Need some Help Refining my Build

[Paratus]

I'm currently in the middle of my build. I received the following equipment as gifts for Fathers day from my family:

Case: CoolerMaster Praetorian in Black (4 80mm fans included)
Mobo: Asus P4P800 E Deluxe
HD: WD 160GB Sata 8mb cache
PSU: Coolmax Tarus 400W Silent Switching (I know Iknow Antec or Enermax -- consider this an on going experiment into Coolmax quality)
Floppy: Nec (Hey it was a combo deal with the Mobo for $0.50)

I'll be reusing the following (i.e. I'll upgrade these later):
Mon: Planar 19in LCD
KyBd: MS ergonimc keyboard
Mouse: Standard Logitech scroll wheel mouse
Spkrs: Dell Media Voice 2.0 Speakers (Circa 1994! powered by Peavy!)

What I've left to buy:
OD1: NEC 2510A Dual Layer DVD burner
OD2: Samsung DVD Rom (Dual drives for backing up disks)
MCR: Atech Flash 11 in 1 USB 2.0 internal/external Memory Card Reader.
Fans: Vantec Nexus Fan controller

Video Card: Ausus 9600XT TVD w VIVO $184 (I think this is the best card for my usage. Software bundle is awesome, Digital VCR, DVD editing Software, 2 Full Games and HL2 coupon, etc. I don't get to play games much but would like some ability too and would like to try some video editing. I've also thought about the 9800 Pro / 6800 and decided against spending the money.)

Now for the help:

I was thinking about the following for CPU and Memory budget ~ $500

CPU: Intel 3.0C Retail box ~$220
Memory: Mushkin 184 Pin 1GB(512MBx2) DDR PC-3500 Level One Dual Pack - Retail 2-3-3 $280

or maybe

CPU Intel 3.2C Retail box ~ $277
Memory: OCZ Performance Series Dual Channel Kit 184 Pin 1GB(512MBx2) DDR PC-3500 - Retail 2.5-3-3 $226

I was thinking of doing a little overclocking and using some artic silver 5 but I would also like to keep my warranty for a few years.

Plus does anyone know if there are problems with either of those ram chips and the ASUS P4P800 E as they are not on the QVL

So any suggestions?

Thanks
Paratus

 

[Paratus]

Almost forgot--

I intend to use this for Office stuff, childrens games, web surfing, some lite video editing and media encoding, etc.

I'll probably pickup HL2 and Doom3 if I can convince the wife 😉 but 'm not a big gamer as much as I might like to be.

 

[Paratus]

bump

 

[Paratus]

someone has to have a recommendation for what todo with ~$400-$500 for a decentt intel cpu and gig of a ram

 

[SickBeast]

I think I'd actually go with the 2.8C, and get some awesome memory. Anand wrote an article not long ago about some new memory that basically keeps up with BH5. See if you can find that.

I chose the 2.8C because it's cheaper and will allow you a higher FSB overclock. It will probably hit close to the same top speed as the 3.2C anyway.

BTW, don't even think about using a 9600XT in HL2 or DoomIII. I don't think it'll cut it. I'm sure you can find a better deal than that for a graphics card; look for a 9800PRO w/ VIVO and a software bundle. I'm sure it exists. A HL2 voucher is useless if you're stuck playing a slideshow. We obviously don't know how it will run until it is released, but I would want something better, especially for DoomIII.

 

[irishstag]

I'd do a crossover with your cpu/ram options: 3.0C and the ocz pc3500. IMO the extra .5 cas latency and 200mhz aren't worth the extra money.