Building a new gaming rig...

[RouTaran]

I haven't actually bought anything but did a wee bit of research and this is what i think i should get. I might not be getting the best bang for buck cuz this is the first time i actually trying to do this from the ground up. plz tell me if i got a better option than the one i picked or if i actually missed something critical.

Motherboard:
Asus P4C800-E-Deluxe i875P Dual DDR400 FSB800 8X AGP IEEE1394 SATA RAID GigaLan - $264
- How upgrade friendly is this mother board. I paied a tonne for my current puter and it turns out that i cant upgrade anything cuz all the new stuff is not compatable with my MB. Would like to avoid that.

CPU:
Intel Pentium 4 3.0GHz FSB800 1MB Cache - $318

Heat Sink:
CoolMaster Hyper 6 HeatPipe KHC-V81 Socket 478/939 Heat Sink - $65

RAM:
OCZ 1024MB PC-3200 (400MHz) Dual Channel DDR Premier CL2.5 (2X512MB) $337

Video:
MSI 8966-001 GeForce NX6800 Ultra-T2D256 256MB DDR3 8X AGP $793
- I read a few reports and they said it was better than the best ATI has got but is this thing really worth it?

Sound:
Creative Sound Blaster Audigy ES - $63

NIC:
On Board - 10/100/1000 x1Port

HDD:
Seagate 80G 7200rpm 8MB Cache SATA $112

RW:
LG 8X DVD+/-RW (Beige) - $85
- I'm gonna pull out the DVD player from my current puter and put it in the new one.

PS:
350W Power Supply Dual Fan - $59
- I need a suggestion on a good case thats got room for future upgrades.

OS:
Microsoft Windows XP Pro (OEM) - $225
- I'm assuming XP Pro will be better cuz i will be able to do more to it to make it a more efficient gaming rig.


As it stands thing thing costs about $2200 Canadian. My budget is 2grand but i can prolly push it a little over if need be. But if I can shave it down, great!

 

[DiamondzAndGunz]

Well, one thing that I can point out that just seems to stick out as wrong is your mobo/HD compatibility. Your mobo's SATA, while it seems (forgive me if I'm wrong) that your HD is ATA. You could get an ATA to SATA converter, but why not just get a SATA HD? Much better, IMO.

SATA is slightly faster than ATA, has smaller, thinner cables which help out with air flow and allow easier connectability. They're essentially the next generation replacement for ATA, you're better off switching to it now.

(Wrong forum, btw.)

 

[Hakim]

You might want to consider getting a BTX-case. That means you'll need a motherboard and power supply that fits.

 

[Jeratain]

That's a really damn good motherboard. I have the Asus P4P800 Deluxe, and I absolutely love it.

Is that RAM dual channel? If not, you may want to consider getting some dual channel from Giel or somewhere else.

Why not splurge and get an Audigy 2 ZS?

Also, I'd personally get the ATI X800. Ultimately however, it is your decision.

 

[basta72]

Make sure you buy a harddrive with 8MB cache and not 2MB cache, that's important.

And get one with SATA instead of ATA since your motherboard supports it, they cost about the same.

 

[RouTaran]

thanx for the quick replies guys
@DiamondzAndGunz & basta72: I double checked and you guys was right, the Maxtro was a ATA drive. I have updated my list to the Seagate SATA drive

@Jeratain: Thanks for raising the point for the Dual channel ram. The one i selected was not. The ZS series costs almost twice as much, besides i only got 2 speakers and i dont intend to spend more money on that. So that card will be a waste

@Hakim: I'm not sure if i wanna change my MB and PSU to fit the case. I need a case that will fit the parts

 

[Thrawn]

From the reviews and comparisons I've read about ATI's and nVidia's latest offering, they're pretty evenly matched, which one you pick seems to be personal preference.