Need advice on Custom Built PC, Did I do it right?

[El Barto]

I've put together a few computers at work I have a little experience with it but I've never actually bought the parts and put it together from scratch. Everything was ordered for me already from my boss. Therefore, I'm not 100% on what fit's into what(i.e. Mobo's, processors...etc). I also don't know what's exactly a "good" price on a custom built computer for my demands.

Basically, I want a decent gaming computer(WoW, CS...etc) and sometimes some video converting...doesn't need to be top of the line but something that will still be a solid system in a year, and wont totally empty my pockets. I don't really care about looks(case) either if that helps...

Anyways, here's what I've got so far:

Case: Newegg.com - Once You Know, You Newegg
CPU: Newegg.com - Once You Know, You Newegg
Hard Drive: Newegg.com - Once You Know, You Newegg
Video Card: Newegg.com - Once You Know, You Newegg
Power Supply: Newegg.com - Once You Know, You Newegg
Memory: Newegg.com - Once You Know, You Newegg
Motherboard: Newegg.com - Once You Know, You Newegg
CD/DVD Drive: Newegg.com - Once You Know, You Newegg

Basically, my questions are:

1. Am I missing anything to make sure it runs, besides an OS?(example: Do I need more cooling? Missing an entire vital part?)
2. Are all the parts listed compatible? Looks like it to me but since I'm new, I wanna be sure.
3. The price comes out to about $600-650 including shipping, does that seem a bit high?
4. If so, what can I replace to lower the price a bit? There may be deals or combo's I'm missing...? Am I paying too much for something? Have something listed that I may not need, or can get by with a cheaper version?
5. How much am I saving from this rather than buying from best buy or walmart? If it's only $50 I'd rather just run to the store and grab one there...

I'm currently on a:
- Dell Pentium 4 3.2ghz w/ HT
- 1.2gig ram(yes 1gigx1 and 256mbx1)
- ATI Raedon 128mb PCI(not PCIe) gfx card
- 80gig HDD, onboard sound, and the rest of the basics...etc

6. Is what I have selected a worthy upgrade?


Thanks for your time.

[Rich_Franklin]

The links don't work?

[El Barto]

ya sorry, just fixed em. btw, I don't have to buy from newegg, if you know of cheaper sites out there...from USA, im open to suggestions

[zerodayATK]

Just a heads up.. If you get taxed from newegg... like they add tax to you computer look for the parts at either Zipzoomfly.com clubit.com or tigerdirect.com... last build that i made ordering from NE ZZF and CIT i saved over 150 in taxes and some places had lower prices

[El Barto]

anyone?

[zerodayATK]

vid card ... would beef up...

dont know much about the psu..

the proc is nice

Ram look at G.skill brand or Crucial Ballistix.. they are very nice + very reiable.....

cd dvd drive you picked is my fav :-P...

as for price.. you built it you know it no junk already on it .. and its fun to build ( at least for me) and you can slap a custom sticker on it and mean it!

[Inferno]

I like it except for 2 things:

1) DO NOT go completely cheap on a Power Supply. That's an absolute. Otherwise, you are really risking your entire system due to a PS failure.

2) You won't be particularly happy with the performance of that video card.

[zerodayATK]

if you want check out the recommended build list... thats the tech-forums mega build

[aetherh4cker]

I'd get a GIGABYTE GA-P35-DS3L instead. I don't know much about Biostar, but the Gigabyte board is frequently recommended around here.

The Power Supply you selected is on the 'avoid' list. If you still want to be cheap for the power supply, get a FSP Group (Fortron Source) AX400-PN ATX12V 400W instead. However, if you can be talked into spending a little more for something with Active PFC and what not, I *highly* recommend it.

The Video Card you selected is very sub-par. You'll want something bigger and better. I wouldn't get anything cheaper than a GDDR3 GeForce 8600 GT.

Here is my recommendation for memory:
Newegg.com - G.SKILL 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory - Retail
...or if you're cool with mail-in-rebates, you could get these better ones:
Newegg.com - Crucial Ballistix 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory - Retail

As someone said, you should check out the Recommended PC Components post.

[El Barto]

Cool thanks, just wanted a feel of where im at with what I have so far. I'll shop around for a diff vid card and power supply. As far as price goes, does $600 seem like a big saving compared to a storebought system with roughly the same specs?