Another "first build help" thread

[Tirrock]

I'm a bit unsure about some of the parts and I was hoping somebody would skim through the parts I'm looking at to see if there's any compatibility problems or cheap upgrades I could get. I'm building a gaming computer, not really top of the line, but I'm looking to be able to upgrade the computer in the future. SLi/Crossfire doesn't seem important to me, and I'm not looking at overclocking at the moment. Right now I'm at about $1350 for the computer, including monitor. I can go above that, but I don't really want to go above $1500.

Motherboard:
GIGABYTE GA-P35C-DS3R LGA 775 Intel P35 ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128048
It looked like a good board if I wanted to upgrade to DDR3 RAM and a faster processor in the future.

CPU:
Intel Core 2 Duo E6750 Conroe 2.66GHz LGA 775 Processor Model BX80557E6750 - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16819115029
I wasn't really comfortable with shelling out the money the E6850 costs, and I don't think I'm doing enough multi-tasking to justify a quad-core.

Memory:
CORSAIR XMS2 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model TWIN2X2048-6400C4 - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16820145034
This is what I was going to get, but I looked up the motherboard's compatible memory list and it's not on there...
http://www.giga-byte.com.tw/FileList/MemorySupport/motherboard_memory_ ga-p35c-ds3r.pdf

So I'm also looking at:
OCZ 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 1066 (PC2 8500) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820227181&Tpk= OCZ2N1066SR2GK
It's more expensive, but it's on their list. I've never dealt with the timings on memory before, so I'm not sure what to really look for in RAM, past how large it is and the speed.

PSU:
Rosewill RP550-2 ATX 2.01 550W Power Supply - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16817182017

Rosewill RD600N-2DC-SL-SLV ATX Form Factor 12V V2.2 / SSI standard EPS 12V 600W Active PFC Power Supply - SLI Ready - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16817182088
I haven't really heard of Rosewill before, but people on newegg seemed to like them. I'm thinking 600W would be enough for whatever I'd probably put in my computer, but I may be able to use 550W too... I'd probably go up to 2 HDD, 1 GPU, and 2 DVD drives.

HDD:
SAMSUNG SpinPoint T Series HD501LJ 500GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM
http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16822152052
Unless there's a significant difference in loading times with a 10,000 RPM drive, I'll just concentrate on storage with my hard drive.

Video card:
XFX PVT84JUDD3 GeForce 8600GT 256MB GDDR3 PCI Express x16 Video Card - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16814150229
Right now, I don't play any games that would require the power of a 8800. For the low $100's, this seemed good. I 'm thinking I'll hold off on a 8800 until I use vista.

Case:
RAIDMAX SMILODON ATX-612WBP Black SECC STEEL ATX Mid Tower Computer Case 500W Power Supply - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16811156062
I actually already own this. However if there's some sort of major problem with it, I'll get a new case.

Monitor:
SAMSUNG 226BW Black 22" 2 ms (GTG) DVI Widescreen LCD Monitor - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16824001096
I've heard rather...mixed reviews on this. It seems like a very good monitor if you get the S model. Apparently this website helps the A and C types look better than normal.

It may be the wrong forum, but if there's any monitor that's close to this with about the same price range, I'd be interested in hearing it.

OS:
Microsoft Windows XP Professional With SP2B 1 Pack - OEM
http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16832116059
$140 for an OEM copy is a bit more expensive than I thought it'd be. I'd prefer to keep using WinXP at the moment, and I was suggested to use the professional version by a couple friends.

Edit: Fixed a link.

 

[Solariscs]

Hey looks like a nice build. I'd get a better PSU though, Rosewill aren't too good.

Try: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139001

or

http:// www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817341001

Also, I think that DRR2-800 RAM would be just fine for you, you don't really need DRR2-1066 unless you're going to really Overclock that CPU.

The rest looks great though, as long as your ready to upgrade that 8600 later on, since it would be really taxed by the newer games.

 

[Tirrock]

Oddly enough, the PDF file (which it looks like I'll have to edit so the link works) lists the OCZ RAM as DD2-800, but newegg says it's higher.

 

[Onus]

I've also seen mixed comments on Rosewill. I wouldn't buy one myself, although it's got to be better than the one that comes with that case. The case itself doesn't look bad, but at some point you might want to replace some of its stock fans with bigger and/or quieter ones (e.g. the side looks like it would take a 120mm). No reason to do that unless/until you decide you want better.
For the video card, you might do better to get a x1950PRO or XT. The PRO runs quieter and cooler; the XT is faster. If/when you need DX10, by that time more cards should be out. Even Cleeve's recommendation on the 8600GT is very cautious. If you're partial to nVidia, the 7900GS is a reasonable choice today (I'm happy with mine).