Thoughts on this mid-range build?

[lbarnard]

Hey all,

So I've been reading through all the forums and would like to thank you for the wealth of information. I'm looking to put together a system that will be used for gaming and basic home use (i.e. having Word, Firefox with a couple tabs, Outlook, and Itunes running at once). I'd be willing to pay more if I'm convinced it is worth it, but I am by no means someone who needs to run a game at max settings on a 30" screen. Let me know what you think.
On the overclocking side, I'd like to overclock the chip I chose, but nothing crazy (between 3.6-4.0?). I also realize the mobo won't work with SLI, but I think the card will be fine until I upgrade anyway.

Intel Core 2 Duo E8400
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115037
GIGABYTE GA-EP45-UD3P
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128358
Antec Three Hundred Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811129042
EVGA GeForce GTX 260 Core 216 Superclocked Edition 896MB
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130433
Alternatively: Sapphire Radeon HD 4870 or Gigabyte Radeon HD 4870 (-$30 to the Sapphire)
OCZ StealthXStream 600W
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817341010
Western Digital Caviar Black 640GB
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136319
G.SKILL 4GB (2 x 2GB) 2DDR2 1000 (PC2 8000)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231145
XIGMATEK Dark Knight-S1283V
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835233029
SAMSUNG 22X DVD Burner Black SATA
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827151171
ASUS VH226H Black 21.5" 2ms(GTG) HDMI Widescreen LCD Monitor
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824236051
Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium SP1 32-bit
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16832116485

 

[Why_Me]

Nice build. You have the right idea, but there's a few obvious changes with your build that should be made.

1) The motherboard you have chosen is set up for Crossfire (dual ATI cards). The board you want for the video card you have chosen is down below.

2) This memory I have posted has better timings, lower latency, low voltage and it's on the cheap for now. It's an obvious choice.

3) Vista 32bit like what you have posted only reads 3 gigs of memory. You want to go with the Vista 64bit so you can read all 4 gigs of RAM.

4) This thermal paste I have posted (MX-2), is non conductive, it has no set up time, and it lowers your cpu temps. Heat = bad.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128359 $114.99 ($99.99 after $15.00 Mail-In Rebate)
GIGABYTE GA-EP45-UD3R LGA 775 Intel P45 ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231209 $43.99 Free Shipping*
G.SKILL PI Black 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory - Retail

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16832116488 $99.99 Free Shipping*
Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium SP1 64-bit for System Builders - OEM

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835186020 $6.99
ARCTIC COOLING MX-2 Thermal Compound - Retail

 

[lbarnard]

My understanding is that the memory you listed can only handle 400FSB which would limit my OC to 3.6ghz or am I missing something? Also, I don't need to worry about compatibility with hardware/games with the 64 bit OS?

 

[xthekidx]

Well according to the manufacturers specs, yes that is correct, but those PI Blacks are proven overclockers and at 1.8-1.9v you have a lot of headroom with them, you could probably push the FSB past 450 I would imagine. Loosen up the timings and they will probably go to 500.

Go for the Saphire 4870 and the UD3P mobo, xfire later when you need it. Upgrade the PSU to one with 4x6pin connectors like this one:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139006

 

[lbarnard]

Any reason for the 4870? It seemed to me that it didn't perform as well as the board I chose. Would you change your mind if I said that by the time I would xfire anyway, I would change out the mobo and use whatever the new chip is (i7 or whatever is next)?

 

[xthekidx]

:/ well maybe. It depends on the games you play and resolution, some games and definitely higher resolutions will do better with the 4870 1gb card. Although that is a pretty good price on the GTX 260 superclocked.