Gaming Build.Feedback PLZ!

The E2160 seems to take the lustre out of the system: 1.8GHz, 1MB L2,

If you could go up a notch in this department, that would be nice. E4300, E6320, E4400, onwards and upwards.

The GPU is a good choice, but with no mention of games to be played, coupled with E2160, it seems out of balance. No games + E2160 = cheaper GPU. Or, games + 8800GTS512 = better CPU.

Otherwise, it seems ok.

Only if the Original Poster is not planning to OverClock.

I've read in this forum that the E21xx's can be OCed to 3.0GHz or so. With OverClocking, I think the OP's selections are smart choices for mobo + CPU in Dec of 2007, since the new processors will be out 1st quarter/2008 and will run cooler, faster, and (since they are smaller and more can fit on a silicon wafer and they are therefore less costly to produce) might even be cheaper (yes I took economics and realize it is all in where the supply and demand curves intersect, but maybe that will shift the supply curve.. a guy can hope you know..)

In six months or so the OP could upgrade his mobo and CPU to whatever the future brings, and be out only around $150 (and even get back some of that if ebayed the E2160 and Gigabyte mobo).

And lastly, the FPS seen in games are 90% GPU and 10% CPU. Although a Q6600 sounds sexy, most games in 2007 don't use the extra cores, so why pay for them.. when the game programmers catch up to the hardware engineers and can utilize all 4 cores, by then the Q9300 (the penryn replacement for the Q6600) will be what you would want anyway.

Go with whatever idea you like. But the facts are that the mobo has a great reputation for OCing; the RAM is the Extreme version with 4-4-4-12 timings and also has a good reputation for OCing, and the CPU is the one that in this forum is mentioned as giving the best bang for the buck if you OC it and is not recommended otherwise. Do you think it a coincidence the OPer picked these items? I think the OPer is a smart cookie and did his homework and picked these things for a reason. And don't personally attack me and tell me how I should be assuming or not assuming anything.

^^^ pwned noobie

Go with this e2180 for $74:
http://www.ewiz.com/detail.php?name=E2180

and this cooler for $21:
http://www.ewiz.com/detail.php?name=FAN-AC7PRO

MSI 8800GT for $233 (never bought from them, but they have 760+ positive sell ratings on google)
http://www.futurepowerpc.com/scrip [...] 2&REFID=FR