OK after the few suggestions I did get I tweaked my build here is the new one:

AMD Phenom X4 9850BE
Asus M3A32-MVP Deluxe Motherboard
Antec Twelve Hundred Black ATX Full Tower
SAPPHIRE Toxic 100225TXSR Radeon HD 3870 (2)
CORSAIR 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800
Western Digital Caviar SE16 WD5000AAKS 500GB 7200 RPM 16MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb
ThermalTake / Toughpower / 850-Watt PSU

As you can see I took out the sound card because the ASUS mobo has onboard surrond sound, so I will use that and see how it goes. I switched out the PSU with a lower watt one I still want to run at least 850.

I left the mobo alone no one really gave me any good reasons to switch, the ASUS seems to work really well with the 9850BE from what I have read.

I will be running windows vista not ultimate as it is a waste of money I am not sure if I will be running the x64 but i will run vista.

I will also be waiting to see what AMD's new GPU's look like. In just a few days they will be released so we will see if its worth getting two of them to crossfire.

So now here are my new questions:

1.) How is this build now?
2.) Can you recommend a good HSF? I have looked around but can seem to get a grip on a good one for the 9850BE I would prefer something easy to install and fit inside my case.
3.) What kind of thermal grease is best? What exactly is the best method to apply it?


Your help on these new questions would be appreciated

Replace the WD5000AAKS with a WD6400AAKS or WD7500AAKS, they are much faster. The WD5000AAKS does not have perpendicular magnetic recording and it really hurts performance.

The rest looks very good.

Get a XIGMATEK HDT-S1283. A newegg reviewer said it kept his 9850BE at 33 degrees, not bad.

Paste: ARCTIC COOLING MX-2 Thermal Compound
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6835186020

AS5 or MX-2 is good.

WD6400AAKS is a lot cheaper and is fast.

probably not worth it, but that combo will handle 1066 DDR2

Don't buy 3870s right now- wait for the 48x0 series cards. They are supposed to great- if nothing else they will drive down the price of the 3780s.

Also look at the 3870 X2 card.

lol yes that is why I put in their I was waiting for the new GPU's to release in a few days. I am going to switch to that other HDD that was suggested looks nice and good price.

This combo is more than capable of 1066 RAM but 800 is just as good and save a little bit of money and that extra money is being invested into a better case and power supply. Plus with the new 48xx series coming out in a few days its good to save some money back.

Any other suggestions?

Any other suggestions for a HSF??

Missed that on the GPUs sorry

Thermal Compound: Arctic MX-2

its cool I am anxious to see the new cards myself


Anything other than XIGMATEK HDT-S1283 that people recommend?

Well, if you insist... If you don't mind paying $100 instead of $40, this Noctua cooler is the best air cooler money can buy these days. It matches or beats the Thermalright Ultra-120 Extreme in benchmarks and it's very quiet. Still, the Xigmatek is better value at current prices IMO.

http://www.ncixus.com/products/27130/NH-U12P/Noctua/

haha yea you are right $40 sounds better.

Does the XIGMATEK ACK-I7751 retention bracket be worth getting for more security everyone seems to say the push pin setup sucks so bad.

Buy the bracket, the push pins SUCK.