First time builder attempts a gaming rig.

[Parker]

Originally Posted by screwballl

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

Ooh, was the dominator kit 1066? Didn't see that.

But remember, you can always OC the RAM.

[screwballl]

yeah I posted a 1066 kit... but I find if you want to OC, is better to start with the higher number and OC that. Otherwise you may end up with 800 at 900 but with higher latencies...

[One4yu2c]

My turn to chime in. It's evident you did your research before posting, and I like your build overall. I would, however, make a few tweaks:

Motherboard
The Gigabyte GA-EP35C-DS3R is a fine choice, provided you invest in a solid 4GB of RAM from the outset. DDR2 pricing is unusually low right now, and that will not last. If you're going to stick with 2GB, I'd strongly consider a DDR3 foundation, which is within your budget, or the original hybrid you picked out for an easy upgrade path.

Processor
The E8400 is the current darling in the PC world; unfortunately it's not in stock anywhere. Murmurs point to April, which means waiting a month for this build. The problem with waiting is that by the time the piece you waited for becomes available, there will be another component worth waiting for, and it's difficult to break out of that cycle. For this reason, I'd hop right back onto the E6850 and start enjoying your PC rather than waiting for it.

EDIT: Scratch that. MWave has the E8400 in stock, and is a reliable vendor. It's over priced, but costs the same as the E6850. It's also OEM, which means there's no 3-year warranty or retail heatsink bundled in, both of which I wouldn't let deter you.

Videocard
NVIDIA currently has the faster lineup overall, but on an Intel based chipset that's CrossFire compatible, I'd look towards ATI. Specifically, the HD 3870 X2, which is two GPUs on a single videocard. It's well within your budget, opens the door to quad GPU lovin' down the line if you decide to add a second, and CrossFireX does some tricks that SLI can't.

RAM
If sticking with DDR2, getting a 4GB kit is really a no-brainer. It's cheap, future proof (we've yet to saturate 2GB), and provides less points of failure rather than filling all four slots by buying a 2GB kit today and another 2GB tomorrow.

The downside is that 4GB kits don't overclock quite as high, in terms of memory frequency. But they do provide moderate overclocking headroom for one, and for two, it's your processor that matters most. Dividers on motherboards work so well these days, that RAM become almost inconsequential.

There are several worthy choices, but if it were me, I'd snag the 4GB Crucial Ballistix kit if going DDR2, or if going DDR3, the Patriot DDR3-1600 kit previously pointed out.

Case
This is largely a subjective choice, and I get the feeling you're sold on the Thermaltake Armor. While not my favorite, it's a damn good case. Be sure and browse our case reviews if you're open to alternatives.

Power Supply
The Corsair 750 is a strong unit, and the price is right.

Cooler
Really second guess your cooler choice. The Freezer 7 Pro is a very good, quiet cooler, but the ZeroTHERM Nirvana is also quiet, with better cooling potential. And it's inexpensive. I currently use this one myself on my QX6800, and you can read our review it here.
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You've got a handful of different opinions and perspectives on display in this thread. Take your time, weigh the pros and cons, and above all, welcome to the forum.

Originally Posted by Screwballl

If you would like nvidia SLI then you will need a board based on the X38/48 or i680/780 chipset.

To clarify, the X38/48 chipsets are NOT compatible with SLI (you need Skulltrail to combine Intel with SLI). And if you take nothing else out of this thread, avoid going with an NVIDIA chipset - too many incidents of quirky behavior and fried hardware (including some of my own).

[Stormcrow]

Originally Posted by One4yu2c

avoid going with an NVIDIA chipset

This. I cannot agree more with this, having used both the 590SLI and 680i in the last year.

[screwballl]

Originally Posted by One4yu2c

To clarify, the X38/48 chipsets are NOT compatible with SLI (you need Skulltrail to combine Intel with SLI).

wow I was not aware of that, learn something new every day...

so the options are, if you absolutely must have SLI, then i680/780 is your only choice... otherwise for a single card, the X38 or P35 chipsets are the way to go.

[GrandSnafu]

Thanks for all the input, I've got some more researching to do then I'll post another revision.

[Capper]

Sorry, I just can't disagree more......For building a system from the ground up (not updating a system), I think recommending stuff like a 1066FSB processor, DDR2, and a P35 board is not the way to go....

My point is to spend a little more now instead of spending a lot now and a lot in 12 months when you are wanting to upgrade again.

[Parker]

Originally Posted by Capper

My point is to spend a little more now instead of spending a lot now and a lot in 12 months when you are wanting to upgrade again.

I agree with Capper, make your build "Future Proof" now instead of later, it'll save you money in the long run

[screwballl]

the only issue I see is we do not know how long socket 775 will last... for all we know they are planning to introduce socket 1208 or something like that in the next year or so. 775 is getting long in the tooth so its only a matter of time before Intel pushes another socket out. All the roadmaps and verified information only go until later this year with a few more newer Penryn (Ridgefield) cores with 12MB cache and eventual release of Nehalem. Yorkfield is suspected to be based on a dual socket setup for desktops to allow for an 8 core setup but it is not known if it will be dual 775 or something else...

[GrandSnafu]

I think my head is about to explode.\

I revised my old build so take a look.

Wish list details

And I also made a new build with more room for expansion later on.

Newegg.com - Thermaltake Armor Series VA8003BWS Black Full Tower Case w/ 25CM Fan - Retail

Newegg.com - ASUS MAXIMUS EXTREME LGA 775 Intel X38 ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail

Newegg.com - XFX PVT80FSHE9 GeForce 8800GTX Extreme 768MB 384-bit GDDR3 PCI Express x16 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card - Retail

Newegg.com - CORSAIR CMPSU-750TX ATX12V / EPS12V 750W Power Supply 100 - 240 V UL, CE, CB, TUV, FCC, CCC - Retail

Newegg.com - Intel Core 2 Duo E8400 Wolfdale 3.0GHz 6MB L2 Cache LGA 775 65W Dual-Core Processor - Retail

Newegg.com - Patriot Extreme Performance 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory - Retail

Newegg.com - Seagate Barracuda 7200.11 ST3500320AS 500GB 7200 RPM 32MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM

Newegg.com - SAMSUNG Black 20X DVD+R 8X DVD+RW 12X DVD+R DL 20X DVD-R 6X DVD-RW 12X DVD-RAM 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-R 32X CD-RW 48X CD-ROM 2MB Cache SATA 20X DVD±R DVD Burner - OEM

Newegg.com - ARCTIC COOLING MX-2 Thermal Compound - Retail

Newegg.com - ZEROtherm Nirvana NV120 120mm 2-ball UFO Bearing / Transparent CPU Cooler - Retail

I want to stick with an nvidia card. My 6800GT has never given me problems other than it is showing its age, and both of my brothers have given me mixed reviews on their ati cards. Since it seems the SLI boards are kind of troublesome I should opt for 1 high end card.

The second system is more expensive but it seems in a year or so I can just pop in a 9800gtx and a couple more sticks of ram.

How would these two systems compare as is?