Critique my build

[DixonPro]

First time builder here and I was wondering if someone would be kind enough to evaluate this build. The computers main purpose will be gaming and I will be experimenting with overclocking. I'm trying to keep this build less than or equal to $1000 so any alterations to cut cost but keep "best bang for buck" performance are more than welcome.

LIAN LI PC-60APLUSII W Silver Aluminum ATX Mid Tower Computer Case $129.99
http://tinyurl.com/2ko4v5

ASUS P5B LGA 775 Intel P965 Express ATX Intel Motherboard $114.99
http://tinyurl.com/y2xxr2

EVGA 320-P2-N811-AR GeForce 8800GTS 320MB 320-bit GDDR3 PCI Express x16 $289.99
http://tinyurl.com/2ldy3e

Thermaltake W0093RU ATX 12V 2.0 Version 500W Power Supply - Retail $79.99
http://tinyurl.com/3drzkn

Intel Core 2 Duo E6600 Conroe 2.4GHz LGA 775 Processor $226.99
http://tinyurl.com/2drcoq

CORSAIR XMS2 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 $107.00
http://tinyurl.com/q7cpv

Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 320GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive $79.99
http://tinyurl.com/he3r6

SAMSUNG 18X DVD±R DVD Burner With 12X DVD-RAM Write Black E-IDE/ATAPI $29.99
http://tinyurl.com/2ufax3

Arctic Silver 5 Thermal Compound $5.99
http://tinyurl.com/2vunoq

ARCTIC COOLING Freezer 7 Pro 92mm CPU Cooler $34.99
http://tinyurl.com/op79f

Total Price: $1,099.91

 

[wenzil]

I don't have as much knowledge as most people on these boards so I will only point out the one or 2 things that I'm confident about what I'll say.

First, you can get the more recent, faster C2D E6750 which also runs a little cooler.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115029&Tpk=e6750

Also you might want to get a P35 chipset motherboard. They have better onBoard sound and you can OC them well. After some research for my own rig I have found that Gigabyte seems to make the best bang for the buck boards. Here are 2 standart ones:

GA-P35-DS3L... $94.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128059

GA-P35-DS3R... $129.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128050

From what I can see the DS3R has 8 sata ports and support for DDR2 1066 memory, while the DS3L has 4 sata ports (I believe that's enough for you) and support for DDR2 800 (or lower) only. Might be wrong on that though. Also, you can check out the P35C DS3R if you want DDR3 support for future upgrades but it will cost you more.

I would probably recommend you the DS3L. Note that Asus makes P35 chipset boards, along with other brands.

As for the rest, seems good to me but I suggest you wait for other opinions.

 

[Dior]

I agree with the poster above me, buying E6600 is no longer worth the money when you can get a faster E6750 for less. I also suggest going with Gigabyte GA-P35-DS3R instead of the Asus, or even better Abit IP35 Pro, if you can afford it ($175)

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128050

http://www.mwave.com/mwave/viewspec.hmx?scriteria=BA23927

I suggest going with a higher tier PSU, Corsair 520HX would fit your system perfectly. Very reliable, quiet, powerful.

http://www.buy.com/prod/corsair-520w-sli-certified-modular-atx-power-supply/q/loc/101/203270716.html

You can get better ram for the same amount of money, these two kits are great:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductReview.aspx?Item=N82E16820609026

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820146565

For only about $10 more you can get Tuniq 120 Tower, it cools so much better than the Freezer Pro.
http://www.xoxide.com/tuniq-t-120-hsf.html
And for an extra $2 you should get Arctic Cooling MX-2 instead of AS5, the difference between the two is around 5 degrees. Well worth it.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835186020

And lastly, if you are plan on running the upcoming DX10 titles like Crysis, Unreal tournament 3, Alan Wake on high settings, 320MB of VRAM most likely will not be sufficient. Get the 640MB version, if you can afford it.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130071

Good luck.

 

[tlmck]

I would do a little better on the power supply. Stick with one that has the 80+ efficiency rating or better. If you skimp on the PSU, you could wind up with a $1,000 door stop. For your system, something in the 500w range should be fine, unless you plan on extreme overclocking.
Two more deals on RAM. Both work well with Gigabyte DS3L board.
http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/ProductDetail.jsp?ProductCode=85264&ps=ho1
http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/ProductDetail.jsp?ProductCode=85025-6

 

[oc]

"For only about $10 more you can get Tuniq 120 Tower, it cools so much better than the Freezer Pro."-listen to the the man!
E6750-get that one like others said.
Stick with the 8800 GTS 320 MB its by my opinion enough.
But the board with p35 is not needed so you can buy GA-965-ds3 that is the real bang for the buck!
And if you are planing to stay around 1000 that would be a nice choice.
The ps is good. Maybe if you can find chieftec 550W i think that one is chipper but still great.

 

[nickc07]

Personally I think you are paying too much for the Case. I have never been one to pay much for a case. I would rather spend money on parts then the case to hold them. Cooler Master has good cases for less than half the price. Also the same memory on newegg has a $40 Mail-In-Rebate.

I didnt notice you had a monitor included are you going to use your current one?

 

[DixonPro]

Thanks for the replies. I have a few questions. The e6750 has a faster fsb than the e6000, will I still be able to run ddr2 800 ram or will I need to get something faster to sufficiently overclock? My reasoning was, slower cpu(1066fsb) = cheaper ram(ddr2 800) = cheaper motherboard. I don't fully understand overclocking so I'm most likely wrong. If I'm correct that I will need faster ram, feel free to suggest a better motherboard as well. I've heard good things about the 680i chipset.

I guess I'd be willing to raise my budget to about $1200-1300 if I could be sure this pc would last 2 or maybe 3 years?

Ps: My current monitor will be used.

 

[smokedyou911]

You can buy the quad core q660 for not much more aswell. If you are buying a different psu, you could swich cases. For $50 a cooler master centurion 5 if a good choice. Like the others said the tuniq tower is better, along with that crucial ram instead. I would go with the 320mb version aswelll, wat res do you game at?

 

[DixonPro]

1280x1024 is fine for me.