Building a new gaming rig

[Project Dusk]

I've changed my game plan, just a tad. Instead of tossing out my old parts, old CPU, RAM, Mobo, PSU etc I'm going to salvage them, I'll take my mobo, cpu, ram, psu and main drive from my old set up into a newer, cheaper case and add in a $50 video card along with a $20 DVD burner. I plan to give them each a boost in HDD space in the future, giving each of them a 1TB HDD and I'm going to invest in an external 2TB HDD to link between my Main Rig, my Secondary Rig and my Laptop.


Also was thinking of placing my OS for my Main Gaming Rig onto a 32GB SSD, can anyone tell me if this would be a good idea or if I should just use my old PCs secondary 500GB as my main drive?


Also my Secondary rig will have the following specs: Asus M3A Mobo, AMD Phenom X4 9600 BE, 4GB RAM, 1.5TB HDD space and a $50 to $70 video card. Speaking of that, can anyone here recommend me a decent video card for that price range?

Can anyone recommend me a good video card in the $50 to $70 price range?

Also I'm stuck on a decision. I'm wondering if I should put my new parts into my old case, an Antec 900, or put them into a newer case and leave my old parts in the Antec 900.

Though the original idea I had was to put the new parts in my old Antec 900 and put my old parts into this case: Newegg.com - NZXT M59 - 001BK Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case


Anyone have any recommendations? I was something that will keep good airflow and let me show off my parts, so a completely clear side is a plus. Thanks. Would prefer the case to be between 80 to 120.

 

[Fat.Clown]

32GB SSD?
32GB is very small these days. not sure if its even worth it. I'd recommend at least 60GB

Can anyone recommend me a good video card in the $50 to $70 price range?

XFX GT-430X-ZAF2 GeForce GT 430 (Fermi) 1GB 64-bit DDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready Video Card

 

[Project Dusk]

The SSD would mainly be for my OS and a few games, my planned 1.5TB of space on my HDDs would be for everything else.


How does that card compare to this one: Newegg.com - XFX HD-567X-ZNL3 Radeon HD 5670 1GB 128-bit DDR3 PCI Express 2.1 x16 HDCP Ready Video Card ?

 

[Yami]

Yeah, you'll want more than 32GB. Windows alone, with no extra installed programs/games/etc. ends up being around 20GB.

 

[Project Dusk]

I'm wondering though, is there really any noticeable benefits from using an SSD? If not I think I'll just stick with my normal 500GB HDD for my main and add the 1TB HDD as my secondary and an external 2TB HDD as my backup drive.


Now all I need to do is add a dvd burner and case to my list and I should be good. Will have 2 PCs up and running soon and later on I'll buy a second monitor so each PC will have its own monitor, then I'll get the Logitech G510 for my new rig and give my old rig my old G15 v2. Still looking for a great, right handed, FPS gaming mouse. I've pretty much ruled out Razer as they are mostly for MMOs.

How does this sound for my 2 gaming rigs:

Main Rig:

Case: (Pending)
Mobo: Asus Sabertooth 990FX AM3+
CPU: AMD Phenom II X4 980 B.E. @ 3.7ghz (will try to OC to 4ghz in the future)
RAM: G.SKILL Sniper 8GB DDR3 1600
GPU: XFX ATi Radeon HD 5770
HDD(s): 500GB HDD (Will add in a 1TB Secondary drive later on)
Cooling: Thermaltake CLP0554 Cooler with Tuniq TX-2 Thermal Paste
PSU: Corsair Enthusiast 650W PSU (I do plan to do Crossfire in the future, should I upgrade to a 750W?)
OS: Windows 7 Home Premium 64
Optical Drive: LG DVD Burner


Secondary Rig:

Case: (Pending)
Mobo: Asus M3A AM2+
CPU: Phenom X4 9600 B.E. @ 2.3ghz
RAM: 4GB DDR2
GPU: XFX ATi Radeon HD 5670
HDD(s): 500GB HDD (will also add a secondary 1TB drive later on)
PSU: OCZ GameXStream 600W
Cooling: Stock Cooler
OS: Windows Vista Ultimate 64
Optical Drive: Lite On DVD Burner


How does that all look?

 

[Yami]

Yes, it's most definitely worth getting an SSD. You've probably heard a thousand times about how awesome they are, but it's true

 

[Project Dusk]

So what the benefits of having one? Cuz right now I'm sitting on $550 of my $670 budget, though I could bump it up to say $700. I still need the video card for my second rig, a case for it and a dvd burner for my new rig. If you can find me a decent sized, decent priced, reliable SSD I might just snag it up.

 

[Yami]

Ah, well if there's no room in the budget then fair enough. But I assure you it's worth saving for one
Main benefit is loading times on the OS (everything opens instantly), same for programs/games.

 

[Project Dusk]

Well I do have some extra cash coming in, could maybe bump it up. Just not looking to spend too much on one, hence why a 32GB or 60GB should do me over.

 

[Yami]

yeah, 60GB is plenty.