First Build Help

[brentster10]

Hey all! First time poster here. Im building a PC with money I got from my graduation and would like input/advice from the wise users here. I am purchasing everything from newegg and would like to keep it cheap, under $1500

Case: I am interested in the Antec 900, but I have heard that it may have space issues, though its cooling is very attractive. Any other recommendations are appreciated.

PSU: a Corsair 650W should be enough, shouldn't it? And is fairly cheap at $110.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139005

CD/DVD: no idea what I should get. So long as it burns DVDs/CDs.

Hard Drive: 250G Seagate Barricuda w/ 16mb cache.

Mobo: the gigabyte EP35-DS3L looks great.

CPU: Is the 45nm Q9300 worth $50 more than the Q6600? Or should I just stick with a dual-core?

Memory: 4gb of ddr2 800. I'm looking at:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820145194

Video Card: Evga 8800GT2 $230. I see that evga has overclocked versions. do these all have the same coolers? Could I easily overclock the card to be equal with the more expensive versions? I will step up to the new nvidia card when it comes out.

OS: Vista 64bit. Is there a reason that I should get ultimate rather than basic?

Monitor: I am in need of a nice widescreen monitor, preferably about 19" because I'm gonna be in a college dorm and need space. I plan to play on high resolutions and was looking at this:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824001094
I don't know much about brand reliability and such, so feel free to recommend something completely different.

Is there anything I am forgetting? All help is appreciated, and I will be checking back here frequently to collaborate with you.

 

[Cpt Deadboots]

Case: The Antec 900 is a great case, but I really like the Cooler Master RC-690 and Centurion 590. Cooler Master makes the best cases around in my opinion.

PSU: Great choice! That is an excellent PSU.

CD/DVD: I love my Samsung SATA DVD-RW.

HDD: Great choice. I have the same drive.

Mobo: Go for a Gigabyte EP35-DS3L. You will not be disappointed; Gigabyte does an excellent job with all of their motherboards, and it is a great board for overclocking.

CPU: I would personally get the Q6600, but tons of other people will tell you otherwise. I think it mainly depends on how much overclocking you plan on doing. If you want to overclock the heck out of your chip, get a Q6600 and a good cooler. For moderate overclocking, the Q9300 will prove a better choice in the long run.

Memory: Try for a 4GB kit. G. Skill and Corsair make some great memory.

Video card: STAY AWAY from the 9800 GTX. Get an EVGA 8800 GTS 512mb and Step-Up to the GT2xx when it comes out.

OS: Vista Ultimate 64-bit.

 

[brentster10]

For $30 more I could get 4Gb instead of 2Gb of the same ram.
With 4gbs though, I need Vista with 64-bit support. Are there any major differences that would improve gameplay on vista ultimate that I should splurge for, or should I just stick with basic?

 

[brentster10]

Also i decided to go for the RC-690. It is a bit cheeper than the antec 900 but has great cooling and good reviews. Will todays large graphics cards fit well in it?

 

[brentster10]

i could use some help on monitor and cpu choices please.

 

[guanyu210379]

Q6600 is the best choice you can lay your hands on. You get a quadcore with a decent price. Of course Q9300 is better but it comes with higher price.
Q6600 will still be enough for 2-3 years in the future.

Monitor? Name your budget! Samsung, and LG are the best brand on the market with a decent price, as always, you can get better but more expensive.

Coolermaster cm690 is the best case under $100! It is enough even for 2 giant VGAs! Trust me! Antec 900 is better but more expensive!

 

[brentster10]

thanks for the help.
For the monitor, I'm looking at the $250 range. I would like to keep it under $300
Edit2: also I just noticed that the EP35-DS3L only has one PciE X16 slot. I would really like one that supports SLI, and none of the EP35 series do.

 

[Shadow703793]

^You will need a nVidia chipset to do SLI. Unless playing at 1600*1200 or higher SLI is not needed.

 

[Shadow703793]

If going with DS3L and plan to OC:

GUIDE: Overclocking On P35-DS3L

 

[Silverion77]

Playing off of Shadow, I wouldnt rly suggest SLI, especially with the GTX 280 on the horizon. It will probably beat 2 current cards if numbers play right. Plus i hate the nVidia chipsets....unstable and bad OCing compared to say X38/48 or P35/45