How does this budget built look?

[HGL1668]

Intel Core 2 Duo E6400 Conroe 2.13GHz LGA 775 Processor Model 218.00

ASUS P5N-E SLI LGA 775 NVIDIA nForce 650i SLI ATX Intel Motherboard 124.99

CORSAIR XMS2 1GB (2 x 512MB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop 94.00

Thermaltake TR2 W0070RUC ATX 430W Power Supply 39.00

EVGA 256-P2-N624-AR GeForce 7900GS 256MB GDDR3 PCI Express x16 KO Video Card 154.99

Western Digital Caviar SE16 WD2500KS 250GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM 74.99

SAMSUNG 18X DVD±R DVD Burner With 12X DVD-RAM Write Black E-IDE/ATAPI Model SH-S182D/BEBE - OEM 30.99


TOTAL (including shipping and tax) .................................................. ................................................. 806.xx

Well, my goal is to play all the games in high settings no problem in the price range of 800-1000 (well, toward 800 the best), but of course not looking for the best.

I am just struggling between few parts,

Is the Thermaltake PSU too cheap for the build?

Should I go with the WD harddrive or Seagate barracoda?

Should I go for 2x1gb ram? or upgrade later?

What do you think of the video card choice? I was thinking about the 7600 but dont' know.

This is my second built but my knowledge is way outdated, I noticed almost everyone OCs their stuff, I guess I will be doing that too, do I need a better cpu cooler, like a zalman, tower, etc...?

I have a case right now (old, don't cool well) so dont' want to waste money on another one, but love the Antec 180, with this setup, do I need something like the Antec 180 case to cool everything down?

Any suggestions are very welcome

Hugo-

[Trotter]

Thermaltake is not known for great PSUs. Look into getting, maybe, this one:
Newegg.com - HIPER HPU-4M480-PS ATX12V v2.2 480W Power Supply 100 - 120V AC cUL,TUV,CB,CE,FCC - Retail

WD is good, so is Seagate. Most prefer Seagate over WD, but both have good warranties. Actually, looking at NewEgg, this Seagate comes in pretty cheap, and it has a 5 year warranty.
Newegg.com - Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 (Perpendicular Recording) ST3250820AS 250GB 7200 RPM 8MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM

2 gigs of RAM is the sweet spot for gaming. If you can afford it, go for it. If you can't, go for a single stick of 1 gig, and buy another one later.

The 7900GS is a great card. Good choice.

As for cooling, make sure to get some Artic Silver 5. As for a CPU cooler, Zalman is one of the top brands. Any of these would do you good:
Newegg.com - ZALMAN CNPS7000B-CU 92mm 2 Ball Cooling Fan - Retail
Newegg.com - ZALMAN CNPS7700-CU 120mm 2 Ball Cooling Fan - Retail
Newegg.com - ZALMAN CNPS9500 LED 92mm 2 Ball Cooling Fan with Heatsink - Retail
Newegg.com - ZALMAN 9700 LED 110mm 2 Ball CPU Cooler - Retail

I dunno what case you have, but adding a fan or two to help circulate air can do wonders, An intake fan in the front, and an exhaust fan in the back, and you have a huge improvement.

[saltynay]

the Corsair XMS2 isnt great Ram

[HGL1668]

Well, look like you are running those xms2 too, well, what brand rams should I go, but is 2Gb really nessary?

And I notice alot of people run the deluxe mobo, whats the advantage over the p5n-E?, I know there is WiFI, but I have an linksys wifi adaptar already.

And some people say the E6300 and E6400 is almost the same in speed, Should I save the 37 bucks and go for the E6300?

[saltynay]

Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 ST3320620AS (Perpendicular Recording Technology) 320GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM
Item #: N82E16822148140
Return Policy: Limited 30-Day Return Policy



EVGA 320-P2-N815-AR GeForce 8800GTS 320MB GDDR3 PCI Express x16 HDCP Video Card - Retail
Item #: N82E16814130038
Return Policy: Standard Return Policy



Antec True Power Trio TP3-430 ATX12V 430W Power Supply with Three 12V Rails - Retail
Item #: N82E16817103942
Return Policy: Standard Return Policy



Arctic Silver 5 Thermal Compound - OEM
Item #: N82E16835100007
Return Policy: Consumable Items Return Policy


G.SKILL 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model F2-6400CL4D-2GBPK - Retail
Item #: N82E16820231087
Return Policy: Standard Return Policy



ABIT AW9D-MAX LGA 775 Intel 975X ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail
Item #: N82E16813127011
Return Policy: Standard Return Policy



Intel Core 2 Duo E6400 Conroe 2.13GHz LGA 775 Processor Model BX80557E6400 - Retail
Item #: N82E16819115004
Return Policy: Processors (CPUs) Return Policy



ARCTIC COOLING Freezer 7 Pro 92mm CPU Cooler - Retail
Item #: N82E16835186134
Return Policy: Standard Return Policy

That's $1,128 will kick the *** out of your current set up if you wait a little while the 8 series will release some lower spec cards which will pull down the price and if you wait until the E6420 will give a performance boost

[saltynay]

the E6300 and E6400 are different through the front side bus whilst the E6400 and the E6600 are different by the memory cache but intel are upgrading the E6400 (the E6420 will be the upgraded model) so its got a larger memory cache making it virtually the same as the E6600

[HGL1668]

So any reason why you would choose the Abit mobo?

[saltynay]

It is suppose to be a great over clocker and a very simple but functional bios. If I had chosen my build one week later definitely would of bought the abit

[HGL1668]

Also, for the G.Skill ram I have read about, they are good for oclocking, However, there are 3-4 different kind, mostly people choice the HZ or the HK, whats the differences? and i noticed the timings are different but I don't understand about the timing. Help?

And I guess I will wait for the E6450, I heard its coming out on April 22nd, since it is cheaper and faster with the 4m cashe.

[mrfluffles]

Hmm... I would definetly spend $50 extra on the RAM to get G.Skill NRs. 1 Gig barely gets by in todays games. The G.Skills will overclock enough to get a good overclock on the E6400. For the mobo, either keep that Asus, get a DS3, or a P6N. Don't spend $200 on that AW9D-Max.. No point whatsoever. The graphics card is good. Make sure to overclock it a bit. They are great for overclockage. DEFINETLY get a new power supply. No way would I trust that thing to this system. If you really want to keep on a budget, get the FSP 450W for $50. Also, I would get an E4300 instead to save some money and use it on the graphics card. Get maybe an 8600GTS when they come out or even an 8800GTS320. For a CPU cooler, I would get an Arctic Cooler Freezer 7 Pro. Very good one for the price. $20 at svc.com.