His PSU suggestion can't even power the graphics card he suggested so he just bit himself in the ass on that one :\ The one I listed isn't quite as efficient but it has enough juice to power the graphics card I listed and then some. Like I said, if you can tell me the differences (other than their efficiencies), and provide a better PSU suggestion, I'll gladly consider it.

The HDD I listed in my pre-finalized post build is a lot better. It has a little less space on it, but it's a lot better.

My "finalized" graphics card is also better since it's "energy efficient", slimmer, and costs only $10 more.

The case is also better, hands down (I've asked other people).

Not to mention the HDD and PSU he suggested got awful review ratings from people...

Spunky_Girl wrote:

His PSU suggestion can't even power the graphics card he suggested so he just bit himself in the ass on that one :\ The one I listed isn't quite as efficient but it has enough juice to power the graphics card I listed and then some. Like I said, if you can tell me the differences (other than their efficiencies), and provide a better PSU suggestion, I'll gladly consider it.

When video card vendors suggest wattage, they typically overestimate to be on the safe side. I can definitely vouch that a quality 400W PSU can easily handle a 4830, let alone a 9800 GT. I built a computer with a quality 420W PSU (Corsair), and it runs a 4850 with ease.

Rosewill PSUs are on the lower spectrum in terms of quality, so it's not likely that 500W is its continuous wattage rating, rather it's peak rating. I don't see why for the same price you would get a less efficient and cheaper quality PSU.

I personally would suggest looking at the Antec Earthwatts PSUs.

The HDD I listed in my pre-finalized post build is a lot better. It has a little less space on it, but it's a lot better.

Western Digital drives are good, but the 640GB version, in terms of performance, is faster and at a very similar price. (it's faster because of its two 320GB platter design). If I remember correctly, the Samsung Spinpoint series of harddrives have similar performance. Regardless, harddrive performance difference is fairly negligable, so get what you need (in terms of GB) at your budget. Consider the Caviar Blue versions, as they are lower-power versions at a cheaper price (if you're looking to save money...) Otherwise, spend the extra $5 for the 640GB WD Caviar.

My "finalized" graphics card is also better since it's "energy efficient", slimmer, and costs only $10 more.

The 9800GT performs a tiny bit slower than the 4830 (quickly looking through reviews on the internet). I wouldn't judge video cards efficiency by slimness either, since the 4830 is a tad bit more power efficient. They're about the same, so you should decide based on their features (4830 supports HDMI with 7.1 audio, for example)

Spunky_Girl wrote:

Is this the HDD you were talking about? WD Caviar Blue 640GB 16MB cache SATA 3GB/s

Yes, I would suggest that if you want to keep the price down. However, if you spare $15 more, then you could get the Caviar Black. (you'd have to look up the difference between Blue and Black yourself, as I don't know on the top of my mind). I bought two WD 640GB Caviar harddrives last year, and they're running great.

Spunky_Girl wrote:

I noticed the cache is half of the Caviar Black I had listed. Isn't the cache how much information it read/writes from/to the disc per rotation?

I'd get this for a PSU.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817159026

35A on the 12v rail, much better than the 2x 12v rails with 16a.

Basically, with a single rail, there's no wasted amperage. You can't overload one rail and blow the PSU.

The 9800GT afaik asks for 24A, which may be an over-estimate, but I wouldn't risk it. If you use the PSU to it's maximum, it has a very limited lifetime.

32mb on the hdd is better than 16mb. I'd get the 500gb drive myself.

The quad core may be a better buy, but if you're scrimping, a dual core is fine. A lot of games coming out do better on quad cores.

You don't need any extra cooling, but make sure your case has a couple fans included.

If you want a silent case, you'll definately want to get aftermarket fans. I'm rather an expert in that area, so let me know and I'll hook you up with what you need to know.

Not saying it's a bad PSU, but I looked at it's efficiency and Newegg says it has at least 65% efficiency. Now, I have no idea what that means but all I know is that it's less than the Antec Earthwatts one (which has at least 80% efficiency). Is that a big deal at all? I do like the fact that yours is 550W, though, which has more maximum output for other things I'd might want to add onto it.

I'm getting the Sapphire 4830, not the 9800GT.

The case I posted has 4 fans in it, and I know will do the job very easily... 1x 120mm rear fan, 2x 120mm front fans, 1x 140mm top fan.

The reason I'm going with the Core 2 Duo, is because I'm trying to keep the price as close to, if not as far under, $500 as I can.

Someone also mentioned something about the 640GB HDD was a little bit faster than the 500GB one. I'm not sure why, since the 500GB one is 32MB cache, but it does have a larger capacity for $10 less. If I can afford it, I'll go with the 500GB 32MB cache one over the 640Gb 16MB cache one definitely.

EDIT
If I have any questions about fans, I'll be sure to ask you first then ^-^

EDIT2
I also found out that the Core 2 Duo has a combo deal with the (slightly better?) 4850 version. I'm thinking about doing that.

Oh okay. That makes sense. I did a little google search on PSU efficiency and found this neat little article here.