New gaming system on a budget, need input please.

This is what I am thinking of ordering so far. I would like to keep it under $600 when its all said and done. This is going to be my first time trying to build a computer and on top of that its for my wife so any help would be greatly apperciated. She will be using it to play games like Hellgate London and Boishock also using MS office. I am planning on ordering the following from newegg.

Rosewill case

Gigabyte ga p35 ds3l lga775 intel atx mb

Intel Pentium 4 631 Cedar Mill 3.0GHz 2MB L2 Cache LGA 775 Processor

patriot extreme 2gb

Antec earthwatts EA500 500W Power Supply - Retail

120gb western digital

XFX PVT84JUDD3 GeForce 8600GT XXX 256MB 128-bit GDDR3 PCI Express x16 SLI Supported Video Card

Total comes to around $500.

Coments or suggestions greatly appreciated. Thanks alot.

The only thing with that system is the processor. It really doesn't do too well on newer games such as Bioshock.

AMD has a great processor for a little more money and it does pretty well on new games (and is located next to the Pentium 4 631 on the price/performance meter)

I'd go with:
AMD Athlon 64 X2 6000+ Windsor 3.0GHz Socket AM2 Processor
MSI AM2 NVIDIA Quadro NVS 210S Micro ATX AMD Motherboard
and change the Patriot 2gb ram to G.Skill 2gb (better quality)

with those and the other items on your list, it comes to $592.93 before a $40 mail-in-rebate and this rig will run A LOT better.

get a 65W processor like an X2-5000. Use the money you save to dump the 8600GT for a HD3850

MSI AM2 NVIDIA Quadro NVS 210S Micro ATX AMD Motherboard (75)

AMD Athlon 64 X2 5000+ Brisbane 2.6GHz 2 x 512KB L2 Cache Socket AM2 65W Black Edition Processor (130)

Antec earthwatts EA500 500W Power Supply - Retail (60)

120gb western digital (50)

LG Black 20x dvd Writer (20)

Crucial Ballistix 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory(75)

SAPPHIRE 100216L Radeon HD 3850 256MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 HDCP Ready CrossFire Supported Video Card (180)

Ok getting the final ordering list together. How does this look? Also this is my first time attempting to build a system. Is there anything else I need to order likes fans or anything else at all to get this up and running? Also do you guys have a good link for some step by step instructions an how exactly I go about this. Thanks again everyone, you have been a big help and I appreciate it.

I recommend you go with the motherboard you chose originally, GA-P35-DS3L, and take a Pentium Dual Core E2160.

I would'nt worry about any bottlenecks yet.The build looks decent for the price. In terms of the OS, it might be able to work if you got a bonafide windows cd with it and not some dell system restore cd.If not get an OEM windows XP pro. if you do have said cd you can use the key but you have to call microsoft to reactivate it.An about cables, the motherboard comes with an ide and sata power and data cable which should work for your build, in terms of case fans, ive never seen this rosewill case your're talking about so i cant say if it needs or supports it.

MSI AM2 NVIDIA Quadro NVS 210S Micro ATX AMD Motherboard (75)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] adro%2bNVS

AMD Athlon 64 X2 5000+ Brisbane 2.6GHz 2 x 512KB L2 Cache Socket AM2 65W Black Edition Processor (130)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6819103194

Antec earthwatts EA500 500W Power Supply - Retail (60)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 500%2b500W

Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 ST3250310AS 250GB 7200 RPM 8MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive (80)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6822148261

ASUS Black 20X DVD+R 8X DVD+RW 8X DVD+R DL 20X DVD-R 6X DVD-RW 14X DVD-RAM 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-R (40)32X CD-RW 48X CD-ROM 2MB Cache SATA 20X DVD±R DVD Burner with LightScribe - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6827135156

Crucial Ballistix 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory (75)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6820146565

SAPPHIRE 100216L Radeon HD 3850 256MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 HDCP Ready CrossFire Supported Video Card (180)

COOLER MASTER Centurion 5 CAC-T05-UW Black Aluminum Bezel , SECC Chassis ATX Mid Tower Computer Case (50) http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6811119068


Alright here is the final list with links, any other input would be great everyone and thanks again.

Looks reasonable. Good luck and happy building.

if you wanna add more ram and play new dx10 games get vista 64bit....if thats not important and you want a good bioshock experience (awesome game) you can stick with xp

I take back my last post, I didn't see you change the card to a 3850. Much much better than the 8600