Help with Christmas Build

[WSkinner]

Alright this is a computer I put together at newegg.com. My mom wanted to get a new computer for my little brother so I suggested that I build it for him. I have only built one computer before now which is the one I am on now and I had some help ordering the right parts. So I thought I would let some of yall experts here inspect what I've thrown together. Please tell me what I should change or keep, it will help me a ton! and make for one hell of a christmas gift for my little brother. Thanks ahead of time.

Also, I was told that the price max is at $700 but if adjustments need to be made I could probably go up to 750 or maybe 800 if it was completely necessary. Thanks again.

LITE-ON Combo Black SATA Model DH-52C2S-04 - OEM

Antec Sonata III Black 0.8mm cold rolled steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case 500W Power Supply - Retail

HITACHI Deskstar 7K160 HDS721616PLA380 (0Y30006) 160GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM

MSI K9N4 SLI-F AM2 NVIDIA nForce 500 SLI MCP ATX AMD Motherboard - Retail

G.SKILL 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model F2-6400CL5D-2GBNQ - Retail

AMD Athlon 64 X2 5600+ Windsor 2.8GHz Socket AM2 Dual-Core Processor Model ADA5600CZBOX - Retail

Microsoft Windows Vista 32-Bit Home Premium for System Builders Single Pack DVD - OEM

HIS Hightech H260XTF512DDN-R Radeon HD 2600XT 512MB 128-bit GDDR3 PCI Express x16 CrossFire Supported Video Card - Retail

 

[akhilles]

You have given no details about the computer's usage. Is it for gaming, school, home?

You know you can build a $500 pc with 8800gt 512mb? AMD cpu.

 

[WR2]

You are sitting at about $625 (after rebates) with no monitor, keyboard or mouse. Do you need those?
You probably know the 2600XT is a fairly weak gaming GPU compared to whats available for just about $80 more = HIS HD 3850 $170 after rebate

 

[WSkinner]

Sorry about that, should have been more specific. The computer will be used mainly for gaming(WoW, Half-Life 2) and school.

 

[akhilles]

http://www.tomshardware.com/2007/09/10/the_500_gaming_machine_2007_edition/

 

[Kamrooz]

Your rig aint bad, but if you want to game decently, you need to make some changes and slightly increase the amount you're planning to spend.

first off, drop the case, the 500 watt psu is going to be a generic pile of crap, the PSU is the most IMPORTANT aspect of a system. We need to make sure it's a quality psu. Why such a dated mobo?..atleast nab a AM2 770 so you have more upgrade room which amd is famous for.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119129
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817104037
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827106100
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822145162
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131234
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231098
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103771
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16832116202
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102715

a bit more expensive,...794 without tax and shipping. This rig will atleast have you set for a while, the 2600XT is not a great future choice for gaming, you'll be looking to upgrade within the year if you get that card. The 3850's performance advantage is MASSIVE, if you don't nab minimum a 3850, you'll be regretting it. The PSU is tier 3, it will support your system with a quality budget power supply. The PSU is the most important roll in a computer, if you skimp out on a psu, you'll regret it. If a cheap psu blows due to inferior quality components, it can take your entire rig with it, all your money gone. The case I chose was just a budget case, needed to drop that psu, this will likely cool your case better to begin with. Down the road, or if you have any spare fans, fill that small fan slot on the panel. The motherboard is a 770 series, new AM2+ socket from the very respectable asus, this will at least give you a large amount of room to upgrade down the line if phenom ever makes a turnaround.

If you can stretch your budget just a tad bit more, grab this instead of the graphics card selected...

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814161216

It has a dual slot solution which will also exhaust hot air outside of your case. this rig will last your for some time to come, at a fantastic price.

 

[peach]

Kamrooz - you went ATI. On that note, do you think the 3870 is a better value to the 8800gt? I was going 8800gt's on my next build, but power consumption has motivated me to reconsider and possibly go ATI. Your thoughts?

 

[Kamrooz]

the 8800 GT is a fantastic card, much better, but it costs quite a bit more. The 8800 GT 256 has it's own downfalls, but it doesn't give you much if you plan to play in 1650 or higher resolutions. If you play in low resolutions such as 1280x1024 and below, it has value. If I was to choose a card for myself and money wasn't that much of an issue. I would nab a 8800 GT 512 mb card. If budget is a concern, the 3850 512mb, or 3870 are fantastic blend of price and performance.

all depends on your budget...If you are building a gaming rig and want it to last, you need minimum a 3850, for low res, th e256 will do or the 8800 gt 256, for higher res, you'll need a 3850 512, 3870 or 8800 gt 512. Personally, buying anything higher price than that currently is a waste of money. The 8800 GTS G92 is nice, but not worth the money, offers the same performance as a GTX for around 350-380, meanwhile the 8800 GT offers nearly the same performance for 250-280. You can also end up nabbing two 8800 GT's for the price of one 8800 GTX and SLI, which would decimate the GTX, over all it's just evaluating your games, res, and how long you want your rig too last before a upgrade.