Hey all,
 
Just found this site and it's great so far.  I've reviewed quite a few of these build threads but none of them seemed like exactly what I needed so I decided to add to the mess.
 
I currently have a laptop that I use for work but with the recent additions of a new database software and Norton 360 the thing barely runs.  Considering that I have a new HD video camera with editing software and I love pc gaming, I thought I would build my own rig that can do all of the above.  
 
I will use it for work, gaming, surfing, HD video editing, and burning/ripping movies, music, etc.  It is usual for me to have 10 browsers up, my database program, Outlook, Excel, Word, Adobe PDFs, other assorted document programs, etc. up at the same time.  
 
A friend of mine helped me pick out these parts from Newegg but I wanted to come here to make sure they would all work together and fit in this case, but also to see if there are better parts out there that I am missing.  I have seen in a lot of these first build threads that you experienced people offer alternative part suggestions and I am completely open to them.
 
I would LOVE to stay around $1,500 for the whole thing including the monitor (I think I'm right at about $1,600 right now, it wouldn't kill me to go to $2,000 but that would have to include shipping and software as well).  
 
So here we go and thanks again in advance:
 
Video Card -  
 
 EVGA 512-P3-N841-AR GeForce 8800GTS (G92) 512MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card - Retail
Overclocked version at 670MHz
 
Mother Board
 
GIGABYTE GA-P35-DS3L LGA 775 Intel P35 ATX All Solid Capacitor Intel Motherboard - Retail
 
Hard Drive  
 
Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 ST3250410AS 250GB 7200 RPM 16MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM
 
CD Burner
 
ASUS Black 20X DVD+R 8X DVD+RW 8X DVD+R DL 20X DVD-R 6X DVD-RW 14X DVD-RAM 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-R 32X CD-RW 48X CD-ROM 2MB Cache SATA 20X DVD±R DVD Burner with LightScribe - Retail
 
Sound Card
 
bluegears b-Enspirer 7.1 Channels 24-bit 192KHz PCI Interface Sound Card - Retail
 
Heatsink Fan
 
ARCTIC COOLING Freezer 7 Pro 92mm CPU Cooler - Retail
 
Power Supply
 
SeaSonic S12 Energy Plus SS-550HT ATX12V / EPS12V 550W Power Supply 100 - 240 V UL, CE, CB, TUV, FCC - Retail
 
Case
 
COOLER MASTER RC-690-KKN1-GP Black SECC/ ABS ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - Retail
 
Surge Protector?
 
APC BE750BB 750 VA 450 Watts 10 Outlets UPS - Retail
 
Monitor
 
SAMSUNG 2253BW Black 22" 2ms(GTG) DVI Widescreen LCD Monitor with HDCP Support 300 cd/m2 DC 8000:1 -
 
RAM
 
G.SKILL
G.SKILL 4GB(2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory - Retail
 
 
 
The RAM seems really cheap should I get 8GB?  
 
I would also like to figure out which software I need XP or Vista, and 64 bit?  
 
Thanks!
 
DH
 

Well I can't help you on much because I am in the process of starting my first build ever, but I can help you on the RAM question as I learned about this when I was doing my research.  Basically, if you are using a 32 bit OS, which you most likely will and should, anything over 3GB is worthless.  Only 64 bit OS's can utilize more than 4GB of RAM, but the drawback to a 64 bit OS is that there is very limited driver support.  32 bit OS's will support up to 4 GBs of RAM TOTAL, but this total is affected by memory usage by other hardware in your computer, so that is why 3-3.5GB is the most you will get the system to recognize.  So, to answer your question, unless you are using a 64 bit version of your OS, 8 GB of RAM would be major overkill and worthless resources inside your system.  As for Vista vrs XP, this is the great debate.  Personally, I think the annuls of history are going to turn Vista in Windows ME part 2, so my personal suggestion is to go with XP.  It is much more stable, has all the driver support you need for anything you have now, and will be considerably cheaper than Vista.  At this point, I think waiting for Windows 7.0 is a better strategy, because I can't see Vista lasting very long.

Video card - good choice
 
Mobo - good choice
 
HDD - I'd go with a 500 gb 7200.11 (or two preferably) since you seem to do a lot of stuff that could quickly fill up hard drives.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6822148288
 
Burner - seems fine if the price is right
 
Sound card - I wouldn't bother with one.  Use the onboard sound that comes with the motherboard and if you're not happy with it then research sound card options.  Most people are fine with the onboard.
 
HSF - for that price it's the best one around
 
PSU - Seems fine for what you're running
 
Case - solid choice
 
Monitor - Looks good
 
RAM - 2x2gb is a good choice
 
CPU - you didn't list one.  what CPU are you getting?
 
OS - if you want 64-bit I'd go vista.  I've been running vista ultimate 64 for months with no issues.  If you want to go 32-bit I'd run xp.  If you do go 64-bit you could consider going to 8gb of ram.
 
You will find arguments both for and against vista so it's really up to you.  I have one xp box and home and one vista 64 box, and I use vista corporate 32-bit at work.  They all work fine for me.

Thanks for the quick responses guys.
 
I forgot the CPU of course  
 
I was considering this one....
 
 Intel Core 2 Duo E8400 Wolfdale 3.0GHz 6MB L2 Cache LGA 775 65W Dual-Core Processor - Retail
 
Does that one fit well with the rest of the items listed?
 
