finalizing game/school rig. please comment!

[sgntsids]

So far, here's what I've gathered:

AMD Athlon 64 3000+ Venice 1GHz FSB Socket 939 Processor Model ADA3000BPBOX - Retail
EPoX EP-9NPA+Ultra Socket 939 NVIDIA nForce4 Ultra ATX AMD Motherboard - Retail
OCZ Peroformance 2GB (2 x 1GB) 184-Pin DDR SDRAM DDR 400 (PC 3200) Unbuffered Dual Channel Kit System Memory Model OCZ4002048PFDC-K - Retail
SeaSonic S12-430 ATX12V 430W Power Supply - Retail
Seagate Barracuda 7200.8 ST3200826AS 200GB 7200 RPM Serial ATA150 Hard Drive - OEM
eVGA 128-P2-N368-TX Geforce 6600GT 128MB GDDR3 PCI Express x16 Video Card - Retail
Lian Li PC-7 B Plus Black Aluminum ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - Retail

Comments?

Questions:
video card: I figure this will be good enough for a couple years, and I can upgrade then.
RAM: I've been seeing people more apt to suggest Corsair now? Whatever the brand, what's good for a 2x 1gb setup?

I'll use the onboard sound for now and pick up an SB Audigy 2 (xxx) later (to go with my z680s!).

I still need to find a decent-to-good 19" lcd. Suggestions there? So far all is from newegg.

Thanks for the help!!

 

[KoolDrew]

How much does that RAM cost? I really would not spend above $215 on 2GB of RAM. Unless you really want a quiet PSU, something like a Fortron AX500-A would be a better choice. The Fortron is actually pretty quiet though. I would try buying a cheaper case or something else so you can bump the video card up.

Also are you overclocking?

 

[sgntsids]

I really do want a quiet PSU, so that's important. I want to reuse that and the Lian-Li in the future, so I don't mind investing now: those needs will never change.

Is the video card really not that great? I don't want to pay for top of the line; just as long as it works pretty well.

Where can I get 2gigs of RAM for <$215?

I've never overclocked before, but would like to try my hand at it this time around!

 

[t3h l337 n3wb]

That video card is fine. It can play pretty much any game at highest resolution (on your 19") with pretty nice quality. Go with 2x1GB Corsair ValueSelect. You don't need really expensive RAM. You can always run a divider when overclocking, and the latencies don't really make much of a difference in performance.

 

[sgntsids]

Could someone please let me know the difference between these two RAMs? Probably a noobish question, but I don't know:

CORSAIR ValueSelect 2GB (2 x 1GB) 184-Pin DDR SDRAM System Memory - Retail

CORSAIR ValueSelect 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM Dual Channel Kit System Memory - Retail

Can I use them both with my EPoX mobo?

 

[ribbon13]

Only the first can be used with that motherboard. DDR2 is a newer memory technology that isn't used by any current AMD platform.

 

[sgntsids]

So we're saying I should go with this Corsair ValueSelect instead of the OCZ Perfromance (or something else OCZ)?

Any recommendations for a good 19" lcd?

 

[MobiusPizza]

Value Rams are the best option regardless of brand as long as they are top-tier brands.
If you are using DFI's nForce 4 board you ought to get OCZ value Ram though, the one that used to be called Value VX which can take 3.2V without extra cooling.
You can run 2-2-2-6 timing with 230 FSB easily. With a memory divider of 5:6 or 4:3 or so the Venice CPU can easily obe overclocked to 290*9 Mhz range

I wouldn't say GeForce 6600GT can last a few yers but well it isn't a big investiment