Looking for some help with my new build before purchase!

[sotu]

Ok, so I went through and made sure I met all the criteria for this thread, I'd really appreciate any help here. My car was broken into and my laptop was stolen so I need to get a desktop as soon as possible. Thanks to all those who input.
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I'll be using my PC for music production because I do a lot of that on my own with programs liks reason and ableton. Also, I'll be doing a lot of software development (I'm a computer science major in college). This is also going to be my desktop so I'm sure I'll use it for watching movies, listening to music, .. etc

My budget is 900 dollars for this. In other words.. all the money I have lol..

I'm in California so I'll be buying my parts in USA.

I have no brand preference I just want to build the most solid, best bang for my buck computer I can.

I have no current parts.. f*ck thieves.

There used to be a time when I kept up on comp hardware and I would have easily known what the best was and exactly why.. but its been over 2 years since then so I'm way behind on parts.

I'd definitely like to over clock my system, nothing to extreme but something with a minor over clock that makes it perform as if it was a more expensive PC.

I'd like to build this computer ASAP, I'm dying to get this built I just dont have the knowledge to do it yet.

Here is a build I was thinking about after researching as much as I could:

Mobo Gigabyte, GA-EP35-DS3L LGA 775 Intel P35 ATX Intel Motherboard
CPU Intel, Intel Core 2 Duo E7200 Wolfdale 2.53GHz 3MB L2 Cache LGA 775 65W Dual-Core Processor
Ram G Skill, G.SKILL 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 1066 (PC2 8500) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory
Case Cool Master, COOLER MASTER RC-690-KKN1-GP Black SECC/ ABS ATX Mid Tower Computer Case
PSU Corsair, CORSAIR CMPSU-550VX 550W ATX12V V2.2 Power Supply 90 - 264 V UL, CUL, CE, CB, FCC Class B, TUV, CCC, C-tick
GFX BFG Tech, BFG Tech BFGE88512GTOCE GeForce 8800GT 512MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card
HDD Seagate, Seagate Barracuda 7200.11 ST3500320AS 500GB 7200 RPM 32MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive
HSF Arctic Cooling, ARCTIC COOLING Freezer 7 Pro 92mm CPU Cooler


None of these parts have been decided on yet and I know that they may not be the best, thats why I'm hoping someone out there can help me make this build better!

Thanks!

 

[iBPJohn]

Everything looks good, how much much does that all cost so far?
You might want to go with a quad-core if your music programs support it.

 

[BTRY B 529th FA BN]

that looks sweet already, one last thing is get a good hard drive. a SCSI drive can make a pII feel quick!

loved my 15k SCSI while i had it installed and am keeping it for kicks one day, but yeah, fast drives can make a system feel really fast

don't forget, you are buying a 775 socket mobo and you'll have great options in the future if you want to get a quad, upgrade your dual etc. gaming relies alot on large cache for most games but with that 7200 you'll be happy, hell, im even thinking about dropping one in and clocking the hell out of it

 

[DSF]

I didn't see you list gaming as something that you're using the computer for, but maybe I just missed it. If you're not gaming you don't need to spend that much on the video card just to watch movies and do 2D work.

There's also no reason to pay for DDR2-1066. DDR2-1000 is plenty fast enough to max out that chip and costs less. Honestly though, DDR2-800 should do you just fine considering the high multiplier on the E7200.

While I agree that a fast hard drive can make things feel snappy, I don't see any reason to go for a SCSI drive on your budget. You may want to consider a drive like the 640GB Western Digital Caviar though, which would be a little bit faster than the one you've chosen.

You also don't really need 550W. 450 would be plenty, but the extra wattage won't hurt anything. I would take a look at buy.com for the power supply though, as they tend to have very good prices on PSUs relative to other online retailers.

 

[BTRY B 529th FA BN]

I was just reinforcing my comment about fast drives, and actually, i was going to suggest that 640GB Western Digital Caviar.

 

[o1die]

I agree on the ddr2 800 memory. Check for rebates at newegg or Fry's. Also check fatwallet or slickdeals. I've seen the 8800gt for as low as $130 after rebates. Those rebate checks come in handy, even if they take 12 weeks. Antec earthwatts is also a good ps, and may be less. They're made by seasonic.