this will be my first budget gaming computer (sff). any suggestions on what items to replace to bring down the cost before i pull the trigger? and do you think its a safe time to build a new computer? or will prices drop soon on things like video cards/processors. Thermaltake LANBOX - 70 after rebate EVGA 260 GTX - 175 after cash back Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 -150 after cash back OCZ Gold 4GB - 20 after rebate Western Digital 500gb 7200 RPM 43 after cash back Antec BP550 Plus 550W - 55 Foxconn M7VMX-K LGA - 44 misc Replacement fans for case - 12 Arctic Silver 5 - 5 RosewillAnti-Static Strap - 3

It's gonna be a tricky assembly & I suspect noisy due to the small cooling fans. The EVGA 260 GTX is a very long card...make sure it will fit in the case. And do yourself a favor - benchtest evrything before installing it in the case because it's gonna be a b!tch to get at things once it's all together.

"OCZ Gold 4GB - 20 after rebate" Whenever you buy ram, you should make sure the specific ram you are thinking of buying is listed as known to work properly (is compatible) with your mboard. If it is not listed, or if you find no listing for your model, there's no way of knowing whether it will work in your model properly until you try it - not all ram you think should work will work properly - if it doesn't you will have to get different ram. If it works in another mboard model with the same main chipset, or if you have one of a few recent cpus that has the memory controller built into the cpu, it will work for sure, but that takes some detective work. You need to use your mboard model number on ram manufacturer's or ram distributor's web sites to look up which specific modules work in your model. Once you confirm which specific modules work, you can get them from anywhere that has those specific modules. OCZ does not list your model. http://conf.ocztechnology.com/index... ...... 32 bit XP, which applies if you use anything but 64 bit Pro, and 32 bit versions of Vista, have a limit of 4gb virtual address space for the ram plus system resources. You can install 4gb of ram if you like, but because of system resource requirements that eat up some of the 4gb virtual address space, only a little more or a little less than 3gb (depending on your particular system) can actually be used for Windows programs and user data. You are often better off installing no more than 3gb of ram in that case. If you use 64 bit XP Pro, or a 64 bit version of Vista, they have a higher virtual address space limit, and all of the 4gb (other than the 1mb conventional memory amount, which always applies) is available for Windows programs and user data. There's a good chance you don't need more than 2gb in any case. Ultimate Memory Guide How Much Memory Do You Need? etc. http://www.kingston.com/tools/umg/u... ..... "Arctic Silver 5 - 5" I would use thermal grease, not thermal paste - e.g. "silicon thermal compound" - it's translucent whitish, not opaque - almost clear when in a very thin layer. Thermal paste sometimes deteriorates with age and becomes like super glue - making it very difficult or impossible to separate the cpu from the heatsink if you ever need to do that. Thermal grease never hardens. A thermal pad (the heatsink often already has one on it) can age similarly too, but usually you can still separate the two. If the heatsink has a thermal pad, scrape it off (e.g. with a single edge razor blade) before you apply thermal grease or paste - AMD has proven in tests the cpu will run a bit cooler if you do that. Make sure any case fan you buy has at least two ball bearings, or better - the description and/or the label on the fan should say ball bearings - note the s - or better. If that info isn't in an ad, look for it on the manufacturer's web site. The same applies for the cpu fan, if it didn't come with the cpu in a boxed set (although, even some Intel supplied cpu fans have one ball bearing, one sleeve bearing). Some fans have "fluid filled" or similar sleeve bearings - they are a lot better than plain sleeve bearings, but not as good as two ball bearings or better. If you are thinking of buying a cpu/cpu heatsink/fan boxed set, take a look at the user reviews to see what they say about whether the cpu heatsink/fan combo is adequate - if that allows the cpu to get a bit hotter than a third party combo, or if it's loud, you may be better off to get just the cpu and a separate good combo, even if it costs a bit more to do that. On some cases, the openings are too restrictive where you install a case fan. Compare how well the case fan blows before you mount it to that when it's mounted - if there's a great deal of difference, you may need to drill holes bigger (easy), or cut out the opening (more difficult) and install a grille, in order for you to be able to get decent airflow. That is best done BEFORE you install your components inside the case. (If you cut out the opening, the fan WILL be noisier unless you install a grille.) "Antec BP550 Plus 550W - 55 Foxconn M7VMX-K LGA - 44" Antec is an excellent brand, but that PS has a 1 year warranty. They also make PSs with a longer warranty for a bit more money - it would be wise to get one with a longer warranty. I have been looking at the specs of the video cards currently available for a couple of friends lately. A decent 550 watt PS will handle any current video card with a single video chipset, but if you think there's a possibilty you might install a card with two video chipsets in the future in the single PCI-E X16 on this mboard, you should get a PS with a 750 watt or greater capacity.

You can get a 610 watt PC Power and Cooling EPS power supply(with a single 12 volt rail) at newegg for about the same price as the Antec you listed, which has multiple 12 volt rails. See response 10 in http://www.computing.net/answers/ha...

my only comment is that when you're scraping thermal goop off the heat sink, you should use plastic instead of metal. Things like razors and knives have the potential to score or scratch the metal heat sink, and you want it to be as smooth as possible. if you use something like a credit card or plastic silverware, you reduce the risk of damaging your heat sink. general advice: everything that is supposed to connect is keyed a specific way: the power cable for a floppy is different for a hard drive is different for the motherboard. so if it won't go, don't just push harder (though RAM will sometimes need a little extra force, but make sure you open the latches and line up the notches first). don't underestimate the risks of static electricity and always ground yourself - use a wrist strap or at the very least, touch metal before you touch your pc hardware. damage from static shock can occur well below the threshold that human beings can feel, so just because you don't get shocked doesn't mean you didn't damage your hardware. and just because the hardware runs doesn't mean it wasn't damaged in such a way that could cause stability issues or shorten its lifespan.