First rig: rate it pls

[wootwoot]

**My selection is strictly limited to the products listed on this site NCIX.com - Canada's Premier Computer Store - Great Technology, Service and Selection.
Yea, it's my first time doing this so probably everything is incompatible right? ONE MORE THING: I don't have a ROM yet, need that picked out as well.
Hehe, I need lots of help =D. Including the ROM, I probably have another $50 to spare. My total budget is $600.

CASE: Apevia X-PLORER 17IN ATX Tower Case 4X5.25 2X3.5 5X3.5INT 2X80MM Fan Window LCD TEMP. DISP. Black = $76.16

PROCESSOR: AMD Athlon 64 X2 5200+ Dual Core Processor AM2 2.7GHZ 2X512KB 65W 65NM Retail Box = $94.00

MOBO: ASUS M2A-VM mATX AM2 AMD 690G DDR2 PCI-E16 PCI-E1 2PCI Video VGA DVI-D Sound Motherboard = $84.49

MEMORY: Crucial Rendition 2GB 1X2GB PC2-6400 DDR2-800 240PIN DIMM Memory = $21.99 (this choice is a money-saver, or should I do G.SKILL F2-6400CL5D-2GBNQ PC2-6400 2GB 2X1GB DDR2-800 CL5-5-5-15 240PIN Dual Channel Memory Kit instead?)

VIDEO CARD: EVGA E-GEFORCE 9500GT 550MHZ 512MB 1.0GHZ 128BIT DDR2 Dual DVI-I HDCP HDTV Out Video Card = $78.08

PSU: OCZ StealthXStream OCZ500SXS 500W ATX12V 24PIN Active PFC ATX Power Supply 120MM Fan Black = $65.84

HARD DRIVE: Hitachi Deskstar P7K500 250GB SATA2 7200RPM 8MB 3.5IN Hard Drive OEM 3YR MFR Warranty = $65.86

Current total: $486.42

 

[Hussein19891]

Go with something more powerful when it comes to the graphics cards.

9500 GT is out performed by cards like the 9600 GSO and the ATI4670.

 

[zedman3d]

9600gso.

 

[jfenwick]

The nice thing about NCIX.com is that they will price match. If you can stretch your budget just a bit go with something like below:

NOTE: the links are none NCIX.com because NCIX will pricematch, these items are all sold at NCIX.

MOBO: Gigabyte EP45-DS3L - $108: Gigabyte EP45-DS3L ATX LGA775 P45 DDR2 PCI-E 2PCI SATA2 HD Sound GBLAN Motherboard - DirectCanada
CPU: Intel e5200 - $95: Intel Duo Core E5200 2.5 GHz Dual Core Processor (800 MHz) Socket 775 (2MB L2 Cache) - Box BX80571E5200
Case: Apevia X-PLORER 17IN Black - $76: Newegg.ca - APEVIA X-Plorer ATXB8KLW-BL Black/Blue Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - Computer Cases
RAM: Corsair XMS2 DHX TWIN2X2048-6400C4DHX - $20: NCIX.com - Buy Corsair XMS2 DHX TWIN2X2048-6400C4DHX 2GB DDR2 2X1GB PC2-6400 DDR2-800 CL 4-4-4-12 Memory Kit - TWIN2X2048-6400C4DHX In Canada.
PSU: Corsair VX550W - $90:
Corsair VX550W 550W ATX 12V 41A 24PIN ATX Power Supply Active PFC 120MM Fan - DirectCanada
HDD: Barricuda 500GB 7200.11 - $64: Buy Seagate Barracuda 7200.11 3.5IN 500GB SATA2 8.5MS 7200RPM 32MB Cache NCQ Hard Drive
DVD: LG GH22NS30 DVD writer - $26:
Lg GH22NS30 Black DVD+RW 22X8X16 DVD-RW 22X6X16 Dl 16X/12X 2MB Sata Oem - DirectCanada
GPU: XFX GeForce 9800GT - $120: NCIX.com - Buy XFX GeForce 9800GT 600MHZ 512MB 1.8GHZ GDDR3 PCI-E Dual DVI-I HDCP HDTV Out Video Card - PVT98GYDLH In Canada.

Total regular NCIX price after MIR: $669, if you price match to the above: $600 after MIR

That doesn't include S&H and tax which is where you'd have to stretch your budget.

Other areas to save $$$:
- Cheaper PSU and mobo, P35 if you need to crunch more $$$ but stick with P45 if you can. I don't know PSUs so someone could cruise NCIX and maybe find you one cheaper of good quality.
- Buy the case locally to save on S&H (if you don't live in BC and can't get into an NCIX store.)
- Go with a cheaper case: Coolermaster CAC-T05 Centurion 5 - $57:
Coolermaster CAC-T05 Centurion 5 Aluminum ATX Tower Case 5X5.25 1X3.5 4X3.5INT SILVER-BLACK No PS - DirectCanada
- Cheaper GPU:
1) xfx 9600gso - $102: Newegg.ca - XFX PVT96OSDFH GeForce 9600 GSO 768MB 192-bit GDDR2 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card - Desktop Graphics / Video Cards
2) Palit Radeon HD 4670 - $95: NCIX.com - Buy Palit Radeon HD 4670 Super 750MHZ 512MB 1.0GHZ GDDR3 PCI-E VGA DVI HDMI Display Port Video Card - AE/46700+0551 In Canada.

NOTE: some of these items are on time/quantity sensitive sales so I can't guarantee you on how long those prices will be as listed. ex. 9800gt@NCIX

 

[DesoShade]

Yeah. Video card is kinda weak. If you do alot of gaming you'll find yourself wanting to upgrade that card pretty quickly.

 

[wootwoot]

I do live in BC. In fact, I live about 3 blocks from NCIX =D. How's this for a money-saving PSU? NCIX.com - Buy OCZ StealthXStream OCZ500SXS 500W ATX12V 24PIN Active PFC ATX Power Supply 120MM Fan Black - OCZ500SXS In Canada.

 

[jfenwick]

I've used the stealthXstream in a build, the gamerXstreme is a better line from what I understand, pple around here don't often recommend the OCZ psus but at the same time they aren't bad ones from what I gather.

Yeah, I'm the toronto area, big orders and the savings on pst evens out with shipping costs but would be nice to be able to walk into one of the NCIX stores, they need to expand to out here.

Here is an even better sale on it:
NCIX.com - Buy OCZ StealthXStream OCZ500SXS 500W ATX12V 24PIN Active PFC ATX Power Supply 120MM Fan Black - OCZ500SXS In Canada.

Here's a good one, too bad it's not stocked at NCIX.com
Newegg.ca - Rosewill RP500-2 500W ATX12V v2.01 Power Supply - Power Supplies