Finalizing Build (3rd Rig ever Built)

$145 COOLER MASTER CM Stacker STC-T01-UW Black/ Silver Aluminum Bezel, SECC Chassis ATX Full Tower Computer Case - Retail

$130 OCZ GameXStream OCZ600GXSSLI ATX12V 600W Power Supply - Retail

$200 Gigabyte GA-M59SLI-S5 Socket AM2 NVIDIA nForce 590 SLI MCP ATX AMD Motherboard - Retail

$270 to 286 BFG Tech BFGR79256GTOCE Geforce 7900GT 256MB GDDR3 PCI Express x16 Video Card - Retail

$358 ($170 to 200) AMD Athlon 64 X2 4200+ Windsor 2000MHz HT Socket AM2 Dual Core Processor Model ADA4000CSBOX - Retail

$198 CORSAIR XMS2 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Unbuffered Dual Channel Kit System Memory Model TWIN2X2048-6400 - Retail

$100 Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 ST3320620AS (Perpendicular Recording Technology) 320GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM

$31 NEC 16X DVD±R DVD Burner Black IDE/ATAPI Model ND-3550A - OEM

Depending or not if I get a VX922 is why I put the BFG in there. If I get a VX922, I can get $40 off through newegg, otherwise I will just buy a regular 7900GT. I really like the nforce 590 boards, so I'm flip flopping with that Gigabyte and the Asus boards for AM2. I chose AM2 because of the price drop and because Conroe won't be out by the time I need to make my purchases and leave. I chose AM2 motherboards because I like X2, Conroe won't be out in time, and AMD's procs should be (I hope) cheaper than Conroe after price drops. I chose the case upon reasoning of future upgradability into SLI and water cooling and more HDDs. I was debating between the Stacker and the Armor -- the Armor is really awesome and has a window, but the Stacker won out because it was cheaper and it has a 6 port USB bay. Unless you can convince me that the Armor is better. Besides, the Stacker has castor wheels. I am also open to PSU recommendations, although anything above the $130 mark or below the 600w mark isn't ideal.

I use this as my all-purpose rig including gaming, watching video, internet, multitasking, programming, server host, voice chat, FTP, homework, and other class needs.

Thanks for your help and I plan on buying these parts sometime next week.

Good idea about the proc, I wanted the 4000 because of the 1 MB L2 cache until someone told me that that proc won't get a price cut.

I don't know about spending an extra $50 on RAM? Is it worth it for that speed increase? If it is, I'll try to make arrangements to fit it into budget ($1200 to $1250)

The Gigabyte is SLI capable and has a PCI-E 8x slot in between the 2 PCI-E 16x. I want nForce 590 chipset, but I can't decide between the Foxconn, Gigabyte, and Asus. I'm really torn between the Asus and Gigabyte.

Well, having 2 PCI-E 16x slots would be good for future proofing when nVidia or ATI come out with drivers to make your old video card a physics processor or something.

Am I going to "feel" the difference in the RAM timings if I go with the better set?

What are the disadvantages of modular PSUs? I read somewhere on the forums that they can cause increased resistance and lower outputs and uneven rails. Also, do you know of any good SATA optical drives that are cheap besides the overpriced Plextors? Or am I going to have to wait a couple years for those to be mainstream?

Wha? That is the exact one that I cited as overpriced...

I think something fried your brain like work or the sun.

Ah, well, I like linkies anyway. Maybe one day the optical drive manufacturers will get together and start making SATA drives.

I'm afraid to try a SATA to IDE converter with an optical drive because it might go kerplooey on me and have a small revolution in my case. And we're talkin' viva la IDE here! 8O

Naw, at $90 or $100, I will just settle for my NEC IDE burner for $30.

Of course there are a few! Improved airflow from skinny SATA cables as opposed to overweight IDE cables. Then you can say, this is an all SATA drive computer, no IDE. It's like being dolphin-free tuna, people still eat tuna with dolphins, but you can be the one without dolphins. Don't you care about flipper?

I remember one time I was digging through our storage room back at school and found an old server with a 10 ft SCSI cable is wore it as a giant necklace. Finally, I strapped it to one of our old IBM servers on wheels on gave people rides with it. Needless to say I, uh... "strained" the cable a few times and it is unusable now.

AMD loves low timings.. 4-4-4-12 is vastly better than 5-5-5-15. As for motheboards, I perfer Asus boards. They seem to be the best and in my experience come with more than you ever need cable wise. Gigabyte isnt bad. I have no experience with Foxconn. (who makes the iPod)