This system will be used for CS 1.6, CS:Source, maybe Doom3 as well as every day use. Every day use may include a little bit of photo editing, programming, music editing, and browsing web. I'm going with a small HD just for OS\Programs and I have a larger HD dedicated for storage. Not planning on SLI or OC'ing (as of yet).

Everything comes to a total of about $940 shipped to my door.

$49.99
COOLER MASTER Centurion 5 CAC-T05-UW Black Aluminum Bezel , SECC Chassis ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6811119068

$109.99, will probably buy on amazon, its about $10 cheaper, plus its been sold out on newegg for a while
GIGABYTE GA-P35-DS3L LGA 775 Intel P35 ATX All Solid Capacitor Intel Motherboard - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6813128059

$189.99
Intel Core 2 Duo E8400 Wolfdale 3.0GHz LGA 775 65W Dual-Core Processor Model BX80570E8400 - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6819115037

$94.99 - $15 MIR
CORSAIR CMPSU-550VX 550W ATX12V V2.2 Power Supply - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6817139004

$239.99 - $30 MIR
EVGA 512-P3-N841-AR GeForce 8800GTS (G92) 512MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6814130325

$39.99
Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 ST380815AS 80GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6822148231

$26.99
ARCTIC COOLING Freezer 7 Pro 92mm CPU Cooler - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6835186134

For memory, I'm on the fence between the following 2:

I do not see G.Skill listed on the compatibility list on Gigabytes (mobo) site for memory but I do see OCZ (although specific model is not listed) so
I thought it may be safer to purchase.

$94.99 - $59.99 after rebate, but I hear the rebate totally sucks. it must be sent within 12 days of purchase, including weekends.
many ppl had problems with rebate.
OCZ Reaper HPC Edition 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6820227284

$84.99
G.SKILL 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6820231122


Thanks in advance!

The HDD why such a small HDD? Also might as well get the 7200.11 Seagate instead of the .10 you have.

What does the .11/.10 mean? I really just wanted something on the small side just for OS\Programs. On my current system I have a 20gig for just OS\Programs and I just barely have it filled. I didn't want to buy a 160gig-200gig and not be using any of the capacity. I like to keep my storage on a completely separate drive.

As far as the rest of the setup goes, how does it look?

It all looks good.

I'd pick the OCZ RAM (just because I have a Gigabyte MB and OCZ RAM now and it works well, plus because it's cheaper if you remember to send the rebate claim on time). Both types would work anyway.

Some possible improvements below. None is really necessary, I just feel they'd be better bang for the buck than what you picked. They do cost more though.
RC-690 case ($70 here http://www.ncixus.com/products/260 [...] LERMASTER/)

WD6400AAKS hard disk - just make an 80GB partition for the OS to keep things separate. It beats the speed of Seagate's 7200.10 series.

HDT-S1283 cooler (only if you do intend to overclock; otherwise don't bother with any cooler)

.10 and .11 refer to the Seagate 7200.10 series and the 7200.11 series. The .11 is newer and a bit better. Still, the WD6400AAKS is even better in the benchmarks that matter most in real life. Either way, they're all good disks.

Cool, I think I will go with the OCZ then. The last thing I want is compatibility issues.

Is this case better than the one I selected? I have 2 fans 120mm\80mm on the case I picked, great reviews on newegg as well. Plus its only 50 bucks

Yea, thats not a bad idea. I'm just always afraid of the disc physically crapping out on me. This way I would be safe if anything were to happen to my system HD. But I suppose a storage disc can just as easily crap out on me. Perhaps I will go with a 300+GB hd and make a partition for system and 1 for storage.

Edit: I added a 500gb .10 HD on top of the 80 gb .10. newegg doesnt have much of a selection for the .11's, the one I looked at has terrible reviews.

I am not planning on OC'ing right off the bat but down the road I may do some. I heard the coolers can be very hard to install once the mobo is in the case so I figured I would buy it to have it ready and prepared for whatever I wanna do down the road.

That Centurion 5 is a nice case and the price is very good. But, there are reviews at newegg and elsewhere saying an 8800GT barely fit in there.
That 's the only reason I was thinking of something else.

