Board: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813128014

CPU: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16819103194

Memory: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820161063

Video card: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814150265


This is a quick random pick on a decent video card.

I'm liking that setup! $315 total, not bad.

How does everyone else feel about what he picked?

What do you suggest for a video card? I started looking at something like this: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814150245

I could just order 2 of those 2x1gb sticks right?

I would like to have at least a 4.5-5.0 Vista rating, what is going to slow me down the most out of the proposed system?

I only have a 1.73GHz Core 2 Duo in my laptop. Runs Home Premium with Aero engaged just fine. But a MINIMUM of 2 GB of memory is VERY important. I have an overall rating of 3.1 because of my graphics. Everything else is 4.6-5.

As far as vista itself goes, I have been running it since it first came out and love it just as much as i did XP and have had no more, possibly LESS operating specific problems than I did with XP. Service pack 1 has only made it better.

I would say, you could slightly rebuild your tower..keeping the case, power supply, and hard drives. Are those SATA 300 drives?

Lets look at upgrading.

Intel Core 2 Duo E6420, 2.13GHz, 1066MHz FSB, 4MB Shared L2, $195
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16819115016
*notes* having at LEAST a 1066 FSB is important, mine bottlenecks at 533.

Gigabyte GA-P35-DS3L, 1066/1333, LGA 775, $90
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813128059
*notes* Upgradable to 1333 FSB at a later date when necessary.

G.SKILL 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 1066 (PC2 8500), $60
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820231144

EVGA 320-P2-N811-AR GeForce 8800GTS 320MB 320-bit GDDR3 PCI x16, $145
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814130082

Alright, with all that, you're still under $500 with shipping. I know you said 250-300, but honestly, this setup will last you QUITE a while, not to mention that the board is upgradable to any 1333 Core 2 Duo or Core 2 Extreme when you have the spare bucks. Your current specs were top of the line, probably 4-5 years ago. This setup should work for at least that long before REQUIRING an update. You should rate at LEAST a 5 in vista with this setup as well, being that was one of your criteria.

SATA 300 and SATA 3 are probably not the same huh?

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I'd prefer to stick with an AMD processor I think John. I have never ran an Intel and I have always had good luck with AMD.

Personally, I like Intel, I can see this is where Jesse and I disagree However, I like the card, but I think you'd be better off with the one I chose.

This will last you a while, but i'd do a few changes... We have this wonderful store in the twin cities call Microcenter... I built my entire computer there, for The same, or cheaper than Newegg would've run.. Also get easy returns and such then.

CPU: Intel Q6600 $199 instore @ Microcenter, or ~ $230 or so online. Faster Clock and it'* a Quad Core over Dual core, no brainer...

Memory, Corsair XMS2, |2x1Gb)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820145590
This is About the same deal @ Microcenter if they still have the same rebate I got on, last month.
http://www.microcenter.com/single_pr...uct_id=0245599 (cheaper)

The 8800GTS Video card is overkill if you don't game. Any 8600gt will be more than capable of what you want to do, save $50 here. I got an 8800GT but I wanted to be able to play all the new games well without hiccup at decent resolutions.

Your PSU should be OK for this if you get say an 8600 GPU, if you get an 8800GT or more you'll be taxing it some when it fires up 3d processing (I doubt you even have the correct power hookup for a new video card on there anyways)

AMD v Intel, well, Intel OWNS the market right now in performance, period. The chips run cooler, faster, and OC more if that'* your gig. They also are priced damn good these days. It'* very hard to make a case for an AMD chip.

All of the stuff listed above is excellent. I have nothing against Intel at all I just love the underdogs. My list of parts is a budget computer that would work great for what you need and would be upgradable to do more. I usually build budget boxes for my customers.