need some pointers for my new build

[par0le]

Hey everyone, I'm new to the board but have been following quite a few threads and am currently working on finalizing a new build. So far, here's what I'm looking at:

Thermaltake Tsunami VA3000BWA Case
EVGA 122-CK-NF68-AR Socket T (LGA 775) Mobo
eVGA 768-P2-N831-AR GeForce 8800GTX Video Card
Thermaltake W0106RU 700watt Power Supply
Intel Core 2 Duo E6600 Conroe 2.4GHz LGA 775 Processor
with a ZALMAN CNPS9500 LED 2 Ball Cooling Fan with Heatsink
CORSAIR XMS2 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) RAM
Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 ST3320620AS (Perpendicular Recording Technology) 320GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive
and finally a BenQ FP202W Black 20.1" 8ms Widescreen LCD Monitor

I've already got a nice multimedia keyboard, dvd-rw drive, sound system and logitech mx510 mouse.

My question to you guys is there any aspect of this system I should change? Possibly due to bad experiences from other users here at hardforum or even a cheaper alternative to some of the parts I'm looking at while still offering dominating gaming power.

Originally I was looking at an Enermax 620watt power supply, but a friend of mine said to go for Thermaltake instead due to better reliability. What do you guys think of that?

Also, as for the RAM....I know I want 2 1gb sticks of ddr2 ram running at no higher a cas latency of 4. 4-4-4-12 timings are a goal as well. Looking at the RAM i've mentioned above, would it be better just to save some cash and go for some cheaper Corsair xms2 ram? (the ram i'm looking at has the led's...but it looks like 2gb of xms2 can be around $100 cheaper without EPP, the outrageous heatspreaders, and of course the LEDS.) Seems like many people on this board have been mentioning G.Skill ram which I've never had any experience with. How does G.skill compare with Corsair?

The full list of parts I'm looking at can be found on newegg here for easy browsing.

Right now I'm looking at a grand subtotal of $2,238.92

Thanks in advance for the feedback,
-par0le

 

[Youri Carma]

Have a look at the Mushkins RAM as well.

 

[tisb0b]

Originally I was looking at an Enermax 620watt power supply, but a friend of mine said to go for Thermaltake instead due to better reliability. What do you guys think of that?

I think your friend is an idiot for recommending a thermaltake powersupply over an Enermax and should be bitchslapped into submission. I recommend this $170 Corsair HX620w corsair have been making very good power supplies lately and this one is quite popular on the forums.

For the ram I reccomend this OCZ stuff $246($214 after MIR) OCZ Platinum Revision 2 2GB (2 x 1GB) DDR800 has teh good timings I believe.

For your monitor get a sexy $339 Chimei 221D 22" LCD (silver or black same price) REVIEW

Your going to need a bigger case for that 11" GTX because ain't going to fit in that small case. If you can find a case that is about 22"+ deep the GTX should fit because an antec p180 is 20" deep and requires modding for the gtx to fit. For comparison the case you've selected is only 19" deep so its definitely not going to fit.

Unless your going SLI that motherboard is a waste of money and if you are you will need this powersupply, for $135 GIGABYTE GA-965G-DS3 is a nice overclocker too.

Get this $33 Scythe Ninja cooler as it is alot better than that zalman.

 

[engiNURD]

heh, i agree with tisb0b (everything he said). surprisingly, he didnt recommend the hd400lj over the 320gb seagate... so if you want more storage, go for the samsung drive, hehe. though, the toughpower thermatakes are much better than tt's other psu lines, but enermax psus, in general, are more reliable.