4GB or 8GB - Gaming desktop

[Pob255]

Bah! 2gb is still fine for the majority of games and what's more you can pick up 1gb sticks fairly cheaply 2nd hand if you're really budget minded.

I'd also stick with c2d atm, quads are still not used enough to be of major benefit, and there's a jump in heat and power going from c2d to c2q.
With the planned system aiming at HTPC + some gaming a lower, but still good, cpu would be better than a more powerfull cpu which will not be used much and have higher demands.

Getting the GPU ballance between enough power for gaming and reasonably low power usage when idle (most HTPC use) is going to be trickier.

[TooNice]

Thanks for the feedback, I've decided to go for 4GB of RAM.

I've not quite decided on the CPU yet (unsure if I will want to do some HD encoding in the future - where quad would come in handy), but I am quite sure that I will get a large third party cooler for the GFX card to ensure low noise.

It's a shame that the pound caused the price of all the hardware (especially CPU) to bump as much as it has. It's making me reluctant to buy new yet I don't see that many people sell their Core2 gear for the i7 either.

[Mighty God]

Probably the right choice going for the 4GB, in regards to the CPU, you could wait a little while to see if the economy levels itself out, but if yesterday was anything to go by, it's on a downward spiral, so your best bet would be to buy sooner rather than later.

As for not buying new,, it does have its advantages of being cheaper, but you don't know how hard they've been pushed or how overclocked they have been and so personally I would buy new or maybe factory refurbished in as-new condition but it's up to you ultimately; lots of people have and do buy secondhand and have no problems whatsoever.