2nd Build, Need Help/Opinions

[JeffL3]

Hello everyone, recently the chip fan on my current computer has been dying, considering it's a few years old ive decided to just upgrade instead of fixing it. I already have 3 500g HD's and 2 20x Lite-ons ill be removing from this one which is why it isnt listed. What ive come up with so far is:

Antec Three Hundred Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - 50
ASUS VH222H Black 21.5" 5ms HDMI Widescreen LCD Monitor - 200
ASUS EAH4850 TOP/HTDI/512M Radeon HD 4850 512MB - 140 A/R
PC Power & Cooling S61EPS 610W - 70 A/R
G.SKILL PI Black 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 - 50
ASUS P5Q Pro LGA 775 Intel P45 ATX Intel Motherboard - 115
Intel Core 2 Duo E8400 Wolfdale 3.0GHz LGA 775 65W - 165
Microsoft Windows XP Professional 64Bit SP2C - 140

= 940$

My budget is actually closer to $1250 and was looking for opinions/comments/concerns from everyone as to where i should upgrade or if something looks wrong and should be changed. I appreciate your time and your help in this matter!

 

[shortstuff_mt]

Are your current HD's and optical drives IDE or SATA? One thing to keep in mind is that the new motherboards only have one IDE connector for a total of two devices. That will be a problem unless your current drives are SATA.

The build you listed looks pretty good. If you're looking for ways to spend the extra $300 you could always step up to a bigger monitor and get a 4870 1GB GPU instead of the 4850.

Is there a good reason you picked 64-bit XP over Vista? Driver support for 64-bit Vista isn't very good. 64-bit Vista, however, is working great these days. I currently run 64-bit Vista and it's great. It's very fast and stable. The only time I've ever seen a BSOD is when I pushed an overclock too far. I'd check out this version:

Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium SP1 64-bit English for System Builders 1pk DSP OEI DVD - OEM
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16832116488 $99.99

 

[JeffL3]

The only reason i picked 64 Xp over Vista is i tried vista when it was first released and hated it, especially considering im a gamer and i dont want to run into compatibility issues everywhere. Im actually on a 15 inch CRT right now, so the LCD i want to upgrade to is a huge boost as it is, not sure i could handle an even bigger one right away. Another thing is ive always had the standard dell issued mouse but im told a mouse is a big big deal for games like CS Source, UT, CoD4 which are the games im into. Is the 4870 a must for the topend gaming? Im not looking to play chrysis on high, just enjoy nice framerates for the next year or two of gaming if possible.

Oh, and they are all SATA, i planned ahead.

 

[JeffL3]

Nobody can help with the Video Board question?

On a side note can someone recommend a good gaming mouse?

 

[shortstuff_mt]

Vista is much better now than at launch. You'll run into more "compatibility issues" with 64-bit XP than you will with 64-bit Vista. Unless you'll be running VERY old 16-bit software or 4+ year old peripherals, you'll be fine. The latest benchmarks show the gaming difference between XP and Vista no longer exists. Get 64-bit Vista SP1 and don't look back. You won't regret it.