jezz8me said:
well i can afford 4gb i did not realise that.
and strangely enough buying the two sticks sepertely is $5 cheaper than a 2x2gb pack
so my rig now looks like
MSY
Gigabyte 512MB 9600GT $199
Gigabyte GA-P31-DS3L $89
2x(2GB A-data) $90
19" 5ms DVI WS Asus VW193T $223
Maxtor 250gb $72
Intel E6550 2.33GHz $190
SATA 215BK DL DVD-RW $35
Total $892
CPL
Coolermaster Elite 330 noPSU $49
Coolermaster Extreme 500W PSU $65
Total $114
Total $1006
That looks like a pretty good budget build, actually. You'll be pleased with the 9600GT for gaming. You didn't mention your OS, but keep in mind that a 32-bit OS will only directly access 3GB of that 4 GB of RAM, while a 64-bit OS is, well, driver hell. I'd prefer two 2GB sticks if the price works, but look very closely at the motherboard's support page. Some motherboards get really picky about 2GB sticks, other about four sticks, and often the memory speed has to shift down a notch. Definitely stick with even numbers of sticks, as an odd number throws you into single-channel operation and drops your performance 5% to 10%.
Personally I avoid micro-ATX motherboards like the plague. You guarantee that your video card will be crossing some port or other, and I have a hard enough time getting my hands in there anyway. I have to second the ASUS bit - I've known too many people who've had trouble with them (I've never used one.) I've used ASRock boards without any problem, and I've used several Gigabyte mobos without any problems I remember. But then, I can't remember ever having a problem with a new motherboard, and only a few old ones.
I can't agree that changing CPUs is difficult; it's dead easy, provided your motherboard handles the new model (or will with a BIOS upgrade.) The only down side is that now you have a CPU that nobody wants unless they've seen it running. If you change CPU and mobo together and have some old RAM, video card, and case laying around, it's easily demo'd to a prospective buyer.
Remember to exercise static caution (a wrist strap is cheap protection), and remember cables. And kudos for your wise selections.