I really don't know much about CPUs, but before deciding on the motherboard, it's the first logical step. I chose to go Intel, and went with the most popular model on the Newegg site, the Intel Core 2 Duo E6600. The Intel website lists its key specifications, all of which are superior to the processor in my previous computer: a 2.4 GHz speed, 1,066 MHz front side bus, and 4 MB of L2 cache.

Next, it was time to choose the motherboard. I wanted an SLI-compatible motherboard and needed it to support an Intel chip, so that narrowed the search down. I also wanted to use DDR2-800 memory, about the middle of the range (pick a number, any number, I decided to choose one mostly to help me pick the memory). It seemed reasonable to buy an SLI-compatible motherboard in case I wanted to upgrade graphics performance.

I chose the ASUS P5N-E SLI NF650i SLI motherboard. Newegg has already moved on, but I should have read the reviews more carefully and seen that some of the motherboards were defective. Of course, I may have broken the motherboard or it was otherwise damaged, so I cannot be certain that the one shipped was defective. What I do know is that it didn't work, but that's for later in this article.

Look closely at the specifications of SLI motherboards, and you'll see that all too often, as on the latest version of this motherboard as I write this article, the motherboard delivers PCI Express x16 with one graphics card, but PCI Express x8 (twice) with two graphics cards. I suspect that this minimizes the benefits of SLI technology in the current generation of SLI motherboards. If a mainstream motherboard is ever released that delivers full PCI Express speeds to two graphics cards (and there may be one – remember, I'm a noob at this) then SLI technology will be worth it.