Yeah if he doesn't know much about putting PCs together then I wouldn't worry about OCing just yet

Although personally I found that quite useful when it came to doing the OSX EUD stuff. Then again I haven't used virtualisation before or since for anything more serious. Still, if you're planning to keep the CPU for 4+ years and it doesn't cost too much extra (maybe $20-30 tops), it might be worth getting.

If you are getting an internal wireless card for a system that will primarily run Windows, I'd recommend a Ralink-based card over an Atheros-based card (the one suggested uses Atheros chips). Ralink supports Windows better than Atheros does (last I checked, they hadn't even updated their wireless utility to work past Windows XP). On the topic of drivers, Atheros also does not even provide any official distribution for their drivers - you must get them from a third-party. On the other hand, Ralink does provide drivers on their site, like most chip manufacturers do.

However, if you are primarily using anything other than Windows (Linux, BSD, etc.), Atheros-based cards (just the cards, not necessarily the USB adapters) are the way to go, as they have the best open source drivers of any of them. It's kind of a cycle - Atheros-based cards are what have the best support on open source systems, thus what people buy for systems that will run Linux or BSD, and as a result it ends up being what people work on when they work on drivers for wireless because it is what they have. After Atheros, Ralink-based cards are probably the next best thing for Linux support.

Ralink-based cards I would recommend:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16833166011
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16833166060 (same as first, but comes with different antenna type)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16833166033

If you get one of those, don't bother with the driver disc that comes with it. I always just get the drivers direct from Ralink and they work well. Others also often recommend it. I also usually let it install the utility so I can use it for diagnostic purposes (especially the signal meter to help adjust antennas), but I remove it from startup, only starting it when I want to use it.

Post has been edited 5 time(s), last time on Jan 6 2012, 11:39 am by ShadowFlare.

VT-d is not required for basic virtualization like running a guest OS; the basic virtualization software packages (VirtualBox and the like) only require VT-x, which is present on the K-series processors. VT-d is mostly only useful for heavy duty hypervisor type stuff like ESXi or Xen, which is why it doesn't matter for typical computer users/enthusiasts.

Ok so I got everything but the CPU and the HDD, still waiting on my paycheck for those.

Post has been edited 1 time(s), last time on Jan 6 2012, 12:31 pm by Wing Zero.

You got the SSD too? The Intel one Excalibur recommended? I guess you won't need to set up caching then.

@SF
I just wanted to say that's really weird because I've had the opposite experience. Using Win7, the Ralinks I've had functioned terribly and had less strength and transfer speed compared to the Atheros based TP-Link I'm using now.

Did you use the driver directly from Ralink's site? (I've never tried the one from the disc on those) I'll admit that the signal strength on 802.11n sometimes wasn't as good as 802.11g with at least what I have here (the dual antenna model), though. But then again, I don't know if that was with my current access point or another one I put together and used temporarily with a card I've known to have worse signal. It did help a lot to use the utility to adjust the antennas to get the best signal on both antennas.

I haven't used anything Atheros on Windows 7 in a while, other than the 802.11g card in my laptop (which works fine), so I'm not really sure of the current situation with 802.11n, actually.

Other than possibly the driver, maybe it depends on what you have it connected to. In my case, I'm using a TP-Link TL-WA901ND (which uses an Atheros chipset), but I'm running OpenWrt on it. I couldn't really recommend this one if you are not going to run OpenWrt on it, though, and using a third-party firmware probably voids the warranty. Software bugs in the stock firmware caused connection problems fairly often.

Post has been edited 4 time(s), last time on Jan 7 2012, 9:58 am by ShadowFlare. Reason: Updated some information

I'm getting the rest of the stuff on the list now, I still have to buy the OS right?

Buy an OEM copy instead of retail if you want to save money.

Thank you VERY much for that bit of information, you saved me $100 at least. OS's from Best Buy are overpriced as hell.

In other news, first shipment arrived today. I now have everything but the HDD, CPU, and OS. The HDD and CPU are coming tomorrow, and the OS the next day.

Wooo my stuff came in! I'm gonna start assembling it now but step by step instructions would be nice.

Slot the things together where they fit together.

In terms of what order to do things: install motherboard into case, install power supply into case, install CPU & RAM, install hard drives and media drives, install graphics card.

Just leaving graphics card till last as many case designs make it difficult to install the HDs if you've already installed the graphics card first.

Aaahhhhh I don't know where the wires go! The manual isn't helping

Post has been edited 1 time(s), last time on Jan 13 2012, 5:11 am by Wing Zero.

The manual IS helping. There's a set of pins somewhere which have tiny labels near them which should match the labels on the wires. They are named like HDD LED, PWR BTN, etc. You can read it either right on the board or you can find the appropriate section in your manual.

Ex you made me get too many fans, I can't fit them all in the case.

Ok so I have everything plugged in but when I turn the computer on the screen flickered and it says restart computer and load boot device. What did I do wrong?

Post has been edited 5 time(s), last time on Jan 13 2012, 5:10 am by Wing Zero.

Did you install Windows on your SSD yet?

No, the flickering screen kinda delayed that step...

Probably haven't properly seated the graphics card, or plugged the monitor into it properly.

I checked that and they're both set up properly, unless wires can give that kind of interference I'm at a loss...