Need help with my build please!

[diesiel]

First of all, sorry if this is in the wrong section but im about to pull the trigger and i really need final approval of the [h] geeks .

CPU
Intel Core 2 Duo E4300 Dual Core Processor - $135.20


Motherboard
DFI Infinity P965-S - $166.31


Ram
Buffalo Firestix FSX800D2C-K2G 2GB 2X1GB PC2-6400 DDR2-800 CL5-5-5 240PIN Dimm Dual Channel Memory - $119.99


Video Card
BFG GeForce 8800GTS OC 550MHZ 320MB 1.6GHZ GDDR3 - $334.34 - 30$ rebate


PSU
Corsair CMPSU-620HX 620W - $149.99 - $20 rebate


HSF
Sunbeam Tuniq Tower 120 - $54.99


Hard Drive
Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 320GB SATA2 3GB/S - $83.99


Case
Antec 900 - $117.53


TOTAL = $1,162.34 CANADIAN

There, tried to make it easier on the eyes . Im generally a pretty analytical person and i'm racking my brains trying to find the best bang for the buck (Also interested in stability and power of course). THE COMPUTER WILL BE RUNNING AT LEAST 16+ HOURS A DAY (LIKELY 24/7) AND WILL OFTEN BE UNDER SOME LOAD

So am i lacking in any areas (Or, conversely, putting too much $ into a certain component?). Im really planning on taking the E4300 at least 3+ghz and it being cool and stable.

So ultimately, my question is am i being an idiot in any of these areas? lol. I prefer to spend as little as possible but i mean i wont compromise stability by buying a 50$ cheaper Psu or anything like that. My gaming experience will definetly be limited to 1600x1200 and under (most likely 1280). I'm not planning for uber-godly graphics or 100+ fps, just nice casual gaming when i have free time)



Im dying for suggestions! My hands are itching!

 

[silent-circuit]

DFIs are in the words of our fearless leader/motherboard editor, "flaky on their best days". I'd go with something else -- many people seem to like the DS3 for a non-SLI board, or the EVGA 650i Ultra board here is $98 and will do you just as well, with better customer support.

Cool and stable at 3+ Ghz with an E4300 I dunno. My E6420 does great at 3.2Ghz constant, but as with all overclocks, ymmv.

Any DDR2-800 will do fine for you, so if you can go lower on the RAM, do it. That said, with the prices in CAD (I assume?) I doubt you can do much better, and the Firestix are good stuff.

If you can swing it, jump up to a 640MB card. Some will say that 320MB is fine for 1600x1200, but I tend to disagree -- or at very least, see this changing in the near future. The price difference isn't that great, but the /potential/ performance difference is huge. That said, if you're really staying at 1280x1024 or similar, you don't really need the extra VRAM... but if you buy a new monitor at some point, you'll be kicking yourself, no doubt at all.

The Corsair is a good PSU, and 320GB appears to be the price per GB sweet spot right now, so good choice there as well.

 

[diesiel]

Thanks.


What do you mean lower on the ram? As in a lower clock or just generic crap? (I can pick up 2gigs of xms2 corsair 5300 for 78$, and i know they'll oc to a good 800 easily whilst retaining their timings, worth it?

The reason im going with the 320 meg version is because honestly i cant find the 640 meg version for under like 375.

 

[silent-circuit]

If you're not ever going SLI and want to save some cash the Corsair 520watt is an option -- it will run a single card setup without issue, and people even SLI GTS's on it.

Stay with the Firestix. As your prices are in CAD, that's a pretty good price, and it's one less thing to worry about.

If you ever plan to hit 1600x1200 or above the 640MB is still the way to go, but if price is a problem, I certainly understand. They've gone up about $30-40 USD here in the last week or so, and I imagine you're in a similar situation.

Consider some Yate Loon 120mm fans. Antec Tricools (I think that's what come with the 900? They come with the P180...) are loud on high, and don't really push much air. I'm replacing all mine with the Yate Loons.

 

[diesiel]

Yeah im never going to go sli, and i can save 30 bucks with the 530, I guess i'll just ahve to see what im going to do with the video card. Another reason i like the particular one i chose was because i read its VERY overclockable.