Need Help Building First Gaming Computer

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Palladium

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Need Help Building A Gaming Computer

* What are you going to use the PC for?
Gaming.
* How much is your budget?
$600.
* Are you willing to buy online?
Yes.
* Are you going to re-use any parts from an earlier build?
No
* Do you need other peripherals like a monitor, keyboard and mouse, among others?
No.
* Have you already bought any parts?
No.
* Do you have an Operating System (OS)?
Yes.
* Will you need any aftermarket cooling, such as a CPU\GPU cooler or a watercooling setup?
Probably not.

Anyways, this computer is for some casual gaming on decent settings (I don't need everything maxed out) on stuff like DoW: Soul Storm and WoW. I intend to buy on Newegg, but if I'll consider other sites if there are good deals. I already have a monitor, keyboard, mouse, speakers and OS. Here's what I already picked out (not sure if they're compatible). Unfortunately, I can't link them since I don't have enough posts, but all of them are from Newegg.

Sony Optiarc 24X DVD/CD Rewritable Drive Black SATA Model AD-7240S-0B - OEM -$23.99
Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 ST3250310AS 250GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive - OEM -$47.99
EVGA 512-P3-N841-AR GeForce 8800GTS (G92) 512MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card - Retail -$104.99 ($20 Mail in Rebate) with free Call of Duty-World at War
A-DATA G series 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model ADQVE1B16KG - Retail -$44.99
AMD Athlon 64 X2 6000+ Windsor 3.0GHz Socket AM2 125W Dual-Core Processor Model ADA6000IAA6CZ - OEM and ECS A740GM-M AM2+/AM2 AMD 740G Micro ATX AMD Motherboard - Retail -$89.98 (combo)
Antec Nine Hundred Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - Retail and Antec EA650 650W Continuous Power ATX12V Ver.2.2 / EPS12V version 2.91 SLI Certified CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS Certified Active ... - Retail -$144.98 (combo)

Total: $519.30 after shipping and tax

I also need help choosing any other parts (like heatsinks) that I may need, since I'm a total beginner to PC building. Also, if I have some extra cash after all the parts are chosen, what should I upgrade? The processor and motherboard don't look like the best, but I'm not really sure what to choose. Finally, is the 9800 GT worth another $10? Both come with the free game, but I'm not sure whether there is much difference between them performance wise. Thanks in advance
 
Excellent post.

Try these parts instead for your budget:
Grand Total = $587.28 without considering rebates or shipping.
 
Thanks for the suggestions, but I still have a few (noobish) questions about the build:
1. Is the 500 watt PSU enough to power the HD 4850 and a triple core CPU? I'm probably just being paranoid, since I don't plan on even overclocking, but I just want to make sure I don't mess up my first custom PC.
2. Would it be possible if I just stuck to my choice of case/PSU? After shipping, the Cooler Master is $84.72, which, along with the SeaSonic power supply (which also has shipping costs) seems more expensive then my original choice.
3. Do I need a heatsink/more fans for the CPU or the case? I'm not sure if the cabinet I'll be storing the computer in will have enough airflow, but then again, I'm not overclocking or planning to use for nonstop hours of games.
4. Does having RAID-0 and two hard drives improve performance enough for its price? I've heard some people say that two hard drives separate the data across the drives and noticeably decrease load times for games.
 
1. Is the 500 watt PSU enough to power the HD 4850 and a triple core CPU? I'm probably just being paranoid, since I don't plan on even overclocking, but I just want to make sure I don't mess up my first custom PC.
Click to expand...
Plenty.

Antec Nine Hundred Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - Retail and Antec EA650 650W Continuous Power ATX12V Ver.2.2 / EPS12V version 2.91 SLI Certified CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS Certified Active ... - Retail -$144.98 (combo)
Click to expand...
The AE650 is a competent power supply, but it is certainly more than you need.

3. Do I need a heatsink/more fans for the CPU or the case? I'm not sure if the cabinet I'll be storing the computer in will have enough airflow, but then again, I'm not overclocking or planning to use for nonstop hours of games.
Click to expand...
Nope, the CPU and case comes with sufficient fans.

4. Does having RAID-0 and two hard drives improve performance enough for its price? I've heard some people say that two hard drives separate the data across the drives and noticeably decrease load times for games.
Click to expand...
RAID-0, if I remember, separates the data between the two harddrives, so during write operations, one hdd will take half, the other will take the other half at the same time, cutting write speeds in half. Read operations are the same, one hdd will provide half the info while the other provides the second half, just about doubling read speeds. I do believe you get to the combined hdd space, but I think you will need two identical hdds. So, it doubles basically everything, price, performance, and storage.
 
Since I don't need a 650 watt PSU, should I try to find a cheaper alternative for a case/PSU combo? Also, is a 2.8 ghz triple-core cpu and motherboard worth $100 more than

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.192875 or
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.192869

I'm only asking this because I'm at $631 (before $35 in rebates, but I'm not sure how reliable they are), which isn't too bad, but I'm not sure if any of the programs I use fully utilize three cores.
 
Thanks for the replies, I'll probably stick to the triple-core then, but do you have any other suggestions for cases/PSUs? If not, I'll probably just order what I have in my cart now.
 
Nothing wrong with the dual core Kuma, you could use what Rage_3K_Moiz posted above, then throw in the dual core over the triple if you want...

Thanks for the replies, I'll probably stick to the triple-core then, but do you have any other suggestions for cases/PSUs? If not, I'll probably just order what I have in my cart now.
Click to expand...
I personally don't have anything to add to Rage's suggestions above.
 
You can replace the case with an Antec Three Hundred that's for $55 shipped on Newegg. You should then be closer to your original budget of $600.
 
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