How's this set-up?

[Clockworks]

Hello
I am building a new rig for myself and I require the people of the forum to assist me in this set-up. My current set-up is for some casual gaming, some 3D redering, A/V editing (no major), and High School related work. The current budget is to not exceed $800.

Case:
Guardian NZXT ($70)

DVD-Burner:
NEC 8X DL 2510A ($74)

CPU:
Athlon 64 2800+ ($150) (I plan to upgrade it later to the 3700+ when the price justifies it; it just needs to hold me off until Dual Core becomes a sure thing).

Hard Drive:
Seagate 160 SATA II with NCQ ($115)
or
Seagate 160 SATA ($107) (any major difference in performance and/or stability?)

RAM:
OCZ EL 512 PC-3200 Platinum Edition ($123)

Mobo:
MSI K8N Neo Platinum with nForce3 250 chipset($128) (The Mobo MUST have onboard sound and gigabit ethernet (future-proofing a bit) along with a firewire connection, I do some video editing).

Video Card:
Powercolor ATI Radeon 9800SE 128MB DDR, 256-bit

Thanks to all those who help

 

[Stugots]

id get at least a 3000 a64.

 

[diablo111]

id get at least a 3000 a64.

I agree...the performance is worth an extra $30.

Drop that 9800SE, they suck ass...get either a 9600XT if you must go with ATi (which is also about $150)...personally, I would get a 5700 Ultra with GDDR3 http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=14-122-192&depa=1
for $150 shipped...much better card.

The case? Not really my style, but if it's yours, then cool...however, that PSU that comes with it is trash...pick yourself out one from the list here http://www.hardforum.com/showthread.php?t=792566
It's a good bet that sub-par PSU could kill all this new hardware, which makes a better PSU a small investment.

Just my .02

 

[Clockworks]

The new shall then be the RAIDMax Blue Case for $27 along with the Antec True430 for $70

The video card is something that shouldn't cross the $150 barrier no matter what because I don't do Extreme gaming, just some casul games.

 

[Clockworks]

Actually, should I just stick with my TNT2 Ultra until the cards come down in price or does anyone have a better sugestion? I plan to use my computer for mostly school work in the Fall time and some old-school gaming such as Roller Coaster Tycoon, FF7 and FF8 (the PC versions).

Thanks again.

 

[xsylom]

The guardian Case is just plain secksy.

 

[Stugots]

what about seeing if you can get a used 9800pro 128mb?

 

[Clockworks]

Is the Nvidia 6600 card going to be PCI-e, AGP, or both, because if so I'll just buy that.