Looking to build a new box for gaming.

[BakerMikeRomeo]

So, my old Athlon64X2/GeForce6800GS box is getting significantly out of date, and I'm planning to replace it.

The only things from this box I'll retain will be my DL-DVD burner and maybe (maybe) my Antec Truepower 2.0 550W PSU. But I dunno if that's even enough for what I'm planning.

I'd like to build a box that'll legitimately run pretty much everything that's out right now (HALO 2 PC, Bioshock, Battlefield 2142 (bitchy resource hog that it is), Supreme Commander, etc.) while also casting an eye toward what the future will bring (Crysis, HL2:Ep2).

So, APS smarter-than-me-guys, I shall lay out my (incomplete) grand master plan for your perusal:

Case: Adamas NZXT
Big, tough case with just enough slots and fans and holes and gaps and mounts and rails and all that crap. Can I put an ACOG on it?

Motherboard: Abit IP35 Pro
I picked the IP35 because the guys on the HardForum seemed to like it a lot. I picked the IP35 Pro because the guys on Newegg liked the pro, but not the regular style.

RAM: undetermined amount of DDR2 800
Question:Being that the IP35 has four DIMM slots, should I A) get 2 x 1GB sticks as one dual-channel kit, giving me room to conveniently add more RAM in the future (I hear tell that 4GB of RAM is overkill, but who can know what the future will bring?), or B) get 2 x 2 x 512MB sticks (2GB total) as two dual-channel kits? I think I read on Tom's hardware or something that the lower capacity sticks are or can be significantly faster than 1GB ones. The only trouble is that getting 4x 512 is about 25-50% more expensive than getting 2x 1GB.

Processor: An Intel LGA775 Core 2 Duo chip. I haven't the foggiest notion which one.

Just how fast will a processor need to be? Overclocking is a possibility, too, but I'm suspicious of those giant air-cooling hea-- (NOTE: I am suddenly absolutely in LOVE with my laptop. Power outages cannot step to her battery-powered goodness.) --tsinks, because I'm afraid to drop 100 bucks on a kick-ass sink-and-fan that might not fit in my case, you know?

HDD: A couple of Seagate Barracudas in either a RAID 0 or RAID 1. I've never experienced a hard drive crash, ever, so I'm sort of ambivalent on which one to use.

Video Card: NVIDIA GeForce 8800GTS
320MB or 640MB? The difference is 100 freaking dollars and according to Tom's Hardware, the difference in performance, at the moment, is nearly negligible except at crazy high resolutions, in which I am not interested. My 19" LCD at 1280x1024 is just fine for me, thanks. Are there games on the horizon that'll make use of 640MB of VRAM at normal resolutions?

Sound Card: No idea as yet, though I am intrigued by suggestions of having onboard mobo sound dedicated to a headset and in-game voice/VoIP while having a sound card dedicated to "real" game sound.

PSU: If any of y'all can give me a wattage number, I can find a legitimate modular PSU that'll fit the bill.


Y'all's input is _overwhelmingly_ appreciated.

Cheers,
~BakerMike

[Brad Johnson]

Why not an Intel board for your Intel processor?

http://www.intel.com/products/motherboard/D975XBX2/index.htm

It will support processors up to the Core 2 Quad and RAM up to 8 GB (should you ever find yourself in need of "a little more").  I jumped on NewEgg and the comments seem skewed heavily to the positive.

Brad

[Cromlech]

Any of the Core2Duos should be good for gaming. The E6600 that I have, or even better, the Q6600 (quad core), will keep you gaming for a fair while. As for the 320 versus 640 8800GTS, the 640 does indeed offer little more than the 320. Perhaps if you game at very high resolutions then you will notice a difference, but either one is fine for games out now.

[Sergeant Bob]

On the RAM, I would definitely go with 2 X 1GB. I can see absolutely no good reason to use 512 sticks.

[RocketMan]

I recommend the Asus P5W DH Deluxe for a motherboard.  I've got one, have used it with both the E6600 and Q6600 and 2 GB or RAM.  It just runs and runs; has plenty of overclocking flexibility if you want to go that direction.
There are some neat features and add-ons, too.

[Perd Hapley]

You want a box?

[BrokenPaw]

HDD: A couple of Seagate Barracudas in either a RAID 0 or RAID 1. I've never experienced a hard drive crash, ever, so I'm sort of ambivalent on which one to use.

Avoid RAID 0.  It can enhance your disk performance slightly, true, but it actually reduces longterm reliability, because every disk in the array is vital to your data integrity; there's no redundancy.  So if you buy X drives with Y hours MTBF, the actual MTBF for the array is Y/X; not good.  If you really really want RAID 0, buy 4 drives and use RAID 0+1.

-BP