Building a new machine

[OMGMonkey]

Looking to put together a new machine, its going to be used for work and gaming. I'm a college student, so im trying to make something nice, but obviously breaking the bank is not an option. We're looking at about 1500 dollars tops including tax/shipping/return shipping for DOA parts.

I've only built one computer previously, so hopefully i havent picked out anything that requires soldering and a hacksaw to make it work.
anyhoo, heres my list

http://www.newegg.com/product/...p?item=N82E16811129154 - case

http://www.newegg.com/product/...p?item=N82E16813188013 - MOBO

edit: http://www.newegg.com/product/...p?item=N82E16814130301 - 8800gt - video card changed

http://www.newegg.com/product/...p?item=N82E16817812004 - power supply

http://www.newegg.com/product/...p?item=N82E16819115028 - cpu

http://www.newegg.com/product/...p?item=N82E16820231145 - ram

http://www.newegg.com/product/...p?item=N82E16822144701 - HD

http://www.newegg.com/product/...p?item=N82E16827106073 - combo drive

http://www.newegg.com/product/...p?item=N82E16832116204 - Vista 64bit home premium

i also plan to throw in an xfi xtreme music that i have lying around.
Pretty sure I have the cables i need from this arrangement (HD is OEM, but mobo includes sata cables for example) but its probable i missed something.


If anyone has any suggestions or alternatives or anticipate a problem, your help is appreciated!

Thanks =)
Alex

 

[lardbeetle]

My advice is to wait for the 8800GT to come out. It's more powerful than the 8800GTS and less expensive (200 - 250 bucks).

Seems OK to me.

 

[OMGMonkey]

Thanks for the advice. I looked around on Newegg and it seems the 8800GT is out right now, so im switching to that. I've been doing some reading and it seems that the 8800GTS and 8800GTX are almost 11" long. I'm worried that the 8800GT might be of similar length. Unfortunately i think its very tough to talk about spacial requirements without a set up in front of me. Anyone want to chime in on whether this will work in a mid tower like mine?

mobo and case both support standard atx of 12"x9.6". heres to hoping that if the card is as large as its peers, it will fit into a mid tower. I cant imagine nvidia producing a card that wont fit a midtower standard atx though, so i guess time will tell.

Anyone have any opinions on 64bit vista vs 32bit vista?

also, should i be getting a floppy drive?

 

[WildHorse]

You could look on Intel's web page for that cpu to see if it lists any recommended motherboards.

Also, you could look on the motherboard brand's web page to see if it makes any recommendations on power supplies.

 

[Veos]

Just a few suggestions.

MOBO - If you plan on going SLI sometime soon or in the future, that mobo would be nice. If not, then a P35 should be good enough.

Power Supply - http://www.clubit.com/search.c...rd=corsair+620&cat=all

I have heard good things about Corsair, and I plan on building a system with the 520 as well soon. Furthermore, Newegg overprices their PSUs -_-

Everything else seems fine to me

 

[dclive]

I was able to price the Dell Vostro 400 with 3.0 Ghz, 320GB, 4GB, 8300GS and 22" LCD screen at about $1340 (www.gotapex.com, pick the 400, upgrade the RAM and CPU and Vista). Add $250 for the 8800GT (Newegg, etc.) and you're at $1590-ish ... plus someone else supports it, you get a 1 year warranty, you get it guaranteed to work when it arrives at your door, and you get a nice 22" LCD screen - for about the same price. Something to consider if you don't need SLI....the forums here are filled with people having issues with whitebox hardware. Add $90 and get a *24"* screen!

To stay under the $1500 number you might drop RAM to 'just' 3GB.