Building for school, Upgrading for gaming later

I want to build a PC for gaming and school, but my budget this summer isnt that great so I basicly want to get everything but the graphics card and the sound card for now. My budget without those things are $800 - 900.

I know a couple parts I want to go with:

CPU: Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 - $199.99 from tigerdirect

Cooling: Artic cooling freezer 7 - $31.99 from newegg

RAM: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820145184 - $86.50

HD: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136074 - 64.99

Burner: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827151154&Tpk=Samsung%2bSH-S203N - 26.99

Windows Vista Home Premium SP1 64-bit - 99.99

The problem is I really dont know what a good motherboard, power supply, and case would be. For a graphics card though I would probally get the 8800GT. Any help would be appreciated, I should be able to build it late August.

Thanks everyone for the help.

I started looking at a couple cases and Im sort of interested in these 2:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119129

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811146025

When looking at reviews the coolmaster seems like a more solid case but it is a tight fit. For a motherboard I would consider SLI over crossfire if I need to choose over the two. Also is the Ati 4850 much better then the 8800gt? When looking at the prices on newegg, the 8800gt seems to be cheaper and has alot of good reviews.

Thank you for the suggestion on the PSU I think i will go with the 550VX.

Also is the Ati 4850 much better then the 8800gt? d_player

The hd4850 is faster but how much faster depends on the game. It's 15% faster in Crysis, 34% in CoD 4 and 68% in Bioshock (according to AnandTech). Plus the hd4850 supports directx 10.1, but so far only Assassin's Creed has used dx 10.1.

If i go with the hd4850 would I have to go with a motherboard which supports Xfire and if so which motherboard would be a respectable choice? Since my total so far has reached 680.43 not including the GPU i have about 100 - 150 to spend on a motherboard.

Also which one is smaller the 8800gt or the hd4850?

If i go with the hd4850 would I have to go with a motherboard which supports Xfire and if so which motherboard would be a respectable choice? Since my total so far has reached 680.43 not including the GPU i have about 100 - 150 to spend on a motherboard.

Also which one is smaller the 8800gt or the hd4850?

d_player

No, you can have any motherboard that has a pci-express slot, even nForce ones. Go with a Crossfire mobo only if you plan on getting a 2nd card later, but a single hd4850 is powerful enough for 1680x1050 and even 1920x1200. With one card, there are no problems of scaling and microstuttering, and there's also less heat and power consumption. I suggest a P43 or P45 motherboard like this Gigabyte GA-EP43-DS3L (more choices here) for a single video card, or an X38 or X48 for Crossfire. The X38 and X48 motherboards are much more expensive though (200$+). Personally I prefer a single gpu over Crossfire/SLI.

The hd4850 is 9.25" long, i don't know about the 8800gt.

I just checked and the 8800gt is 9" long.

Thank you for the motherboard suggestions im going to have to see which motherboard I can get that will last me, while being able to handle a decent sound card as well. Im going to take your advice and not get a Xfire mobo since I dont think I need one to play Prototype and COD4 and Starcraft 2 when it comes out.

In general what do I need more of PCI Slots or PCI Express x1? The only thing extra I will add other then the GPU is a sound card.

Thanks for the help my build looks like this now:

Mobo: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131322 $109.99

CPU: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115017 209.99

Cooling: Artic cooling freezer 7 - $31.99 from newegg

PSU: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139004&Tpk=550vx 89.99

RAM: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820145184 - $86.50

HD: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136074 - 64.99

Burner: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827151154&Tpk=Samsung%2bSH-S203N - 26.99

Windows Vista Home Premium SP1 64-bit - 99.99

Case: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119129 79.99 (still thinking about the case but im liking this one.)

GPU: Ati 4850 (just not sure which company is most reliable might either go with Gigabyte or Asus)

Total: 800.42 without the GPU and without tax.

GPU: Ati 4850 (just not sure which company is most reliable might either go with Gigabyte or Asus)d_player

Go with the Asus, it comes with a software (Smart Doctor) to control the fan speed. For some strange reason, the Gigabyte 4850 has a lower memory clock than the reference clock.

What do you think of my motherboard choice now? I would like to upgrade in the future but I dont know if SLI or Crossfire is going to be needed in the future?

What do you think of my motherboard choice now? I would like to upgrade in the future but I dont know if SLI or Crossfire is going to be needed in the future?

d_player

I had a discussion with my friend and he said that the CPU I have wont work because of the motherboard I choose FSB is higher then the one for my CPU. Also he said that since the standard memory for ram is DDR2 1066 that a DDR2 800 ram stick wont work. Is any of that true, do I have to change my motherboard?d_player

Your mobo's fsb will scale to your cpu's fsb. And you can use dd2 800 on that mobo no problem.

8800GT is still considered a good graphics card... hell it runs almost every game on the market maxed are a resonable resolution. The only reason you'd want more than a 8800GT is for highresolution+AA.

You don't need a sound card...