First time builder for a gaming machine

[polobunny]

Originally Posted by Capper

I personally think SLI/Crossfire are a waste of money.....

I have to agree. Even with an older (x1900XT at XTX clock speeds) I can run my games at 1920x1200 (I got a 24in a few weeks ago ;D) without problem. Normally I go for settings around 2 or 4x anti-aliasing and 8x anisotropic filtering. Anything higher will make a very VERY small difference (I even took screenshots while loading levels in a few games at different settings and did a difference map in photoshop to see what differences there was because I doubted anything changed between 6x anti-aliasing and 8x anti-aliasing) but makes your framerate drop.
With a 8800GTS either 320 or 640mb you're pretty much good to max out those games that are gonna come out, or pretty close to max just like I do myself right now (lowering settings that change almost nothing in reality). Sorry for the incredibly long sentences by the way. :P

I would get the quad too, and even if you don't plan on overclocking, it might not be a bad idea to grab a better quality heatsink and fan.

Ultimately, i'd go for something close to the 650W range for your power supply. While 500W will work, I frankly wouldn't run that tight if I was building my computer. The model you linked to has passive PFC, which I would have a hard time recommending to someone now that active PFC power supplies are running rampant on the market.

Just my 2 cents. ;)

[Elysium]

Avatar, everything looks good BUT:

• I also think you should get a bigger PSU, especially with the 8800GTX. I hoghly recommend the Silverstone Decathlon 650W or 750W. I have one, and they have rock solid rails and very nice units overall.
• The absolute BEST I repeat BEST deal in DDR2 memory right now is the Crucial Ballistix 800MHz 2GB. These have gotten rave reviews and overclock very well. Even if you don't overclock, I have read that this is a really, really nice kit of RAM for the price.
• Definitely get the quad-core, as many of the newer games are now taking advantage of all four cores. If you want a guaranteed G0 stepping model, order from here: ClubIt.com

Everything else looks great, should be an awesome build!

[_WBaS_]

Lots of suggestions in this thread here:
What's your favorite case?

Yay my post got linked! haha Choosing a case is hard man... I've been looking at cases for months. I just can't seem to make a decision. How much do you plan on spending on a case?

[Elysium]

Originally Posted by _WBaS_

Yay my post got linked!

Haha, that does feel good... I know the feeling.