I'm building a new PC that's for "gaming/multimedia"... These are the specs... budget can't really go much more then this... BUT I'm trying to figure out whether or not the Q9450 is REALLY worth the extra $120.00 or so over the very nice $2XX.XX price tag slapped on the Q6600 you can find on Newegg... this is where I'd like some opinions...  
 
here's the "new" rig's specs...
 
 
 
 COOLER MASTER Stacker 830 Evolution RC-830-KKN3-GP Black Aluminum ATX Full Tower  
 
           EVGA 123-YW-E175-A1 LGA 775 NVIDIA nForce 750i FTW SLI ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail
        (should I wate for the 780i?)
 
 
 EVGA 512-P3-N845-AR GeForce 8800GTS (G92) KO 512MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16      HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card - Retail (x2)
 
 
 Thermaltake Toughpower W0172RU 850W ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply - Retail
 
 
 Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 Kentsfield 2.4GHz LGA 775 Quad-Core Processor Model  
 
 CORSAIR DOMINATOR 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 1066 (PC2 8500) Dual (x2)
 
 
        SAMSUNG 245T-BLACK Black 24" 6ms HDMI Widescreen LCD Monitor - Retail
 
 Pioneer 20X DVD±R DVD Burner Black SATA Model DVR-215DBK - OEM
 
 SONY Black and Gray SATA Blu-ray DVD-ROM Drive Model BDUX10S - Retail
 
 Microsoft Windows Vista Ultimate SP1 64-bit English 1pk DSP OEI DVD - OEM
 
 
 ZALMAN CNPS9700 LED 110mm 2 Ball CPU Cooler - Retail
 
 
 
 Scythe S-FLEX SFF21F 120mm Case Fan - Retail
 
 
The hard drives I have will suffice, my boot is a WD raptor, and I also have a 500GB... I appreciate your feedback  

the q6600 is just fine! also go for the 780i if you were to spend a little more money.

I would get a cheap P35 board thats sufficient for your needs, gigabyte has a great solid capacitor mobo for like $89 at newegg.  Socket 775 is dead and the new Nehalem chips will require a new motherboard, no need to waste your money on a dead socket.

If you overclock, the Q6600 can reach 3.6 GHz. The Q9450 won't beat that by enough to justify the extra $120 IMO. The Q9450 is worth it if you refuse to overclock or if you need the new SSE4 instructions for multimedia processing and have recent software that can use them.

I'd get a Xigmatek HDT-S1283 cooler instead of the Zalman. That saves you a bit.

I'd get a $50 cheaper Silencer 750W instead of the Toughpower 850W.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] ncer%2b750

With all these savings, you can now replace the eVGA 8800GTS G92 with two MSI 8800GTS G92  If it's still not enough, replace the case with an RC-690.

Something I'd look into is the monitor just a bit. It's a good monitor, but at 6ms it will be just a bit sluggish if your planning to game on it. I'd say the rest of the system looks good though.

My thoughts on this build:
Replace the ZALMAN CNPS9700 with the XIGMATEK HDT-S1283 ($37 on newegg). http://www.frostytech.com/top5heatsinks.cfm I put this first because I think it's the biggest "flaw" in your selection (no offense).
 
Stick with Q6600 (for now the short supply of Q9450s makes it too expensive). You also don't need the more expensive Domiantor RAM. Take two Corsair DHX C4 kits http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6820145194 for $184 after MIR.
 
In my mind a SLI motherboard only makes sense if you plan to do SLI right from the start. A good $130 P35 (P5K-E, GA-EP35-DS3R) will do if you only plan to use 1 graphics card. In that case you can also save a bit on the wattage of the PSU. Corsair VX 550W is a great buy for $70 at http://www.buy.com/retail/usersear [...] isplay=col
 
Great LCD pick! Good luck.

Yeah, I like that LCD a lot, except for the price of course.  
 
At 24" I think SLI makes sense. It depends on the games of course.

I agree with aevm's first post; no opinion on the second.  I'd replace the case anyway.  The 690 is nice.

Sorry, forgot to add the "x2" after the EVGA cards... I WILL be running those in SLI... Thanks for all the input!!! My thoughts on the q9450 are the same, to much for the "upgrade"... just wanted other opinions to make sure I'm not missing something!  Good advice on the Silencer, I was looking at that but weary due to the reviews? Good PSU? I know PC Power and Cooling is a very reputable company.... I've just always had thermaltake and I've never had a problem.  The monitor choice is due to the fact that I create graphics (graphic design/illustration) as well as game... plus it's one of the only "low response time" monitors that I can find at that size that have HDCP... I also am going to be using this rig as a blu-ray machine. However, if you guys know of other monitors w/reputable color, good response time, about that size,  and has HDCP let me know! At the moment I have a dell ultrasharp 24" that I'd love to keep, but no HDCP...so I'm trying to sell that to put toward this new bohemeth...
 
