Building new gaming PC

[jibraltor]

Hi! First here's the quick infos...

The PC will be use for gaming, internet and movies.

My budget is 1000-1100$.

I will be buying the parts from Canada.

I have no brand preference.

I intend on using my old monitor, keyboard, mouse and speakers.

I have searched and/or read similar threads and i'm just looking for more input.

I don't plan on overclocking.

Ok so now here's what i'm planning to buy so far...

MB: Gigabyte GA-P35-DS3L (90$)
CPU: Intel Core 2 Duo E8400 (250$)
CASE: Antec Sonata III 500W PSU (100$)
RAM: Corsair XMS2 TWIN2X2048-6400 2GB 2X1GB PC2-6400 (70$)
HD: Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 250GB (60$)
VIDEO: EVGA, BFG or XFX 8800GTS 512MB (Waiting for a price around 260$)
DVD: Pioneer DVR-212D (30$)
WIRELESS: Linksys WMP54G Wireless PCI Adapter (50$)
OS: Windows Vista Home Premium Edition 64BIT (115$)

TOTAL(with taxes): 1100$

So what do you guys think about that build? Do you think it will give me a couple good years of playing?

 

[jkresh]

The price for the 8800gt seems high (you can get a gts 512 for around $200 after rebate in the US), also if you don't plan on going to 4+ gigs of ram then there is not much of an advantage (and there are a few disadvantages) to going with vista 64. If you do intend to pick up more ram at some point then 64 makes sense, (and vista can really make use of extra ram) but consider that before deciding on 32vs64.

 

[VivienM]

Have you looked at NCIX.com's weekly specials? They had 8800GTs for ~$180 (CAD), IIRC...

 

[VivienM]

Oh, and if you don't want to overclock, IMO, avoid OCZ RAM. Get something that runs at 1.8V.

 

[jibraltor]

Thanks for the advices guys! I changed the video card for a 512MB GTS since i want to make sure that noise won't be an issue. I also changed the OCZ memory for Corsair. At the moment, would I see a big improvement by going from to 2GB to 4GB? Any other advices/comments?

 

[VivienM]

Are you sure the GTS is quieter? My eVGA 8800GT is absolutely deathly silent. Such a nice change from my loud PNY 7900GT...

Re: RAM, first, make absolutely sure you're getting 1.8V RAM. Secondly, going to 4 GB basically implies going 64-bit in your OS. Is that something you're comfortable with?

 

[DSF]

There's nothing wrong with running 4GB on a 32-bit OS. You won't see all of it, but you'll still get 3-3.5 GB.

 

[yenzoon]

Where are you ordering the parts from? Just the other day I came across a great canadian site for computer parts. Oddly it seems that not many people have heard of it? Try canadacomputers.com they seem to be cheaper than NCIX.

 

[VivienM]

One big reason everybody likes NCIX, aside from the selection, is the tax advantage for non-B.C. residents. For people in Ontario, buying from Canada Computers implies paying 8% sales tax, which NCIX doesn't charge...

 

[yenzoon]

Yeah..thing is I live in BC : P But also, Canada Computers seems to have everything priced a little cheaper, for instance the Antec Sonata III with PSU is $129 at NCIX and it's $112 at Canada Computers. This is isn't considering sales/rebates or anything of that sort the base price of the case is 16$ more at NCIX. NCIX has a larger selection and bigger inventory though, Canada Computers seems to have less online stock so if you spot a deal you've got to pull the trigger asap.

 

[jibraltor]

Thanks again for the quick replies guys! About the noise issue, it seems that for every person saying the GT is quiet, there's one saying it's too noisy. I had a bad experience in the past so I think i'm gonna play it safe and go with the GTS.

As for Vista, the more I think about it, the more i'm sure i'll want to get 4gb pretty soon so i think it's a better idea to go with Vista64.

And about the computer stores... I heard a lot of good things about NCIX and DirectCanada so i'm probably gonna order most of my parts from there and maybe buy a couple of things in some local stores here in Quebec.

The only problem right now is the E8400 that seem to be back order everywhere I look. Is it worth waiting weeks for it or would there be a good replacement which would give me about the same performance in the same price range?

 

[imported_wired247]

Stick with vista 64. It's really just a step backwards to build a brand new computer with vista 32.

I agree with most of what's been posted. But, as is your system looks fine to me!

 

[jibraltor]

Ok so I finally stopped changing my mind every 2 seconds and ordered my new PC. I decided to stick with XP for another 6-12 months since i'll be playing mostly DX9 games anyways during that time. I can't wait to get my PC!! I feel like i'm 12 again! Here's what i'm getting for 850$:

Samsung SH-S203B Black SATA DVD+RW 20X8X16 DVD-RW 20X6X16 DL 18X/12X INT DVD Writer OEM $27.99
EVGA E-GEFORCE 8800GT 600MHZ 512MB 1.8GHZ DDR3 PCI-E Dual DVI-I HDTV Out $219.99
Linksys WMP54G Wireless PCI Adapter 54MBPS 802.11G $43.99
Scythe S-FLEX SFF21E 120MM Cooling Fan 1200RPM 20.1DBA 49.0CFM FDB $14.99
Antec Sonata III Black ATX 16IN Mid Tower Quiet Case 3X5.25 2X3.5 4X3.5IN 500W 120MM Fan $93.98
Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 250GB SATA2 8.5MS 7200RPM 16MB Cache $55.99
Gigabyte GA-P35-DS3L ATX LGA775 P35 1333FSB 1PCI-E16 3PCI-E1 3PCI SATA2 Sound GBLAN $89.99
Corsair XMS2 TWIN2X2048-6400 2GB 2X1GB PC2-6400 DDR2-800 CL 5-5-5-18 240PIN DIMM Dual Channel $30.99
Intel Xeon E3110 Dual Core Processor LGA775 3.0GHZ Wolfdale 1333FSB 6MB Retail $204.99