My first build - please assist :D

[phoo]

So, after a little bit of research, here is the system I am considering. If you see any obvious issues, have improvement suggestions or know of a better price on an equitable replacement part - please fire away. Note that I already have a sound card, wireless network card and various peripherals I will reuse.

Case [$100.00]
Antec Performance One P180B Black 0.8mm

Power Supply [$70.00]
Antec SmartPower 2.0 SP-500 ATX12V 500W Power Supply 115/230 V TUV, UL, CUL, CE, CB, FCC - Retail

Video Card [$200.00]
SAPPHIRE 100186L Radeon X1950XT 256MB 256-bit GDDR3 VIVO PCI Express x16 VIVO HDCP Video Card - Retail

Processor [$262.00]
AMD Athlon 64 X2 5400+ Windsor 2.8GHz 2 x 512KB L2 Cache Socket AM2 Processor - Retail

Motherboard [$81]
ASUS M2N Socket AM2 NVIDIA nForce 430 MCP ATX AMD Motherboard - Retail

Memory [$166]
CORSAIR XMS2 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory - Retail

Hard Drive [$80]
HITACHI Deskstar T7K500 HDT725032VLA360 (0A33435) 320GB 7200 RPM 16MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM

OS [$200]
Vista Ultimate

Pre-tax Total: $1159

 

[ericb2]

My first question would be why are you using the X2? For 50 bucks more you could get a Core2 E6600 that would blow away the X2.

http://www.pricewatch.com/cpu/core_2_duo_e6600.htm

I have always built AMD machines, but in this day in age there is no excuse not to go with the Intel, at least in my own humble opinion.

 

[phoo]

Makes sense!

Okay, how about this:
Intel Core 2 Duo E6400 Conroe 2.13GHz 2M shared L2 Cache LGA 775 Processor - Retail

At $221, it frees up a little cash. Surely the E6600 isn't worth a 50% price increase over the E6400?

What motherboard would you recommend were I to go this route?

 

[ericb2]

Well I'm not sure if the cash is that big of an issue here but....I went with the 6600 because, yes, it is that much of a difference. Twice the cache makes quite a bit of difference. But if it isn't possible I would still stick with 6400 and you will most likely be quite happy.

As for the motherboard read this and make the choice that fits you the best.

http://www.tomshardware.com/2006/12/19/intel_or_nvidia/

Personally I would go with an Intel P956 and save the cash.

 

[skyguy]

The cache doesn't make a huge difference in real world performance, certainly not worth the $$ price difference. Go with the 6400.

As for mobo, consider the Gigabyte 965P-S3, very stable, good layout, very affordable, and overclocks like a champ.

And on that note, C2D chips are very easy to overclock and chew it up!! You can EASILY, EASILY get a 6400 way past a 6600 CPU and for FAR less money