Vista - Producing a Gaming PC

Im thinking about buying a new PC, This is a list of the stats below just for the tower and its components, i want to know how i can improve this, without spending more money, and also wondered if i am missing any components. Im also still deciding what a good monitor would be to get, possibly around $200 but 20inch, but still not sure.

My Tower and components:

Items:

Case: Thermaltake M9D Mid Tower Black with 23cm Touch color Fan no PSU

Austin Computers $125.24

PSU: Cooler Master Extreme Power V2.01 Regular 550W PSU. ATX, 12cm Cooling Fan, 3x S-ATA, 20+4pin,1x PCI-E

Austin Computers $89.00

MotherBoard: Gigabyte Motherboard N650SLI-DS4 - nForce 650i SLI, 2 PCI-E*16 slot, FSB-1333MHz, LGA775, ATX, 2 PCI-E*1,4 DDR2 Dual-CH, HD Audio, 1394, GbE LAN, 4 SATA 3Gb/s, 8 USB2.0 [GA-N650SLI-DS4rev.1.0]

Austin Computers $119.00

CPU: Intel Q8200 Core 2 Quad Processor - 2.33GHz, FSB-1333MHz, 4MB L2 Cache, 45nm LGA775

Austin Computers $283.00

Graphic Card: Asus GF9800 512MB DDR3 PCIE2.0 2xDVI,HDTV,HDCP,HDMI HybridPower Graphics Card

Austin Computers $205.00

Ram: 2x (Kingston 2GB-single DDR2-800 RAM Non-ECC CL5 DIMM)

Austin Computers $74.00

Hard Drive: Samsung 500GB 2.5" SATA 5400rpm 8M 9.5mm 12ms seek time Hard Drive

Austin Computers $175.45

Dvd Drive: Asus DRW-20B1LT 20xDVD+-RW,12xDVD-RAM,32xCDRW,SATA,Lightscribe,Dual Panels

Austin Computers $45.00


Total: $1,115.69

I don't like Mid Towers just because when Gaming, I need all the cooling I can take and because I am clumsy so having a full tower works to my advantage

Being said that, TT is a good brand but I would go with the Antec 900 just because it has 4 fans instead of 2 and is cheaper to boot... around 90 to 100 bucks.

I would opt for a bigger PSU as well, it is always good to have more juice since we are always upgrading and if you can get it for about the same price... why not, right?
Amazon.com: PC Power and Cooling S75CF Silencer 750W Quad Power Supply Ati Crossfire and 80+ Certified (Red): Electronics

Hating the fact that having to many options is a nightmare, let me just say that the board you are wanting to go with is a little antiquated (sp?), opting for something newer would be better I think. Oh and cheaper too
Newegg.com - Open Box: ASUS P5N-T Deluxe LGA 775 NVIDIA nForce 780i SLI ATX Intel Motherboard

Any special reason why you are going with that CPU? if not, look at the Q9550 here:
Newegg.com - Intel Core 2 Quad Q9550 Yorkfield 2.83GHz 12MB L2 Cache LGA 775 95W Quad-Core Processor - Processors - Desktops

I think you can do better with your video card and getting a FREE game is always better, that is to say not caring if you even pay less
Newegg.com - EVGA 896-P3-1260-AR GeForce GTX 260 896MB 448-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card - Desktop Graphics / Video Cards

How can you go wrong with more Ram at a much cheaper price?
Newegg.com - CORSAIR DOMINATOR 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 1066 (PC2 8500) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory - Desktop Memory

I would opt for a smaller drive for your Operating System and programs and purchase a 2nd unit for data and storage or, if you want to simplify it, buy a bigger one but, make sure you have a 7200rpm at least...
Raptor... Newegg.com - Western Digital Raptor WD740ADFD 74GB 10000 RPM 16MB Cache SATA 1.5Gb/s Hard Drive - Internal Hard Drives

WD 750GB 7200... Newegg.com - Western Digital Caviar Black WD7501AALS 750GB 7200 RPM 32MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - Internal Hard Drives

No need to brake the bank on a CD/DVD Burner, this one is going to do the job and you can buy two if you want for easy burning.
Newegg.com - LITE-ON Black 20X DVD+R 8X DVD+RW 8X 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 with LightScribe - CD / DVD Burners

Last thing I'll recommend is going for an Aftermarket Cooler, your PC will thank you later... this is just an example, there are others.
Newegg.com - Vigor Monsoon III LT Dual 120mm Fan CPU Cooler Socket 1366 Ready - CPU Fans & Heatsinks

I think I saw you looking for a Monitor... I like this one even if it is Refurbished.
Samsung 2253BW 22in Black LCD Monitor :: LegendMicro.com


I think that if you add everything I have given you here, you'll end up spending less than what you wanted to spend and getting a better rig altogether. Others will have a different advise and they are probably right since they have more experienced. All in all, I just think you can do much better for a little less.

Sites I use to make many of my purchases:
Google Product Search
Newegg.com - Computer Parts, PC Components, Laptop Computers, Digital Cameras and more!


Good Luck

Astalavista pretty much summed it all up :P

A few key points that I noticed with the gear you selected there:

The hard drive seems expensive for what your getting.
I'd look into that a bit more. I know that you can get 500G Samsungs drives for under $100 here. And they are decent performers.

With the money that you save there, bump your CPU up to an Duo E8500 or the Quad 9550. Much better bang for your buck.

A stronger power supply is ALWAYS a good idea for a number of reasons. Better upgradeability along with possibly a better product. Good, stable power supplies are absolutely crucial.

The list that AstaLaVista prepared is pretty neat.

Clumzy, I'd just notice that you are in Australia and Not in the US so, sorry for the confusion. I still believe that you can get those prices and even with shipping, still be under what you wanted to pay for the items you posted.

Let us know, I am always happy spending other peoples money

The Corsair Dominator RAM if you need DDR2 is absolutely fantastic.

I've got that Samsung monitor, it's okay but not fantastic.

Nice job in offering alternative choices!

hm..... as far as monitors go.... acer has some really good monitors for cheap

Yeh thanks for the feedback, yeh ive noticed that for were i live Austin Computers gives out the best prices, i searched on staticice.com, and all items show austin as best shop, plus i think i will stay to a retailer due to getting a warranty, plus they close by, if i buy over say amazon and the item dies, i dont think i can get a replacement.

Whats your opinion?

EBUYER have been good. I had a PSU blow and it was replaced within 3 days for no charge. They sent a couier to pick up the item, which was shipped directly to the manufactorer for testing (corsier). Then I got one couriered back with no charge. OK the rig was down for 3 days but I got a replacement for nothing, I did not have to pay for postage which inpressed me.

As for monitors DELL do very good monitors. I have a CIBOX 22" and a DELL 22" on a duel monitor setup, they are also quite cheap £159 for the dell.

Dell do very good monitors. I'm waiting to get their 23" HD monitor, which is higher than HD at 1150 with an 80,000:1 contrast ratio for just around £225.

Though the OP is Australian, so I don't think buying from Ebuyer would be very postage cost effective

Clumzy, I see your point and you are limited to what the local shop can offer you.

Case in point, I purchased a new board from Newegg.com, the board was dead in a couple of days and even though they gave me a Return Authorization inmediately (no questions ask), I had to pay for shipping it back to them so it could get costly for you.