Budget Conroe system?

How does this look?

Vid card: 7900GS
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E16814150202

CPU: E6600
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E16819115003

Mobo: Gigabyte
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E16813128017

Mem: G.Skill
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E16820231065

PSU: Corsair
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E16817139001

This puts me at 762.88 which is just over my budget but is doable. (had to drop from 1200.00 to 700.00 )

I'm looking for stability, upgradability(sp) and future OC potential. My main games of choice are Trainz 06, MS FSX and IL2. I also do a little bit of Photoshop. Appreciate your input, thanks!!

With that memory & motherboard there is a good chance you will top out the processor first. I would consider an e6420. Save yourself like $35-40 and get equal or possibly better performance.

IMO, your money would be better spent on these:

E6420:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115016

I did a build for a friend with this chip and we have it running 400x8 @ 1.39v (actual). Topped with a Thermalright SI-128/Rexus U1BX, it idles @ 27c and loads @ 39c. SuperPi times in the high 15's. It's $37 cheaper than the 6600 and I dont think you lose much performance. Also, I think Intel is having another price drop next month, so wait till then to buy the proc.

Cheaper D9's:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820609026
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231114
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820146565

I believe all 3 of those sets have Micron D9 IC's just like the GSkill HZ's. Actually, the Crucial are guaranteed D9's fo $4 less so at least get those. I know people who have the Super Talent and the GSkill HK's and they both perform great at rated speeds/timings and beyond.

The famous DS3:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128012

This is the better version of the board you posted. It has better caps and I think a better BIOS as well. I dont understand how, but it's actually $5 cheaper than the S3 you posted.

The PSU seems to be well liked and the g-card is a solid choice but I dont know how much performance you're gaining over the normal-clocked 7900GS At any rate, that GPU should do fine until the DX10 cards have more use and drop in price. That saves you between $46 - $66 depending on what RAM you choose.

I say go for an e6420 as well. Just save the $40 or *maybe* upgrade the graphics a bit:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102067 And maybe get a quieter cooler if noise bothers you
Those are some relatively older games so the 7900gs should be fine as far as frames. The x1k series does trump the 7 series in image quality though.

Looks like a done deal

Thanks guys!

I went with the above suggestions:

E6420 CPU
Crucial
DS3 Mobo
X1950XT

to bad i didnt get here sooner, as i would have told you to get the gigabyte p35-ds3 and its only 20 more then that board. really for down the road it would offer more upgradability

Mm yea a P35 would be much smarter at this point. Is the order from Newegg slkcrab? If so you ought to still be able to cancel it.

zipzoomfly has corsiar psu cheaper.

I would have opted for cheaper antec PSU

I gotta go with ZZF because I'm looking at 50.00 or so in taxes if I go NewEgg.

There are two P35 DS3's one is with a "C". Major differences, if any?

Thanks!

the P35C-DS3R is 2 slots DDR-3 and 4 slots DDR-2.
the non c is just 4 slots DDR-2.

I would get cheaper ram, lower end processor, wait for price drop, And then get a higher end video card.