E7200 + X38 + 3870, build what do you think?

Great calue for ur bucks.. But u dont really need an x38 mobo... replace with a good P35 and save more bucks for similar performance!!  

Sounds like a good setup though it depends on the prices your getting the items at aswell?

Are you going for silence with with PC 'coz the Thermaltake golden orb 2 is about the same as a stock Intel cooler cooling wise, but only 17dBa?

Roadrunner took his to 4Ghz on just a lapped Actric Freezer 7!!

Yeah, looks very nice although 800W PSU for that is extreme overkill. Also, change your motherboard to a GA-P35-DS3L... Getting an X38 for that setup takes away the whole concept of saving money. Xigmatek HDT-S1283 is a good CPU cooler for that setup.

I'd say if you're not planning on going Crossfire in the coming months you're wasting too much of your budget on an 'enthusiast' X38 board. Get a P35 -DS3L, -DS3R, or -DS4. Use the money you save to get an E8200 or E8400. Games love more cache (much faster access than ram). Your PSU is a lower tier and is overkill big time, unless you're going Crossfire or looking for a silent solution by only taking up ~40% of the capacity.

PSU resources:

Tiers -
http://www.tomswiki.com/page/Tiered+PSU+Listings?t=anon
http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/showthread.php?t=10...

Jonny Guru -
http://www.jonnyguru.net/forums/showthread.php?t=1460

Rail Ratings -
http://forums.guru3d.com/showthread.php?t=205763

David Hammocks Guide -
http://forums.extremeoverclocking.com/showthread.php?t=...

I would say a Corsair 520HX or 620HX would be fine for your system (with plenty of headroom). Ultra fans suck, get Nexus or Scythe. Instead of a TT HSF, get a Xigmatek S963 or S1283 (much cheaper and performs better). Make sure the HDD you get (if Seagate) is a .11 drive (they perform better than the .10 series, although it's pretty close compared to non-PMR drives).

Decent start, but definitely needs more thought put into it. Please let us know your intended use (including resolutions). I just assumed you'll be gaming, if this is not the case, please let us know as that would massively change the suggested equipment.

800w for future xfire. Very good price. $100 plus i get a $30 mail in rebate.

x38 for future 45nm Quad, mayb next year after prices come down.

Golden orb for silence. Especially since the 45nm chips run with less power thus cooler. I doubt i will OC much.

I will add prices to above list. This isnt really a budget build. I am adding this to the case i already had plus some other stuff. Some future built in.

oh yeah, think of what i have now. An old Asus with a 945G chipset. I cant go beyond a pentium D. It is from an HP so i cant update the bios. I have gone as far as i can with the old HP.

HP never again. I save on some things and spent on future on others.

Just realize BFG is a Tier 4 manufacturer, but I guess that's a good deal. Take my comment about fans to heart, cheap fan's bearings wear out quickly and become very noisy. I would opt NOT to get a NB fan, since the Golden Orb is a down-draft cooler. Other than that, it's fine.

I replace my case fans often. But, i will get better fans on my next purchase. I buy 3 to 5 case fans at a time and replace them at the first sign of wear. I did notice this batch of fans seemed cheaper than usual.

x38+ 800mhz ram dont make much sense.
If you want x38 get 1000 or 1066 ram.
If using 800 ram 400FSB will be your stock FSB speed and any P35 mobo will do 400.
Get the x38 if you want to run a 500 FSB for better bandwidth, otherwise save yourself some money.

Good point, With the cost of ram coming down, i will probably go with higher speed ram. The X38 is for some future. I know intel will be changing sockets in the next couple of years, but the x38 should give me some growing room with the 775.

I am using what good hardware i have to save some cash. I will upgrade that stuff near fall. Might wait until this years black friday. Or when i see a good deal.

I went almost exactly the same build.  

Waiting on my 750W PSU before I assemble.  

Great minds think alike (I did go with the Xingmatek cooler mentioned above though)

X48 & P45 are the last S775 chipsets. The Nehalem chipsets will be launched in Q4 of this year. It's days are numbered and the perspectus on new 775 CPUs are few. Pretty much, the baddest CPUs for Socket 775 have already been released (E8500 and QX9650, and maybe E8600 in Q3/4), so you know what's left for your system in terms of upgrades.

There will be e8400s, e8600s, q9xxxs and DDR2 available for a couple of years. I rebuild every 2-3 years, so this will be fine. thanks for the concern. $200 for a x38 saved me a little compared to the $250-$350 for x48 or 790i. I should be able to stretch this board out until the complete death of LGA775.

I will look up the forementioned cooler.