Buying a new computer! Advice needed!

[tgzo]

Hi there, I built my current baby about 3 years ago and named it "Powerbeast". It served me well but the old dog is dying and can't play the games I want it to anymore. This christmas I'm building a new computer and here are the specs and their prices in Canadian $. Don't be surprised if the components are a hell lot more expensive than you lucky yankees down south Please provide your advice in terms of this machine's price/performance and compatibility. Please keep in mind that I'm a budget gamer.

Specs:
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Case:
NZXT Apollo ATX Tower Case 5X5.25 1X3.5 4X3.5INT No PS Front Audio USB Firewire Silver ($82.11)

CPU:
Intel Core 2 Duo E6300 Dual Core Processor LGA775 Conroe 1.86GHZ 1066FSB 2MB Retail ($235.40)

Motherboard
ASUS P5B ATX LGA775 Conroe 965P DDR2 PCI-E16 3PCI-E1 3PCI 6 SATA2 Sound Motherboard ($166.75)

Memory
Kingston HyperX 1GB 2X512MB PC2-5400 DDR2-675 CL4-4-4-10 240PIN DIMM Memory ($171.35)

Hard Drive
Western Digital Caviar SE 80GB SATA 7200RPM 8MB Cache 8.9MS Hard Drive ($61.65)

Video Card
EVGA E-GEFORCE 7900 GS 450MHZ PCI-E 256MB 256BIT 1.32GHZ GDDR3 Dual DVI-I HDTV Out Video Card ($231.71)

Power Supply
Coolermaster Extreme Power 600W ATX 12V V2.01 Silent Power Supply 20/24PIN 120MM Fan ($78.54)

DVD Writer
Samsung SH-S182 DVD+RW 18X8X16 DVD-RW 18X6X16 DL-8X DVD Writer IDE Black OEM W/ Software ($43.73)

Speaker
Logitech X-530 5.1 Speaker System Black 70W RMS 140W W/FDD2 ($80.92)
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Total: $1,202.16 (before gigantic Canadian taxes, monitor, keyboard, mouse, etc)

Please let me know what you think and whether you think it will handle the latest games (also what kind of 3dmark I can expect on all stock settings).

Thanks!

[Drisler]

Looks good.

I'd suggest more memory though.

[alex666]

I'd suggest a faster Core 2 Duo, maybe go up one more notch, plus maybe hang in there for a few months more and get a dx10 video card. The current 8800s seem to mop the floor with just about everything before them.

I just got my first pci-e board and it has on-board video along with a single x16 slot. I plan on getting it up and running with the on-board video, and then getting a dx10 card when the prices are better. But I'm in no rush at all. It likely will be my first vista system as well.

[Meridian]

I agree with more RAM: get 2 x 1GB, even if you have to get lower spec stuff and run it slightly slower. The rest looks fine. I assume that this is near your budget limit? The only other thing might be to budget for a better cooler if you plan to overclock - and I assume you do or you wouldn't be posting in this bit.


M

[_dangtx_]

more mem,as they said,different video card.u can get better with that casho.

[chrispycrunch]

Did you buy this pc already, given x-mas has passed?
I'd get value ram to cut on the cost if needed to get better speakers like the z-5300e. I'd increase the HDD size to at least 200GB. Seagate 7200.10 or maxtor maxline is good.