First PC, a little help??

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Its a Me Mario

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Sorry about the long names that make me sound like a dork but I just pasted this from my newegg wishlist to make things easier for me. Here my situation. I have about 600 in all to spend on upgrading my PC. I have an HP that my parents bought me when I was 16, 2-3 years ago. It isnt total crap yet Im noticing it more and more as the months go by and Ill eventually have to toss it. That and Im tired of getting owned in CSS haha.

Anyway Im planning on taking the CPU(2.53 ghz Northword P4 yeah I know its weak but I cant afford a CPU right now), the wireless card, the 60 GB hardrive, and the the floppy drive out of it and thats it. So by upgrading I mean practically building a new PC. Its exciting for me since Ive been wanting to this since FOREVER.

---ASYS H7650W Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case 450W Power Supply Included

---Albatron PX865PE PRO Socket 478 Intel 865PE ATX Intel Motherboard

---XFX PVT43ANDF7 Geforce 6600GT 128MB GDDR3 AGP 4X/8X Video Card

---CORSAIR XMS 1GB 184-Pin DDR SDRAM DDR 400 (PC 3200) Unbuffered System Memory Model CMX1024-3200C2PT

---CREATIVE Sound Blaster Audigy 2 Value SB0400 8 (7.1) Channels PCI Interface Sound Card

---SONY Black IDE Combo Drive Model CRX320E Black

---VANTEC VP4-C7040 TMD (Tip-Magnetic Driving) Heatsink/Cooling Fan
---AeroCool Centaurus I 80mm Sleeve Blue LED Light Cooling Fan
---MASSCOOL FD08025S1M4 80mm Sleeve Cooling Fan (x2)
---Dynatron DB1206SP 120mm Sleeve System Exhaust Blower

Newegg totals all of that to approximately $550. Is that about right or can I do better? I want this PC to get me through at least the next 2 years without having to buy anything except a new CPU. Also I might try overclocking so thats why I want so many fans. Even if I dont OC the fans are cheap enough that it wont matter and my system will be cooler so hopefully lasts a little longer.

Hows the battle plan look to you experts? Any advice? I probably need a better PSU but Ill use the one that came with the case first and see if its OK. I admit my computer knowledge is limited, but this should be a good learning experience for me.
 
I might add that all of this doesnt need to be done at once. I can do the casing/mobo first or the video card first if thats smarter financially. Im just looking for any insight for somebody on a tight budget looking to build a solid desktop PC that will last the next 2-3 years and still be able to handle most thats out there.
 
Ready for this? First off, you mentioned overclocking. This is probably the RAM you want. http://www2.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16820218062

Your motherboard looks like it fits well in your budget. You might also want to go with a more reliable company for your graphics card like Leadtek or eVGA, but it is up to you. Don't know what else to say, as your budget is slightly tight. If you need to come up with extra money somewhere, you probably don't need the Sound Blaster Audigy 2, I use just the first one, and it works fine.

EDIT: If you're going to spend $600 now and just upgrade some stuff, spend extra money for your motherboard and get that RAM. Then you might want to upgrade the processor now with the new motherboard, just so you aren't restricted to a specific socket (go with a newer socket). If you wait for the graphics card, the prices will come down and a new line will come out. What are your old system specs? What COULD you transfer?
 
if you don't want to replace your graphics card, either wait til the new ones come out, or buy a 6800 gt, your choice.
 
Okay, I skipped you saying that you don't want a new processor, and yours isn't THAT bad. So if you are going to break this up into bits, get the motherboard and RAM, along with a cd drive. Sound card, fans, cables. Wait for you graphics card (I would if you have patience) because the new line comes out before too long.
 
As wayniac said, just wait for the new graphics cards, and also wait for the new DFI board to come out. If your going to be overclocking thats a must have.
 
Right now Im on an MSI Micro ATX MS-6577 Mobo.

I have two PC2700 512 sticks of ProMOS(? I think, is the same as TwinMOS?)RAM. But BIOS says its only running at PC2100 and I was certain it could handle 2700.

ATI 9200 Radeon 128 MB.

C-Media Audio Card althought Im not sure of the model.

My HP dvd writer doesnt work anymore and my Atapi 48x CD-Rom is being wierd. Wierd as in ejects when it wants to eject, even after hitting the button 4-5 times.

Western Digital 60 GB 7200RPM Hardrive.

My case sucks balls, theres a 120mm fan in the back and thats it and I run really hot when I load up CSS.

So there you have it, thats what Im workin with. Parents bought the system for 650 a few years ago and its been good to me but Im starting to feel outdated so its time to step my game up.
 
Also, is a good power supply really important? They dont really give the details on this one that came with the case on newegg. In fact they dont give any so Im assuming its a POS, but its 450W? Thats a lot compared to the 200W I have.

EDIT: Would this case be any better?
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E16811166008

It costs more but it has gauges for fan and temp and stuff and thats cool. And the PSU looks a lot better. +12V 20A, I think that would be good enough right?
 
Here the gameplan.

Intallment 1:
---Sunbeam Trio Black Case w/ 450 watt PSU(its decent from what I can tell, is it true that ALL power supplies that come with cases suck?)
---Albatron PX865PE PRO Socket 478 ATX Motherboard
---Zalman CNPS7000B Heatsink/Fan
---Vantec Spectrum Fan Card(its one nifty card, my friend has it)
---Masscool 80mm Sleeve Fans x3

The idea is to set up my existing hardware on the new mobo. inside my sweet ass case and then experiment with OC'ing on my old hardware. That way if I screw up I can always tell myself I was going to get new stuff anyway. Ive heard Northwoods run cooler than most P4s is that true?

Installment 2:
---TwinMOS 1GB (2 x 512) PC3200
---Sony Combo Drive
---A new mouse and keyboard(Ill find them local somewhere)

Installment 3:
---Leadtek 6600GT(or 6800, depends how far prices drop by then)
---Sound card possibly


So what do you think? I partially wrote this down for future reference but wanted to see what you guys thought also.
 
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