Question about and Review of New PC Build

[Exterous]

This is my first ever attempt at building a PC and I was hoping to run this past you guys first - esp since I have a couple of quesitons. I hope to do some overclocking but have never done that before. I would like the ability to do so but I'm not after any records here. I am planning on mostly gaming (BF2, BF2142, Oblivion) and have around $900 total to spend on the following parts:

CPU:
Core 2 Duo E6400

Mobo:
I've heard good things about Asus
Asus P5B
And also Gigabyte
GA-965P-DS3
and now this Abit one
Abit AB9 Pro
I'm a bit confused as to which one would be the best to get although I'm leaning towards the Asus. Of course I am open to other options as well, but I can't really go beyond the $900 budget

HDD:
Seagate 80GB 7200RMP Sata (I have an older IDE I plan to use for storage -utilizing a sata bridge so I skimped here)

RAM:
Corsair XMS2 (2x512MB) DDR2 675
I plan on adding more later. Is it possible to get some cheaper ram and still OC just as well? That might let me get more now instead of later

GPU:
BFG 7600GT (Thanks angry ducky for that one)

Power Supply:
Aspire Concord ATX 500W This seems like a decent PSU with enough power. I am not planning on SLI

Case:
Coolmaster Centurion 532

Drive:
Pioneer 16x DVD Burner

Additional Parts I already have and will continue to use:
1 DVD-Rom drive
1 160GB Seagate 7200 RPM IDE HDD
1 PCI TV tuner card
About 5 different case fans to choose from

Now, for the overclocking I've read conflicting reports about the stock HSF. Some say for basic OCing its ok - others say its crap and get another one. I'm just at my budget after shipping and MIR so I don't have much to spend on a different HSF and was wondering if it was worth it? I know thats a subjective question but if I get to 2.5Ghz OC I'll be content and if 2.8 I'd be pretty happy. I think 2.5GHz is a reasonable goal with what I have chosen, but I'm a complete noob at this so I welcome input.

Thanks for all the help and input!

 

[muffins]

that PSU doesnt have a connector for your video card

itll cost u a little more but youll get a PSU thats a lot better if ya go for somethin from enermax/OCZ/maybe antec

last thing ya wanna do is skimp out on the PSU

 

[Exterous]

Thanks for the heads up.

What about this PSU?
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16817104954

 

[Doughbuy]

That PSU will work just fine.

Also, I would just get the E6300 with the P5B and OC that little sucker to at least the E6400 speed, since it should be able to do that no problem. Any further is up to you.

 

[Doughbuy]

That PSU will work just fine.

Also, I would just get the E6300 with the P5B and OC that little sucker to at least the E6400 speed, since it should be able to do that no problem. Any further is up to you.

 

[trixst4r]

DS3 will be the cheapest out of all the boards. Drop a 6300 in there and see if you can squeeze in 2*1gb of ram instead of only 1 gig total, it will really help you out in the long run.

 

[The_Prophecy]

Suggested Changes:

CPU: Intel Core 2 Duo E6300 <--- Use the money you save from dropping to this, in another part.... specifily the power supply.

Power Supply: Antec NeoHE 500W

Motherboard: I would say go for the Gigabyte because of it's impressive overclocking abilities, given my suggestion to drop to the E6300.

DVD Burner: Switch to the NEC ND-3550A. The specs are better, and it's a few $ cheaper as well.

If you're going to OC by more than 800Mhz, then use an aftermarket heatsink. If you're not going to OC by more than that on whichever chip you get, use the stock cooler.

 

[Exterous]

Thanks for all the great help and advice guys - I really appriciate it!!!!