Actually read some reviews, still looking for help

[HDDFreak]

Okay, I've read some reviews (well, quite a few) and although I may still be completley wrong I've done my best .
I'm looking for a PC to do moderate gaming at ~1280x1024 with a decent amount of eye candy. I also like to do some processor intensive work occainsionally. Now, I would also like to overclock and this is where I'm having my dilemma.
This is what im looking at. Any advice would be appreciated. Oh yeah, i'm only on a budget of ~$1000 AUD
C2D E6300 (or 6400 if budget permits) ~$265
DDR2 1G(2x512M)PC5300 667Mhz RAM CL4-4-4-12 G.Skill $205
Gigabyte GA-965P-D3 P965 PCIE16, DualDDRII SATAII Glan (aparrently they are as good at overclocking as the DS3, but with worse capacitors) $189
Cheap Case$25-30
430W coolermaster extreme power $48
That leaves around 233 for the video card which puts me in the range of the 7600GT or the X1950PRO (if I save some more money )

So, total cost $981 with the 7600GT
OR $1082 with the X1950
OR $1142 with the 1950 and the E6400

Now, which should I go with? Am I on the right track with this or should I change something. I could prolly bring this down with some smart shopping and get a new HDD (oh yeah, I'm using old XP liscence and monitor and keyboard and mouse and optical drives etc). Thanks for any help.
*EDIT* I just realised I specified the DS3 instead of the S3. Fixed now, my bad .

 

[yas]

First of all id change the PSU. If you plan on doing Ocing with the system youve got then youll need around 500W at least. I think since your looking for a cheap case you might want to go with the Antec Sonata 2 which is $99 at newegg with the smart power 2 PSU 480W although I dont know if thats enough either.

I dont know where you got your prices from but all youve written is way over priced. The E6300 is $183 at newegg! The S3 is around $100 and the DS3 is around $150 i think.

I think if you plan on doing alot of overclocking your going to be limiting your self with 667mh ram. You might be better with going for a nice pair of 800mhz cl4 ram.

For the video card I am also getting the X1950pro (its on the way) but I know that its equivalent is the geforce 7900Gs not the 7600GT. Go with the radeon though its much better!

 

[HDDFreak]

I did say that I was on AUSTRALIAN Dollars, hence the underlining. But yeah, I would like a more expensive case but simply can't afford it. I'm not sure, but if you do a USD to AUD conversion it should be around that price. Like I said though, I shopped around and can get one for $249 ($16 cheaper). Thnx for the advice for the PSU, mpilchfamily, I didn't think of that . Not meaning to be nasty with the Australian dollar thing but I did make a point of underlining it.
*EDIT* About the RAM, I would like to get something better, but couldn't find it. I'm always open to suggestions, but please reference a product available from an Australia based business in Australian dollars. Thanks again.

 

[sprite]

The PSU in the sonata 2 isn't enough to power the 1950. You need a PSU with at least 500W and dual +12v rials with 18A on each rail.

500w ? WTF ?

Dude seriosuly don't listen to this guy and check out http://extreme.outervision.com/PSUEngine

Roughly did the PC you were thinking of building and it drew 382w under load.

Get 1GB 667MHz RAM with lowest timings
E6300
Gigabyte S3 or Abit AB9 Motherboard
X1950 Pro
Cheappy case
450w - ish PSU

 

[sprite]

YOu will not find a PSU under 400W that will have the amount of amps needed on the +12v rails to power this system. It may allow the system to power on buy you will run into problems as you put a load on the system. The system will be pulling about 22A-24A under a heavy load like gaming.

How about you check out the PSU 101 sticky.

I said 450w if you look carefully.

How about you look at the FSP 450w PSU with 2 12v rails at 18a each ?

 

[Slobogob]

As it seems your research has been quite successful. Nice choice on the GPU and CPU. The Board is a choice of taste. Since you want to overclock I´d get some P5B variant because those seem to be the kings of overclockability. No doubt though that your choice will do fine too.
Whether you take 667 or 800 RAM depends on how far you intend to overclock. If you think an FSB of 333 or a little more with the memory running in sync is enough, then 667 will be fine. 800 would leave you a little more headroom, but that comes at a cost.
As the other posters mentioned, i´d be careful with the PSU you pick. 420 might be enough. I think it would run, but since you buy a new rig, i´d get more than you need, just to be safe. If the 420 isn´t enough and blows up you end up with more expenses or if you intend to stick a few more hdds into your case or some fancy cooling the 420 might not cut it. I´d go with a 500 Watt just to be on the save side.
Overall a nice selection.

 

[HDDFreak]

Do you think it would be worth it for me to go with the E6400 so I had the extra overclocking headroom if I desired?

 

[Slobogob]

Depends on what you´re coming from, how much speed you really need and how far you are willing to overclock.

I see it pretty extreme. If you are willing to spend the money on a 6400 because you think you need the performance, invest a little more and get a 6600. Because if the 6300 overclocked isn´t fast enough for you, the 6400 won´t cut it either. That´s just my opinion though.