Okay here is my build. Reading through the forums it appears to be similar to some others. Just want to get some opinions on it before I submit it for final approval by my wife

It will be mostly be for gaming and some light video editing.

GIGABYTE GA-P35-DS3R LGA 775 Intel P35 ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail
Model #: GA-P35-DS3R
Item #: N82E16813128050

Update GIGABYTE GV-RX387512H Radeon HD 3870 512MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFire Supported Video Card - Retail
Model #: GV-RX387512H
Item #: N82E16814125086

ABS Tagan ITZ Series ITZ700 ATX12V / EPS12V 700W Power Supply - Retail
Model #: ITZ700
Item #: N82E16817814005

Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 Kentsfield 2.4GHz LGA 775 Quad-Core Processor Model BX80562Q6600 - Retail
Model #: BX80562Q6600
Item #: N82E16819115017


x2 Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 ST3320620AS (Perpendicular Recording Technology) 320GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/
Model #: ST3320620AS
Item #: N82E16822148140

LITE-ON 16X DVD±R DVD Burner Black SATA Model LH-16A1S-15 - OEM
Model #: LH-16A1S-15
Item #: N82E16827106247


update

Chefman21 thanks for the suggestions. After looking at the case it was kinda too big. I had selected it for another build a while back, it has gotten som good reviews, but the Antec would be better suited and it is about $40 cheaper.

pQi is a pretty decent memory supplier. I have 2 gigs running in a build right now that has been been overclocked slightly for over a year now. But I did find some G.Skill that is cheaper.

Unfortunately I can't wait because I am awaiting orders to be recalled into the Marines and they could come down at any time, so I want to get everything before I get sent some place.

Antec Nine Hundred Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - Retail
Model #: Nine Hundred
Item #: N82E16811129021

G.SKILL 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model F2-6400CL4D-2GBPK - Retail
Model #: F2-6400CL4D-2GBPK
Item #: N82E16820231087

SAMSUNG 20X DVD±R DVD Burner Black SATA Model SH-S203B - OEM
Model #: SH-S203B
Item #: N82E16827151153

I've never heard of that memory company or Power supply company.. Make sure they are reputable and reliable.... you don't want your machine dying due to crappy components. Otherwise, it looks like a solid build, the wife should approve as long as you lie about how much it costs

good luck.

What do you need two identical dvd drives for? Am I missing something?

Tagan do some good stuff. Nearly went with them for my PSU along with Antec but I am getting a SilverStone instead. It's on special I haven't heard of pqi either. Just be careful. Guys like Kingston, Geil, Corsair, OCZ and G.Skill are excellent suppliers. Shop around for any of these brands and you should be ok. I wouldn't spend over $AU120 on RAM. It's just not worth it.

I like the look of your build also.

Just a couple of things:

MoBo: I have heard the DS3P is a better performing motherboard. Slightly better performance and more stable overclocking platform. Slightly cheaper I think as well. Also, the DS3R has one PCIe X16 slot whereas the DS3P has two. Gigabyte is good because they make high performing P35 motherboards at a reasonable price.

GPU: No problems with your video card but.... How soon do you need a new rig? Can you wait 4-6 weeks? I suspect that the new 9800 series cards will be out in about 5-6 weeks and it might drive prices down on the nVidia cards which are generally better performing cards than the 3870.

CPU: Same thing as above. Can you wait? See if the q9450 comes out in the next 4-6 weeks. Should be a better performing CPU than the 6600. I was nearly going to go with the 6600 but I'm planning on waiting for a bit to see if prices come down and anything gets released.

Case: That's a big expensive case.... Do you need one that big? It has 16 drive bays of various sizes! I know it looks pretty but... If you want to spend a bit then the Antec 900 ($US150ish) would be awesome. I'm getting the CoolerMaster cm690 which is almost half the antec 900's price again. Remember, if you have a budget and you can skimp on areas like the case you can really upgrade in areas that matter like RAM, the CPU and the Video Card. It's what's inside that counts.

HDD: Do you need two straight away? If you do get two, it might be tempting to set it up as a RAID 0. Slight performance increase but if one HDD loses the plot so does the other one (be careful of critical data in otherwords!)

I just had my appendix out so she is letting me spend a little more than usual

wait for q9300 2.6 for $266 in a few weeks. This will perform and overclock better than q6600. When q9300 launches, q6600 will go down to $212.

Just buy a q6600, that's more CPU then you probably need anyway. If you are in no rush to upgrade then wait for the newer CPU's, if you really want a system now go buy it now.

I don't like waiting, if you wait for the next best thing around the corner you are always waiting. I like to get what is available right this second

The q6600 is way more than I need, I have an Athlon x2 right now and it has been good for 1.5 years. I am just getting an itch to upgrade

you wont even wait 2 weeks, q9300 is coming in 2 weeks.

maybe i can wait 2 weeks, but things are always getting delayed and 2 weeks turns into 2 months

Like I said, there are lots of doubts around the 9800GX2. Crappy scaling, underclocked cores, and the previous 7950GX2's failure, all make me question the 9800GX2.
I would go with a newer chipset, such as X38, just to be future proof. But otherwise, everything looks A-ok.
The 3870 is an excellent choice, as it's not worth it to get something like an 8800 Ultra, as the market is long due for another refresh.

Don't like the IDE stuff. Get a single WD7500AAKS or Spinpoint F1 1TB instead of those two drives.

If you really want two burners make them different. There are several advantages but I'm way too lazy to list them here for the 7th time this month. For example change one of them to SH-S203N.

If your light video editing is really light then you're better off with an E8400 than the Q6600. The Q6600 is better for people who edit videos a lot, use databases, Photoshop, Flight Simulator X. For most games (so far) the E8400 is better.

OS - Seagate Barracuda ST3250410AS 250GB 7200.10 RPM 16MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive

GAMES\DATA - Seagate Barracuda ST3500320AS 500GB 7200.11 RPM 32MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive

Oh you may want to look into a heat-sink ARCTIC COOLING Freezer 7 Pro 92mm CPU Cooler

LOL, I just finished reading anandtech's review of the Freezer 7 Pro. That thing is unbelievable.
http://anandtech.com/casecoolingps [...] i=3210&p=1