New Gaming Computer

[Aranel]

First let me thank the PCmech community for this forum. It's been nearly 4 years since I built my last PC. Considering just how much has changed since then, I was totally intimidated about finding the right parts. Having monitored this forum over the past few weeks and taking the feedback to heart, I feel I've got a fairly good build. I'd value your feedback before I make my purchase.

Case - Antec Nine Hundred Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - Retail $119.99
http://www.newegg.com/product/produc...82E16811129021

PSU - CORSAIR CMPSU-620HX ATX12V v2.2 and EPS12V 2.91 620W Power Supply - Retail $149.99 (after mail-in rebate)
http://www.newegg.com/product/produc...82E16817139002

GPU - EVGA 512-P3-N841-A3 GeForce 8800GTS (G92) 512MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card - Retail $299.99 (after mail-in rebate)
http://www.newegg.com/product/produc...82E16814130312

I'm sad that Crysis no longer appears to be bundled

Mobo - ASUS P5K-E/WIFI-AP LGA 775 Intel P35 ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail $149.99
http://www.newegg.com/product/produc...82E16813131196

CPU - Intel Core 2 Duo E8400 Wolfdale 3.0GHz LGA 775 65W Dual-Core Processor Model BX80570E8400 - Retail $224.99
http://www.newegg.com/product/produc...82E16819115037

Memory - CORSAIR 4GB(2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model TWIN2X4096-6400C5 G - Retail $79.00 (after mail-in rebate)
http://www.newegg.com/product/produc...82E16820145184

A friend of mine with some experience says I should use OCZ instead of Corsair...thoughts?
OCZ Vista Upgrade 4GB(2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model OCZ2VU8004GK - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/product/produc...82E16820227195

HD - Seagate Barracuda 7200.11 ST3500320AS 500GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM $119.99
http://www.newegg.com/product/produc...82E16822148288

DVD - LITE-ON 20X DVD±R DVD Burner with LightScribe Black SATA Model LH-20A1L-06 - Retail $37.99
http://www.newegg.com/product/produc...82E16827106072

Still on the fence about which OS to go (32-bit Vista vs. XP). Most of what I've read about Vista complaints seems a bit dated and that it's coming along. On one hand, known stability found in XP...on the other DX10 with Vista...my main purpose for this game machine is World of Warcraft although I'm eager to give some of the new games a try with much improved system.

[shadowpr]

Good looking build.

As for the ram, either one would be good. Corsair is genereally recommended more around here, but I haven't heard anything bad about ocz either.

The 32 bit OS's will only recognize 3.2gb of ram at most, so if you want windows to fully see all 4gb then you're going to have to go with a 64 bit OS. XP or Vista is a personal choice. I'm using vista 64 and have no problems with it, and it seems to work good on my build.

You can save a few bucks by getting the 8800gt instead. That gts only performs a bit better, but costs a bit more. Up to you. Either card will perform well.

[doubledragon5]

I believe the 64bit versionof XP has problems with drivers that they never really ironed out, so I would go with the 64bit version of Vista instead..

[Masaki 7-11]

Generally speaking, Vista or XP 64-bit will run slower than their 32-bit counterparts since there is very little if any applications or games written for 64-bit natively. Most 32-bit code has to be translated into 64-bit code, and that uses up a lot of system resources, an additional 1GB that Vista is able to use isn't worth going up to 64-bit. If anyone thinks that 64-bit is as fast as 32-bit, try running both versions of the OS on your computer, and you should see a large change in performance; running vista 64-bit on my laptop was extremely slow, wouldn't let me multi-task, and it took over 10 seconds to open the internet (was using firefox). The same laptop with 32-bit was very functional and didn't have any of the problems I encountered with 64-bit.

[ToyotaSupra]

I've had Vista 64 also, since release. The ONLY problem I've had with it is that it is not compatible with iTunes or my iPhone. I used to play WoW on it and never had problems.

Not sure about iPods though.

I did disable the Windows Sidebar thing. It would slow my PC down a bit when using Fraps or running multiple programs.

[Aranel]

I'm set on 32-bit for now, regardless whether Vista or XP.

Any other thoughts on hardware?

[Masaki 7-11]

Looks like a very solid build, I've used OCZ ram before, and it worked great, but I've heard that Corsair work great also, so you should go with whichever one you like better, or which has the better price.

[pctime1]

That's quite nice gaming computer.

[Aranel]

Thanks for the feedback everyone. I should have bought it yesterday when the E8400 were in stock! Guess it'll be mid-Feb before I buy this now , but maybe there'll be more cost drops by then.

[ghost_of_war]

Looks good - pictures when done please!

[shadowpr]

Look for the e8400 at zipzoomfly, or mwave.