Hi, I'm new here and would greatly appreciate any help for my first build, which will be mostly for gaming and photo/videoediting (but more for gaming).

Case
Antec p180b $129.99 ($50 mail-in rebate)

Motherboard
ASUS P5W DH Deluxe $209.99

Processor
Intel e6600 $313.00

Memory
Patriot eXtreme Performance DDR2-800 (2x1GB) $204.99 ($50 mail-in rebate)

Videocard
EVGA 8800GTX $569.99 ($30 mail-in rebate)

Hard Drives
Western Digital Raptor 74GB $159.99 ($20 mail-in rebate)
Seagate Barracuda 320GB $84.99

Optical Drive
Samsung SATA DVD Burner $39.99

Sound Card
X-Fi Xtreme Gamer $74.99

CPU Cooler
Zalman 9700 $59.99

Power Supply
Corsair HX620 $169.99 ($20 mail-in rebate)

Total Price: $1,848.90

So, my questions are:

1. Are there any compatibility issues? I'm particularly interested in whether or not the RAM will work with the P5W, as I've heard that ASUS boards are picky with RAM.

2. I was planning to put my OS and programs on the Raptor and use the Seagate for my data. Should I partition either of them, or will they be fine without partitions?

3. How easy is it to remove the upper drive cage on the p180? I'm guessing I would need to remove it to get the 8800GTX to fit. I was also going to put an intake fan there too.

Well thanks for reading all that, I'm sure you guys are tired of these "help me!" threads, but I guess I gotta start somewhere. So...how well did I do picking out parts? Is it alright or do I need to go back to the drawing board? Any better recommendations? Thanks in advance!

Looks like a pretty nice rig.

Check the voltage range on the RAM and MB. Should be fine, some set the default wrong for the other.

Drive setup looks good, maybe ask about what size you want your backup to be, if you don't fill the data drive; make 2 150gb partitions and mirror them during backups.

Not sure on case, never used one.

Are you planning SATA drives or IDE?

Good catch, 31. Jug; you have one IDE, one SATA-150 and the DVD is SATA, which is always SATA-150. It would work, but better to get 2 sata-300 drives. DVD will be fine, they do not use the thoughput that HDs do.

Thanks for catching that, I edited my post with a Seagate 320GB SATA drive.

Would that work, or would the SATA-150 raptor and the DVD burner interfere with each other? Or should I switch to an Ide burner?

BTW, thanks for all the help, great ideas.

If the mobo has three ports or more (most do) the channels should work independently.

Alright, the P5W board has 6 SATA ports in its specs (I can only find 5 in the picture though, I'm sure that last one is there somewhere). So I should be alright with 2 SATA hard drives (one SATA-150 and on SATA-300) and a SATA DVD burner, right?

I'm sorry about being so persistent about this, but this is my first build and I'd rather not goof up before I even get my hands on the parts.

Isn't the 6th SATA on the back of the tower, as an ESata socket near the rear USB ports? 8)

Found this thread

here
Bleedinedge

^^ Awesome, I was hoping that would be the answer to my question.

In regards to my 3rd question about the p180 case, I went to my local CompUSA. They had the non-black version, but I looked at the case, and it looks like I only have to unscrew one screw to remove the upper hard drive cage.

I would like to begin ordering some time next week, so any more comments, especially about any compatibility issues, would be extremely welcome.

For my first build i got a full tower, I still regret it. I suggest getting something much smaller you'll be happier in the long run

The p180b is a mid-tower if I'm not mistaken. I looked at it and it doesn't seem too big.

Thing looks beastly, just my personal preference on smaller cases thought, and it is a mid tower.

Ok, now it seems from what you guys said, my "proposed" build looks alright. However, I've been reading and it looks like Intel's quad core processors are gonna drop in price a lot by the end of the year. Specifically, I've heard that the Q6600 might hit $266 by September.

Now, if I wanted to switch out to a quad-core then, would I have to change anything with the system? Specifically, would the 620 watt power supply be enough for a quad-core processor or should I look into something a little more future-proof?

Also, would Windows require reactivation if I change processors? Thanks again for taking the time to help me.

Should be a swap-and-drop on the CPUs, assuming BIOS supports it, which it should by then.

Antec P180......one screw to remove hard drive cages, that is correct. Very good placement and easy to use. The screw does NOT support the cage, it simply prevents its removal. So remove the screw, pull out the cage.....cages are on rails, very nice and smooth to go. The tower is a "super mid-tower".....bigger than most mid-towers, but not as big as a full tower. Can fit 7 or 8 hard drives, space for opticals, etc. Very nice, very quiet, very sleek. But cable management is a PAIN, that is the tradeoff for the other great features......not for the feint of heart. An example of what I consider good P180 cable management.....of course I'm biased

http://forumz.tomshardware.com/har [...] highlight=

i'm planning a build with the same case, and i too have been curious about the clearance for an 8800gtx.

the 975x mobo supports quadcore for sure, i'm just not certain of the windows validation process.

Yeah, from what I've seen and read, removing the top hard drive cage should give the GTX plenty of clearance.

I've read up on Windows Validation processes and it seems that Windows checks for old hardware. If it hasn't been changed, it gives a yes, and Windows requires 7 yes's to proceed, otherwise it won't require any action.

So, you guys think I'll be alright with the Corsair HX620 PSU for a quad core with a some room for future upgrades? Or should I be looking at some bigger PSU's?

Sorry for the double post, but I forgot to ask:

I'm thinking about purchasing soon, and was wondering, considering everything that was brought up, if I was good to go or not? I'm in no hurry, so I won't mind if I have to edit my parts list, but I would really like to be able to order soon.