After reading reviews online and getting feedback from these forums I think I finally have a good gaming machine!

Here's the spec and please don't hold back if you think i could do better for a few bucks more etc let me have it

CPU - Intel Core 2 Duo E4300 1.8GHz = 1550SKR / $223
Mobo - ASUS P5B-E PLUS = 1499SKR / $216
Memory - Crucial DDR2 - 667MHz PC5300 2048MB CL5 Kit w/two matched DDR2 PC5300 1024MB CL5 = 1999SKR / $289 this seems like good memory but im no expert it doesnt have a heat sink but i've heard crucial are good and that CL5 is good too, what do you guys think about this ram?
Graphics Card - Sapphire Radeon X1950Pro 256MB GDDR3 = 1749SKR / $250. I may upgrade to a 8800GTS/GTX when they become more reasonably priced.
Case - Thermaltake Armor Jr. (Have already)
PSU - iGreen Power 500W. (Have already)
HDD - Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 320GB SATA2 16MB 7200RPM. = 895SKR / $129
DVD-R - NEC AD-5170 IDE Svart OEM DVD+R/+RW/DVD-R/-RW (Dual layer). = 299SKR / $44
FDD - Sony 1,44MB= 79SKR / $12
Cooling - Arctic Cooling Freezer 7 Pro. = 219SKR = $32

Accessories -
Saitek Eclipse II Keyboard = 595SKR / $86
Logitech Precision Gaming Headset = 295SKR / $43
Steelpad QcK Pro Mouse Mat = 89SKR / $13
Logitech MX518 (Have already)

Operating System - Windows XP Pro 32Bit OEM = 1495SKR / $216.

I'm still shopping for a 19" LCD monitor so your advice, comments and suggestions on how i can improve this build are gladly recieved

Total 10819SKR / $1533 Prices are including tax.

EDIT: So after your feedback i've started to shape what I hope to be a great Gaming Rig i'm not there yet but with your help im sure i'll get there (Check out my updated spec).

The Arctic Freezer 7 Pro comes with thermal paste already on it, and its great stuff, so no need for the Arctic Silver 5. Also, I would be concerned about your PSU. How many 12v rails and how many amps?

2nd'ed. Is it Coolermaster psu? It's alright. Not great.

As for mobos, I'd suggest ASUS P5B-E/P5B-DELUXE/P5W DH DELUXE, GIGABYTE GA-965P-S3/DS3/DQ6 or INTEL D975XBX/D975XBX2.

Thanks for the info on the Cooler! i'll drop the Arctic Thermal Paste - To answer your other question heres a link to the iGreen Power 500W I believe it has 3 x 12V rails but im not a 100% on that.

Wow thats alot of options could you be more specific? Thanks for the reply i appreciate it! I can rule out some because im not interested in SLI or Xfire etc... But still trying to find the ideal board for this rig I want bang for buck and longevity.

The search continues...

How about an ASUS Commando?

Do you mean E6600 for that much?

its in swedish currency.

That PSU does seem to provide enough W and Amperage, although I would be very concerned to use it with an 8800.

Unless I'm mistaken, it's a crossfire board. You said you're not into CF/SLI.

I cannot give you a definite answer. Each board has pros & cons. Get some ideas.

http://www.tomshardware.com/2006/1 [...] index.html

if future proofing is important to you i would recommend the evga 680i. it is sli ready but more important for you it is one of the most upgradeable mothers available. also, a larger psu would be a good idea.

btw, evga 680i will be compatible with intel yorkfields and wolfdales at the end of the year. 680i is suppose to be good for overclocking as well but i haven't tried.

i would suggest the vista home prem oem from newegg its 120.

Judging by your use of SKR i assume you cannot buy from Newegg?

Motherboards - ASUS P5B-E LGA 775 Intel P965 Express - Intel ICH8R - 6 x Internal SATA - 1 x Internal SATA 3.0 Gb/s port; 1 x External SATA 3.0 Gb/s port.
RAID 0/1/5/10 Matrix RAID - 6x USB 2.0 - PCI Express x16 =1

$150.99 USD

CPU - Core 2 Duo E4300 Allendale 1.8GHz 2M shared L2 Cache LGA 775

- $178

Cheaper better overclocking CPU that has much greater flexibility.

