First DIY build, advice welcome.

[Dandy_1]

Ok, taking the plunge and going to be updateing my computer that's now 4+ years old. I've been crusing the forums for a couple of weeks now and thing that I have everthing in order. I'll be going to the local comps store to pick up my case to save on S&H. Looking at either the Antec P180 or Nine Hundred. Here's what I've got so far.

GIGABYTE GA-965P-S3 LGA 775 Intel P965 Express ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail
Model #: GA-965P-S3
Item #: N82E16813128017
$114.99
-$10.00 Instant
$104.99

EVGA 320-P2-N815-AR GeForce 8800GTS 320MB GDDR3 PCI Express x16 HDCP Video Card
Model #: 320-P2-N815-AR
Item #: N82E16814130038
$319.99
-$15.00 Instant
$304.99

COOLER MASTER RS-600-ASAA ATX Form Factor 12V V2.2 / SSI standard EPS 12V V2.91 600 Watts Continuous Power Supply - Retail
Model #: RS-600-ASAA
Item #: N82E16817171011
$119.99

Intel Core 2 Duo E6300 Conroe 1.86GHz LGA 775 Processor Model BX80557E6300 - Retail
Model #: BX80557E6300
Item #: N82E16819115005
$183.00

Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 ST3320620AS (Perpendicular Recording Technology) 320GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM
Model #: ST3320620AS
Item #: N82E16822148140
$89.99
-$5.00 Instant
$84.99

SAMSUNG 18X DVD±R DVD Burner With 12X DVD-RAM Write, LightScribe Technology Black SATA Model SH-S183L - OEM
Model #: SH-S183L
Item #: N82E16827151141
$39.99

G.SKILL 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model F2-6400CL5D-2GBNQ - Retail
Model #: F2-6400CL5D-2GBNQ
Item #: N82E16820231098
$179.99
-$40.00 Instant
$139.99

Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition with SP2 - Retail
Model #: N09-00984
Item #: N82E16837116193
$189.99

Arctic Silver 5 Thermal Compound - OEM
Model #: ARCTIC SILVER 5
Item #: N82E16835100007
$5.99

Total before S&H and taxes:
$1,173.92

That's about what I want to keep it at. I'm a huge WoW fan and am looking to play that as well as other games at the highest specs. My monitors native res is 1280x768. Suggestions on if I could get some better components cheaper would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance for your guys help.

 

[jeff_2087]

Looks good. You should consider switching the power supply to something with a bit more quality like Seasonic, Silverstone, Antec Trio, FSP Group, OCZ, or Corsair. I'm not sure about Coolermasters, I'd heard they were lower quality than the aforementioned, and for $110 you should be able to get a similar powered PSU from a better brand.

Will you be overclocking?

 

[pongrules]

I agree with Jeff. A bad power supply can cause all kinds of problems. You can also try PC Power & Cooling PSU's. Otherwise, the build is a very solid budget build. Good job, and have fun!

 

[Dandy_1]

I'm thinking of O/C possibly down the road. I'm gonna hold off till I get my system stable and running then slap on a new CPU fan and give it a go.

Followed your advice and decided to go with this PSU:

CORSAIR CMPSU-620HX ATX12V v2.2 and EPS12V 2.91 620W Power Supply - Retail
Model #: CMPSU-620HX
Item #: N82E16817139002
189.99
-$20.00 Instant
-$40.00 Mail-In
$149.99

Thanks jeff_2087.

 

[pongrules]

Awesome, let us know how it goes.

 

[Dandy_1]

Well, just hit the buy button. Is it normal to get a sort of adrenaline rush when you do that and buy that many things? :lol:

 

[jeff_2087]

Yeah. Pretty soon you'll be experiencing the post-purchase worry over whether you should have done something different. Don't worry, we'll be here to help you cope.

 

[Dandy_1]

Well, everything is installed, passed the post and am now setting up the BIOS. Things are looking great so far and I'm really happy.

I'm thinking of doing some minor overclocking. Any suggestions? I would like my 6300 to perform as well as a 6400 or better.

 

[sanjiwatsuki]

Yeah. Pretty soon you'll be experiencing the post-purchase worry over whether you should have done something different. Don't worry, we'll be here to help you cope.

For me it was more like, "AGH! I SHOULD HAVE GONE FOR SHIN-ETSU THERMAL GREASE!"

"No! This RAM overclocks a wee bit farther for the same price!"

"Is there a chance I might use SLI?! Why didn't I get a 650i motherboard?!"

"Why didn't I choose this Antec case?!"

"Mayhaps I should have gotten another fan and rubber banded it to the RAM to cool it! No! My overclocks!"

"Xeon 3060 or E6600! MY BRAIN!"

"Wintec AMPX or Wintec AMPO and Windex?! What am I thinking?!"

6/7 of those thoughts actually went through my brain so far.

 

[Dandy_1]

I think I made out pretty well considering the only 2 things I second guessed were the MB and Processor. Otherwise it's a beauty. Super quit in the P180 case I got too boot.