Few questions about my first build

[giantrobot]

Hey. Just found this forum today and thought I'd get some feed back from more experienced builders. I am building a gaming computer, pretty much to play Aion well when it comes out; or any other games i stumble across. My budget is pretty much the best bang for the buck; I don't want overkill and I don't want an underperforing machine either.

My set up so far is looking like this...

-EVGA nforce 730A mobo bundled with and AMD Phenom x4 9550 CPU
-chose the quad-core so it doesn't get outdated too quickly plus its part of a well priced bundle
-BFG GeForce 9600 GT OC 512 MB GDDR3 video card
-OCZ GameStream 700W PSU
-Seagate 500 GB SATA HD bundled w/Windows Vista Ultimate 64
-2X Centon 2048 MB PC4200 DDR2 533 MHz Memory
all of this comes out to about $600-700 with the deals i have found

The case I have already ordered, which is a NZXT Alpha
The peripherals i already own multiples of

I wanted to know if this set up will perform well; If it will play most games at medium to high settings; If I should just totally reconsider my choice of products all together? and If building will be something i will get hooked on lol. thanks in advance for any responses

 

[Pyrothrillah]

Looks pretty swell to me. 700W seems a little much, but useful for future upgrades.

Never tried an EVGA mobo, some like them, some don't. But I know one thing for certain if it messes up, you'll have NO problems once-so-ever in RMA with them, they will either fix it, get you a new one, or newer model that is still compatible.

 

[tomc102968]

welcome you have come to right place for help these guys are awesome friendly and knowlegable

 

[Pinscher]

Nice try but this will blow that away.

Newegg.com - XFX HD-485X-YDFC Radeon HD 4850 512MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFire Supported Video Card - Desktop Graphics / Video Cards (This card is leagues better than the 9600 gt and this is a top notch brand)

Newegg.com - PC Power & Cooling Silencer PPCS500 500W ATX12V / EPS12V SLI Ready CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS Certified Active PFC Power Supply compatible with core i7 - Power Supplies (best power supply manufacturer around and 500w is plenty to power this system)

Newegg.com - G.SKILL 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory - Desktop Memory (g.skill is one of the best ram companies. Always overclock great. This is faster than what you picked too. Never even heard of that brand)

Newegg.com - Computer Parts, PC Components, Laptop Computers, Digital Cameras and more! (Not much to say here. Great HDD. You don't need vista ultimate. Home premium 64-bit is the sweet spot)

Newegg.com - Computer Parts, PC Components, Laptop Computers, Digital Cameras and more! (much newer/better cpu. The 9550 wasn't a very strong cpu. This is an awesome combo deal I found too.)

This will make a much better computer than what you had originally. That all comes out to $651.93

 

[H4x3r]

Going to agree with Pincher on this. The 4850 whoops the 9600gt as far as bang-for-buck goes. Also as he said the 9550 wasn't the best ever to say the least. His suggestion will get you much farther. If you were wondering about the 500 watt psu, it's not about the watts so much as the Amps. That PSU will keep you going strong for a long time

 

[giantrobot]

Thanks you guys..these have been really helpful and will save me money and time in the long run

I have another question regarding the memory;
the ones i listed in the op i chose cause of the price of of around $30; i had never heard of the brand either. But i clicked on a pair of Corsair TwinX PC6400 800MHz DDR2 for around $25; $20 cheaper than the GSkill that Pinscher had suggested. I was wondering how well the corsair stacked up to the Gskill?
Thanks again

 

[H4x3r]

the g.skill is better because of the latency timings 5-5-5-15 vs the 5-5-5-18 of the corsair

 

[Pinscher]

g.skill is an all around better brand. They use better ic's and most always overclock better. There are a few exceptions of course but in the lower end all the way up to high end, g.skill will be better than most of the corsair sticks. The corsair dominator gt's at the super high end are really nice though.

 

[Pyrothrillah]

I love my g.skill ram. You can't go wrong. Very fast and don't run as hot as others.