RAM - G.SKILL 2GB 240-Pin DDR2 DDR2 800 - Great Deal right now = $184 USD

Good overclocker RAM

PSU - Antec True Power Trio TP3-550 ATX12V 550W - $99

The rest looks good to me.

I didn't mention, i'm from Sweden and these prices are all from Komplett.se its the cheapest online store i've found so far

its in swedish currency.

That PSU does seem to provide enough W and Amperage, although I would be very concerned to use it with an 8800.

Thanks thats good too know. If I decide to get a eight series card it will most likely be the 8600 ultra for price/performance etc but we'll see what the next month brings

Unless I'm mistaken, it's a crossfire board. You said you're not into CF/SLI.

I cannot give you a definite answer. Each board has pros & cons. Get some ideas.

http://www.tomshardware.com/2006/1 [...] index.html

Oops my bad thanks for the link i'll look into it some more!

Thanks for the tip i have been looking at this board, life time warranty and all the great reviews it's been getting but the cheapest I can find this board here is 2649SKR / $379 i'll see if I can up my budget.

I do not know much about Windows Vista at all could you explain why home premium would be the best buy?

Thanks Again

- $178

Cheaper better overclocking CPU that has much greater flexibility.

RAM - G.SKILL 2GB 240-Pin DDR2 DDR2 800 - Great Deal right now = $184 USD

Good overclocker RAM

PSU - Antec True Power Trio TP3-550 ATX12V 550W - $99

The rest looks good to me.

Thanks for the suggestions and links I appreciate it but you're right I can't buy from Newegg unfortunately i'll be getting most of my parts from www.Komplett.se

If I was to down grade some items what are the main components I really need to buy premium?

Thanks everyone I really appreciate the feedback

Finding a mobo is proving very hard indeed there are so many options!

What do you guys think about the Abit AB9 QuadGT in performance, upgradability and longetivity?

Alternatively i've also been looking at the AW9D Max but these boards seems like overkill but i do want a board that will live long and take a few upgrades.

Your thoughts on these boards or alternative boards are appreciated good layout, bells and whistles are nice but not necessary this is my first build so stability is probably a starting point

Thank you.

While you may not be interested in SLI or Xfire, you might seriously consider getting a SLI or Xfire board, purely because all of the better chipsets that you will find will support them by default. While you may not use the SLI/Xfire, you will benefit from all the other additional features that a 680i board, for example, will profvde you. (E.G. 1333FSB support on the 680i SLI chipset for future upgradeability, etc.)

Also, for a 19" monitor, I would suggest a Samsung 940T, it is a very reliable monitor with a high contrast ratio, that is worth the 300 dollars if you can fork it over.

Lastly, I didnt check up on the specs for you DVD burner, so it may be good, however dont limit yourself by the SATA2 interface! The interface is where the bottleneck is on optical drives, and if you can find better read/write speeds from another IDE or SATAI burner, I would reccomend going with that.

I would also, like others, reccomend you get a better power supply, personally I would reccomend the Seasonic M12-600 or M12-700 depending on how many watts you want. They are both powerful, reliable, and effiecient, and are modular to boot (only use the cables you need to use).

Thanks for the replies guys! I'm starting to get an idea of where im going with this build. As i said in my first post i've already bought the case and power supply I'm surprised you dont like the iGreen Power 500W it seemed pretty good when i was choosing a case and PSU last week i'm sure it will be good I know its not a huge name in PSUs but with over 85% efficiency and 3 12V rails It seemed good for the $130 price tag so i'll keep it for now

Taken your advice and changed the E6400 C2D to the E4300 C2D

Thanks again!

Let me reiterate... the E4300 is a good choice if you are going to overclock... otherwise I would stay with the 6000 series CPUs.

And the power supply you chose may seem like it offers a lot, but do not make the decision based on what you see - rather what you don't see.

I don't know a thing about igreen PSUs, and it is likely they are fine, I would just try to stay within the list of ranked PSUs to be safe since the stakes are getting high.

Hmm about the MSI Platinum P965?

Still searching but the MSI won over 6 over boards in the latest Tom's Hardware Review although i think they have the X075 PowerUp edition picture.