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[Kolath]

oh, yikes, Chinese quality control standards...

Well definitely upgrade to at least 2 GB of memory.  If you go the Dual core route, you'll want 2 GB of good  DDR2 800 memory (Crucial, G.Skill, Corsair are some good brands).

When buying your PSU, DO read reviews of PSUs.  Not all PSUs are created equal and do not just trust the rating on the side. See the OCForums guide to power supplies: http://www.ocforums.com/showthread.php?t=458204, in particular see their list of recommended PSUs and PSUs to avoid.

Definitely get at least a dual core.  The new 45nm quadcores should be out now, so you could go for one of those.  Else, last gen dual cores should be pretty cheap.  I went for the quadcore Q6600 because at $200 (in March) it was cheaper than the best mid-range Dual core E8400 for comparable power. (I overclock it to 3.2GHz).  But a dual-core should be sufficient for now.

Video card is a toss up.  Nvidia 8800GT was the best bang for buck back in first quarter 2008, but supposedly ATI has some good new cards.  I'd read some reviews and do some comparisons.  If you have the money you could go for dual 8800s in SLI mode or two ATI cards in Crossfire mode.

For motherboard I recommend a P35 chipset mobo from one of the major manufacturers (Asus, DFI, Gigabyte, MSI), you probably don't need to spend the money on a newer chipset if you aren't overclocking.  Just be sure the board supports SLI or Crossfire if that is what you are going to do.

Good luck!

[Daereon]

One more thing for the SLi or Crossfire, make sure it's dual PCI-e 16x, else it'll just slow your cards down All mobo's have one PCI-e 16x for GPU's, but most cheap mobo's with SLi/Crossfire support just put on a PCI-e 4x, which slows it down by a lot.

[Bodybag2224-Armor]

Ok, as a side note: all this will be bought in China. (which is much cheaper)

Wear a mask and gloves when you touch the stuff.

[UnLimiTeD]

May I inform you that PCIe supports 4GB/s, while modern graphics cards only use at best 2GB? SLI runs with 2x 8x, no matter in what slot.
So having 16x and 4x will be sufficient, as long as the cards are directly connected, and not through the mobo.

[Falcon333]

Ok thanks for the overload of info, I'm reading some reviews and I'll be making a list which I will post soon, thanks for all the help!

[Falcon333]

Motherboard:
Chipset: Intel® P45 Express Chipset
Gfx card: ATI X4950
Sound card: Creative X-Fi Xtreme Gamer
Processor: Intel Core 2 DUO E8800 3.00GHz Dual Core

Here is the (unfinished) list at this point.
I still have no clue which motherboard to choose, although I think the gfx-card is pretty set. I found "Intel® P45 Express Chipset " on the intel main website, any comment on current setup?

Any help/comment is greatly appreciated, thanks!

[Kolath]

Umm... do you mean E8400 or E8500?  E8800 doesn't exist yet.\

Also the ATI 4950 isn't out yet either.  They are still doing previews on the 4850.

[Falcon333]

Oh sorry, I was typing on a laptop and might've mistyped in the process.
I meant the E8400 and the ATI X1950

EDIT: I've read that X1950 allows Crossfire.
But what good is Crossfire? Is it really a big difference?

[UnLimiTeD]

1950? That Card is years old...
Well, what you say.

[Days of War]

Oh sorry, I was typing on a laptop and might've mistyped in the process.
I meant the E8400 and the ATI X1950

EDIT: I've read that X1950 allows Crossfire.
But what good is Crossfire? Is it really a big difference?

Crossfire is basically ATI's version of SLi. Dual ATI cards. ANd the X1950 is from the dino age, I'd suggest something newer.

[UnLimiTeD]

the 4850 generation (200€ in germany) has a good price/power rating, but for cards before, use with caution, they are cheap, but a medium nvidia card might be equally good.

[Kolath]

For an E8400, you don't really need the P45, you could get a P35-based motherboard and save some money.  But be warned, if you want to do SLI, you need to have an nVidia chipset motherboard and if you want to do crossfire, you have to have a special board as well.  I would decide on the video solution and then pick a board to go with it.

[Falcon333]

I'm being slightly overwhelmed here, I only have what is the most basic knowledge about Hardware.

About the gfx-card: I was thinking going with ATI Crossfire, but don't know which ones.

[UnLimiTeD6]

Also with that, I would recommend the newest deries, because only 4800's can crossfire with any other 4800 card (like 4850 + 4870) and without a Mastercard (that costs extra money).
General rule: better one fast card than two not as fast cards, even if those 2 would theoreticaly grant 120% power.
Better buy one good, and thats why I recommend the 4850, it's faster and cheaper than a 3870 X2, and cheaper, and if you need more power later, you can upgrade with a second instead of buying a new card.
If you want pure power and price is unimportant, get a Nvidia GTX 280, 550€ in Germany, you'll get it cheaper I guess.