Looking for advice on a proposed build

[holtbakk]

I'm building myself a PC for the first time in almost eight years. I've spent the past week doing research on various forums, but I'm still far from confident about my choices... so any feedback would be greatly appreciated.

Basically, I'm trying to build myself a mid-range gaming system without breaking the bank. For an OS, I'm thinking Vista Home Premium.

I should also mention that I live in Japan... so while I'm taking suggestions from US/UK-based forums, I also need to keep an eye on what is readily (and cheaply) available over here.

Okay, without further ado... (prices are in yen, links also included but it's all in Japanese)

case+psu: antec sonata iii (Y17,970)
cpu: intel core 2 duo e8400 (Y22,000)
mobo: asus p5k-e (Y14,470)
hdd: seagate barracuda 7200.11 500gb (Y8,469)
video card: gigabyte 8800gt 512mb w/ zalman fan (Y24,980)
memory: corsair twin 2x2048-6400c4 ddr2 pc2-6400 2gb (1gb x 2) (Y6,799)
monitor: samsung syncmaster 2043nw" (Y23,647)
dvd-r: liteon dh-20a3-26 (Y3,130)
sound card: onkyo se-90pci (Y7,610)
total price = Y129,075 ~ $1228 USD ~ 622 GBP

(or an alternative, slightly cheaper build)
cpu: e8400 -> e7200,
video card: 8800gt -> 9600gt,
sound card: onkyo se-90pci -> none (onboard sound)
total price ~ Y106,125 ~ $1009 USD ~ 511 GBP

A few specific doubts/concerns I have:
- (case) Is the Sonata (case+500w psu) a good choice? I was also looking at the Antec 900 plus a Corsair 520HX PSU unit, but that would bump up the price a bit, so I'd just as soon go with the Sonata unless I'm looking at significant stability issues.
- (video card) Is Gigabyte a reliable enough brand? Also, if I were looking to go a little cheaper here (obviously sacrificing some performance), would a Leadtek Winfast PX9600GT be decent enough? (seems to run about Y10,000 less)
- (ram) I'm debating whether to go with 2GB (like I have here) and Vista 32-bit, or whether to spring for 4GB and get 64-bit Vista (I've read that you need a 64-bit OS to really take advantage of 4GB... but also that there are driver and backwards compatibility issues with 64-bit Vista... is this accurate?)
- Also, I don't have a separate CPU cooling unit at the moment... will this be an issue? If so, I'll look into them.

I won't actually be building this system until July/August, so I plan to keep an eye on things and see if some prices go down. Is there anything else I should re-consider?

Sorry for the long post... and I apologize in advance if I've made any obvious, boneheaded mistakes that I haven't noticed. Any feedback would be greatly, greatly appreciated.

Thanks!

(edit-- edited to reflect changes based on shadowpr and Masaki's suggestions)

[shadowpr]

Looks good. Only thing I would really change is the hard drive. Look at the seagate 7200.11 series instead.

That case and power supply combo is good.

Haven't really heard anything about gigabyte video cards. Could try and get a evga brand.

I have 4gb and vista home premium 64 bit and haven't had any compatibility problems. If concerned, I would check out peripherals drivers from their websites. Also might want to check specific programs for compatibility.

You don't need an aftermarket cpu cooler unless you're going to overclock.

If you're not going to build till july/august, then I wouldn't worry about looking at things now. Things will be quite different by then.

[holtbakk]

Thanks for the feedback.

Originally Posted by shadowpr Looks good. Only thing I would really change is the hard drive. Look at the seagate 7200.11 series instead.

Okay, I found one for only slightly more expensive than the Samsung one I had, so I'll probably go with this:
Barracuda 7200.11 SATA 500gb ST3500320AS

Originally Posted by shadowpr Haven't really heard anything about gigabyte video cards. Could try and get a evga brand.

For whatever reason, EVGA doesn't seem to be readily available in Japan. Not impossible to track down, but pretty expensive. I'll keep searching to see if I can find one at a decent price.

Originally Posted by shadowpr I have 4gb and vista home premium 64 bit and haven't had any compatibility problems. If concerned, I would check out peripherals drivers from their websites. Also might want to check specific programs for compatibility.

Thanks -- I'll consider this. I assume that 4gb with Vista 64-bit would offer a pretty substantial performance boost over 2gb and 32-bit Vista?

