Your chocie of 4gb of ram is not a bad one persay... im running a first gen DX11 card with 4gb ram and a Core2Duo and the best game i can run maxed out is DeusEx HUman Revolution but thats using SweetFX shaders and low quality shadows...

I included a screen shot of what my PC's RAM usage was at the moment i launched task manager and the snipit application... as for background apps i have Avast and Zone-alarm running they already did there daily updates... im running win8 x64

8GB or greater would be ideal and allow you to run multiple virtual environments. With a CPU that has more physical cores you could split 2 cores off into a VM and virtual any operating system you could need. And with the advancement of VM's you can run 3D applications flawlessly. I have a copy of windows xp sp3 running dx9.0c that can handle anything up to half-life 2 Ep2 level of graphics. and for fun instead of dos box i spin up DOS ^_^

I actually ended up going with 8GB in the end since I figured I might need more in the long run.
I kind of combined my build with the one from Tom's Hardware to make a better one overall.

In about a week, I'll be seeing my parts. :)

So, I finally got all of my parts.
After spending about six hours trying to put this thing together, I did it.
I made it happen.

It seems to be working alright.
I was a bit worried about my cooler since I had to move it around a lot while trying to install it (did not take it off, though, due to fear of air bubbles).
My CPU seems to be running at around 15-35 C, which I have no idea if that's good or not, but I think it is.
I need some way to check how cool my GPU is running, but I think everything i working fine.

On a weird note: when I plug my HDMI cord directly from my GPU to my TV, the display on my TV looks like absolute shit. Completely terrible. So I bought a DVI to HDMI converter for $17 (overpriced, I know), and for some reason, when going GPU > DVI > HDMI > TV, the display now looks completely fine. :/

EDIT: Used GPU-Z and my GPU is apparently at 30 C, as well.
Seems pretty cool.
Both literally and figuratively.


Also, thank you all one last time.
You all have helped so much.

Another member of the forum had a similar experience when making his first build. It didn't have any impact in the end as far as I remember, so you should be fine as well.

It's good. My Intel i5-2500K with a Noctua NH-U12P-SE2 sticking out of the top runs at about 30°C in the winter when I'm not doing anything and a couple of degrees less in the summer (sounds counterintuitive, but the desktop sits close to the radiator and probably inhales a bit of hot air). I have to really rag it to crack 50°C while gaming. The lowest temperature I've seen on Core Temp is 13°C when I had a radiator malfunction in the middle of a freezing winter.

Anyway, congratulations. May the computer serve you well for years to come.