Opinions are a must.

[wetbikebubba]

Houdy,
I'm planing a build and i've been researching for about two months. This'll be the first of my builds with all new parts (before I would "borrow" a processor or some ram from my dad put it in the mobo and hope it works). I love playing games, but more importantly I want somthing that will last for at least awhile. Of course in two years it won't be top of the line, but I still want it to handle a moderate ammount of programs and games available in the furture.
here's what I'm thinking:
AMD Athlon 64 X2 3800+(65W) Windsor 2.0GHz 2 x 512KB L2 $65.50
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103733

GeForce 7300GT 256MB 128-bit GDDR2 PCI Express x16 $68.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814125036

ASUS M2N-X Socket AM2 NVIDIA nForce 520 MCP ATX $62.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131179

OR
GIGABYTE GA-M61P-S3 Socket AM2 NVIDIA GeForce 6100 ATX $84.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128034

Rosewill RP500-2 ATX12V v2.01 500W Power Supply $54.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817182016

A-DATA Extreme Edition 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800$63.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820211174

Western Digital Caviar SE WD1600AAJS 160GB 7200 RPM 8MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s $49.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136075

Total +- $366.54

The two thing I'm worried about are the processor and the graphics card. Here are some alternitives but I'm on a budget. $300-$550 max.
AMD Athlon 64 X2 5200+ Windsor 2.6GHz 2 x 1MB L2 $129.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103759


Radeon HD 2600PRO 512MB 128-bit GDDR2 PCI Express x16
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814125074
A little woried about the lack of fan on the graphics card.

I know I put a lot of links in there but ANY information would help and could mean the difference between a good or bad choice.

Thanks,
James

 

[diduknowthat]

If you want your computer to last a while you'll need a bigger budget. A 7300GT will barely play games today at decent settings, so nevermind about games in the future. At least get a 7600gt if not a 7950gt or 8600GTS, As for ram, 1 gig should be a minimum amount and 2 gigs would be better. I would recommend getting a core 2 duo processor if you have the moneynew. They are as of now much better than AMD processors.

CPU: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115014
GPU: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130017

 

[ETSA]

I agree with diduknowthat about gaming in the future, you will be hard pressed to find the most modern of games to even run at all with a 7300 at a tolerable setting. It seems you are on a tight budget but if you have little room to spare start with a solid foundation and build up, a solid case and psu and motherboard is what will make a system easy to expand or upgrade int he future. Overall the build you have is not horrible, although that Rosewill psu I wouldn't wish upon my enemies.

Right now, Core 2 Duo's are the best for budget and performance..