First build, mind looking it over?

[geog4]

Hey all.

First- thanks to all of you for taking the time to answer questions. I've been lurking for a while gathering information and this forum has been a great help.

This is my first from-scratch build and was hoping you guys could make sure I'm not making any huge mistakes. I'd like to put together a decent low end gaming machine (HL2, DoD:S, and hopefully Bioshock) that could also do the occasional stuff for work (I use ArcGIS- graphic intensive but at this point doesn't support multi core processors). I don't really care about all the eye candy, I just have fun with it.

I'll be carrying over a 1280 x 1024 monitor. Not concerned with DX10 yet, sticking with XP and figure I'll start upgrading in a year when the games/hardware/OS are in their complete maturity. I'm already a little over budget, so unfortunately don't have much wiggle room there. Also not planning on OC'ing, but may look into it in the future.

So here goes-

GIGABYTE GA-P35-DS3L LGA 775 Intel P35 ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail ~$95
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E16813128059
Don't need RAID, etc., just a decent board with room to upgrade.

Antec earthwatts EA430 ATX12V v2.0 430W Power Supply 100 ~ $70
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E16817371006
The PSU is probably what I am most unsure of. I'm really just taking a shot in the dark here.

Crucial Ballistix 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) ~ $110 - $40 MIR = ~$70
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E16820146565

Intel Core 2 Duo E6750 Conroe 2.66GHz 4M shared L2 Cache LGA 775 Processor ~ $205
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E16819115029

BFG Tech BFGR7950256GTOCE GeForce 7950GT 256MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express x16 ~$180 - $40 MIR = `$140
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E16814143090
I'm pretty sure about this. Great price, and as mentioned above I'm going to wait for DX10. I'm not interested in an ATI card at the moment- mostly an irrational decision based on problems with last two ATI's I've had.

Also looking at: COOLER MASTER Centurion 5 case, LITE-ON Black 20X DVD, and a Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 320 GB HDD. All together ~ $155 after $10 MIR

Total cost: $735 after rebates


I'd welcome any advice or suggestions you may have.

Thanks again!

 

[Maziar]

looks good but i say get the corsair 450 or 520 PSU isntead of that , also IF U CAN , then get GIGABYTE P35 DS3R

 

[geog4]

Thanks Maziar. I've been back and forth on the DS3R, I'll take your advice since it will allow more options down the road.

If you could answer another question, the Corsair 450 is significantly less than the other Corsairs. Is it still the of the same quality?

 

[Maziar]

some reviews:
http://www.hothardware.com/Articles/Corsair_VX450W_450W_Power_Supply/

http://www.pcper.com/article.php?aid=438

 

[zenmaster]

The other reason why it's alot low is just because of NewEgg pricing.
You will find the 520w much lower at many retailers than at NewEgg.

The 450w Corsair is one of the few that are not slightly overpriced.

 

[geog4]

Read those and some other reviews- and with the same price as the Antec I'm convinced. Thanks guys, looks like I'll be ordering tonight.