Ready to pull the trigger

[Geekay]

OK. after reading these forums and researching this stuff for the past three days I'm ready to start.
I want to build a good general purpose PC. I want do most common things everybody else does, ex. internet.email, word processing, some photo editing. I'm not a hard core gamer, but I do play Call of Duty, and a few sport games, and I would like them to run decently.
I also record my guitar using Cakewalk Sonar on occasion. I have put together a list of parts I would like some feedback on. here it is.

GIGABYTE GA-P35-DS3L LGA 775 Intel P35 ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail
Model #: GA-P35-DS3L
Item #: N82E16813128059



In Stock
$99.99 $99.99
http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16813128059


Update EVGA 512-P2-N757-TR GeForce 8600GT 512MB 128-bit GDDR3 PCI Express x16 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video

http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16814130290


Update Intel Core 2 Duo E6750 Conroe 2.66GHz LGA 775 65W Dual-Core Processor Model BX80557E6750 - Retail
Model #: BX80557E6750
Item #: N82E16819115029

http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16819115029

In Stock
$189.99 $189.99

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


http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16820145590

Update MITSUMI Black 1.44MB 3.5" Internal USB 2.0 digital card reader with Floppy Drive - OEM
Model #: FA404M BLK
Item #: N82E16821104104

http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16821104104

In Stock
$18.99 $18.99

Update Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 ST380815AS 80GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM
Model #: ST380815AS
Item #: N82E16822148231

http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16822148231

In Stock
$43.99 $43.99

Update Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 ST3250410AS 250GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM
Model #: ST3250410AS
Item #: N82E16822148262

http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16822148262

In Stock
$69.99 $69.99

Update LITE-ON 20X DVD±R DVD Burner with LightScribe Black SATA Model LH-20A1L-05 - OEM
Model #: LH-20A1L-05
Item #: N82E16827106073
http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16827106073

In Stock
$35.99 $35.99

Update Microsoft Windows XP Home With SP2B 1 Pack - OEM
Model #: N09-01991
Item #: N82E16832116056

http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16832116056

In Stock
$89.99 $89.99

Update Antec 761345-75093-6 92mm Case Fan - Retail
Model #: 761345-75093-6
Item #: N82E16835209004

http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16835209004

In Stock
$7.99 $7.99
Subtotal: $889.89
I have three different brands of memory, I only want to get the best one for this build, any suggestions would be helpful
I also have an Antec Sonata plus 550 That I already bought.
All parts are from newegg.
I'm not opposed to upgrading any of these items, to an extent.
Thanks in advance,
Gary

[Alaron]

Looks like a solid start. For the memory, I've been reading that Intel chips prefer CAS5 RAM, your links are all CAS4. Try these sticks instead: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820145590

Also, swap your burner for a Retail; it will come with Nero software. It's out of stock right now but it should reappear in a few days: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827106072

You could also get away with just one hard drive, but having two for backups makes sense also.

[Geekay]

Thanks for responding,
I was looking for the retail version of that burner but I also saw it was out of stock. Thanks for the tip about the memory, I'll change it,
I want two HDs because I want to use the smaller one for XP and micro soft office and use it as my boot drive, and use the larger one for everything else.

[Masaki 7-11]

The build looks pretty good, but could have a few improvements. First of all to answer your ram question, the best ram for Intel right now is ram with a CAS latency of 5, so if you find a good brand for the ram with that latency, it should work fine. I would recommend changing the video card to either a GDDR3 version of the 8600GT, or get a better card like the HD2900GT; or the HD3800 series if you can afford the additional costs. I would also take a look at getting vista since a lot of games are supported on Vista only, and that's the only way you'll be able to take advantage of your directx 10 card since it will only run in directx 9 mode on XP.

[Geekay]

I changed the memory to the Corsair,
I'm not sure about Vista, I don't think some of my hardware will be compatable with it, I'll have to do some research.
Thanks for the suggestions.

[Geekay]

If I were to go with Vista, is it worth going for the 64 bit version ??
There's only a few buck difference in price .
PROS ???
CONS ???

[Alaron]

Main advantage to a 64bit OS compared to a 32bit is that 64bit versions can fully use 4GB of RAM. The 32bit version sees about 3.2GB when 4GB is installed. Disadvantage is that 64bit drivers can be tough to find, but that is getting better.

[Geekay]

Thanks Alaron, I already found out that my printer won't work in Vista,,, it's getting old anyway. I like the 4 GB of ram supported though.
What do you run ??

[Devastator]

If I were you'd I'd switch your GFX card to EVGA over XFX simply because they pick up better reviews and EVGA work the closest with Nvidia:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130085

Same price, it's half the memory, if you still want 512MB (I doubt you'd notice the difference though) then go for this:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130290

Although there are some Superclocked and SSC 256's around in the EVGA 8600 bit so take a look at them too.

[Geekay]

Thanks Devastator, I checked them out and they seem to be OK. As I said in my original post I'm open to upgrading any of the items on my list and welcome suggestions.
With so much stuff out there it can be tough to track down the things i'm looking for with one set of eyes. Thanks, I'll change my video card to one of the ones you suggested

[Geekay]

Thanks to all for the advise you gave me . I ordered everything on my list last night, and now I play the waiting game.
If I have more questions , which I know I will, I'll do a search for answers first before I start a new thread.
THANKS VERY MUCH !!!