As far as the OS, the only reason I would get the 64 bit (vista?) is to use more RAM.  I'm used to XP but I'd hate to get that and have 3 MB RAM be too little in a few years.  
 
Also thanks for the soundcard advice, I'd seen other people say that in other threads but wasn't sure where the sound would come from without the card.  That will save me 100 bucks!  
 
I will check out that HD too (I already have a 500MB WD external drive and a 160gb external drive (but that ones full)

I agree with uguv that you can hold off picking up a sound card while you see if the onboard sound chip meets your needs.  It's actually quite good for all but the most demanding audiophiles IMO.
Same for his HD suggestion - the small price difference in the 500GB model upgrade makes sense.  You can always add more HDs later as you need them.  
 
E8400 Wolfdale is a great choice - they're very popular with good reason.  Keep your eyes open and order one if you see it in stock somewhere - even if you're not quite ready to order the other stuff.  AC Freezer 7 Pro is a good HSF for the price and its very easy to install - comes with its own thermal compound already applied.  
 
RAM - 4GB (2x2) is plenty to start out with.  Like the sound card you can upgrade later if you see a real need - but I'm guessing you won't.  
 
I think you'll like that CM RC-690 case.  Video card, PSU and monitor are all excellent choices.
And the APC UPS is sized correctly for your new system & also an excellent choice of hardware.  

Sounds good.
 
A Q6600 would be best for video work.
 
Get a WD7500AAKS disk, it's faster than any 500GB  disk out there, and you'll need the space too.
 
No idea about the UPS, I never needed one. Are you sure you need it?  

Thanks again guys,
 
Is it hard to find that E8400 Wolfdale?  I just assumed Newegg.com had it in stock.  Was going to order everything at the same time.  
 
I am not sure I need the UPS.  My friend just suggested it, although he admitted his power company is terrible so he needed it.  Mine seems pretty good.  
 
I will look at the Q6600 as well and the WD7500AAKS.  Thanks!

Another quick question after reading some reviews on the 6600...  
 
If I decide to overclock it do I need to change the HSF I'm getting??

The freezer 7 pro is good for moderate overclocking on both the q6600 and e8400.
 
The E8400 has been hard to find lately.  Newegg is out of stock on both the E8400 and the Xeon E3110 which is the same proc just rebranded.  Newegg's price on the E8400 is pretty high right now, though they seem to change the prices on those hot items daily.
 
The Q6600 is better for some of the video editing.  The E8400 is faster for most games.  It's really up to you on which one works best for you.

Well I'd rather get the one better for games, but it seems the only place you can get that one now is on Ebay.

One thing I forgot...  I'm assuming I need to purchase a network card as well?

The network card is built into the board. The ETA of the E8400 at Newegg is 4/28. Have a look at this power supply;
http://www.buy.com/prod/Corsair-VX [...] 52646.html
I'm sold on this cooler, it does almost if not as good as a TRUE for less money, one's flashing the other isn't;
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6835233012

Wow that's a long wait.  It looks like I'll be going with the Q6600 then.  I'll check out the fan and PS too.  Thanks!

Your motherboard has a network connector build in - you wont need a seperate network card.
The Freezer 7 Pro would let you OC a Q6600 to 3.0-3.2Ghz very easily.  It would also let you OC the E8400
@ 3.4-3.6Ghz.  Watch out for Ebay - a lot of the "in stock" sites are really just teaser notices.  
E8400/Xeon E3110/E8200 or quad core Q6600/Q9300 would all be great choices.
 
A UPS is fairly cheap insurance for a "pretty good" power company.  The major problems will always be "acts of God or Nature" beyond the control of the power companies.  If you need to save a little money you could get by with the 650VA model.  And even the 550VA if you're willing to give up most "hold up" time while 3D gaming.  You'd have to leave the game immediately if you want the UPS to allow you time enough to shut open files before the battery gives out.  In most power problems its just a transient problem that lasts a very short time and a UPS will let your PC carry on happily.  

Also if you still choose to go with an E8400 your going to need a different motherboard like an X38 unless you already have an LGA 775 socket processor because the GA-P35 board supports the E8400 AFTER a BIOS update if my memory servers me correctly.

Looks good. Go with a x64 OS. Go for 8GB if yo do some pro video editing, CAD,etc. else its kind of an over kill.

---------------
E2180 @3.2Ghz + P35DS3L +8400GS (700/475 OC)  

Go with a 64 bit OS. You said its not uncommon to have 10 Internet Explorers, Dateabase, and all these other applications running at the same time?  You would DEFENETLY benifit from a quad core and 8 GB of ram. Ram is sooo cheap now it cost like $50 to go from 4 gb to 8 gb.  So I recomend a Q6600/Q9300, 8GB ram, and a 64 bit OS.  Dont listen to those people who say 64 bit has limited driver support.  It has Driver support for just about anythink now.  Just go 64 bit.

By the way, the rest of you list looks fantastic.

 
Some do some don't, by the time they're back in stock, shipping bios could be updated.
Also, just checked newegg, they've updated the ETA of the E8400 to 3/28

Thanks again everyone, great advice.  
 
Definitely going to go the 64 bit route.  
 
Question about the 8GB of RAM though...  
 
It looks like it's 200 more dollars to double the RAM?  
 
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6820231151
 
Am I missing something?