Purchasing soon, input appreciated!

[yourRumor]

First off, the stickies throughout this forum are extremely helpful and I've gained quite a bit of knowledge in the last 5 or so hours! Anywho, I'm looking into purchasing a new computer that will run The Sims 2 as well as all its current and future expansions without any lag, fast load times, high graphic quality, just all around peak performance. My current system is doing okay with the base game, NL and a fair amount of custom content, but probably couldn't handle the latest expansion pack.

I'll most likely be buying from Alienware and here's the system I have configured so far:
AMD Athlon™ 64 3500+ with HyperTransport Technology
Alienware® nForce™4 SLI™ Chipset Motherboard PCI Express
1GB Low-Latency Dual Channel DDR PC-3200 at 400MHz (2x512MB)
160GB Serial ATA 3Gb/s 7,200 RPM w/ NCQ & 8MB Cache
Integrated High-Performance 7.1 Surround Sound

And where I'm running into trouble is the graphics card. I'm not familiar with the ATI's and NVIDIA GT's. I found some comparison charts but can't come to a conclusion on which would best suite my needs out of these:
256MB PCI-Express x16 ATI RADEON™ X1800 XL
256MB PCI-Express x16 NVIDIA® GeForce™ 7900 GT
256MB PCI-Express x16 NVIDIA® GeForce™ 7600 GT
Heck, I'm not even sure if the game supports these. All advice would be greatly appreciated.

 

[ulater6000]

The 7900gt is the best out of those three. If you can afford it I would recomend the 7900gtx.

I dont recomend going with alienware, they are too over priced. Build your computer yourself and you will save large amounts of money. Building a computer is easier than it seems. Just browse online or talk to people that know how and you will learn very quikly.

 

[Jam3s-Zer0]

A 7900gtx for The Sims? :S

 

[Brtnboarder495]

7900GT ($300)>Every Nvidia card but the 7900GTX and 7800GTX 512.

Go with the Athlon 64 3700+.

Otherwise fine.

You do know building your own would be using better parts of better quality and probably be 1/2-2/3 as cheap right?

 

[yourRumor]

I wouldn't even know where to start though, that's the problem. I've been searching for other places that allow customization and they seem to be cheaper than what Alienware has but I'm getting confused on the different types of motherboards, CPUs, what works best with what, cooling systems, etc. I suppose I just need to do some more research.

 

[Spartan]

i would STRONGLY suggest, if you are going to buy your computer, to check out www.monarchcomputersystems.com. Very reliable, cheap, and fast.

 

[yourRumor]

I've looked around some more and found another place that does custom computers for much cheaper. I also have another question.

I don't plan on overclocking so what processors would you recommend with an ASUS A8N-E ATX nForce4 Ultra mobo?

 

[john3]

AMD Athlon 64 x2 3800+ Manchester, best one. but if you can spend more go with a 4400 or even higher than that go with an fx.

 

[tommyboy123x]

if you have the money another hd like the 74gb raptor would be good, but if not its totally understandable and won't kill your system at all


john3 - your sig is too big...

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[yourRumor]

Okay, I think I've got it. Thanks for recommending Monarch, they are definately low in price and offer many options.

Here is what I've put together, please let me know if there's any conflicts or better/alternative solutions:
Case: Lian-Li PC-61 Aluminum Case w/no PS
Power Supply: Antec NeoHE 500 ATX 2.01 500W
Processor: AMD Athlon 64 X2 4400+ Dual-Core 1MB Per Core 90nm (939)
Mobo: Asus A8N-E nForce4 Socket 939
Memory: OCZ Dual-Channel 2GB (2x1GB)
Hard Drive: Seagate Barracuda 250 GB 7200 RPM SATA3G
Video Card: GeForce 6800 256 MB
Sound Card: Creative Labs Sound Blaster Audigy SE
Asus CD-ROM, Mitsumi Floppy Drive, Molex Connector*, Floppy Drive Cables* and Thermal Grease

Total is about $1400
I'm not completely decided on 2GBs or 1GB of memory just yet. Might go with 1GB (2x512MB) Corsair XMS instead.
So how does that look? Thanks for all the help btw!

* = I'm assuming I need to purchase those..