so tell me how what mistake(s) i'm making with my upgrades.

[erikistired]

existing junk:

case
2x1gb mushkin pc3200
western digital cavier se16 sata 250gb
dell 1905fp
sb x-fi xtrememusic
floppy/keyboard/mouse/headphones

new parts:

asus a8n5x
amd athlon 3700+ (e6 stepping)
evga 7900gt (500mhz version)
enermax liberty 500w
liteon shw160p6s05 dvd burner

i'm not overclocking. i play mostly bf2, bf2:sf, cod2 and nfs:mw. also dabble in some hl2 and cs:s. having trouble running nsf:mw and bf2:sf at high settings @ 1280x1024 (default lcd res). plus it's time to ditch the s754 and move up. pondering x2, but i don't see the benefit for me. also not sure why i'd bother with an sli board but i was considering the asus a8n-sli. i don't see myself purchasing a 2nd card anytime soon, and i figure if i'm not going to use it that it's one more thing to go wrong.

anyway, usually these things end up with 20 different opinions of where the OP is going wrong. so go to it!

 

[Bobthelost]

Nah, looks good. You're overpowered on the PSU front. 500W can do a crossfire rig let alone your machine. The 400W one would be more than fine.

SLI is only a good plan if you're definitly upgrading shortly or if you're buying SLI straight away imo. You're not doing either of these things so i wouldn't bother.

 

[erikistired]

i thought i might be, but i'm paranoid about power supplies. it is a 30 dollar difference. i guess i don't understand the whole dual rails and what i need to power my system stuff. things have changed since the last power supply i bought.

will the 400w give me room to upgrade to an x2?

 

[Bobthelost]

Yes it would give you room to upgrade, read the jonny guru PSU thread at the top of the forum, his numbers are very conservative but i think you'll still be covered with the 400W model.

If you're not strapped for cash then there's no harm in spending the extra $30, but it's still a waste of money if you'll never use it.

 

[erikistired]

i'm certainly not into throwing away money. i'll go with the 400w, my wife says this is the last upgrade i'm doing for a year anyway.