Please Help Critique Possible New Build

[dohati]

Hi all, my dad's computer crapped out and now I have a reason to take the plunge and try to build a new computer. I've been browsing the forums here quite a bit and was hoping for some expert guidance, or at least mass guidance. I will be using this mostly for online games and some FPS. I want to also try overclocking because of all I hear about it. Here's what I have so far:

Intel Core 2 Duo E6300 Conroe 1.86GHz LGA 775 Processor Model BX80557E6300 $187.00
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16819115005

ASUS P5B-E LGA 775 Intel P965 Express ATX Intel Motherboard 150.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16813131070

APEVIA (ASPIRE) X-CRUISER-BK Black Computer Case With Side Panel Window $69.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16811144026

Antec NeoPower NeoHE 550 ATX12V 550W Power Supply 100 - 240 V UL, CUL, TUV, CE, FCC, CCC, CB, C-tick $109.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E16817103941

SAPPHIRE 100196L Radeon X1950PRO 512MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express x16 HDCP Video Card $209
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16814102071

ZALMAN FS-V7 2 Ball VGA Cooling Fan $34.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16835118222

Crucial Ballistix 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory
$279
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16820146565

Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 320GB 3.5" SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive $89.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16822148140

NEC Black 18X DVD±R Burner With 12X DVD-RAM Write - $28.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16827152076


Look OK? I thought the RAM was really expensive and was hoping perhaps someone could recommend an alternative. Actually, now that I think about it, if I could get suggestions on alternate parts that would lower the overall cost to approximately $800...

 

[cutthroat]

Personally I don't like the case you have chosen, it looks pretty, but it also looks like a pain in the ass to deal with, and is probably loud.

You could go with PC5400 and save some money there, you would see a performance decrease, but not that great.

 

[yay]

good choice, that case isnt that bad, (from what ive heard) but everything else looks good cutthroat is right about that ram, a good saving, just OC it like | | that much. Sheel be great, happy hunting

 

[dohati]

bump

 

[LabaR]

If you plan on getting a DX10 card in the not so distant future, buy a 7300GT card for about 60 bucks to hold you over till then

 

[deusex]

Cutthroat's right - An friend of mine has an X-cruiser he ordered through Cyberpower, and the thing is loud, rambunctuous, and utterly made of poor worksmanship.

Check out the NZXT Apollo for a solid yet awesome looking case.