First time builder looking for help.

[ForSciGuy]

1. What YOUR PC will be used for. That means what types of tasks you'll be performing.
Gaming (Crysis, World in Conflict, Orange Box, etc.), surfing, movies and music.

2. What YOUR budget is. A price range is acceptable as long as it's not more than a 20% spread
~$1400 but anything lower would be nice.

3. What country YOU will be buying YOUR parts from.
USA

4. IF YOU have a brand preference. That means, are you an Intel-Fanboy, AMD-Fanboy, ATI-Fanboy, nVidia-Fanboy, Seagate-Fanboy, WD-Fanboy, etc, etc, etc, you get the picture.
Nope

5. If YOU intend on using any of YOUR current parts, and if so, what those parts are.
Over the last month or so I have been picking up some of the parts. I have listed those below.

6. IF YOU have searched and/or read similar threads.
I have been reading everything I can get my hands on for the last 5 to 6 months trying to narrow down my build?and figure out what to do with everything once I get it. (On a side note: As a first time builder I found the Dumbest thing you've ever done thread funny and informative?hopefully I will have nothing to add to it after I finish my build?but I doubt it)

7. IF YOU plan on overclocking or run the system at default speeds.
I would like to eventually if I can get through the build with no problem.


Parts I have purchased over the last month or so (Price listed is after tax, shipping, and MIR):
Memory: A-Data 4GB(2x2) DDR2 800----------------> $74.99 (Newegg)
Hard Drive: Maxtor Basics SATA 300GB------------->$62.90 (Fry?s)
Optical Drive: 2x Samsung SH-S203B SATA--------->$67.01 (Zipzoomfly)
Heat Sink: Cooler Master Hyper TX------------------->$12.88 (Zipzoomfly)
Case: Antec Nine Hundred ----------------------------->$49.99 (Newegg)
Mouse: Logitech G7 Wireless--------------------------->$34.99 (Clubit)
Keyboard: Logitech Cordless Desktop Wave --------->$44.99 (Clubit)
OS:Vista Home Premium Upgrade 64bit- retail------>$101.49 (Circuit City)
Total-------------------------------------------------------->$449.24

What?s left (about $950 remaining)
CPU: Q6600 ~$260
-Seems like the most popular choice.
GPU:EGVA or XFX 8800GT or 8800GTS $250-350
-Not sure if it is worth it to go with the GTS over the GT?is it?
PSU: Corsairs 520hx or 620hx ~$80-130
-Have read good reviews about Corsair 620 (assume it applies to 520), like the modular cables, not sure if I would need the 620. Would 520 be ok?
MOBO: P5K-E/Wifi or Gigabyte P35C-DS3R or Abit IP35-Pro ~$140 to 150
I will need wireless whether on the Mobo or with a separate card which is why I like the Asus. The gigabyte interested me since it has DDR3 for future upgrade, but I am not sure if I will still want the board by the time I would need to upgrade to DDR3. Abit IP35-Pro received very good reviews. Will need to work with the A-data memory.
Monitor: ViewSonic VA2226W 21.6" (HDCP support) ~$230
Want a monitor with HDCP support and 22?. Open to other suggestions if they have HDCP support and are 22?.

Any help would be greatly appreciated! If you have any questions let me know.
Thanks in advance.
Mike

 

[DSF]

I wouldn't recommend bothering with the P35C - it's unlikely that you'd see much performance increase in the future by jumping to DDR3 without changing a lot of your system anyway. Gigabyte's other boards in the same series, the P35-DS3R, P35-DS3L and P35-DS3P are all solid, it's a question of what feature set you want. (ASUS and Abit make good boards these days too.)

As far as the CPU, it may be the popular choice but that doesn't always make it the right choice. Given your usage, it seems to me that you'd have two cores sitting around twiddling their thumbs most of the time. You're probably better off saving your money and getting a dual core. Since you're willing to try overclocking, I'd recommend one of the E2xxx or E4xxx processors, which are known to easily reach 3GHz.

The 520W Corsair is more than plenty. The 620 would be complete overkill.

 

[palladium]

About your video card... I won't spend the extra to get to 8800GTS. I think 8800GT should be adequate - well - maybe not for crysis under HQ. If you need more GFX I suggest go for a SLI or Crossfire setup, though at the resolution you will be playing, I don't think it would be necessary.

I agree with DSF with your CPU, if you don't do video editing/rendering, stick with dual core for now.

 

[DSF]

Originally posted by: palladium
About your video card... I won't spend the extra to get to 8800GTS. I think 8800GT should be adequate - well - maybe not for crysis under HQ. If you need more GFX I suggest go for a SLI or Crossfire setup, though at the resolution you will be playing, I don't think it would be necessary.

For what it's worth, my XFX 8800GT plays Crysis on high with no problems.

Edit: That's Windows XP/DirectX 9

 

[greengrass]

Quite good build, I think you should get the 8800GT , they are better than the 8800GTs, and right now you can get one less than $250.

 

[ForSciGuy]

Thanks for the suggestions DSF, greengrass, and pallidium. I will have to look into the CPUs suggested. I was looking into the Quad because I was worried future games and programs would start utilizing more cores once they become standard.
As for the GPU, I was leaning toward the GT, I just wish I could find one that bundles it with Crysis like the EVGA GTS...it makes it so tempting.
any more thoughts are welcome.