Improve my $800 gaming build?

[astryker]

Hello experts,

I'm going to be building something in the coming months. I'm hoping to have something that will handle most recent games and not exceed $800. Here's what I've come up with:

CASE: Antec Three Hundred ($59.95, http://www.newegg.com/Product/...?Item=N82E16811129042)
POWER SUPPLY: PC Power & Cooling The Silencer 610 EPS12V ($104.99 - $30 MIR, http://www.newegg.com/Product/...?Item=N82E16817703005)
MOBO: GIGABYTE GA-EP45-UD3R ($114.99 - $15 MIR, http://www.newegg.com/Product/...?Item=N82E16813128359)
CPU: Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 Kentsfield 2.4GHz ($184.99, http://www.newegg.com/Product/...?Item=N82E16819115017)
GPU: SAPPHIRE Radeon HD 4850 ($159.99 - $15 MIR, http://www.newegg.com/Product/...?Item=N82E16814102770)
MEMORY: OCZ Reaper HPC 4GB (2 x 2GB) DDR2 1066 ($78.99 - $30 MIR, http://www.newegg.com/Product/...?Item=N82E16820227289)
HARD DRIVE: Western Digital Caviar 640GB 7200 RPM 16MB Cache ($74.99, http://www.newegg.com/Product/...?Item=N82E16822136218)
DVD: SAMSUNG Black 22X DVD+/-RW with LightScribe ($28.99, http://www.newegg.com/Product/...?Item=N82E16827151173)

Total is $807.88, or $717.88 after MIRs. As an added bonus (or challenge), everything I've selected also has free shipping. I'm in the US and will by from the US. I have no real brand preferences, except everything I read says Intel processors hold the edge over AMD processors in most cases. I don't intend to use anything I currently own; I'm working from a 2-year-old laptop at the moment.

I don't know much about overclocking -- never attempted it. I'm curious whether this setup would be a good candidate for that.

Thoughts?

Thanks,
Ace

 

[videogames101]

This ram is cheaper, and still has plenty of OCing room.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16820231145

 

[astryker]

Thanks. How much will I realistically notice a difference between DDR2 1066 and DDR2 1000 RAM?

 

[disports]

Originally posted by: astryker
Thanks. How much will I realistically notice a difference between DDR2 1066 and DDR2 1000 RAM?

You won't really notice much of a difference. DDR2-1000 should be fine for your overclocking needs. DDR2-1066 is more for extreme overclocks.

 

[videogames101]

Originally posted by: smithrwon

Originally posted by: astryker
Thanks. How much will I realistically notice a difference between DDR2 1066 and DDR2 1000 RAM?

You won't really notice much of a difference. DDR2-1000 should be fine for your overclocking needs. DDR2-1066 is more for extreme overclocks.

Unless your planning on your fsb going above 500, you don't need DDR1066 😛

 

[Denithor]

Swap the OCZ crap for 2x2GB G.Skill DDR2-800 ($40 shipped at newegg).

Drop the Q6600 for an E5200, OC to ~3.5GHz.
Spend the $100 you save there on a 1GB 4870.

Watch your games go much faster/smoother (GPU >>> CPU for gaming performance!).

 

[videogames101]

Originally posted by: Denithor
Swap the OCZ crap for 2x2GB G.Skill DDR2-800 ($40 shipped at newegg).

Drop the Q6600 for an E5200, OC to ~3.5GHz.
Spend the $100 you save there on a 1GB 4870.

Watch your games go much faster/smoother (GPU >>> CPU for gaming performance!).

DDR800 is severely limiting for OC.

 

[BTRY B 529th FA BN]

in short, a faster GPU is the way to go for gaming these days unless you play a CPU intensive game

 

[betasub]

Originally posted by: videogames101
DDR800 is severely limiting for OC.

If you are stuck with a low multiplier and have high OC potential (like the FSB1333 processors), then maybe. But for a Q6600 with a 9x multiplier, 9x400 for 3.6GHz is pushing the 65nm limits without going beyond DDR2-800 spec.