Yeah... The ebay PC is crap. I spent 5 minutes on Newegg and was able to spec out a system that would probably exceed your expectations for the same price. I wasn't able to generate a link to my cart, but would be happy to itemize the components/prices if you want.
As far as the build is concerned, you will need a phillips screw driver, but that's about it. Good Luck!
The difference in price is probably due to what clock speed the RAM is set at (ie DDR2 800, 1066, etc) and the manufacturer of the RAM. Low latency RAM is nearly always the best bet. What RAM modules are you looking at?
I did a quick bit of research and from what you explained, it appears that an inadequate power supply is most likely the culprit of your poor performance in games. The CPU is probably the last component you should trouble shoot. Make sure that you have a solid high end power supply -- the 8800GTX is very power hungry and sucks a lot of juice.
I'm currently clocked up to 3.4 Ghz with my E6600. My temps never exceed 50 degrees C. Just make sure that you buy a quality CPU cooler like the ZALMAN 9700 or Big Typhoon if you are thinking of OC'ing agressively.
You can check your CPU temps in BIOS or with a variety of free tools available on the web or packaged with your mobo.
I definatlety suggest a NVIDIA 650 or 680 chipset to compliment your Core 2. The 680i has consistently been rated as one of the better overclockers of the Core 2 boards. The new NVIDIA boards are around the same price range as the DFI you were looking at.
Thanks for the feedback. I'm actually currentlyusing a set of Icemat Siberia headphones - which are fantastic stereo headphones but lack the 8 seperate speaker channels found in the Medusa's and Razer Barracuda. As for the Razer's - do you have an AC-1 Barracudasound card to pair them with. I heard through the grapevine that the bass response is fairly underwhelming when the headet is not paired with the matching card.
^The idle RAM spec is not out of the ordinary... My Vista PC RAM utilization is between 25 and 35% at any given time and it has no impact on my performance. It would probably be a good idea to spec out the wattage on your PSU and make sure that it is at least 500w (preferably 600-700w). It also should have 2 6-pin power cables connected directly to the 8800GTX -- if not, than your issue is likely an inadequate or faulty PSU - in which case I would return the PC and have the shop correct the issue.
I'm looking for a good set of 5.1 headphones to pair with my X-Fi Fata1ity. I've heard that Medusa is the way to go... Does anyone have any suggestions on these oralternative products that be comperable?
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