Finalizing my build, please comment asap~!

[DerelictDev]

First let me say SORRY for posting another one of these.
I'm going to buy the entire rig tonight (from newegg) and really just need some reassurance from you folks before a see a nice $1600 charge on my credit card.

I took alot of advice from the last thread so heres the updated and I'm hoping complete new setup.

Case - Re-using my Antec P180 - FREE

CPU - Intel Core 2 Duo E6600 Conroe 2.4GHz LGA 775 Processor Model BX80557E6600 - Retail
Model #: BX80557E6600
Item #: N82E16819115003 $360

OR

Intel Core 2 Duo E6400 Conroe 2.13GHz LGA 775 Processor Model BX80557E6400 - Retail
Item #: N82E16819115004
Model #: BX80557E6400 $235

The price difference is almost $130 which is pretty substantial, is it worth it?

MB - GIGABYTE GA-965P-S3 Socket T (LGA 775) Intel P965 Express ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail
Model #: GA-965P-S3
Item #: N82E16813128017 $117

OR

ASUS P5B Socket T (LGA 775) Intel P965 Express ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail
Item #: N82E16813131030
Model #: P5B $149


Will also use my P-90 for the time being until i get some more money to buy a better cooler.

YATE LOON 120mm Case Fan - D12SL-12 X 3 - $12

RAM - Patriot 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 667 (PC2 5300) Unbuffered Dual Channel Kit System Memory Model PDC22G5300LLK - Retail
Model #: PDC22G5300LLK
Item #: N82E16820220095 $180

HD - Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 ST3320620AS (Perpendicular Recording Technology) 320GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM
Model #: ST3320620AS
Item #: N82E16822148140 $96

Video - MSI RX1900XT-VT2D512E Radeon X1900XT 512MB GDDR3 PCI Express x16 Video Card - Retail
Model #: RX1900XT-VT2D512E
Item #: N82E16814127206
$100.00 Mail-in Rebate $375 ($100) = $275

Cooling - Update ARCTIC COOLING Accelero X2 Fluid Dynamic Bearing VGA Cooling Fan with Heatsink - Retail
Model #: Accelero X2
Item #: N82E16835186002 $23

PSU - Update SeaSonic S12-500 ATX12V 500W Power Supply - Retail
Model #: S12-500
Item #: N82E16817151024 $130

Monitor - ViewSonic VP930b Black 19" 8ms LCD Monitor - Retail
Model #: VP930b
Item #: N82E16824116365 $300


I chose the MB, RAM, & GPU based on opinions from users on these boards and for the reason that im NOT planning to O/C. If i do, it'll be just slight o/c on the cpu.

 

[Bobthelost]

I can't see a motherboard there but other wise it looks good. Odds are you could drop down to a 6400 and not notice the difference, for gaming there won't be any, but if you've got the money to spend why not.

Are you reusing optical drives as well?

Don't get an XFI unless you're an audiophile and have spent decent amounts on your speakers already. Onboard HD sound is pretty good and the CPU useage is minimal.

 

[DerelictDev]

Oops, dont know why the MB disappeared its been re-added.

For speakers i have the Logitech THX Z-2300 2.1 which i love.
Optical drives im reusing.

The rig will most likely be used to play video games (alot on CS-S & BF2), so do you think a 6400 will suffice? I wouldn't mind saving money, the 4mb cache got my eye though.

 

[Bobthelost]

Yep. Games dont' need much CPU power, a 3800X2 is enough power for gaming, the 6400 is notably more powerful, http://www.anandtech.com/cpuchipsets/showdoc.aspx?i=2802&p=9 it's almost as fast as a FX-62.

The 6600 would be more future proof i'm sure, but i really, really don't think CPU is going to be a problem in future. DX10 is supposed to lighten the burden on CPUs and when the designers finally start coding for dual core...

I'd steer clear of the XFI for now. You can always buy it later.

 

[Niv KA]

The XFI isn't worth it for the average person. I can think you can do perfectly fine with onboard sound (my ears aren't very sensitive but I belive most people wont tell the differance between the two types of sound), over all nice system

 

[sygyzy]

Will the DS3 offer future chip upgradeability? I read that if you are getting a 4MB cache chip, such as the E6600, then the Asus M/B is the way to go. Does that mean that the DS3 is limited to 2MB cache CPU's?

 

[Bobthelost]

No, it's just that the DS3 seems to overclock better with 2mb chips. Some people have neared a FSB of 500 with 6400s and 6300s, but the max is closer to 400 with the 6600s.