best budget pci-e setup?

hey guys!

I've decided to upgrade to pci-e as my current agp setup blows. however, i only have about $1000 cdn to spend since i'm a student.

Here's what I have so far (prices are in cdn - x0.8 for USD):

Case: Antec Sonata II - $129
Mobo: Asus a8n-sli - $160
CPU: athlon64 3000+ - $180
RAM: OCZ pc3200 rev.2 1gb kit - $190
Video: BFG 6600GT OC - $170
HD: 200gb maxtor sata - $110
DVD-RW: LG 4167 - $50

Total: $990 + tax
or: approx $790 USD

do you think it's a good setup? or should I change things?
i'm planning to oc the 3000+ obviously... what's the best heatsink for it?
and what kind of overclocks can i expect with the bfg 6600gt? are there better 6600gt's out there for a similar price?

Appreciate your help.

those are good prices.

are you going to go with SLI in the future? if not, don't bother with an SLI board.

I would try to go with the Sapphire X800GTO if you can afford it.

Do you intend to use the shroud that comes with the Sonata II? I'm not sure if some of the better silent air coolers will fit underneath it.

Best heatsinks include the Thermalright XP-90C/XP-120/SI-120, Thermaltake Big Typhoon/Sonic Tower, or Zalman CNPS9500. How important is noise?

I don't know if those are local prices but you should look into NCIX for some of your items. They are cheaper this week because of the sale. And if you may save by not paying PST either, depending on where you live.

what happened to your other 6600GT

thanks for the replies.

actually, i'm not familiar at all with the sonata case... i'm just buying it because it's supposed to be quiet - i don't want to **** off my roommate. maybe there'a better alternative?

and yeah, noise would matter, so i'm thinking of going with a heatsink for 120mm fans. probably the xp-120.

btw yeah, i actually might get the x800gto - i heard connect3d flashes to x850xtpe?

also, about mobo,maybe the dfi lanparty nf ultra would be a better choice in terms of oc? but woudl i have to buy ddr2 for it?

bacontehory: i've never had a 6600gt

No, you do not need DDR2 for the DFI LP Ultra-D board. The DFI is much better then the ASUS board you choose in terms of OCing.

Why not get a differen DVD burner? I heard the LG one isn't as good as the NEC one or BenQ ones, but all three are probably around the same I guess.

You do not need DDR2 for any current AMD CPU/motherboard.

Sonata II has a shroud, go look at reviews for it.

Best burner at the moment is the BenQ DW1640.

I'd recomend the PC I have in my signature, minus the hard drives. Very happy with it, don't think I could have done any bette with what I spent. If I could do it again, I might not have gotten the Mushkin Blueline (still would have gotten 2048mb of ram), but rather a faster hard drive. But those too were in my drawer.