New mid-performance PC

[Bakkan]

Case: Already Owned

Power Supply: Already Owned, 400 W

MB: ASUS P5VD2-MX SE LGA 775 VIA P4M890 Micro ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail
Price: $48.99

CPU: Intel Core 2 Duo E6550 Conroe 2.33GHz 4M shared L2 Cache LGA 775 Processor - Retail
Price: $175.99

CPU Heatsink: ARCTIC COOLING Freezer 7 Pro 92mm CPU Cooler - Retail
Price: $19.99

RAM: CORSAIR XMS2 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 675 (PC2 5400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory - Retail
Price: $72.99

HDD: Western Digital Caviar SE16 WD2500KSRTL 250GB 7200 RPM 16MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - Retail
Price: $79.99

Optical Drive: LITE-ON 20X DVD+R 8X DVD+RW 8X DVD+R DL 20X DVD-R 6X DVD-RW 12X DVD-RAM 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-R 32X CD-RW 40X CD-ROM IDE DVD Burner - Retail
Price: $29.99

Video Card: MSI NX8400GS-TD256E GeForce 8400GS Support up to 512M (256MB onboard) 64-bit GDDR2 PCI Express x16 Video Card - Retail
Price: $46.99

Monitor: Acer AL1717Fbd Black 17" 5ms DVI LCD Monitor 300 cd/m2 800:1 Built in Speakers - Retail
Price: $199.99

OS: Windows XP - Locally Bought

Keyboard/Mouse: Locally Bought

Total Price (Before shipping): $674.92

I would like to keep the price under $750 if possible. I want to make sure that everything is compatible, of course. I would like this rig to be able to play, e.g., WoW smoothly at moderate settings. Any suggestions or comments would be appreciated. Thanks.

[RazR]

if your not going to be overclocking your CPU, then take out the aftermarket CPU fan
stock cooling should do just fine

[Jimmy0]

Also I would swap the optical driver for a SATA one not an IDE connection.

Also you can get a 320GB Seagate hdd for the same price as that WD.

Also it looks like that MB only supports up to 1066MHz processors, whereas you have chosen a 1333 one, if you can afford one I would go with an Asus P5K.

[Alaron]

I would look into a motherboard upgrade. WoW doesn't require a lot of video card power, and honestly the 8400GS is not worth the (low) cost.

I would look at the Asus P5K-VM. The VIA chipset on the board you chose is not a good companion for an Intel system. Use this board's onboard video until you can squeeze a video card into the budget. The 8600GT would be a nice choice.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...187&Tpk=p5k-vm

[Katreat]

I am not familiar with that Mobo so will let other comment if there are better deals out there.

Agree with Raz there is no need for aftermarket Heatsink unless you plan to OC the system. The stock one that comes with retail CPU will work fine for normal use.

I would save a little and get Corsair Value Select memory at 667. XMS is more for someone who is over-clocking.

Look at Seagate HD, WD is fine but Seagate offers a better warrenty. 320 G seems to be the best bang for the buck at this time.

If you primarily want it for a gamer I think your video card might be a little light. Would look at 8600s from moderate playing and 8800s from nicer graphics.

I would shop around a bit unless that monitor is exactly what you want. You can get lots of 19” for under $200 and you could use the savings to upgrade video and maybe mobo a bit. I play wow on a 22” wide screen and I love the bigger size with that game.

Kat

[flanzig1]

Would post the make and model number of your PSU. If it is an older ATX 1.0 type unit, you will need to get a different PSU that is ATX 2.0