I need to start off by saying I really know very little about the hardware aspect of computers. I don't know why one would be better than the other.

The sytem I put together, pretty much based on price and what I assume is compatibility, is listed below.

All prices are from TigerDirect.ca because us Canadians can't use newegg.

So.. i'm looking for people to improve my build in the cash department, without losing power for games.



XFX GeForce 8600 GT XXX Video Card - 256MB DDR3, PCI Express, SLI Ready, (Dual Link) Dual DVI, HDTV, Video Card

Price : $99.99

ULT33135 :: Ultra / X-Connect V-Series ( XVS) / 500-Watt / ATX / 120mm Fan / 20/24-Pin / Modular Power Supply (5.05 lbs)

Price : 60.99

CP1-DUO-E8400 :: Intel Core 2 Duo E8400 Processor BX80570E8400 - 3.0GHz, 6MB Cache, 1333MHz FSB, Wolfdale, Dual-Core, Retail, Socket 775, Processor with Fan (0.85 lbs)

Price : 219.99

C13-6076 :: Corsair XMS2 DHX 2048MB Dual Channel PC6400 DDR2 800MHz Memory (2 x 1024MB) (0.4 lbs)

Price : 71.99

P450-9102 :: XFX nForce 680i LT SLI Motherboard, NVIDIA, Socket 775, ATX, Audio, PCI Express, SLI Ready, Gigabit LAN, S/PDIF, USB 2.0 & Firewire, Serial ATA, RAID (5.1 lbs)

Price : 159.99

TSD-500AAKS :: Western Digital Caviar SE16 500GB Hard Drive - 7200, 16MB, SATA-300, OEM (1.55 lbs)

Price : 89.99

S167-4514 :: Sony DRU190A 20X DVD Rewritable Drive - 20x DVD±R, 8 DVD+RW, 6x DVD-R, 8x DVD±R DL, ATAPI/EIDE, Black (1.95 lbs)

Price : 29.99

C283-2032 :: CoolerMaster CM690 ATX Mid-Tower Case (30 lbs)

Price : 97.99

Total Price : $830.92


Any help at all is greatly appreciated. I can live with paying this price, but i'd much rather lower it.

8600gt perform horribly. Do not get it. Graphics card is the single most important part for any kind of gaming rig. If you absolutely can't spend more, cut corners on any other component you can.

It's also best to get more than 2gb ram, but not as vital as the graphics card.

If you do not NEED sli upgradeability, change the motherboard to a Gigabyte GA-P35-DS3L. I would also change the processor to an E8200 and with the money saved, upgrade the graphics card to an 8800GT minimum and get a decent aftermarket CPU cooler and overclock the processor to compensate for the downgrade. I would also recommend you change the power supply to a Corsair VX550 as it is cheaper and much more reliable that your current.

Agreed with above posters on GPU and motherboard.

Beg, borrow, save some more, sell something, but do not get that 8600.
Look at this one.....
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applica [...] =E145-8832
or something similar.
If there is any way at all you can swing it, get this one.
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applica [...] CatId=1839

The rest of your system is top-notch, good choices for a great gaming rig.
An 8600 way underpowered compared to everything else you have picked out, and the video card is what matters the most for gaming.

Do as Maroc advised, save some money on the motherboard, even cut back on your CPU if have to and get a better GPU. You won't be sorry.

Maroc and Dagger are right. Worst case senario would be to get a 9600gt for a vid card. But either way I'd stay away from any 680 mobos.

Case: Cooler Master 690 - $97.99
CPU: E8400 - $219.99
Mobo: Gigabyte GA-P35-DS3L - $100.46
GPU: eVGA 8800GT - $169.99 after $30 rebate
PSU: Corsair 550VX - $74.99 after $10 rebate
Memory: Mushkin 2GB DDR2 800 - $40.37 after $10 rebate
HDD: Western Digital 500GB - $89.99
Optical: Samsung DVD±RW SATA - $33.95
-----------------------------------------------------------
Total: $877.73 - $50 rebates = $827.73

Comes out to the same price as your original setup, but you get a much better graphics card and PSU. If you can spare another $30, upgrade to the 4GB set of Mushkin for $71.07 AR.

Consider this g92 8800gts, $169.99 after MIR:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6814134037

Sorry Dagger but he said this already.

Ouch, lol. Looks good then. Get anything not 8600.

The 680i mobo wont play nice with the e8xxx series from what I've seen around the web.

8600GT isn't considered a gaming card any more.

A-Data ram is alot cheaper and will do you just fine unless you want to OC ram which most likely you will run 1:1 400FSB or lower.

I would recommend this:
http://www.tigerdirect.ca/applicat [...] No=1028568

This case saves you $38 and you will still have the 120mm fan in the back. I have the Coolermaster CAV-T03 and it was only $49 on newegg... you should look for it. But your choice is good too.