Looking for advice on Gaming Rig

[matchboxforever]

I am looking to build a gaming computer for about $700 and so I took ideas from the $500 gaming rig mentioned on this site and the $800 gaming rig from ExtremeTech. I would be very grateful if I could get the advice of the people on this forum. I plan to overclock the CPU to somewhere around 3ghz (is this wise?). I currently play Team Fortress 2 and DoD:S but would like something that leaves the possibility to play future game releases at a decent quality (Fallout 3 comes to mind).

Here's what I have right now:

Intel Pentium E2180 Allendale 2.0GHz 1MB L2 Cache LGA 775 65W Dual-Core Processor - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/product/product.aspx?item=N82E16819116052
$70

GIGABYTE GA-P35-DS3L LGA 775 Intel P35 ATX All Solid Capacitor Intel Motherboard - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/product/product.aspx?item=N82E16813128059
$110

XFX PVT88PYDF4 GeForce 8800 GT 512MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/product/product.aspx?item=N82E16814150252
$180

CORSAIR XMS2 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/product/product.aspx?item=N82E16820145034
$56 ($31 after rebate)

Thermaltake Purepower W0100RU 500W ATX 12V 2.0 Power Supply 115/ 230 V UL, CUL, TUV, FCC, and CB certification - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/product/product.aspx?item=N82E16817153052
$70 ($50 after rebate)

COOLER MASTER Centurion 534 RC-534-KKN2-GP Black Aluminum & Mesh bezel / SECC Chassis ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/product/product.aspx?item=N82E16811119106
$45

Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 ST3250310AS 250GB 7200 RPM 8MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM
http://www.newegg.com/product/product.aspx?item=N82E16822148261
$60

LITE-ON Black (...) 2MB Cache SATA DVD Burner - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/product/product.aspx?item=N82E16827106057
$31

COOLER MASTER RR-CCH-L9U1-GP 92mm Hyper TX2 CPU Cooler - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/product/product.aspx?item=N82E16835103031
$26 (how necessary is this?)

Total:
$650

 

[shadowduck]

Nice, I am guessing you don't need an OS?

The CPU has 10x multiplier so if you can get the FSB to 1333, you would have a 3.3GHz CPU. That would be a pretty nice overclock.

Nice choice on parts given the budget.

 

[doubletake33]

my suggestion would be to take this route:

since you're going with the E2180 and OC it to 3.0 @1333FSB then i would go with this ram that would make your ratio 1:1
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820211166
$77

also save yourself some chips and scale down from the 8800gt (just a small bit) and get this instead:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130334
$150

and last the hard drive! for the exact same price you can get the 16mb version witch is faster:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822148262

i think these adjustments will suite you well plus you will have 4gigs instead of two!

your way and my way are both winners EXCEPT for your choice in the hard drive! so be sure to go with the 16mb cache version rather than the 8mb you picked out. good luck!

 

[shadowduck]

Nice find on the hard drive doubletake!

I agree on the video card also. Good point on the RAM to at 1:1.

 

[matchboxforever]

Thanks for the suggestions. Now I have a question about a 64bit os. I currently own a DVD version of Vista Business which I believe is the 32 bit version. Should I upgrade to the 64 bit version through Microsoft at:
http://www.microsoft.com/windows/products/windowsvista/editions/64bit.mspx
or would it be acceptable to continue running the 32 bit version?

*I tried to fill out the form that I listed in the link and got a Offer Not Found error so I guess that route may be out of the question.

 

[shadowduck]

As long as you less than 4GB of RAM, the 32-bit version is fine.

Since you are only buying 2GB of RAM- stay 32-bit.

Did you get Vista Business through that amazing MS Promo?

 

[matchboxforever]

Did you get Vista Business through that amazing MS Promo?

I got my copy free from my college via the MSDN library.

 

[shadowduck]

Ah cool. However it works right!

Right when Vista came out MS did a promo that if you watched 4 30 minutes videos you received Vista Business free. That's how I picked up my copy.

 

[modode]

For an extra $40 you could probably nearly double the CPU performance of your setup. Just save $20 bucks by going with this board:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128337

and spend an extra $60 bucks to get this CPU:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115052

Net cost: $40

If you then overclock that CPU to 3.2 or so, you'd probably literally double your computer's performance compared to the overclocked pentium.

Now that's called bang/buck.

 

[shadowduck]

Good suggestion modode. I am with him on that one all the way

 

[matchboxforever]

Thanks for the suggestion modode

 

[matchboxforever]

Alright well this is what I have now (thanks to doubletake33 and modode). I have one question about the overclocking the processor. Say I were to over clock it to 3.0ghz, how much of an effect would this have on the lifespan of the processor?

Intel Core 2 Duo E7200 Wolfdale 2.53GHz 3MB L2 Cache LGA 775 65W Dual-Core Processor - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/product/product.aspx?item=N82E16819115052
$132

GIGABYTE GA-EP35-DS3L LGA 775 Intel P35 ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/product/product.aspx?item=N82E16813128337
$90

EVGA 512-P3-N861-AR GeForce 9600 GT 512MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/product/product.aspx?item=N82E16814130334
$150 ($140 after rebate)

CORSAIR XMS2 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/product/product.aspx?item=N82E16820145034
$56 ($31 after rebate)

Thermaltake Purepower W0100RU 500W ATX 12V 2.0 Power Supply 115/ 230 V UL, CUL, TUV, FCC, and CB certification - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/product/product.aspx?item=N82E16817153052
$70 ($50 after rebate)

COOLER MASTER Centurion 534 RC-534-KKN2-GP Black Aluminum & Mesh bezel / SECC Chassis ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/product/product.aspx?item=N82E16811119106
$45

Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 ST3250410AS 250GB 7200 RPM 16MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM
http://www.newegg.com/product/product.aspx?item=N82E16822148262
$60

LITE-ON Black (...) 2MB Cache SATA DVD Burner - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/product/product.aspx?item=N82E16827106057
$31

COOLER MASTER RR-CCH-L9U1-GP 92mm Hyper TX2 CPU Cooler - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/product/product.aspx?item=N82E16835103031
$26

Total:
$660 ($605 after rebates)

 

[modode]

No one really knows the answer to your overclock question for sure. Traditional wisdom is that heat is the enemy of CPU lifespan, and the nice thing about the Wolfdale CPU's and their 45nm technology is how cool they run, even when oc'd. My guess would be with a modest oc to 3.0 and the aftermarket CPU cooler you've selected, the lifespan of the CPU probably would not be significantly affected at all.

I really like your build at this point in terms of the performance/dollar.

Fine tuning: I have a lite-on DVD in my current build, but liked a Samsung DVD that I put in a friend's build recently much better b/c it was much, much quieter:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827151153

Since you're still under budget, you might want to increase your RAM to 2X2 gigs for an extra 40 bucks after rebate, though it's probably not mandatory:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820146693

Have fun. You're going to be very pleased with the gaming and overall performance of this system.