Hi, I'm trying to make a budget gaming box but still have something good enough to play SupCom well during the summer.

I'll probably be ordering/making this in 2-3 weeks, or probably right after the graphic cards price drop.

Problem is, I'm trying to get it under $800 as I want to also get a 20" widescreen LCD and I might need a legal Win XP.

Here is one I'm thinking of so far from newegg:

Intel C2D E6600 2.4GHz - $232
eVGA LGA 775 nForce 650i - $115 - 10MiR
2xGSkillz 1 GB DDR2 667 - $90
eVGA 8600GT 256MB - $190
Seagate 7200.9 400GB - $100
Cooler Master mid tower case - $40 - 10MiR
Sony DVD-RW - $30
Enermax 485W PSU - $90 - 10MiR

Total: $860 (considering MiR and still $60 over my budget w/o software)

Any suggestions on how I can trim down without losing too much quality.

Also, any recommendation on a 20" widescreen lcd monitor?

Thanks

The only item that sticks out at me as a poor value is this video card. The 8600 series are overpriced - look at GF7xxx series or ATI X1950Pro instead to save money. Or you can go for the better performance of this 8800GTS (259.99 after MIR) instead if you can trim some $ out of the CPU - think about an E4300 CPU and overclock it to save $110 over the E6600. It can easily match the stock E6600 with the standard Intel heatsink.

Save $70 buy buying your video card from Circuit City. $120AR shipped.
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It shows up as $150 before MIR after you add it to the cart.
However this looks to be the non-superclocked verion. You can alway overclock it yourself.

With the processors, isn't the cache the bigger concern the cache, and the 2 mb extra having a significant impact.

But it does open up so ideas. Like I can go for the cheaper E4300 and upgrade to a quad core next summer when the price drops again and i have more money. Then again, that has its downsides to but its an idea.

As for the 8800GTS, I think i was looking at some frame rate comparisons and the 8800s didn't look that much better. Then again, I don't remember them really well right now.

The cache wont make any noticeable difference.

Cache will make a 5-15% difference in varying app's but as lx_flier said you most likely wont notice it in games. The E6600 is a great processor and you should definitely stick with it if you can afford it rather than getting a lower spec chip.

Piss the 8600 off as it's a complete waste of money, more of a HTPC card than a gaming card. Go for an X1950Pro or 7900GS or higher if you want decent gaming especially if you want a 20" monitor