[noobish!] Choosing and building a PC and looking for advice..

Greetings,

I'm planning to buy a new pc with a limited budget, so I don't claim to have a top machine, but something decent which will be good for some time. This PC will be used for GAMES, so that's the objective to optimize its performances for


Please consider that I don't want to buy any AMD or ATI product, since I had very bad experiences in the past with this stuff (expecially ATI..), so remember to suggest only Intel and nVidia related stuff

I don't inlude in the following list some components I'll take from my current pc: DVD drive, LCD monitor, second HD (pATA 230 gb).

Here is the list with a brief comment for each component:

*Motherboard: Asus P5B-VM i965G socket 775/D/C, mATX, PCI-E 16x, D-DDR, SATA, Aud 7.1, Lan

Asus never ruined my day, so I'd choose this one. Any idea? I know the i975 chip would be better but it's much more expensive and I couldn't afford it
I see this MB has "SATA", not "SATA2Raid" like other Asus MBs, but I have no idea of the difference.
I see older Asus MB with i945P chip, less expensive, but some people suggest me to choose the i965. I have of course no idea of the technical difference, only my faith is guiding me

*CPU: Intel Core 2 Duo E6400 2.13 ghz, skt 775, FSB 1066, 2mb cache

The new Duo technology seems worth it, and not *too* expensive, in comparison to the older Pentium D. Is this a good cost/performance ratio CPU?

*RAM: DIMM 1gb DDR-2 667 mhz, probably Kingston or TwinMOS. I take it would be safe to upgrade it with a second 512 mb DIMM module later, without risking to mess up things? Or should I just buy a second identical 1 gb DIMM?

* Video card: I found two options here:
Asus EN7900GS nVidia GeForce 7900 GS 256 mb, 256 bit Pci-E
OR
XFX PV-T71P-UDF3 nVidia GF7900 GS 256 mb, DDR3 Pci-E

Identical in chip and cost, different manufacturer (which one is better?). And, what's the difference between that Asus "256 bit" and the XFX "DDR3" ?
Besides, is this card worth it? I can't imagine to wait till february to get a DX10 card because they'll be very expensive as usual at the beginning, so I'm planning to get a good medium-high level card now..is this worth it?

*Hard Disk: I'd like a sATA, around 300 gb. I see some Maxtor have 16 mb cache, while comparable (in price and capacity) Western Digital and Seagate tend to have only 8 mb cache. Nevertheless, the latter two manufacturer seem to be better from what I hear around...any idea?

*Case: can't really say I like most of those flashy-lights coloured or transparent modder-style cases, but I admit a nice looking and moderately expensive case with a good cooling would be good. Any suggestion?

Thanks a lot for your help.

 

Sounds A great little bundle. I SUGGEST YOU START WITH THE ASUS MOTHERBOARD SITE, AND LOOK AT THE COMPATABILITY OF ALL of THE COMPONENTS OF THE SYSTEM YOU EXPECT TO USE-
Also have a look at Asrocks site, The Asrck 775 Dual -VSTA, IS A GOOD BUDGET BOARD, YOU WOULD NEED TO CHECK IF YOUR E6400 CPU IS IN THEIR LIST) (OR, BETTER FROM THE SITE PAGES) WHICH WILL TAKE MORE OF YOUR OLD SYSTEM, AS IT RUNS DUAL CHANNEL DDR, OR, DUAL CHANNEL DDR11, UP TO 1GB EACH SLOT. great fsb alternatives -It will take the Cre 2 Duo Desktop (conroe), Pressler and Cedar Mill Processors(in 775 LGA Packages)-- from the site help pages, you can determine which graphics card will be a good match- it has pci-express , or, agp capacity 2 sata connections, 2 IDE connections, floppy connection, and HD AUDIO, AND IS WINDOWS VISTA READY.
From the motherboard, you will determine ATX, OR, smaller - then the base unit has to be purchased- ATX, or other, according to motherboard.
The cpu will then be to choice -again to motherboard, Heatsink and fan- will be decided again, either standard, or, upgraded if room , and clear of the agp/pci-e, pci slots/graphics cards/memory.
Graphics card - PCI-E -match to motherboard recommendations ( within your pocket range).
PSU - Base unit- both would be something on the lines of Enermax , 600 Watt.
I have never had any trouble with Maxtor hard drives, and I think you will find seagate have more , or, less taken them over.
I use them all the time.
Follow your ideals through, just check the compatabilty all the way through , something like I suggested here, and you should be o.k

 

Dual core will be a good buy, unless you want to wait for quod core------if the motherboard runs dual channel , you need two IDENTICAL STICKS to get full FSB.- Otherwise you will be running single channel- not the full FSB.

 

Sounds A great little bundle. I SUGGEST YOU START WITH THE ASUS MOTHERBOARD SITE, AND LOOK AT THE COMPATABILITY OF ALL of THE COMPONENTS OF THE SYSTEM YOU EXPECT TO USE-
Also have a look at Asrocks site, The Asrck 775 Dual -VSTA, IS A GOOD BUDGET BOARD, YOU WOULD NEED TO CHECK IF YOUR E6400 CPU IS IN THEIR LIST) (OR, BETTER FROM THE SITE PAGES) WHICH WILL TAKE MORE OF YOUR OLD SYSTEM, AS IT RUNS DUAL CHANNEL DDR, OR, DUAL CHANNEL DDR11, UP TO 1GB EACH SLOT. great fsb alternatives -It will take the Cre 2 Duo Desktop (conroe), Pressler and Cedar Mill Processors(in 775 LGA Packages)-- from the site help pages, you can determine which graphics card will be a good match- it has pci-express , or, agp capacity 2 sata connections, 2 IDE connections, floppy connection, and HD AUDIO, AND IS WINDOWS VISTA READY.
From the motherboard, you will determine ATX, OR, smaller - then the base unit has to be purchased- ATX, or other, according to motherboard.
The cpu will then be to choice -again to motherboard, Heatsink and fan- will be decided again, either standard, or, upgraded if room , and clear of the agp/pci-e, pci slots/graphics cards/memory.
Graphics card - PCI-E -match to motherboard recommendations ( within your pocket range).
PSU - Base unit- both would be something on the lines of Enermax , 600 Watt.
I have never had any trouble with Maxtor hard drives, and I think you will find seagate have more , or, less taken them over.
I use them all the time.
Follow your ideals through, just check the compatabilty all the way through , something like I suggested here, and you should be o.k