Relatively cheap, general computing build help

[okkercat]

So, I'm a student and I'm looking to invest in a desktop. All of my compatriots are sporting notebooks, and I have an inspiron right now, but I think I'd really like to have something substantial... Plus notebooks are so much more expensive. Anyway, I want to limit this to 800 dollars. I've been tooling around newegg and have come up with 2 possible builds. The goal here is to keep things in perspective, as in, "Wait a minute, is that extra $$$ really gonna give me that much more enjoyment? Or am I just being a fanboi?"

With that being said, I do want a fairly powerful system, but not a gaming rig or anything. I'm a cs major and I'll probably be running Photoshop, maybe some Maya, and some AI simulations so I need some ooomph. Here are the builds:

670 Dollar build:

COOLER MASTER Centurion 5 CAC-T05-UW Black Aluminum Bezel , SECC Chassis ATX Mid Tower Computer Case

Just a standard, cheap tower. Nothin fancy

ASUS P5Q SE/R LGA 775 Intel P45 ATX Intel Motherboard

I was thinking this motherboard. There seems to be a lot of hype surrounding the Gigabyte GA-P35-DS3L. Should I maybe go with that one?

XFX PVT96OSDFH GeForce 9600 GSO 768MB 192-bit GDDR2 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card

Again, nothin fancy, just good bang for my buck

Thermaltake Purepower W0100RU 500W ATX 12V 2.0 Power Supply

This is the first PC that I've ever built, so I don't really know what I'm doing. I just tried to find a PSU that had enough connections and power for what I had selected, and was reasonably priced. So, if I'm completely missing the boat on this one, lemme know.

Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 Kentsfield 2.4GHz LGA 775 Quad-Core Processor Model BX80562Q6600

Good processor for the price

G.SKILL 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 1066 (PC2 8500) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model F2-8500CL5D-4GBPK

Seagate Barracuda 7200.11 ST31000340AS 1TB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive

LG 22X DVD±R DVD Burner with LightScribe Black SATA Model GH22LS30 - OEM


And, here's an 800 dollar build. Actually I'm only gonna post the differences, because it's the same, except I exchanged the CPU, mobo, and memory:

Intel Core 2 Quad Q9300 Yorkfield 2.5GHz LGA 775 95W Quad-Core Processor Model BX80580Q9300

ASUS P5Q Pro LGA 775 Intel P45 ATX Intel Motherboard

CORSAIR DOMINATOR 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 1066 (PC2 8500) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model TWIN2X4096-8500C5DF

Ok. So. What do you think? Again, this is the first computer I've ever built, so I'm kind of shooting in the dark.

Also, any coments on buying a computer in the current 'economic crisis'? It almost seems like a bad idea to shell out for tech that's going to depreciate rapidly with the current economy. I don't know... I'm not an econ major, just wondering if anyone had any thoughts.

[not important]

Everything you have listed looks good. I would stay with the Asus MOBO and would go with PC6400 RAM unless you are going to overclock.
Buying a PC is never a good economic choice. You can build cheaper and have better and have the option to upgrade.

[shadowpr]

Welcome to the Mech.

Nice builds.

I would change a few things.

Get whatever case you want.

Asus P5Q se will work for your budget.

Q6600 should be enough for what you want.

For ram, get ddr2-800: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820145184

I would change the dvd burner to eithe a lite-on, or a asus. Get sata and retail.

I'm not sure what video card requirements are for the programs you will use, so others might have a good suggestion.

I would also look at a little better power supply: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817341010

Don't forget OS, keyboard, mouse, speakers, or monitor.