Building a Gaming Computer and Need Critique

[Starspawn]

I am going to be building a gaming computer and I've been doing some research off and on for a couple months now. I am upgrading a Pentium 4 - 3.2 Ghz that has served me well for over 4 years but it's now time to go to the next stage. I will also be doing some dvd home movie editing for the family but it's primarily designed to game now and I want it to hold its own for future gaming for next 4+ years.

Case: Antec Nine Hundred Ultimate Gaming Case

CPU: Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 (G0 Step) 2.4Ghz

Heatsink/Fan: Arctic Cooling Freezer7 Pro Ultra Quiet Heatpipe

Motherboard: Asus P5N32-E-SLI nForce 680i

Memory: OCZ High Performance 4x1 GB DDR2 PC6400 800 Mhz

Video Card: EVGA 8800 GT 675MHz 512MB

Power Supply: Antec TruePower Trio 650W

Hard Disk: (2) Western Digital Caviar 500 GB 7200 RPM SATAII w/16 MB Cache

Optical Drive: NEC 20x Double Layer DVD+-RW
Lite-On 52x32x52 and 16x Combo CD-RW/DVD-ROM

Keyboard: Logitech G11 Gaming Keyboard

Mouse: Logitech G5 Laser Gaming Mouse

Operating System: Vista Home Premium (32bit version)

My budget was $2,000 (plus or minus). This one weighs in at $2,115 at my local computer store that will build and stress test it for me. I want the 2 hard drives because I use one for the operating system and games and the other for the family music, pictures and video. I may want to run in SLI mode if I can spring for another card down the line. I also have a home WiFi "54Mbps" network that I hook up to the internet with. I plan to do some mild overclocking but I'm not going to go crazy with it. I also want a system that relatively quiet. I'm looking to place my order soon so any critiques, advice or comments would be appreciated.

I have not included a monitor because that's a whole separate issue although I'd appreciate if people could recommend one of those also that would run well with this system and has low response times for gaming in general. I also have a 50" Plasma TV with a monitor plugin on the back. Can I use that for a gaming monitor? That would be totally sweet if I could.

Did I miss anything? Thanks in advance!

 

[DSF]

Paying $2000 for that computer is a straight up bad deal.

Antec Nine Hundred - $80 right now on Newegg
Q6600 - $255 on Newegg (OEM version, since you're buying a separate HS)
Arctic Cooling Freezer 7 Pro - $22
P5N32-E $180ish
4GB RAM - $90
8800GT - $250
TruePower Trio 650 - $100
2x 500GB HD - $220
Optical Drive - $30

Prices are approximate, but the total comes to less than $1250. Throw in an OS, the mouse and keyboard, and a nice monitor, and you're still under $2000.

Also, there a couple places where you could be making more cost-effective component choices.

First, don't bother with an SLI motherboard unless you're buying two graphics cards right now to get the maximum performance available. SLI is not a viable upgrade path. By the time you're looking to upgrade the video, you'll be better off buying a single new card. Save yourself $80 on the motherboard and get a good P35 board like the Gigabyte P35-DS3L or Abit IP35-E.

Second, you could either spend less on the power supply and get something like the Corsair 450VX or Antec Earthwatts EA500 which would suit your needs just fine, or you could spend that $100 on a better quality unit like the Corsair 520HX or similar.

I spent less than $1000 on my recent build, and until quad-core becomes a true benefit in gaming, that $900 computer will do as well in gaming as the one you're being offered for $2000.

 

[MegaVovaN]

$2k for a computer is a bad deal and it will NOT last 4 years and let you play on high settings.

Rather, build two $1000 computers, one now, one 2 years down the road - and you will be able to play games on max settings the whole 4 years.
I paid $700 for CPU, mobo, RAM, video card and PSU (see specs in signature) - and I am able to play everything on max settings (except Crysis = High settings) smoothly at 1600x1050 resolution.

Oh and SLI is a bad choice for futureproofing. Only buy SLI if you buy two (three) high end craphics card NOW. "Later down the road" one high end card will spank your dual 8800GTs.

You can build 2 PCs and keep both.
If you sell the used parts, to recover some of the money, $2000 will buy you THREE gaming computers = 6 years of up-to-date gaming!

Originally posted by: Starspawn
I have not included a monitor because that's a whole separate issue although I'd appreciate if people could recommend one of those also that would run well with this system and has low response times for gaming in general. I also have a 50" Plasma TV with a monitor plugin on the back. Can I use that for a gaming monitor? That would be totally sweet if I could.

Any 22" or 24" monitor that's not bottom of the barrel (read: not the cheapest).
And yes, you should be able to use your Plasma TV no problem :thumbsup:

 

[Roguestar]

This "stress test" they're charging you ~$700 for must be some fantastic procedure.

OP, do a little more reading, take a deep breath and take the plunge; build the PC yourself. It's so, so easy. All the plyugs and sockets are colour coded and everything has a unique shape or number of pins - you can't accidentally plug a graphics card in where RAM is meant to go. I'd strongly advise you to take any parts recommendations you get in this thread, read up a little and then order the parts yourself. Sure it doesn't come with a warranty from one manufacturer but each part will have a warranty from their makers. Get yourself a list of parts, put them together with a little help from this forum (search build guide), install a copy of XP SP2 and plug your frankly absurdly sized screen () into it and sit back and enjoy the $700 you've saved yourself.

Edit: No-one can guarantee a PC made now will hold its own in gaming in 4 years' time!