HDD: you could also look at the WD3200AAKS, if you want something cheaper. It's 320GB, and also very fast. But can you live with only 80GB for programs and 240GB for storage? TBH I don't know how you manage that - I got more than 1 TB full right now

Save the cash on the cpu cooler, the stock intel boxed cooler is more than good enough, and upgrade to a bigger HD, a 500G drive is only $30 more

If you do that make sure it's a Seagate 500GB. Avoid WD's 500GB, that one is slow.

Yes, the HD i added is a 500gb seagate. the 80gb seagate will be just OS\Apps.

Aevm, I did hear the card was big but just assumed the case was gonna work. I guess I have more research to do. Luckily, that mobo is used by many so I guess I will have to find someone with a similar setup and see what case they went with.

Does everyone agree I should delete the cpu cooler?

I agree. The stock cooler is perfectly suitable for the CPU working at stock clocks. Add an after market cooler when/if you decide to overclock. Before you buy it make sure it fits in whatever case you'll have.

I'll be building a similar system for playing hdtv.x264 video with hdmi and work with Adobe lightroom - HUGE RAW files.

Instead of the E8400 how about:

Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 Kentsfield 2.4GHz 2 x 4MB L2 Cache LGA 775 Quad-Core Processor - Retail $214.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6819115017
Does this run much hotter? Less efficient? Will it make a difference for my needs?

I won't do much gaming & want a video card to drive a 20" digital lcd and hdmi for the hdtv.x264
Can anyone recommend a decent card with HDMI? I assume 128MB will be more than adequate?

Should I consider a MB with on board video for now and get 3GB of RAM instead of two? Suggestions?

Also, I'll skip the extra cooling -

Thanks!

OK, first you apologize to the OP for hijacking his thread.

Then read this.
http://crave.cnet.com/8301-1_105-9846714-1.html

I think you should get a Q6600 or Q6700, but it's really a very close call. It's just that in time more and more programs will support multiple threads. You might even get a patch for Lightroom that makes it work much better on quads. You never know. It did happen to Microsoft's FSX, for example.

You could get an HD 3850 512MB card for example. It's decent in games, not really sensational but still twice as good as, say, the 8600GT. It also has hardware decoding for high-def video. Or an HD 3450 or 8500GT, if you don't play games at all and want to save some money.

I'd get 2x2GB RAM. It's really cheap these days. You'll see about 3.5, still better than 3.

Sorry to the OP for hijacking the thread. You picked nice components!
Thanks aevm for the link and reply!

Can anyone suggest a cost-efficient case for me to buy that would accomodate the 8800 GTS? I don't want all that blue lighting or clear windows. I want something black, conservative looking.

I searched google and found that other people have successfully fit the 8800 GTS into the case without issue. I switched cases, same model except it has a plexi window on one side.

Cool, good to know

Well I decided the bite the bullet last night and placed my order. Here is the final part list for my setup, it should arrive Mon thru Wed. Total of $1010.

Case - COOLER MASTER Centurion 5 CAC-T05-UW Black Aluminum Bezel , SECC Chassis ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6811119068

Mobo - Gigabyte GA-P35-DS3L Core2 P35 DDR2 SATA2 PCIE&PCI 8 Channels Audio ATX Motherboard
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6813128059

CPU - Intel Core 2 Duo E8400 Wolfdale 3.0GHz LGA 775 65W Dual-Core Processor Model BX80570E8400 - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6819115037

Memory - OCZ Reaper HPC Edition 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model OCZ2RPR8004GK - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6820227284

Video - EVGA 512-P3-N841-AR GeForce 8800GTS (G92) 512MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6814130325

PSU - CORSAIR CMPSU-550VX 550W ATX12V V2.2 Power Supply - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6817139004

HDD1, System/Apps - Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 ST3160815AS 160GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6822148230

HDD2, Storage - Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 ST3500630AS 500GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6822148136

Not bad at all Good luck with the build!

Cancelled that order and upgraded to a 650W psu instead of the 550w, it was only 15$ more. same brand