Approx $700 Build help

[DcS]

Well, my current system of 3 1/2 years has finally reached its end at a pretty unfortunate time.. I'm pretty low on funds at the moment. On the plus side, I have a monitor (22" Widescreen @ 1680x1050) and a case ready to go. I also have a 160gb HDD I can use, but it's only SATA 1.5. I've been trying to catch up in a hurry on current hardware, and this is what I've come up with so far..

Intel Core 2 Duo E7200 ($130) OC to ~3.2 ghz.. I'm new to OCing so I'll play it a bit safe
Asus Radeon 4850 HD ($195)
2xCorsair Dominator DDR2 1066 ($178 / $98 after rebate) Are there any problems with 4x1GB vs 2x2GB other than upgrading in the future?
Arctic Cooler Freezer 7 Pro CPU Fan ($32)

This currently puts me at $535 / $455 after rebate, missing my motherboard, power supply, storage, cooling, and DVD drive. I don't know what to do with the harddrives yet.. how important is having SATA 3.0 for my drive that has Windows on it? I could grab a 500GB Seagate for $80 on Newegg and use my 160GB for Wndows, but I'm thinking about just getting 2x250 for a bit more if it's going to be a significant difference with the SATA 1.5. I'm also pretty unsure of what brands/models to get regarded HDDs, motherboards, and PSUs. I would preferably like a board with Crossfire so that I can upgrade with another card later if I need.

I'm not sure of the exact amount I have to spend, so I may be able to go a bit over $700. Is this even possible with these 3 items or am I going to have to drop a bit in quality?

(EDIT: Added CPU Fan)

 

[th_username]

yeah very good

 

[shadowduck]

Don't buy that RAM. Dominator series has proven to be garbage RAM. You don't need 1066 RAM either. 4x 1GB is not a good idea. Rebate is limited to 1 per household, so you only get get the discount on it.

Buy this RAM instead: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820146731

SATA 1.5 to 3.0 is zero difference.

For motherboard look at the P5Q-E.

The reason you don't need the 1066 RAM is there will be no speed difference over DDR2-800 and 1066 RAM has more issues (not an official spec). 9.5 x 400 (1:1 with DDR2-800) is 3.8GHz far above where you are going. 1066 offers no benefit. Plus the RAM I linked you to is cheaper @ $65.

To save money now- look at Sonta III case which comes with a good PSU that will serve you with one 4850. DVD drive is around 30. Look at the Samsung 20x. Great drive.

 

[DcS]

Thanks, the advice on the RAM + SATA really helped.

I have a case that I"m going to use, and my friend has a power supply he is willing to give me. Would this one be sufficient? From what I know about power supplies, it seems like it would be fine, but some confirmation would be reassuring.

Also, I'm considering not going crossfire, since I could always upgrade to a better single card later. As far as non-crossfire boards, this one looked like a pretty decent P45, but I'm not really sure. Is there any reason to not go P45 if I'm not doing crossfire? Any better boards for a similar price?

Thanks.

 

[shadowduck]

Ultra PSUs are hit and miss. Some are good some are garbage. See if you can find reviews on that unit.

The motherboard is a great choice and one of the first I have seen that supports 16GB of RAM.