Originally Posted by shadowpr You don't need an aftermarket cpu cooler unless you're going to overclock.

Not planning on it... even without overclocking, this new system is going to be such a step up from what I have now that it just doesn't seem necessary.

Originally Posted by shadowpr If you're not going to build till july/august, then I wouldn't worry about looking at things now. Things will be quite different by then.

Yeah, I realize this... but I figure that after being out of the loop for so many years, it'd be smart to start looking around ASAP... so I at least have a fundamental base of knowledge to go on when I build in a few months, you know?

Anyway, I appreciate the feedback. Thanks again.

[Masaki 7-11]

Is there any particular reason to get a discrete sound card? The integrated sound card is of good quality (SoundMAX) and supports EAX as well as surround sound.

Gigabyte cards are of good quality, unless you are looking for something specific (overclocked, or lifetime warranty) gigabyte will work fine, some other companies you can take a look at are Asus, Palit and MSI.

The 9600GT has performance close to that of the 8800GT but runs really quietly (I have one installed in my rig). If you need to save some money on the build, the 9600GT is a good choice.

Regarding the OS, unless you are planning to play games that require vista or are DX10 only, you might want to take a look at XP, it is faster, more stable and most likely less expensive (http://www.pc-goodmedia.jp/shopdetail/010001000032/), if you can't find it Home premium is good if you like the aero interface (64-bit is actually a bit slower than 32-bit, even with 4GB vs. 2GB), otherwise Home basic will run faster.

Might want to take a look at a samsung monitor instead of the BenQ, the samsung monitors have good color quality, and can be found for about the same price as the BenQ:
http://kakaku.com/item/00852512500/

If you are planning on buying the computer sometime in the summer, you won't likely see any introductions of midrange parts, and will likely have minimal of price cuts by then (only thing that you may want to take a look at is the P45 chipset for motherboard, mostly high end cards like the 9900GTX and HD4870 will be out during the summer). Most likely this list will still be valid for the time you are planning to buy.

[holtbakk]

Thanks for the great advice.

Originally Posted by Masaki 7-11 Is there any particular reason to get a discrete sound card? The integrated sound card is of good quality (SoundMAX) and supports EAX as well as surround sound.

Hmm... now that you mention it, maybe it's not necessary. I basically included it for three reasons:
1) I do MIDI and digital music composition
2) This Onkyo card has very good reviews at a reasonable price
3) ...maybe I'm still stuck in the old days when you really needed a dedicated sound card

Maybe I'll hold off at first and pick one up later if I'm not satisfied with the onboard sound for whatever reason.

Originally Posted by Masaki 7-11 The 9600GT has performance close to that of the 8800GT but runs really quietly (I have one installed in my rig). If you need to save some money on the build, the 9600GT is a good choice.

Thanks... I might go with it if I'm looking to save some cash. I'm a casual gamer at best, so I have a feeling the 9600GT will suit my needs well enough.

Originally Posted by Masaki 7-11 Regarding the OS, unless you are planning to play games that require vista or are DX10 only, you might want to take a look at XP, it is faster, more stable and most likely less expensive (http://www.pc-goodmedia.jp/shopdetail/010001000032/), if you can't find it Home premium is good if you like the aero interface (64-bit is actually a bit slower than 32-bit, even with 4GB vs. 2GB), otherwise Home basic will run faster.

Yeah, I'm debating between Vista and XP. I'm not exactly in love with Vista -- tried it out on a friend's laptop and it seemed heavy and slow (despite pretty decent specs). But I thought with a decently-powered new system, Vista would run fast enough, and also be a better choice for future compatibility. I'll have to think it over a bit more.

Originally Posted by Masaki 7-11 Might want to take a look at a samsung monitor instead of the BenQ, the samsung monitors have good color quality, and can be found for about the same price as the BenQ: http://kakaku.com/item/00852512500/

Awesome... thanks for that. I'll definitely go with the Samsung.

Originally Posted by Masaki 7-11 (only thing that you may want to take a look at is the P45 chipset for motherboard, mostly high end cards like the 9900GTX and HD4870 will be out during the summer). Most likely this list will still be valid for the time you are planning to buy.

Hmm... I assume those high-end cards will cost more than, say, the 8800GT does now? If so, I probably won't be getting one anyway... trying to stay lower-budget than that. Still, it's good to know.

Thanks for the great info!