Configuration :

Intel Core 2 Duo E8400

Mobo : GIGABYTE GA-EP45-UD3P

Ram : Kingston 2x2 GB DDR2 800MHz

Graphics Card: MSI R4850-T2D512 Radeon HD 4850 512MB 256-bit GDDR3

Hard Drive: Western Digital 320 7200RPM Model: WD3202ABYS

I need help choosing a Cabinet with Stock Cooler and PSU(don't know what Wattage ?).Also I am on Tight Budget with only 70$ Left :( .

I won't Crossfire for a year so choose PSU independent of that.

Also which will make more difference to performance Cpu downgrade or GPU downgrade?

Q1)http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128358 gives Memory Standard as DDR2-1333,so shouldn't it be => than that (Basically what is memory Standard?)

Q2)Why not Seagate?

Q3) So I Shouldn't wait till April for i7 and DDR3?

I'm a first time Builder. My Chosen Configuration is:

Dual Boot: XP 32 Bit(Old Workhorse) and Vista 64 Bit(For Games)

Intel Core 2 Duo E8400 (No real advantage of quad in gaming)

Mobo : GIGABYTE GA-EP45-UD3P

Ram : Kingston 2x2 GB DDR2 800MHz

Graphics Card: MSI R4850-T2D512 Radeon HD 4850 512MB 256-bit GDDR3 (Or Some Equivalent Like 9800GTX)

Hard Drive: Seagate/Western Digital 320/500GB-7200RPM

Power Supply: Tagan/Corsair 600W

Standard ATX Case and Stock Coolers

Questions
Q1) Since 4850 takes 2 Slots(according to reviews in newegg) can I Crossfire later?

Q2) How bad is ATI's Support?

Q3) Will prices of i7 come down enough in 4 months to make it the Same Price? Will Price of DDR2/DDR3 come down?

Q4) IF Memory Standard is DDR2 1333 as given then i can't buy 800?,can i use DDR3.

Q5) While Assembling this do you think there would be any connection Problems? If anyone has Built this Tell me

Q6) Is the 4850 hot or hard to install. These Guys had Problems While putting a new cooling Solution http://www.digital-daily.com/video/msi_radeon_hd_4850_vs_radeon_hd4870/

(What is the normal temperature)

Also, I would like to know if I should wait 4-5 Months for the i7 920 and DDR3 to get cheaper.

The amount I can Spend Remains the Same.

Q1)Will it allow me to be Future Proof(5 Years) and will it get me any noticable Performance Gain(if any)?

The main point is that if in 3 years an new strategy/Rpg game comes then I should still be able to play them, i.e it should be upgradable.

I'll go with the following E7400 , 2x2 GB ,Corsair 550-600W and HD4850

Q1)Is there a good Quad Core in same price as a E8400?

Q2)What are the main advantages of the Gigabyte?

Q1)

My chosen Configuration is: Intel Core 2 Duo E8400

MSI P35NEO-F Motherboard

Ram:Kingston 4x1 GB DDR2 800MHz

Hard Drive: Seagate/Western Digital 500GB

Power Supply:Tagan 800W BZ800

Graphics Card:MSI ATI 4870HD 512GDDR5

I already have all other components. I need to cut the costs by 25%. Suggest what i should change and to what?

I was thinking the Graphics Card since i don't play a lot of First Person Shooters,but I don't want to get stuck with a poor graphics card either

Q2) Is this setup future proof(4 to 5 years) i.e can I play games designed to use Quad Core well and can I use DDR3?

Q3) Can I set an older game to run/use only one core and how?

So i'll get the 9800GT ,but will that cause any problems ?

I had a post little while back ' effect of graphics card on older games '

Quiteguy in that gave reasons for non working of older games ,

but i need an answer as to go for older or newer card ?

Whats your opinion?

Only have Oblivion as 2007-08 game

In update to Previous Topic

Need Help with Graphics and Motherboard .I mainly play older games (2000-2004) such as AOE-1,2,3 , Morrowind,Halo-1 and 2 and Diablo 1 and 2 .But need a Pc capable of handling Oblivion as well. Will use for 4-5 yrs.

Decided Components:

CPU-e8500

HDD-WD digital Caviar Blue WD6400AKS (640 GB)

500w PSU Corsair or Cooler Master

I had chosen graphics card as 9800 GT or HD 4830 ,but they don't seem to run older games.

Please suggest one that does and a compatable motherboard (imp). They should be easily available.

I Know a new high end card will make a lot of difference in games like Crysis,Oblivion

But is there a difference at all between low, middle and high end cards for games like Morrowind and AOE3