Finalizing new components, a few questions

[hheiber]

I am trying to finalize the components for a new build and have a few open questions. I am trying to maximize bang for the buck and still have something that will last for a couple of years.

First, here is what I already have picked up from a couple of available deals:
Western Digital Caviar SE16 WD5000AAKS 500GB 7200 RPM 16MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive
Antec NeoHE 500 ATX12V 500W Power Supply
Crucial Ballistix 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit
Antec Sonata case, optical drives that I will reuse from my existing computer

Here is what I am looking at getting and my questions:
CPU
e6550 or e6750 - these look like they are about equal in terms of price / performance now. This PC will be for home use with some photo editing, occasional video editing, and light gaming. I'm wondering if I will notice the additional performance of the e6750

CPU Cooler
ARCTIC COOLING Freezer 7 Pro 92mm CPU Cooler
I am not sure if I need to get one or not. If I were to overclock, I would not be looking to push the limits. More than anything else, would this be that much quieter than the stock fan?

Motherboard
ASUS P5KC LGA 775 Intel P35 ATX Intel Motherboard
Pros: $145, DDR3 support, firewire
Cons: 4 SATA ports

ASUS P5K-E/WIFI-AP LGA 775 Intel P35 Intel Motherboard
Pros: firewire, wireless (although not sure if I would use it), 6 SATA ports
Cons: $155, No DDR3 support

GIGABYTE GA-P35-DS3P LGA 775 Intel P35 ATX Intel Motherboard
Pros: firewire, 8 SATA ports
Cons: $160, No DDR3 support

GIGABYTE GA-P35C-DS3R LGA 775 Intel P35 ATX Intel Motherboard
Pros: $150, 8 SATA ports, DDR3 Support
Cons: no firewire (so I would have to buy a card)

I am leaning towards the P5KC because I get firewire and DD3 at the most reasonable price.
I've read that prices will drop once the X38 boards are out. Do you think this will affect the price of these boards much? If it will only be a couple of dollars, I probably won't wait, but for $20 or more, it might be worth it to me.

Video Card
I have really struggled with this one. I currently have an AGP 6600GT. For the most part, this has served me fine. I am toying with get a comparable card for $50 or so for now and upgrading at some point in the future. Otherwise, I think I would look for the best deal in the $100 range. Fanless would be nice, but I can't find any decent deals on something right now. Are there cards in this range with fans that are more quiet than others? Oh the agony.

Thanks for feedback and helping me decide on the final configuration.

 

[aevm]

E6550 will do, I guess.

Yes, the after market coolers in general are quieter than the stock fan under load. There are quieter and more efficient coolers but they cost more (Thermalright Ultra 120 Extreme or Scythe Ninja for example).

Don't worry about DDR3. I'd pick GA-P35-DS3P if Firewire matters.

X38 will not be that successful, I suspect. It seems to run very hot and the only really useful thing it adds compared to P35 is support for dual cards. That in itself is a good idea for extremely few people. Don't expect P35 boards to drop in price too much just because X38 will be released. Let me guess, $5...

A card you can buy for $50 today will be useless in most games. Look at 7600GT, 7900GS or even better x1950Pro.
Go to Tom's main page http://www.tomshardware.com, click the VGA button, then use those dropdown lists to figure out how these cards behave. Don't know about the fans but the Antec Sonata is pretty good against noise.

 

[impreza]

well if you wana play new games now I'd go for the x1950pro or 7900gs both are pretty cheap and peform well, but if you plan of getting a g92 when they come out you could just get a 7300gt/7600gs to keep you going

 

[hheiber]

How does the graphics card performance relate to the LCD refresh rate? I have a 19" LCD from Dell with a 20ms refresh rate. At some point, does that become my limiting factor?

Right now, the LCD is serving me fine and I probably won't replace it for at least another year. I realize that means some ghosting, but I am willing to live with it.

Thanks.

 

[aevm]

The 20 ms in the response time, as in how long a pixel takes to change color. 20ms is bad - most monitors sold today have 2 ms, 5 ms, or 8 ms. This is what causes ghosting.

The refresh rate is measured in Hz. It is the maximum number of fps you can get, even if your graphics card can deliver more. Typically 60 for an LCD.