New Build - Would love your help

[Boseaphus]

So I am in the process of either building a new computer or simply buying one to play games and use this forum. I currently have a P4 that?s 3-4 years old with a ATI 850XT which worked well for games like Oblivion, Fear, Stalker, Half-Life 2, etc?(although not with everything cranked up). I knew I was pushing it when I purchased Bioshock last month and sure enough?needed a 3.0 shader.
I would like to play Bioshock for sure and other upcoming games like Hellgate London, but I don?t need those games to run with everything cranked up (or even DX10 effects right now). It would be great, but I simply don?t have the $ right now to buy an 8800 (maybe next year). In fact, I only have about $700 to play with.

Here?s my Details:

1. What YOUR PC will be used for:
Surfing and Gaming
2. What YOUR budget is:
$700
3. What country YOU will be buying YOUR parts from:
USA
4. IF YOU have a brand preference:
Intel
5. If YOU intend on using any of YOUR current parts:
-Coolermaster Case - I currently have a Coolermaster ATC-210 http://www.hardcoreware.net/reviews/review-153-1.htm which has been fine and unless someone can explain why I shouldn?t use it, I?ll stick with it.
-XP/Vista (which I will dual boot).
-22? LCD monitor
-Keyboard/Mouse
-X-FI Sound Card
6. IF YOU have searched and/or read similar threads:
Yes
7. IF YOU plan on overclocking:
No

Here?s what I am considering for my build:

Power supply:
Thermaltake Purepower W0100RU ATX 12V 2.0 500W Power Supply - Retail - $60
Motherboard:
GIGABYTE GA-P35-DS3L LGA 775 Intel P35 ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail - $100
CPU:
Intel Core 2 Duo E6750 - Retail - $195
Heatsink/fan for the CPU
(I believe it comes with the CPU)
Memory:
Crucial Ballistix 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) - $63
Primary hard drive:
Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 ST3320620AS (Perpendicular Recording Technology) 320GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s - $80
Primary optical drive:
PHILIPS 20X DVD±R DVD Burner with LightScribe - $36
Video card:
SAPPHIRE 100176L Radeon X1950PRO 256MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express x16 $135

$670

A little room for a better PSU?
Am I forgetting anything? Cables?

Thanks in advance for your help. Look forward to your comments.

 

[coldmeat]

other than the PSU, i dont really see anything wrong with it, it looks good. you have pretty much all the best bang-for-buck parts picked out already. but definitely consider the corsair 520HX

 

[oynaz]

Overall, this seems like a good system. You might want to consider saving a bit on the CPU, and getting a better video card instead.
500 watts is a bit overkill. Perhaps you should consider a good quality 400 watter instead.

 

[MarcVenice]

I'd buy a 450vx from corsair. I'd rather have a seasonic built PSU over a thermaltake PSU any time of the day. Higher end thermaltake aren't bad, but low-end, I wouldn't consider them.

 

[Boseaphus]

Thanks for the comments.

What about this PSU? http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16817139004
It's Corsair, but has a little more power than the 450 (which would be helpful if I end up purchasing a 8800 in the future).

ALso, I should have mentioned it before but I do use a Saitex 45 USB flight stick which I'm sure pulls a good amount of power when used although I am not sure if it means I need a bigger PSU.

Thanks again.

 

[Zap]

Originally posted by: Boseaphus
What about this PSU? http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16817139004

That Corsair 550W is good. Overkill, but that means you shouldn't have to buy another PSU for a long time.

Remember to send in the rebate for that RAM. If you aren't good about sending in rebates, then consider cheaper RAM (w/o rebate). You can get Super Talent 2GB DDR2-800 at eWiz for $60 plus shipping with no rebate.

If you can live without the extra 2 years of warranty, then you can get the Maxtor branded 320GB drive (exactly the same drive as the Seagate) for $60 at Outpost.com. Outpost also has 2GB OCZ DDR2-800 RAM for $67.99, minus $25 rebate so it ends up $43.

I think everything else is a good choice.

 

[Boseaphus]

Thanks so much for helping pick the parts. Now I just need the bravery to actually pull the trigger and try building this thing. The last time I had a buddy put it together, I "sorta" watched but this is going to be a new experience for me. I guess my biggest fear is frying something, especially the CPU. It seems everyone has different advice on putting thermal paste on it. Maybe I should just have mwave do the MOBO/CPU/MEMORY/HEAT SINK build for $10 and I'll do the rest.

Anyway, thanks again for all of your help. Any other thoughts welcome as I will most likely not buy today.

Oh...I also just realized that the LA Computer Show is next weekend. This show used to be the best place to buy Hardware, but I have no idea if this is still the case. Anyone in the LA area know?

Bose

 

[Slowlearner]

Yes, I strongly recommend mwave's assemble and test option. Your choice of cpu is good. I assembled a similar system for friend last month and its not difficult at all.

 

[Boseaphus]

Just wanted to update those who responded to this thread:
The new build is finished. I ended up buying a Coolermaster case (Centurion 5 - it's great) instead of using my old case. I also went with Vista (the oem of of Vista Home Premium was $99 when I went pick up the parts from M-wave).
It's up and running, Bioshock is absolutely amazing.

Hopefully everything else goes well.
Thanks again.