure if you are consitering these parts or not.

I've already fixed the problem of AMD/Intel chipset conflict, (decided to go with Intel) and yes I do have an operating system disk, but what are these cables for?

The SATA Cable transferres data from your hard drive to your Motherboard and vice versa, and the ribbon cable transferres your data from your cd drive to your motherboard and vice versa.

SATA Cable: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16812120078 Is just an example of what you would need.

Oh, okay..It seems like important cables like that should actually come with the parts though, doesn't it?  Thanks for the info.

It looks like the motherboard i'm getting already comes with an SATA cable, so I shouldn't need another if i'm only going to be using one hd correct?  I've also looked over the specs of my CD drive and motherboard for a potential included ribbon cable, and it looks like the FDD cable also included with my motherboard would be the one i'm looking for, can I get verification on this?  Here are the links to the specs if needed:

GIGABYTE GA-G31M-S2L LGA 775 Intel G31 Micro ATX Intel Motherboard

Pioneer Black 20X DVD+R 8X DVD+RW 10X DVD+R DL 20X DVD-R 6X DVD-RW 16X DVD-ROM 40X CD-R 32X CD-RW 40X CD-ROM 2MB Cache IDE 20X DVD±R DVD Burner - OEM

 Are there any other cables and connectors i'll need in order for my system to work properly?

Edit:  I've just noticed that under the motherboard's physical specifications, it says that it's "Certified for Windows Vista."  This just means that it is certified to run vista and does not limit it to running vista only correct?

Your motherboard does include the necessary cables to run your computer. When it says "Certified for Vista" it just means it can run vista, but you can still use Windows XP.

I think i'm ready now to get the parts together and assemble, thanks to everyone for the help, it's really appreciated!

One word of advice would be to take your time when putting it together and do not be in a rush. Also make sure you a antistatic wrist band. Ive seen people punch wholes through motherboard when putting on cpu fans so just watch out for that. And if all else fails take some pictures and post them on here so maybe we can of help incase your doubting something. And just dont force anything. lol Ive made mistakes myself but after 100s of builds Id say after the first time you could almost call yourself an expert. Good luck and hope you ejnoy your pc.

Don't forget to use the standoffs that come with your tower, If you don't you will fry your mobo I almost did once. :)

don't be afraid! remember all of the advice from raz and kpaul, be sure to use thermal paste, a little goes a long ways Goggle this if you are not sure on how to apply  Good Luck

PS you'll be a pro after you get your feet wet