Need Assistance with avadirect build

[CSuchanek]

I'm looking for an entry level gaming PC. My gaming tastes run to Sims 2 with all the expansion packs and various city builder games. I'll probably be getting Sim City Societies when it comes out.

I am looking at two avadirect builds.

CUSTOM COMPUTER, Athlon™ 64 AM2 DDR2-800 SLI™ Performance Series System $1155.04
# ASPIRE (APEVIA), X-Cruiser Black Metal Case w/ Window, ATX, 420W PSU
# OCZ, GameXStream 700W Power Supply, 24-pin ATX EPS12V, SLI Ready
# ASUS, M2N4-SLI, nForce 4 SLI, DDR2-800 8GB/4, PCIe x16 SLI, SATA II RAID 5 /4, Audio, Gb LAN, ATX, Retail
# AMD, Athlon™ 64 X2 Dual-Core 6000+ 3.0GHz, AM2, HT 2000MHz, 2x 1MB L2 cache, 125W, 90nm, OEM
# ARCTIC COOLING, Freezer 64 Pro Quiet CPU Cooling Fan/Heatsink, Socket 754/939/AM2, Ceramic Bearing, Retail
# CORSAIR, 2GB (2 x 1GB) XMS2 Xtreme PC2-6400 DDR2 800MHz CL4 (4-4-4-12) SDRAM 240-pin DIMM, Non-ECC, w/ Heat Spreader
# XFX, GeForce 8600GT 620MHz, 256MB DDR3 1.6GHz, PCIe x16 SLI, 2x DVI, HDTV-Out, w/ Fan, Retail
# WESTERN DIGITAL, 250GB WD Caviar® SE16, SATA II 300MB/s, 7200 RPM, 16MB cache
# LITE-ON, LH-20A1L Black/Beige 20x DVD±RW Dual-Layer Burner w/ LightScribe, SATA, Retail
# LINKSKEY, LKA-CR15BW Black/White Internal 52-in-1 Card Reader/Writer Drive, 3.5" Bay, USB
# MICROSOFT, Windows Vista Home Premium Edition 32-bit, OEM
# WARRANTY, Silver Warranty Package (3 Year Limited Parts, 3 Year Labor Warranty)
or
CUSTOM COMPUTER, Core™ 2 Duo Extreme SLI Performance Series System $1384.74
# ASPIRE (APEVIA), X-Cruiser Black Metal Case w/ Window, ATX, No PSU
# OCZ, GameXStream 700W Power Supply, 24-pin ATX EPS12V, SLI Ready
# ASUS, P5N32-E SLI, LGA775, nForce 680i SLI, 1333MHz FSB, DDR2-800 8GB /4, PCIe x16 SLI /3, SATA 3Gb/s RAID 5 /6, HDA, GbLAN /2, FW /2, ATX, Retail
# INTEL, Core™ 2 Duo E6850 Dual-Core, 3.0GHz, 1333MHz FSB, 4MB L2 Cache, 65nm EM64T EIST VT XD, Retail
# ARCTIC COOLING, Freezer 7 Pro Quiet CPU Cooling Fan/Heatsink, Socket 775, Ceramic Bearing, Retail
# CORSAIR, 2GB (2 x 1GB) XMS2 Xtreme PC2-6400 DDR2 800MHz CL4 (4-4-4-12) SDRAM 240-pin DIMM, Non-ECC, w/ Heat Spreader
# XFX, GeForce 8600GT 620MHz, 256MB DDR3 1.6GHz, PCIe x16 SLI, 2x DVI, HDTV-Out, w/ Fan, Retail
# WESTERN DIGITAL, 250GB WD Caviar® SE16, SATA II 300MB/s, 7200 RPM, 16MB cache
# RAID, No RAID, Independent HDD Drives
# LITE-ON, LH-20A1L Black/Beige 20x DVD±RW Dual-Layer Burner w/ LightScribe, SATA, Retail
# LINKSKEY, LKA-CR15BW Black/White Internal 52-in-1 Card Reader/Writer Drive, 3.5" Bay, USB
# MICROSOFT, Windows Vista Home Premium Edition 32-bit, OEM
# WARRANTY, Silver Warranty Package (3 Year Limited Parts, 3 Year Labor Warranty)

My original budget was $1000-1100 and as you can see I have gone over that with either. Is there anything on there that is overkill for my needs? Is there anything I really need but am missing? I understand core 2 duos are better for gaming but is the difference worth the cost (and the month and a half additional wait to save up for it) considering the games I play? As far as future upgrading my comfort level is to add memory or a better video card and I'd probably be willing to add a second video card in SLI in a couple of years if that seems like the better option at the time but I don't feel comfortable with anything beyond that.

 

[lt_shiro]

Core 2 Duo will have much better upgrade path than Am2 rig.

 

[CSuchanek]

Could you please clarify? Both boards hold the same potential amount of RAM so I don't see that upgrading that would be different between the two rigs. Would the core 2 duo make a difference in upgrading the video card? Or are you referring to the possibility of upgrading the processor? Because quite frankly I don't think the later is something I am likely to do. How much difference would their be in the current performance of the two systems?


EDIT:

I am trying to get this system closer to my planned budget. I just configured this

CUSTOM COMPUTER, Core™ 2 Duo Extreme Performance Series System $1242.82
# ASPIRE (APEVIA), X-Cruiser Silver Metal Case w/ Window, ATX, 420W PSU
# ANTEC, TruePower Trio 550 Power Supply, 550W, 24-pin ATX12V, SLI Ready, 5-Year Warranty
# ASUS, P5B, LGA775, Intel P965, DDR2-800 8GB/4, PCIe x16, SATA 3Gb/s /5, Audio, GbLAN, ATX, Retail
# INTEL, Core™ 2 Duo E6850 Dual-Core, 3.0GHz, 1333MHz FSB, 4MB L2 Cache, 65nm EM64T EIST VT XD, Retail
# ARCTIC COOLING, Freezer 7 Pro Quiet CPU Cooling Fan/Heatsink, Socket 775, Ceramic Bearing, Retail
# CORSAIR, 2GB (2 x 1GB) XMS2 Xtreme PC2-6400 DDR2 800MHz CL4 (4-4-4-12) SDRAM 240-pin DIMM, Non-ECC, w/ Heat Spreader
# XFX, GeForce 8600GT 620MHz, 256MB DDR3 1.6GHz, PCIe x16 SLI, 2x DVI, HDTV-Out, w/ Fan, Retail
# WESTERN DIGITAL, 250GB WD Caviar® SE16, SATA II 300MB/s, 7200 RPM, 16MB cache
# RAID, No RAID, Independent HDD Drives
# LITE-ON, LH-20A1L Black/Beige 20x DVD±RW Dual-Layer Burner w/ LightScribe, SATA, Retail
# LINKSKEY, LKA-CR15BW Black/White Internal 52-in-1 Card Reader/Writer Drive, 3.5" Bay, USB
# MICROSOFT, Windows Vista Home Premium Edition 32-bit, OEM
# WARRANTY, Silver Warranty Package (3 Year Limited Parts, 3 Year Labor Warranty)

So I guess my question in this case is would I be better off going with the SLI capable AMD configuration or this Core 2 Duo configuration that is not SLI capable?

Also does it look like I have sufficient power and cooling in each configuration?