Need help with gaming computer

[inefx]

Hello im new to building my computers. In fact this will be my first attempt at building one so right now im in the gathering info stage which is why im here.

I plan on playing games like Counterstrike: Source mostly but I would also like to play games that come out in the future reasonably well too. I get low fps in cs:s now and would like a smoother game experience. Other than games this will be for surfing and music.

Heres what Ive got so far:

Video Card - ATI x1900GT or nVidia 7900GS or would the 7950gt 512mb be worth the little extra money>?

Processor - Intel Core 2 Duo E6400 or 6300

Anyone have experience with any of that? Is that a good start? What more do I need to have a suitable gaming rig? Id like to keep this below ummm...1500? would that get the job done? im not looking for the next monster super gaming comp. just something i can play cs:s on very well and future games till dx10.

Im also interested in oc'ing once i get it built.
i would also like it to be vista ready.
thanks for any help

 

[Trotter]

would the 7950gt 512mb be worth the little extra money>?

Yes (about $300). Either that, or a X1950XTX (about $420+).

The E6300 will be plenty.

Go with 2GB of RAM.

I'm not fluent with Intel compatible motherboards or DDR2 RAM (AMD 939 guy ). Hopefully some of the new C2D fanboys will pick this up and run with it...

 

[inefx]

Thanks very much for your reply.

Yes I hope some people experienced with the C2D's will help me here. I really dont know what I'm looking at when I look for motherboards. I guess thats the basis for everything else and Im really scared Ill pick things that arent compatible.

Any help would be appreciated , thanks

 

[inefx]

Alright guys heres what ive come up with thus far. tell me if this is ok and everything will work.

CASE - COOLER MASTER Centurion 532 RC-532-SKN1 Black Aluminum bezel, SECC chassis ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - Retail

MOTHER BOARD - ASUS P5B Deluxe Socket T (LGA 775) Intel P965 Express ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail

VIDEO CARD - eVGA 512-P2-N635-AR Geforce 7950GT 512MB GDDR3 PCI Express x16 Video Card - Retail

POWER SUPPLY - Thermaltake W0093RU ATX 12V 2.0 Version 500W Power Supply - Retail

PROCESSOR - Intel Core 2 Duo E6300 Conroe 1.86GHz LGA 775 Processor Model BX80557E6300 - Retail

MEMORY - CORSAIR XMS2 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model TWIN2X2048-6400 - Retail

HARD DRIVE - Western Digital Raptor WD740ADFD 74GB 10,000 RPM Serial ATA150 Hard Drive - OEM

2ND HARD DRIVE - Western Digital Caviar SE16 WD2500KS 250GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM

CD+DVD - LITE-ON Combo Drive Black ATAPI/E-IDE Model SOHC-5236V-61 - OEM

SOUND CARD - Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi XtremeMusic 7.1 Channels PCI Interface Sound Card - Retail

Is that all i need? Will that be a pretty good gaming rig?

 

[Trotter]

Here's a couple of things to think about.

Instead of a Raptor, go with two Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 250GB 16MB cache drives in a RAID0. You get almost the same speed with almost seven times the storage for the same money. Then (if you can afford it) get a 500GB drive to be used as a mirror of the RAID array.
http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/ProductDetail.jsp?ProductCode=101464&prodlist=pricegrabber

On the motherboard, I read that the 965 chipset won't be compatible with quad cores (looking down the road here). if you're not worried about that (don't plan on upgrading for quite a while), don't sweat it.

A sound card is nice, but you don't have to have one unless you are driving a large set of speakers (multiple satellites) or are a total audiophile.

 

[Sakeri]

I would (and did) get a 7900 GS (XFX Xtreme Edition - $210 + 20$ rebate = $190). Someone pointed me to it and yeah, it's nice. Especially if this is the case, as you say: "just something i can play cs:s on very well and future games till dx10." It will do that certainly, and for under 200 bucks

 

[Drizo]

Newegg had this card w/ $20 m.i.r. a couple weeks ago, was a good deal, but no rebate now... still worth a look.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16814150182

I also have the same card in my system.