Edit: Links are broken. Sorry.
Well I have finally decided to upgrade from my old Dell (P4 2.8, 768mb pc3200, Radeon 9800 non-pro, and all the other crappy Dell parts). I have a budget of about $1800 for all this. This rig will be used mainly for gaming (Mostly FPS with the occasional RTS game) and web surfing. Although I will be playing a variey of games on this system, I am most concerned with its performance in Battlefield 2. The problem is no one really knows how this game will run, but this system should handle it on 1600x1200. Speed and silence are my two main concerns. There will be no overclocking on the CPU, might OC the video card.
Motherboard and CPU:
MSI K8N Neo 4 Platinum and 3700+ San Deigo combo from Monarch.
Memory:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16820145440">CORSAIR ValueSelect 1GB (2 x 512MB) 184-Pin DDR SDRAM Unbuffered DDR 400 (PC 3200) Dual Channel Kit System Memory - Retail</a>
Video:
Leadtek 6800gt to be overclocked to Ultra.
Hard-Drive:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16822148065">Seagate Barracuda 7200.8 ST3250823AS 250GB 7200 RPM 8M Cache Serial ATA150 Hard Drive - OEM</a>
Optical Drives:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16827152035">NEC Black 16X DVD+R 8X DVD+RW 4X DVD+R DL 16X DVD-R 6X DVD-RW 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-R 24X CD-RW 48X CD-ROM 2M Cache IDE DVD Burner - OEM</a>
and
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16827151212">SAMSUNG Black 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-ROM IDE CD-ROM Drive - OEM</a>
Floppy/Card Reader:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16821104104">MITSUMI FA404A/404M Black USB2.0 & FDD Digital Card Reader/Writer W/FD (Black)INTERNAL - OEM</a>
PSU:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16817151023">SeaSonic S12-430 ATX12V 430W Power Supply 100 - 240V UL, CE, DEMCO, NEMCO, SEMCO, FIMCO, CB, FCC, CCC - Retail</a>
Case:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16811119068#DetailSpecs">COOLER MASTER Centurion 5 CAC-T05-UW Black Aluminum/Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - Retail</a>
Display: VX924 when it is released. Link to cheap price would be helpful.
Speakers:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16836121118">Logitech X-530 70 Watts 5.1 Speaker - Retail</a>
One last question: Do those Dell Windows XP reinstallation disks work on any computer? If so I wouldn't have to buy another copy of XP. If not, then I guess I will.
I will not need a keyboard/mouse.
Constructive criticism is welcome and any advice you have would be great. I am willing to change out any of these parts if you have a better alternative. I also need to be sure that all of the parts are compatible as I am new to this. Thanks.
Well I have finally decided to upgrade from my old Dell (P4 2.8, 768mb pc3200, Radeon 9800 non-pro, and all the other crappy Dell parts). I have a budget of about $1800 for all this. This rig will be used mainly for gaming (Mostly FPS with the occasional RTS game) and web surfing. Although I will be playing a variey of games on this system, I am most concerned with its performance in Battlefield 2. The problem is no one really knows how this game will run, but this system should handle it on 1600x1200. Speed and silence are my two main concerns. There will be no overclocking on the CPU, might OC the video card.
Motherboard and CPU:
MSI K8N Neo 4 Platinum and 3700+ San Deigo combo from Monarch.
Memory:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16820145440">CORSAIR ValueSelect 1GB (2 x 512MB) 184-Pin DDR SDRAM Unbuffered DDR 400 (PC 3200) Dual Channel Kit System Memory - Retail</a>
Video:
Leadtek 6800gt to be overclocked to Ultra.
Hard-Drive:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16822148065">Seagate Barracuda 7200.8 ST3250823AS 250GB 7200 RPM 8M Cache Serial ATA150 Hard Drive - OEM</a>
Optical Drives:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16827152035">NEC Black 16X DVD+R 8X DVD+RW 4X DVD+R DL 16X DVD-R 6X DVD-RW 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-R 24X CD-RW 48X CD-ROM 2M Cache IDE DVD Burner - OEM</a>
and
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16827151212">SAMSUNG Black 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-ROM IDE CD-ROM Drive - OEM</a>
Floppy/Card Reader:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16821104104">MITSUMI FA404A/404M Black USB2.0 & FDD Digital Card Reader/Writer W/FD (Black)INTERNAL - OEM</a>
PSU:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16817151023">SeaSonic S12-430 ATX12V 430W Power Supply 100 - 240V UL, CE, DEMCO, NEMCO, SEMCO, FIMCO, CB, FCC, CCC - Retail</a>
Case:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16811119068#DetailSpecs">COOLER MASTER Centurion 5 CAC-T05-UW Black Aluminum/Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - Retail</a>
Display: VX924 when it is released. Link to cheap price would be helpful.
Speakers:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16836121118">Logitech X-530 70 Watts 5.1 Speaker - Retail</a>
One last question: Do those Dell Windows XP reinstallation disks work on any computer? If so I wouldn't have to buy another copy of XP. If not, then I guess I will.
I will not need a keyboard/mouse.
Constructive criticism is welcome and any advice you have would be great. I am willing to change out any of these parts if you have a better alternative. I also need to be sure that all of the parts are compatible as I am new to this. Thanks.