First time building a gaming rig, how's it look?

[guitarfreak2765]

PSU: Antec earthwatts EA500 500W ATX12V v2.0 Power Supply 100
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817371007

Mobo: DFI BloodIron P35-T2RL LGA 775 Intel P35 ATX Intel Motherboard
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813136038

Video Card: EVGA 512-P3-N801-AR GeForce 8800 GT 512MB 256-bit
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130318

Processor: Intel Core 2 Duo E8400 Wolfdale 3.0GHz 6MB L2 Cache LGA 775 65W Dual-Core Processor
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115037

RAM: CORSAIR 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820145184

Hard Drive: SAMSUNG SpinPoint T Series HD501LJ 500GB 7200 RPM 16MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822152052

Case: APEVIA X-CRUISER-BK Black Steel ATX Mid Tower
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811144151

Cooling Fan: ARCTIC COOLING Freezer 7 Pro 92mm CPU Cooler
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835186134

Optical Drive:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827151153


This is what I've got so far. Does everything look alright here? I don't want to order everything and have something not be compatible or something. Mostly using this for gaming and trying to stay under $900 if I can. I'm planning on running Vista on this as well.

I'm still not sure if I'll be overclocking this at all either. If I end up not wanting to OC this, should I even worry about getting the Arctic fan?

Should I even try to Overclock this at all, or is the effort not really worth it?

Thanks in advance guys.

 

[A True Folder]

At first look the psu may be a little light

If you're not overclocking then the stock cooler will be fine, use the money to beef up your psu, say 600-700W minimum to be safe

If at a later date you wish to oc you can always get a different cooler (the E8400 is eminently overclockable)

 

[guitarfreak2765]

Considering this is my first build and I've never OC'd before, I probably won't this time around, but might later on. Is the E8400 still good without Overclocking? From what I can tell it is, but ya never know.

If that's the case, then I'll just dump the Heatsink for now and beef up the PSU.

And apparently the hard drive I was going to get isn't being sold there anymore, so I'm going to go with
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136178
instead. Western Digital is a reliable HD company, right?

 

[Ð88]

I'd keep the heatsink. Although it is relatively easy to get a better one later on you will be much happier when you decide to overclock (I guarantee that you will) that you already have it.

Go for a 700W PSU. It's possible that it's more than you need but that is a hell of a lot better than not having enough power supplying your gaming rig. 500W just isn't enough anymore.

Western Digital makes quality HDD's but from my personal experience they tend to be loud (and noise is something that becomes a challenge to overcome when you have a gaming rig with fans wirring and making noise already). I prefer Seagate HDD's. They just seem quieter. I doubt there is any other advantage tho.

 

[A True Folder]

The E8400 is a good cpu, overclocked or not, you'll be fine.

HDD's can be personal choice, I've always used WD and only ever had one (80GB) fail, WD replaced it under warranty.

Noise isn't really a concern for me but if you think it may be a concern I'm sure the operational dBA will be listed for most models on their respective web sites..

 

[aowen416]

Everything looks fine,however, for your HDD, it says it's a deactivated item. I'd recommend the Barracuda as an alternative, and it has a 32MB Cache:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822148288

Also, for your graphics card, if you can afford $30 more, opt for the 4850 HD, it's more powerful than the 9800GTX:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102747

One more thing , out of personal preference, I wouldn't go with Apevia. I have a very similar case to the one you selected, and they aren't very well built, and rather flimsy. My doors are dented, there are sharp edges (took a pretty big gash out of my finger), etc. Maybe consider something else? Not sure if it's just me, and I got a "bad" case. This Cooler Master is really great:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119077

Overclocking could be a good idea- the E8400 can reach some pretty impressive overclocks on air (3.6-3.8). Just make sure you know what you're doing However, it's still quite powerful at stock speeds.

 

[JogaBonito1502]

Do you already have a monitor?

 

[amp27]

yes. yes i do. does he? i have no clue.

 

[killakobra]

i've got that case and i'll warn you, it gets irritating getting to the cd drives if you have things on the desk.