final review on new build

[slabang]

this is what i've come up w/. will hopefully order in a day or two. i'm wanting a final review on what i've picked. the system will be used for gaming mostly, but nothing too intense. mmo's, occasional fps, but probably not any of the major fps that require ridiculous hardware

Mobo: GIGABYTE GA-P35-DS3L LGA 775 Intel P35 ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail 89.99
CPU: INTEL Core 2 Duo E8400 3.00 GHz 1333 MHz 775 6MB Desktop Processor Retail 235.80
HD: SAMSUNG SpinPoint T Series HD501LJ 500GB 7200 RPM 16MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM 109.99
Case: COOLER MASTER RC-690-KKN1-GP Mid Tower Case Retail 49.99 w/ MIR
Heatsink: Arctic Cooling Freezer 7 Pro LGA775 2500RPM 45CFM 18.69
RAM: G.SKILL 4GB(2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory - Retail 94.99
Optical: SAMSUNG 20X DVD±R DVD Burner with LightScribe Black SATA Model SH-S203N - OEM 33.99
PSU: CORSAIR CMPSU-550VX ATX12V V2.2 550W Power Supply 90 - 264 V UL, CUL, CE, CB, FCC Class B, TUV, CCC, C-tick - Retail 69.99 w/ MIR
GPU: EVGA e-GeForce 8800 GT 512MB GDDR3 PCI-E 2.0 Video Card 219.99

Total comes to $957.41, plus shipping on a couple of items. I'm gonna be picking up vista home premium from compusa, for about $110.

considering the gaming that i mentioned, do i really need a vid card like that? or can i save some money going w/ a more economical option? i don't see myself getting into hardcore fps for a long time, if ever, but if i do i figure i'll have more money by then. comments are appreciated

 

[NamelessMC]

The question is: What resolution will you be gaming at?

If it's 1440x900 or higher, then you definitely benefit from 512mb of VRAM. Then the question becomes, do you drop to a 3870? The legitimate answer is no, because the cheapest price for a 3870 is roughly $205-215, so you only save $5-10 on an inferior card.

If you game on a smaller resolution, the 3850 is fantastic for $170.

The real question is, with such light gaming, why do you need a Wolfdale? I would say either a Pentium E2180/2160 or a C2D 4500 over-clocked would be suffice. Don't be so quick to hop on the 45nm bandwagon. Remember you actually have to validate your purchases, and the truth is, your computing tasks DONT require the processing power of a 4.0ghz Wolfdale.

 

[imported_wired247]

If you were looking to spend $1000, I'd say the build looks fine

 

[slabang]

the computer i currently have, i have had for 5-6 years. i expect to have a new computer for quite a long while. i don't plan on oc'ing, as i'm not that computer savvy. i don't know how difficult or easy it might be. if those other chips can be oc'd and run stably w/o much maintenance at all for a good long while, and if it'd be easy for me to achieve, then i'd gladly go for cheaper chips that would more than meet my needs. but if oc'ing would require regular attention to the chips to prevent damage, i'd rather pay extra money for something that will last a longer time w/o the attention

 

[Roguestar]

Originally posted by: slabang
the computer i currently have, i have had for 5-6 years. i expect to have a new computer for quite a long while. i don't plan on oc'ing, as i'm not that computer savvy. i don't know how difficult or easy it might be. if those other chips can be oc'd and run stably w/o much maintenance at all for a good long while, and if it'd be easy for me to achieve, then i'd gladly go for cheaper chips that would more than meet my needs. but if oc'ing would require regular attention to the chips to prevent damage, i'd rather pay extra money for something that will last a longer time w/o the attention

FWIW, I overclocked my E6300 to 3GHz a year ago and haven't had to mess with it since.

 

[Riverhound777]

I think you did great. I have a very similar build and love it so far. Should last a long time.