Overkill?

[313n703]

Is this a good combo for a media/gaming PC? It will be used 85% media and 15% gaming. Should I remove, replace, or add any components.

ASUS P5B Deluxe LGA 775 Intel P965 Express ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail

Intel Core 2 Duo E6600 Conroe 2.4GHz 4M shared L2 Cache LGA 775 Processor - Retail

x2
CORSAIR XMS2 1GB 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Desktop Memory Model

EVGA 512-P2-N635-AR GeForce 7950GT 512MB GDDR3 PCI Express x16 KO Video Card - Retail

HDD 1 (OS)
Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 (Perpendicular Recording) ST3250620AS 250GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM

HDD 2 (Data)
Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 ST3750640AS 750GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM

LITE-ON 20X DVD±R DVD Burner With 12X DVD-RAM Write Black SATA Model LH-20A1S - Retail

CORSAIR CMPSU-520HX ATX12V v2.2 and EPS12V 2.91 520W Power Supply - Retail

Thermaltake Armor Series VA8000BWS Black Aluminum / Steel ATX Full Tower Computer Case - Retail

With Vista Ultimate and instant rebates, it will be $1,731.92 plus shipping. $1681.92 after mail in rebates.

Thanks in advance

[blue60007]

2 gigs of RAM might be worth it. Yeah, if you are only doing 15% gaming I don't see a need for an SLI board or such a beefy video card. I'd go for the E6600 as well, it's a little better bang for the buck.

Also, I would think you would put the smaller drive for a OS drive and the larger for storage.

[313n703]

Oops, I meant it to be the other way around for the HDD's. I've edited the list, that should save me a bundle. Thanks for the input blue60007.

[blue60007]

I would go with 2 1GB sticks rather than 4 512MB sticks.

Also, you could cut back on the power supply now that you aren't going with SLI...Here's one we've been recommending for even single 8800's.

One other thing I just noticed. Your DVD drive is beige while the case is black. Also, with the P965 chipset boards I'd recommend an SATA optical drive because the 965 chipset has no native IDE support (it has 3rd party support though). Here's an example of one:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16827106057

[313n703]

Originally Posted by blue60007 I would go with 2 1GB sticks rather than 4 512MB sticks. Also, you could cut back on the power supply now that you aren't going with SLI...Here's one we've been recommending for even single 8800's. One other thing I just noticed. Your DVD drive is beige while the case is black. Also, with the P965 chipset boards I'd recommend an SATA optical drive because the 965 chipset has no native IDE support (it has 3rd party support though). Here's an example of one: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16827106057

Alright, I've added your recommendations, got rid of the sound card (will use on board sound for now), and upgraded the MB to a deluxe. I will also wait for price drop I read about for the CPU that's coming.

Thanks again.

[313n703]

I can’t edit my list above so here’s a revamped list. Let me know what you thing.

Motherboard:
ASUS P5B Deluxe LGA 775 Intel P965 Express ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail

Processor: Waiting for price drop.
Intel Core 2 Duo E6600 Conroe 2.4GHz 4M shared L2 Cache LGA 775 Processor - Retail

Memory:
2 x mushkin 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model 996527 – Retail

HDD: These will be setup as Raid 0 and I have a external HDD for backups.
2 x SAMSUNG SpinPoint T Series HD501LJ 500GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive – OEM

Optical:
LITE-ON 20X DVD±R DVD Burner With 12X DVD-RAM Write Black SATA Model LH-20A1S - Retail

PSU:
CORSAIR CMPSU-520HX ATX12V v2.2 and EPS12V 2.91 520W Power Supply - Retail

Case:
Thermaltake Armor Series VA8000BWS Black Aluminum / Steel ATX Full Tower Computer Case - Retail

For the graphics card, I’m waiting for 8600 GT/GTS series to come out. I'm leaning towards the Ultra or should I wait until ATI comes out with their stuff so prices will further drop?

[hitchface]

I wouldn't bother with RAID 0 bro. Data loss isn't worth the speed boost. Go with a 10K drive if you want speed.

Good idea about waiting for the rest of the 8 series too. As for waiting on ATi, you are already saving so much, and it isn't really a definitive amount that will be saved by waiting further.

[313n703]

I finally ordered my components after the C2D price drop and it arrived this past Monday. I decided to change a few more things and I'm really happy with it. It booted up the first time and I did a memory test for 24 hrs with no problems.

Here's what I got.

Motherboard:
ASUS P5B Deluxe

CPU:
Core 2 Duo E6600

Memory:
G.SKILL 2GB (2 x 1GB) DDR2 800 Dual Channel

GPU:
EVGA 8800GTS 640MB SUPERCLOCKED HDCP Video Card

HDD:
2 x Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 320GB SATA 3.0Gb

Optical:
LITE-ON 20X DVD±R DVD Burner With 12X DVD-RAM Write Black SATA

Case:
Antec Nine Hundred Black Steel

PSU:
CORSAIR 520W

It's probably the best $1400 I spent in a while.

[Cricket]

Nice rig. Enjoy.

Cricket

[313n703]

Thanks, I'm enjoying Oblivian at high settings. I can't believe what I've been missing with these new games, the graphics are amazing.