Suggestions & Comments for New Gaming Rig

[jason18241]

UPDATED!

Hey all, first time post for a long time lurker. I've never built a computer before, but I consider myself fairly tech savvy and since prices have dropped on Processors, I figured now is a good time to upgrade from my old P3.

Uses? I'm a graphic artist, and gamer at heart, but I like to dabble in music and video also. My budget is capped around the $1400 range, but that is a rough estimate.

So without further ado, here's what I came up with over at NewEgg:
http://tinyurl.com/37argd

For those of you too lazy to click the link:
CASE - Thermaltake Armor / Alluminum / Full Tower [$149]
THERMAL COMPOUND - Arctic Silver 5 [$6]
RAM - mushkin eXtreme Performance 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) [$219]
HD - Seagate Barracuda 7200RPM 320GB OEM [$80] *Might get 2 or 3 more of these
PROCESSOR - Intel C2D E6420 Conroe [$200]
VIDEO - XFX 8800GTS 320 [$310] *Plan on getting one later for SLI when needed
MOBO - MSI P6N SLI Platinum LGA 775 NVIDIA nForce 650i SLI ATX [$170]
POWER - OCZ GameXStream 600W [$130]


Grand Total $1233
Any feedback on any or all these parts would be greatly appreciated. These choices reflect a few hours of online research and reviews off NewEgg. If you feel there are some stupid choices please let me know!

Thanks.

 

[alcattle]

Nice case, kind of pricey but you have to live with it.
You can find good ram for less
If you are planiing on SLI, go with the 640mb model
The MB supports x-fire not SLI
Still a good start on a build

 

[fate0n3]

At a quick glance good system. The motherboard you chose does not support Nvidia SLI only Crossfire from ATI. I would recommend getting one of the newer motherboards with the 680i chipset on it.

 

[jason18241]

Thanks for the feedback I've made some major changes, including a new Mobo. Anyone else willing to weight in and offer some suggestions?

 

[skyguy]

Get some cheaper RAM and toss in an aftermarket heatsink, then kick in a Samsung SH-S183 DATA DVD/RW.

Other than that, looks good.

 

[jason18241]

Thanks again. Is the current RAM I have overkill or simply not worth the extra money? I really don't know what to look for that would be cheaper and still a good value.

 

[alcattle]

I would say overkill as good RAM is worth the money and some say that is the best. Your rig will run fine on value RAM, G.Skill is nice right now at $109 for 2GB