My first build

[ROFL_A_PIGGY]

This is my first build and these are the parts I have found. I will be playing games with graphics like Age of Conan and FPS as well. Feedback on anything I should change/add is greatly appreciated.

EDIT: I'm building an i7 now instead of an e8400

My budget is around $900-1100

GPU (Ok I've chosen to downgrade to gtx 260 SC): GeForce Gtx 260 Superclocked (900mb memory, 448 bit interface) --$175
CPU: Intel Core i7 Quad Core --$280
Case: Thermaltake Armor Series (full tower) --$150
PSU: Corsair 750w 700w --$100
Mobo: ASUS P6T LGA 1366 Intel X58 ATX Intel Motherboard (Memory Standard: DDR3 1333, 2000 OC) --$250
HDD: Western Digital 1TB --$100
RAM: OCZ Gold 6gb (3 2gb) --$80
OS: Vista Ultimate 64 bit (free from the office)
DVD Drive: LG Black/DVD burner --$25
Keyboard: GIGABYTE standard keyboard --$15
Mouse: Logitech G5 Laser Mouse (already have it)
Monitor: 19" Dell /37" Vizio FHDTV (1080p) (already have it)
Thermal Compound: Arctic Silver 5 Thermal Compound --$7

Total (with rebate, not including shipping): $1167 what do you think? :happy:

Edit: holding off on the water cooling system till I can afford it.

 

[Hefemeister]

If you are going to go for water cooling do not get a cheap one.
Either spend the $300 and do it right or spend $50 on a good heatsink and fan.

 

[Yami]

All good choices. And you don't buy a 'cheap' watercooling system Get something like the Scythe Ninja 2 (I have one, it's great) if you plan on OCing.

One thing though, for RAM you put a dvd burner for which the link is broken anyway

 

[ROFL_A_PIGGY]

All good choices. And you don't buy a 'cheap' watercooling system Get something like the Scythe Ninja 2 (I have one, it's great) if you plan on OCing.

One thing though, for RAM you put a dvd burner for which the link is broken anyway

Fixed the link, thanks.

Oh and I think I'll hold off on the water cooling system for a bit, can't afford that as well until next pay or so. Hopefully the heat sink and fan that comes with the CPU will keep it alive long enough until I get a cooling system.

 

[Jtumble2]

Pretty decent choices, although no need to spend $84 on 4gb ram. Shouldnt spend more than $50 unless you're doing a crazy build, which you aren't. and I had an e8400, great proccessor. I used the sunbeamtech core contact and it worked great. my build was last november back when the e8400 cost $275 :[ so things might have changed in terms of cooling.

Good luck.

 

[ROFL_A_PIGGY]

Thanks. Oh and this is just until I get more money to upgrade it (in the near future), so I'm buying the RAM now.

 

[Hefemeister]

Well if you are planning on upgrading this in a few months, why not wait just a bit and get an i7 build?

You are real close with your budget as it stands and you are at the end of the socket 775 life cycle which means there will not be too much more you could do to this build.
something like this would be the only changes you would need to make:
Newegg.com - Computer Parts, PC Components, Laptop Computers, Digital Cameras and more!
Newegg.com - OCZ Gold 6GB (3 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Low Voltage Desktop Memory Model OCZ3G1600LV6GK - Desktop Memory

$615 with $20mir versus $347 for your current cpu,mb and ram.
So $268 - $20mir more for an i7 build that will have a much longer life cycle.
Something to consider.

I would also take a look at this psu $120 with $20mir.
Newegg.com - CORSAIR CMPSU-750TX 750W ATX12V / EPS12V SLI Ready CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS Certified Active PFC Compatible with Core i7 Power Supply - Power Supplies

 

[ROFL_A_PIGGY]

So the only changes I would need to make is to get a new cpu, mobo, and ram? And thanks I think I'll go with that corsair psu as well, only $10 more.

Edit: the i7 quad cpu costs 3 times more than the core 2 duo, and not as fast. Why is that?

Edit: So with changing the cpu, mobo, and ram to make it i7, it comes to a total of $1321.

 

[hikaricloud]

...not as fast? Are you basing this off the ghz? Because that is only one aspect of speed, and in the grand scheme of things is in no way an indicator of how well something will perform.

Look at these benchmarks. AnandTech Bench (beta): Intel Core i7 920 vs Intel Core 2 Duo E8400

The i7 920 blows the E8400 out of the water in just about every test. The first gaming benchmark where it has a couple less FPS is because games don't take advantage of more than 2 cores yet, so the frequency is a factor. But the i7 can EASILY be overclocked to fix that. 3ghz on an i7 is nothing.

 

[ROFL_A_PIGGY]

Cool, thanks for helping me out!