First time builder attempts a gaming rig.

[Capper]

I don't get pissed playing COD4....I get pissed and beat on my keyboard editing your reviews.

[Parker]

Originally Posted by Capper

I don't get pissed playing COD4....I get pissed and beat on my keyboard editing your reviews.

Oh ho, BURN!!!!!

[garetjax]

Originally Posted by Capper

I don't get pissed playing COD4....I get pissed and beat on my keyboard editing your reviews.

My reviews are primo. I have my cat proof read them. There's never any errors!

[theburan]

Originally Posted by garetjax

My reviews are primo. I have my cat proofread them. There's never any errors!

I'm so bored at work right now. Grrrrr.

[garetjax]

Originally Posted by theburan

I'm so bored at work right now. Grrrrr.

Eat poop, poop eater.

[theburan]

Rest with the fact that I still have 45 more minutes of work to get through.

[GrandSnafu]

I made a few adjustments which can be found here...

Wish list details

This should allow me to sub in a 9800 for the 8800 gtx when they are released, and still stay within my budget.

Any reason to go for the 750gb HDD as opposed to the 500gb i have listed other than storage capacity? If not i could get a second 500gb for near what the single 750 costs.

[screwballl]

sorry for the long post, since you asked for some opinions:

ok, relating to the motherboard, unless you really plan on going with DDR3 within a few months after the build, I would strongly suggest the EP35-DS3P over that EP35C-DS3R. The main reason being that DDR3 is still very high in price but also going with a combo board like that limits the memory upgrade path when it does come time to use DDR3, since there are 4xDDR2 slots and 2xDDR3 slots. By the time that DDR3 really catches hold, there will be much better boards out there that you should be able to upgrade to a year or two down the line. Until then stick with a DDR2 board and by using the DDR2 memory, that will give you the speed but also save you a few dollars that can be used elsewhere in the build.

GA-EP35-DS3P:
Newegg.com - GIGABYTE GA-EP35-DS3P LGA 775 Intel P35 ATX Dynamic Energy Saver Ultra Durable II Intel Motherboard - Retail

Also looking at the gigabyte letters:
GA = Gigabyte board
E = energy efficient, runs cooler at a lower power draw but still offers full speed to all components
P35 = chipset
C = Combo (uses both DDR2 and 3)
D = durable
S# = Series (S3 = Series 3, S4 = Series 4)
P = Pair of PCIe slots
R = native RAID compatibility (but also found on "P" boards)

With the DS3P board, it also allows you the chance to use 2 ATI/AMD video cards and get Crossfire usage (similar to nvidia SLI) or simply dual video cards for dual discrete video processing to 2-4 monitors.
I myself use dual monitors on a single card but the dual cards will allow for more options. If you would like nvidia SLI then you will need a board based on the X38/48 or i680/780 chipset.
---------------
Ok relating to the case, this is pretty much just a point of what you prefer and looking for in a case. That Tt Armor is an excellent case. Another very popular one due to its great cooling abilities is the Antec 900:
Newegg.com - Antec Nine Hundred Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - Retail

Also you have down 4GB of memory, just a heads up that if you plan to go with XP or 32bit Vista, then you will not be able to use or see all 4GB of that memory. The only way to get full usage is to go with 64bit Vista.
Newegg.com - Microsoft Windows Vista 64-Bit Home Premium for System Builders Single Pack DVD - OEM
Another thing to maybe suggest if you do want 4GB is to go with 2x2GB so that if you choose to upgrade to 8GB down the road, it will leave that option open. Otherwise when that time comes, you may end up with removing 2 sticks and having 6GB or having 4 unused sticks of memory. Again, nothing over 3.5GB will be seen unless you use a 64bit Vista. 2x2GB memory:
Newegg.com - CORSAIR DOMINATOR 4GB(2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 1066 (PC2 8500) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory - Retail

As for CPU, with more and more games and programs using multiple cores, the Q6600 should allow you to take that extra step needed towards keeping your system powerful for years to come. This is a matter of preference and your usage. Some games still do not use multiple cores in which the 3.0GHz E8400 will run them better, but the ones that do use multiple cores, you should see better performance from the Quad core even though it is a 2.4GHz.
Newegg.com - Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 Kentsfield 2.4GHz 2 x 4MB L2 Cache LGA 775 Quad-Core Processor - OEM

It is a minor issue but Capper recently released the massive Thermal Compound article and it is strongly suggested to use something other than AS5, like these:
Newegg.com - ARCTIC COOLING MX-2 Thermal Compound - Retail
Newegg.com - OCZ OCZTFRZTC Freeze Extreme Thermal Conductivity Compound - Retail
Newegg.com - Tuniq TX-2 Thermal Compound - Retail

As for the cooler, with these newer processors need better and more stable cooling and I am not convinced that the Freezer 7 will be able to handle it very well, especially given its cheapo plastic Intel clips. I just refuse to think that is a good idea on anything other than the stock Intel HSF.
Some suggestions of mine:
Newegg.com - Thermaltake CL-P0114 120mm CPU Cooler - Retail - I have this, is an AWESOME cooler but is very large.
Newegg.com - ZALMAN CNPS9700 LED 110mm 2 Ball CPU Cooler - Retail - The Zalman 9700 has been the cooling standard for some time now and is what most other coolers are compared to relating to temperatures.

[Parker]

Wow, what screwball just wrote is very very intelligent stuff.
Read through it and check out everything he mentioned, you will learn a lot.

As for the memory though, I'd get this Crucial 4GB kit:
Newegg.com - Crucial Ballistix 4GB(2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory - Retail

The Crucial Ballistix and Corsair Dominators series are very close overclocking wise. Although the Crucial usually can outperform the Dominators, And the Crucial ones are cheaper.
Just my thoughts.

Oh, also, as for the CPU cooler, I'd suggest looking into a Thermalright Ultra-120 Extreme:
Petra's Tech Shop

[screwballl]

its just a matter if he would rather use DDR2-800 or 1066...