Gaming rig, with a twist!

[Yardezz]

Hi guys,

I am sorry for asking a question that has been asked a million times before, but it seems that the more I read about new hardware, the more questions I have. I have been reading on this and other forums for many days, but I feel my requirements are different enough to warrant a separate topic. I have seen many helpful and kind replies on this forum, so I have gathered my courage - and here I am.

I am looking to buy a gaming rig. The price range, I guess, would be the equivalent of 1500 dollars or so. There are a few differences from the other posts out there though:
1. I am living in Poland, and the prices are different here. Electronics are much more expensive, which means that $1500 gets me less gear. Also, some brands, like Mushkin, are not available here.
2. I am planning to build a PC that will not be upgraded most probably, and will have to last for around 3 years. Yes, I know that in three years I will be watching trailers of new games and not playing them. I accept that - I can not afford not to. I need this PC to last me for at least a good year of gaming with max details though.
3. I will be hooking this rig to a 'HD ready' 37 inch TV, which means a max resolution of 1360×768. It is likely I will buy a full HD TV or an LCD screen, but for now, this is it. A huge screen, and a very low resolution.

Now I have been reading around, and even though at first I was planning my rig around a GTX 280 graphics card, I see everyone hailing the 4870x2 as the new king. [strike]Well, I want the king! ;-P I won't need it now, but like I said, I do not expect to make any upgrades for the next three years![/strike] And by the way, the first card is $580 here, and the second will cost me an additional $150 on top of that.
Update: I have been reading some more still. The 'first look' at TH does not actually include low resolutions as all, and that is the only reason the 4870x2 won in each test. Looking at the tests in lower resolutions the GTX280 is actually much better, not to mention less expensive to buy and use and quieter. I think I will go with the GeForce card in the end, and save a few bucks.
I was planning to use the E8400 processor with that. It still is my preference, as the quad cores are just too expensive. Everyone recommends some additional radiators and fans for this, but what is wrong with the one that comes in the BOX version of the processor? If the manufacturer bundles it, should it not be good?
I have seen everyone recommending the Asus P5Q motherboard, but I have actually seen the Gigabyte EP45-DS3R standing higher in rankings. Is this really that important? The base technology is similar in both cases, and the Gigabyte mobo is cheaper....
As for RAM, I was thinking about OCZ Reaper EPP Dual 2x2 GB 1066MHz DDR2 because Mushkin is not realy an option. I have seen most people recommend the 800MHz memories, and it probably will be a cheaper option. What are the differences/drawbacks? I think 4 GB is a nice number (will be upgrading to Vista in the near future)
I think I will go with the Thermaltake Mambo case, because it looks decently enough (I am a fan of simplicity) and is cheap. I have absolutely no idea what PSU to use though (would a 550W from Chieftec or some such be enough?).
A final question, since I will most probably take the standard Seagate 500GB HDD, is regarding the optical drive. People seem to like Samsung as a brand. Well, I do too, but which models should I be looking at?

A final note on overclocking. I was thinking of going this route from the beginning, but the more I read, the more I feel unprepared for such a venture. I would like to keep this as a possibility for the future, but I will not dabble in this in the first year, I think.

So. What do you guys think? Does this make any sense at all?

Hope to hear some feedback,
Mike

P.S.
Excuse me if I ommited something, but after spending 30 minutes on writing this post, it got deleted, so I had to re-type ×_×

 

[the_mystery_gamer]

Some may argue with me on this, but I've found, both in my experience and in reading other's, is that memory that goes beyond the defined standards is usually nothing but trouble. The performance gain is only around 1-2%, and it can cause all sorts of errors unless it's used right. For DDR2, the standard is 5-5-5-15, 800Mhz @ 1.8v. Go with that.

Good combo for the CPU and GPU. 1360x768 is not that high, but you said you wanted it to last awhile, so I'd say go with it, especially if you are looking at a 1080p set.

For the PSU, get something from Corsair or PC Power and Cooling with at least 60A of combined +12v current. Seagate makes nice drives.

As for box coolers......meh. Extra cooling can't hurt. A lower core temperature is a good thing, at least until you get to -100C or something like that. The box cooler is intended to be fine for most users. One thing I don't like about them, however, is the heatsink is spot cooled - the fan blows straight down. That means the heat flows out across your motherboard, and just heats the case up. A vertical heatsink with the fan on the side can be set up to blow into an exhaust fan, so the heat is moved OUT of your case, where it can't be breathed in by your GPU cooler, or get sucked into your CPU cooler again. So, will using the box cooler hurt? No. Will you improve the life of your CPU, and to a lesser degree, your entire system, by upgrading? Oh yes. And overclocking on the box cooler is not such a great idea.

 

[Yardezz]

Thanks for the reply!
So yes, standard 800MHz it will be. How important is it for the RAM to have 5-5-5-15 access times? I have seen 800's with a bit faster times - will that be OK?

As for the GPU, I have changed my mind again (I have updated the first post). The US reviews of the card do not show how badly it performs in low resolutions - for which the system is intended. I have also come to realise that an 1080p screen is a long ways ahead. I will stick with the GTX280 card after all.

I have been looking into PSU's as well. We do not have PC P&C here, and I had trouble finding 60A on the +12V - even chiefter or corsair offer less in the 550-650W range, and I would think over 700W would be overkill for this system. Am I correct?

Thanks for your thoughts on the box coolers as well, mystery_gamer.

Any additional info will be greatly appreciated.

 

[br3nd064]

Lower timings are better, just make sure they don't go crazy on the voltages. Good ram @ 5-5-5-15 can usually to lowered to 4-4-4-12 with minimal voltage increase.

I think 700w would be about right for that system. +12v rail matters more than wattage, though. Make sure you have at least 50a on it. If you plan to sli the gtx280 later, you'll need more. It doesn't have to be a large single rail power supply, so that should widen your options a little.

Hope that helps.