Building Computer - Suggestions Needed

Hey

I'm going with my first build, and this is what I'm looking at so far, all through newegg. Chances are I'm going to downgrade the video card from the 7900GT since everone seems to have problems with them and go with a 7600GT or something. Recommendations are good. Don't have a hard drive in yet. Any idea which brand I should look into? Also I don't know what DVD-ROM drive to go with. Any suggestions? I'm at $1,492.71 right now. That includes monitor, keyboard, mouse, DVD Burner, Processor, RAM, Video Card, PSU, Operating System, printer, and the MoBo. My soft cap budget is probably about $1,600. I could push to roughly $1,800 if ABSOLUTELY necessary.

Also, I won't actually build this system until mid-July, so I'm sure prices will drop a touch. I'll be on the lookout for new technology to that I might replace a part or two I have now with.

PSU: Thermaltake W0057RU-01 PurePower TWV ATX 12V 2.0 500W Power Supply 115/230 V CB, CE, FCC, UL, CUL, TUV (12v1@18A, 12v2@18A)

Processor: Intel Pentium D 930 Presler 800MHz FSB 2 x 2MB L2 Cache LGA 775 Dual Core Processor (3 Ghz)

HDD: No clue yet.

RAM: CORSAIR XMS2 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM Unbuffered DDR2 675 (PC2 5400) System Memory

DVD Burner: BenQ Beige 16X DVD+R 8X DVD+RW 8X DVD+R DL 16X DVD-R 6X DVD-RW 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-R 32X CD-RW 48X CD-ROM 2M Cache ATA/ATAPI 16X DVD±R DVD Burner With exclusive SolidBurn Technolog

DVD Drive: None yet.

MoBo: Intel BOXD975XBXLKR Socket T (LGA 775) Intel 975X ATX Intel Motherboard (rev 304 is Conroe compatible, so I can upgrade during 2007 to the new processor).

GPU: eVGA 256-P2-N564 Geforce 7900GT KO 256MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express x16 Video Card (chances are this WILL change. Doesn't seem worth it for all the bugs - prolly drop down to a 7600GT, buy an aftermarket cooler, and then OC it abit).

Mouse: Logitech MX518 931352-0403 2-Tone 8 Buttons 1x Wheel USB + PS/2 Optical Mouse

Keyboard: AOpen KB-966B Black 104 Normal Keys 13 Function Keys PS/2 Wired Standard Keyboard

OS: Microsoft Windows XP Home With SP2 (planning on upgrading to Vista when launched, hence the 2 GB of RAM )

Monitor: HYUNDAI L91A Black 19" 12ms LCD Monitor

That's the setup so far. As far as I know, I'm only missing the HDD and DVD Rom. Everything else seems to be there and compatible!

Like I said, graphics card will likely change. I'll save myself about 80 bucks by going down to the 7600GT. But I am worried that all 7600GTs are only 128-bit memory interface, while the 7900GT is a 256-bit interface. I heard the 128-bit is starting to become a bottleneck for games and stuff, so I might stick it out afterall. Won't build til mid-July, so hopefully the faulty 7900GT GPU issue gets fixed and it doesn't cause artifacts and crap out after a few days. Any suggestions are welcome, and please point me in the right direction for a HDD and DVD-ROM!

I realize there's no case in there yet, either. I'm still looking.

Too bad they don't sell 7800GT's anymore. Have you thought about an X1800XT
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6814102697
or an X1900GT
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6814102020

You really don't need a DVD rom drive if you are getting a DVD burner.

And any SATA HDD made by Seagate will be fine. I would recommend getting at least 200 gigabytes of storage.

You should wait awhile before you actually build the system... I mean, you can get the HDD, monitor, keyboard and stuff, but leave the mobo, gfx, cpu till last because they can fluctuate a lot

ie... mid july? you can probably get a decent conroe build



HDD: gamer - get the Raptor or sumthing, nething else - get WD or Seagate (something cheap with big storage amount)

GFX: if you were gonna get 7600 or 7900... get the 7900

OPT: if you gonna get 2 optical drive, its better to get two burners instead, its cause they are better quality usually (from experience)

MON: gamer... dont get 12 ms lcd monitor... try for 8ms or even less!

CASE: recommend you looking at either Thermaltake or Antec for cases