Budget Build for Christmas

My son chose these parts off of newegg with the intent to overclock. Just checking to make sure he isn't making a mistake as this is his first system. Will he need anything else with this order (cables) or is this all he needs to make it work?

https://secure.newegg.com/NewVersio [...] +OC+system

Agree With JTT and a few notes.......

The DS3L is on sale at ZIPZOOMFLY for $79.

NewEgg if you use get their Newsletter has the Antec 900 case for $59.
While a bit more than the one your son selected, the 900 is an FANTASTIC case that normally sells for at least twice that price. I would not pass up that deal.

Any of the Corsair PowerSupplies will do fine including the 450w one.
Chek the Reviews at http://www.jonnyguru.com - The best site for PSU info. That will save your son a little cash.

You can also likely find some DDR2-800 modules with rebates to save another $10-$15 dollars.

If he can find the money, this card is a big step up.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6814127284 and not too price with rebate.

There were a couple 1950Pro cards open box for $99 which are even faster. Those are probably the best cards until you get to the $170 range for the 3850 cards.

Also, if he does not plan to overclock, might look into the AMD side of things, as by and large you tend to save money on the boards, and you can still get a quick chip for less than that intel. Then you could go back, and grab that 3850 the guys are talking about which would blow that 7600gt out of the water. The thing to realize, it's not always about speed but about balance. If you have the fastest chip and a junk video card and want to game, then you wasted your time. If someone else comes along with a midrange or better video card and a mid range, or even low end chip and more memory and wants to game, their system will likely game better because video and memory are more important for games than cpu in my opinion. Although you still want at least a dual core.

To recap the others, it'll all work just fine, but he might get more bang for his buck if he chooses some other parts. The only thing of concern is the power supply, which should be swapped out. I suggest the Corsair VX450
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6817139003

If I were to build a budget gaming computer for Christmas, I'd buy the following (parts at newegg unless otherwise mentioned):
Corsair VX450 $80->$70
Intel C2D E2160 $83 (this overclocks very well, and is quite a bit cheaper)
Antec 900 case $99->59 (note: see http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/ [...] case-sale)
Gigabyte GA-P35-DS3L $90
8800GT-256 $230->220 (unless he has a really nice monitor, 256MB is probably plenty) http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6814150263 (comes with a free game for $20->$10 more than a lower clocker version, XFX is a good brand)
Same DVD burner $29
A DATA Extreme Edition 2x1 GB DDR2-800 memory $50-$35 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6820211174

That's $661->$586 plus shipping, the current system is $527->$457, so it's around $130 to $140 more expensive. Places to cut out cost are the power supply (Antec Earthwatts 430 is around $60 and is also fine), and the graphics card. If your son really wants to game a lot with new titles, I would find it difficult to recommend anything below the HD3850 ($180, any brand), though lesser cards would suffice. The current recommended buy (http://www.tomshardware.com/2007/12/03/best_graphics_card/page2.html) for more like $100 is the HD2600XT or the GeForce 8600 GT GDDR3.

I hope this helps!

How about this list....I saved a lot of stuff for you that he already likes.

https://secure.newegg.com/NewVersio [...] 11-119-047

This is an AMD system, not intel, if he does not plan to overclock, it would make a fine pc I think. Plus has capability to accept the new quad core Phenom processors, so whenever they get the bugs worked out of that then there you go.

By the way, had to add a hard drive, looks like you forgot one.... But take a look at that system, I think it would perform a lot better than the one you had priced out for his games as that card should thrash the 7600gt.

Ooops, just saw that he plans to overclock, then if he likes the AMD setup, he might consider the 5000+ x2 black edition and an aftermarket cooler.

That link doesn't work for me...

Oh yes, one more thing, do not forget to include some case fans for cooling.