Hi,
My husband wants a new system to play counter strike, he is addicted. He began having trouble with his current system and wants new.

After some research I was thinking this may be good.
Antec 900 or coolermaster CM690
OCZ 750W stealth PSU
NVidia 780i SLI or ?
Intel core 2 duo e8400 3.0GHz
CPU cooler?
4GB 800MHz DDR2 OCZ have 2 already
NVidia 8800GTS (G92) 512MB
I would like to reuse his harddrive and samsung burner if possible I will have to look and see what they are.
should he use gaming mouse and keyboard? He has basic logitech currently.

We have windows xp but will purchase Vista if needed.

I have built two systems for my kids who play WOW and have had some minor issues, my knowledge is basic I guess .
Thank you
Kelli

counter strike? that system would be way more than enough to play that; with my current system, i was playing half life 2 and all it's episodes with at least a constant 100+ frames per second and all quality levels set to their highest setting (to have the game run at it's optimal, you want it to be at least 60 fps) I havent played counter strike source but since it's using the same type of engine (graphics/ effects/ physics) as half life 2, it should be around the same. So yeah, your set up would kill CS.

Yes, that is more than enough. You could probably go with a P35 motherboard and save over 100.00, unless you plan on running 2 video cards the P35 will give you excellent performance for a lot less money. The 780i is a good board and if you want to spend the extra I say go for it. If all he is interested in is counter strike, it's probably overkill since it doesn't need SLI to run that game well. The card you chose won't break a sweat running CS.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6813128059

if this is ONLY going to do CS - you are spending a lot too much money, but if you want to indulge in other games, then imho its money well spent on a (reasonably) future proof computer - although a q6600 would be fine for CS, and be more future proof

All he is interested in is Counter Strike he wants to get better and feels he needs a better computer. He doesn't seem interested in SLI but I want him to be able to upgrade in a few years. I am all for saving money. I just want him to have a system with good FPS and no lag. Basically good performance is key. If I go with one video card is the 8800GTS (92) 512MB a good option?
Thanks
Kelli

Yes, that's a great choice for video.

I'd probably go for a P35 motherboard instead.

For games like counterstike I understand a high quality mouse makes a difference.

Uhm, here's a little advice about Counter-Strike. Having a faster PC won't hurt you in competitive play but it might not help as much as you think. The more important thing is to have a fast, reliable network connection: Low pings and most importantly NO CHOKE. Learn the console commands: I think net_graph 2 or net_graph 3 will give you all the information you need to diagnose a network connection. Also make sure you play at the correct tick rate. The default is 66 but a lot of Counter Strike servers are set to a 100 tick rate which requires a good internet connection. Your husband may already know all this stuff, I dunno.

As far as gaming keyboards and mice are concerned, it can't hurt to give them a try. Buy at your local Circuit City or Best Buy and if your husband doesn't feel they improve his game then you can always take them back. Personally, I think that a good mouse pad might be more important than a good mouse, but that's just me. I have one of those big steel mouse pads.

XP should be a little more efficient at running an older game like Counter-Strike but with the set up you listed above the little performance drop that might come with Vista won't even be noticeable. Your FPS will be more than enough in either operating system.

My old build destroys CS:S, and it's a 4800+ with a X1950 Pro pci-e.

You could build that system for under $500 with ease. The build you're talking about will make CS:S cry for mercy and scream UNCLE.

Overkill doesn't even begin to describe it. But I digress..

Go ahead and build it. If you have the money, throw in a NIC card to try and lower pings -- probably won't see a difference though.

'Cause you know, there's nothing wrong with having a nice, new build sitting in your house ^^.