As far as the fan, No offense taken, as I said, trying to get a critique on this and coming from an "art" background...I've had much worse (for instance... a piece got taken off the wall in school and my teacher created a paper airplane out of it and told me that was a much better use for the paper...talk about rough!) Do you know of any temp specs on it? What it brought the q6600 down to compared to the zaleman? Wouldn't the fact that it has aluminum fins make it inferior?  (not overly familiar w/this brand...going off of "base knowledge" )  
 
I will def. look into that memory though ,wasn't sure as I was reading in many reviews "go dominator"...  
 
again keep the critiques commin' and thank you fro those who already have

The Silencer 750W is a good PSU. According to Anandtech, it's the best PSU they tested in 2007.
 
http://www.anandtech.com/casecooli [...] spx?i=3186
 
I have one myself and have no complaints.
 
The Toughpower 850W is also good, but you just don't need to go that far. OK, maybe you do, if you want to add a lot of hard disks and USB devices and PCI cards and fans and lights.  
 
The 245T is a S-PVA panel, i.e. better colors and viewing angles than the cheap TN panel monitors. The TN monitors are perfect for games because they cost less and respond faster, but you're doing more than games. TBH, if I didn't have 2 monitors already and the mortgage was finished, I'd get a 245T or even a 305T right now for myself.
 
The main reason why I'd prefer the HDT-S1283 to the Zalman is acoustics at high load. The Xigmatek is quieter. It's also cheaper, but obviously saving $20 is not your first priority, judging from the rest of the build  It also cools a few degrees better. Read this for example:
http://www.hardforum.com/showthread.php?t=1296920
 

I posted you a link about the coolers. XIGMATEK HDT-S1283 is second. The ZALMAN is ninth. I think this is what you are looking for http://www.frostytech.com/articlev [...] 233&page=5
At LOW fan speed the XIGMATEK cools .8°C degree less than the ZALMAN at HIGH fan speed. It's 20dB less noisy than the ZALMAN at that point.
At HIGH fan speed it cools 2.2°C better and is still 6dB less noisy.
It also costs about half that of the ZALMAN (last I checked).
 
I back the SLI statements. It's good if you have to go for it from the start.
780i would be better but it's more expensive. If you can't justify the extra cost go for 750i. The difference in performance will be very small.

In all honesty saving any money I can would be a BONUS... a good amount of the system is being funded by my previous system and that lovely "extra tax" thing we're getting... plus w/the ratings that it cools better...sounds like a better deal! I know that the 780i is better then the standard 750i... however the 750i "FTW' series was ranked as a good upgrade...I've heard that the 780i "FTW" was coming out but... haven't heard much on that since... I'll def. have to look into the PC power and cooling... I have a good amt of USB's... but we'll see what happens
 
again thanks

3.6GHz QC 150W (max)
2x 8800GTS ~ 300W (150W per card max)
100W for MB, RAM  
50W for HDDs, ODDs.
25W for 10 USB devices
--------
625W around 80% load for a 750W PSU.
125W for other stuff/margin.
 
I'd say you're good.

Thanks for all the help everyone, have another question. does anyone know a website or place you can get a q6600 that's guaranteed to be g0 stepping and SLACR?? or is that pretty much standard now? I'd like to order from newegg but they don't state if it's g0 or not... also i keep reading that's it's pretty much "luck" on if you get one that will overclock to 3.6ghz... that true? Also Will the Corsair XMS2 series memory be good for overclocking to 3.6 stabily?  (or close to it?) I've chosen to go w/the 780i MB also... any help on this would be appreciated!

I've installed several Corsair DHX C4 kits. They have no issues running at 400MHz FSB. They overclock to about 450MHz FSB at 4-4-4-12 timings. Above 450MHz the need 5-5-5-12/15/18 depending on board and layout (2 or 4 modules). I've never needed to go above 400MHz with a Q6600.

AFAIK Intel stopped making the B3 stepping in the summer of 2007. I wouldn't worry about getting one of those after all this time.  
 
If you want to be sure, buy a Q6700. That one is only G0, and I've seen people getting it to 4GHz on air cooling.

W/the q6700? Wow...may have to look into that!

Word of the Q6700 hasn't reached saturation yet. Hardly anyone knows what it is.

So the Q6700 is worth the little bit extra? Also, I'm in a bit of a bind about the case... I REALLY like the stacker 830, all of the options you can get w/the mb tray, love the look of it... but it's $60.00 more then the Cosmos 1000... Plus for the stacker you need to buy additional fans... I'm really torn between the two... and the "want" part of me is saying to go for the stacker, but the "need" part of me is telling me to go for something much cheaper, or even a "mid ground" and go w/the cosmos.... If, you guys think the stacker beneficial, what would you guys recommend as case fans...the one's i have listed good? or over priced for performance?    and, the "ultimate" question.... XP x64? or Vista...x64? I've been reading the DX10 will "officially" be coming out for xp at some point...and that there are drivers out there for it now... SO... question is as stands... thanks guys for your help!