Building an uber-system in time for Christmas, need your help!

[Diomedes]

Hi,

I wanna build a system that meets these needs

ability to play games on top settings for the next 2 to 3 years.
ability to keep within a £1000 - £1200 budget
ability to handle windows vista when it comes out
ability to play a role as a 'media centre' in the coming months/year

As mentioned above, the budget is £1000 (approx $1770), £1200 (approx $2100) being the absolute maximum.

Below is the system I have in mind, I would like advice on e.g. better choices components, better brands, or better 'bang for buck'

A dual core athlon 64 4400+ - £377
http://www.overclock.co.uk/customer...productid=18586

Abit KN8-SLI nForce4 SLi - £84
http://www.overclock.co.uk/customer...productid=19025

7800GT DDR3 256MB PCI-Express - £230
http://www.overclock.co.uk/customer...productid=18738

Maxtor DiamondMAX 10 250Gb SATA 16MB Buffer (buffer or catche better?) - £75
http://www.overclock.co.uk/customer...productid=18304
or
Raptor 10000RPM 74GB 8MB SATA - £128.73
http://www.overclock.co.uk/customer...productid=17148

2gig of RAM, should i go for DDR400, DDR2, what?
Kingmax PC3200 SuperRAM 400Mhz 2GB DDR - £117

I could do with a recommendation on a power supply, what would be the right wattage? and not for an extortionate price. Same goes with cooling, any recommendations on good fans, good cases? I would also like to keep the pc reasonably quiet, though with such hardware I don?t know If that?s possible

Finally, I would like to get an HDTV when they come out, and would like to link it to my pc so it can be used to watch tele and use the computer ? is my gfx capable of doing this? Would media centre XP be best suited, or is sticking with home/pro adequate?

I know this is an awful lot to ask, but any help or suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

p.s. if there is any areas I can save money on please say!

 

[InlineFour]

dump the 250gb maxtor and 75gb raptor and get one 400gb instead. you'll need a lot of storage if this is going to be you media center. i doubt a single 7800gt will last you 2-3 years in high settings. instead, i recomend getting a second 7800gt in sli in the future. for power supplies, i recomend a 450watt or equivilent seasonic power supply. since this will be a media center, you could buy one of those media center cases that are placed horizontally, or just get a regular tower. finally, most people will probably recomend a zalman cpu heatsink.

 

[eXx08]

Originally posted by: InlineFour
dump the 250gb maxtor and 75gb raptor and get one 400gb instead. you'll need a lot of storage if this is going to be you media center. i doubt a single 7800gt will last you 2-3 years in high settings. instead, i recomend getting a second 7800gt in sli in the future. for power supplies, i recomend a 450watt or equivilent seasonic power supply. since this will be a media center, you could buy one of those media center cases that are placed horizontally, or just get a regular tower. finally, most people will probably recomend a zalman cpu heatsink.

He said either or.

By the way the links don't work.

 

[InlineFour]

Originally posted by: Opteron Guy

Originally posted by: InlineFour
dump the 250gb maxtor and 75gb raptor and get one 400gb instead. you'll need a lot of storage if this is going to be you media center. i doubt a single 7800gt will last you 2-3 years in high settings. instead, i recomend getting a second 7800gt in sli in the future. for power supplies, i recomend a 450watt or equivilent seasonic power supply. since this will be a media center, you could buy one of those media center cases that are placed horizontally, or just get a regular tower. finally, most people will probably recomend a zalman cpu heatsink.

He said either or.

By the way the links don't work.

huh?

 

[eXx08]

Originally posted by: InlineFour

Originally posted by: Opteron Guy

Originally posted by: InlineFour
dump the 250gb maxtor and 75gb raptor and get one 400gb instead. you'll need a lot of storage if this is going to be you media center. i doubt a single 7800gt will last you 2-3 years in high settings. instead, i recomend getting a second 7800gt in sli in the future. for power supplies, i recomend a 450watt or equivilent seasonic power supply. since this will be a media center, you could buy one of those media center cases that are placed horizontally, or just get a regular tower. finally, most people will probably recomend a zalman cpu heatsink.

He said either or.

By the way the links don't work.

huh?

YOU SAID DITCH THE RAPTOR AND 250GB HDD AND GET A 400GB HDD. HE SAID GET A
RAPTOR OR A 250GB HDD.

 

[Diomedes]

is the samsung spinspoin 250 gig sata 2 one of the best hdd's on the market in terms of quality and price?

 

[Spike]

Originally posted by: Opteron Guy

Originally posted by: InlineFour

Originally posted by: Opteron Guy

Originally posted by: InlineFour
dump the 250gb maxtor and 75gb raptor and get one 400gb instead. you'll need a lot of storage if this is going to be you media center. i doubt a single 7800gt will last you 2-3 years in high settings. instead, i recomend getting a second 7800gt in sli in the future. for power supplies, i recomend a 450watt or equivilent seasonic power supply. since this will be a media center, you could buy one of those media center cases that are placed horizontally, or just get a regular tower. finally, most people will probably recomend a zalman cpu heatsink.

He said either or.

By the way the links don't work.

huh?

YOU SAID DITCH THE RAPTOR AND 250GB HDD AND GET A 400GB HDD. HE SAID GET A
RAPTOR OR A 250GB HDD.

And Inlinefour was saying don't get either but get a fast 400gb instead (like one of those nice WD drives). Nothing to get your panties in a wad about.

-spike

 

[RussianSensation]

Drop the processor down to X2 3800+ or Opteron 165. Overclock those and take the savings and get yourself another 7800GT to SLI.