Dual core CPUs beat quad cores in programs designed for dual cores. It makes sense, too, since a 300~ dual core CPU is clocked much higher at stock than a 300~ quad. However, developers more and more are working to have programs more quad core friendly. The quad core will also clock pretty nicely with a Tuniq, if overclocked.
The GTX would be a fine purchase if it's within your pricerange, and I say get it if you can afford it.
RAM is some of the easiest stuff to upgrade, and as you know, a 32bit operating system won't utillize 4gb. If you want to get a 64bit operating system, go for it, but personally, I'm sticking to 32bit for now. So if you're getting 4gb Excalibur, get a 64bit OS.

ignore

Considering that 4 Gb is predicted to become the gaming norm next year... it'd be a bit foolhardy not to get 64-bit Vista at this point.

As nice as the GTX its a bit too high on price for me right now. 500$ aint nothing to laugh at for one piece. Perhaps in a year or so when i get some more cash ill upgrade it to whatevers good at that time, but for now, its just out of my reach.

Another friend of mine came in and said
Woa woa woa we need to fix this.

And i said
Ummmm ok? Whats wrong?

He didnt like the PSU or case, and convinced me into getting a new mouse and keyboard. Price went up as expected.

Deathawk and Felagund, or anyone else, counter-reccomendations?

lol, if your friend is making any negative remarks against the HX520, he really has no clue about what he's talking about.

http://www.jonnyguru.com/review_details.php?id=35&page_num=3 read that

http://www.jonnyguru.com/review_details.php?id=28&page_num=2 and read that...

The case is totally opinion, however, I wouldn't want an Antec 900 because it has nearly no sound canceling properites, is expensive for what it offers, is loaded with LEDs(Which I do not like.).. personally looks like something a 6th grader would like (IT'S EXTRME HRD CORE LAZERS!) and doesn't have a tool-less design. It cools well, so whatever.|

Keyboard and mouse are good.
The G5 has another version with two thumb buttons.. let me link you http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16826104076 it costs more, though.

You win on the PSU deathy.
As for the case i love lights, and cooling was and is my main concern. Its either the less pricey case with more money fans to install or the more expensive one with nothing to install. So im not sure.

Edit:
Then again a tool-less design would probobly help someone like me who hates tools and is doing his first build. Also factor'd.

Tool-less = cheap. Christ, all you need is a screwdriver, and if some dinky plastic piece breaks in a tool-less case, you're screwed. Most cases have removable trays now to make installation of hard drives, optical drives, motherboards, etc. a snap, and if they don't, then you probably don't want to buy them. SST-TJ07-BW case ftw.

I HATE THIS EDIT STUFF >.<

Most cases DON'T have removable trays from what I've seen. Also, most tool-less designs I've seen also have an option to resort to a standard screwed installation. It's not even that a tool-less deisgn is that useful, I think it just makes the case a bit more attractive(as in I'd rather have it over a case without a tool-less design.) Also, I find that screwless design for insertion of drives is a really handy tool, but that's just my 2cents.

But regardless, I was just trying to make an argument that the 900 is a $100+ case, that doesn't have much going its way except maybe cooling and looks, if you're into that. At least that's how I feel, but then again, I am much more interested in silence than extreme cooling.. =D

Some other video cards you should consider first:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130080
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814143092

The one you first choose seemed to have standard core clock

I dont see why id pay for OCing i could do myself.

Those are not over clocked versions

Some of your components won't work. 2 gb of RAM isn't good to have with a 64 bit operating system, but I would just downgrade to the 32 bit myself. 4GB of RAM is fine with the 32 bit, and there's a bunch of useful things that work with the 32 bit that don't work with the 64 bit.

If your parents are buying it for you, go with the EVGA 8800 GTS 640MB superclocked. It's only $10 more, but for the extra cash, it delivers a huge boost in performance; more than you could get from overclocking yourself, and without any of the risk.

In addition, I wouldn't spend so much extra on a case and power supply. You can find perfectly good case and power supply deals for under $100 that include a 550 or 600W power supply. That way your money won't dissappear.

And, with that extra money, you can buy a better sound card. I would reccomend a Creative X-Fi.

Uhh, why isn't 2gb of RAM good to have with a 64bit OS..?

Uhh, there isn't really any risks when overclocking a card to the clocks these "superoverclocked" versions run at, except it's not guaranteed. But nearly every card that is given reference clocks can run 20mhz higher on it's core easilly. Same thing with memory too. Save your money and just get a reference clocked version. Also, you don't get much performance gain from the overclocks on these "superoverlocked" cards anyway.

Uhh, if theres any place you shouldn't skimp out on, it's a powersupply. You get what you pay for, and if you cheap out on a power supply, your rig wont run, or worse, your powersupply will die and possibly take out other pieces with it.

There is more to a power supply than wattage. You need to take into consideration amperage/rail distribution, efficiency, silence, power factor correction, ease of wire management/modularity, amount of connectors, actual power the PSU has, stabillity/rail fluctuation/ripple, how cool it runs, the amount of heat it can withstand, etc.. And looks, for some.

Also, remember that a PSU is a piece of equiptment you can use in future builds, and it's always good to have some headroom, if you do plan on upgrading.

The case..? Well first off, some people like their case to look nice, personally I do too. I want a case that almost looks like furntiture, not like a big toy type of thing. Cases have a lot of features, like size, weight, materials used, noise prevention, cooling, etc. Buying a good case is always a good investment, as it too, will probably last for many builds. You don't have to pay tons for a good case, as I showed with the RC-690, but it's definately somewhere that deserves a decent amount of money.

I wouldn't recommend wasting your time with an X-FI if your speakers still suck, just a heads up.

For the last time: ITS 2x of 2x 1GB RAM. FOUR GIGS.

And my speakers are rawkstarz. Im taking them off this comp.

Is it just me? or do you go cheap with the ram because at your price range i would have tried to get cas latency of 4 and i cannot find the requirements for the video card you have selected so might wanna get a better power supply?

GSkill is some ok RAM. Yesterday my friends newegg order came and we put his comp together. Not only was the Gskill working fine and looked beautiful in his clear sided case, but it was cheap. Its a good deal i dont see why id pay for more than i have to. My PSU is fine.

GSkill makes great RAM, they're competitvely priced, and most of their models overclock pretty well... but theres really no performance difference between all the models, only in synthetic benchmarks like SuperPI.. So yeah, Excalibur is right, why pay more than he has to..?
The Corsair 520HX should be able to handle any single video card configuration.

Because Im thinking of 64 bit vista and future SLI video card addon