New Build w/ 4850 - any advice?

If you are gonna use this Primarily for Gaming , I suggest getting a 4870

WD6400AAKS - better read/write rates, better price per GB
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136218&Tpk=WD6400AAKS

About the Thermaltake A1926 120mm Blue LED Case Fan: LOL. Do you really believe those numbers? I mean, really, if the Klingons or whoever dropped by and taught us to make such fans, would they cost only $10? Read the Newegg comments, no way in heck those fans do 78 CFM and 21 dBA at the same time. Maybe with lower voltage and less CFM, otherwise they're loud.
RPM 2000 RPM
Air Flow 78 CFM
Noise Level 21 dBA
If you want quiet fans look at Scythe SFF21E, for example.

Save $5 from the PSU and get this Silencer 750W instead:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817341011
It's not modular, but it blows the air properly to the back, and it's more powerful so it's more appropriate for Crossfire. Quality-wise, it's just as good as the 620HX, some sites even say it's better. Anandtech picked it as best PSU of 2007.

P5K-E - bad idea, sorry. P35 is no good for HD 4850 Crossfire, with a PCI-E 1 slot running at x4. Even P45 is not ideal for it, with both slots at x8 and PCI-E 2. What you need is a GA-EX38-DS4 or GA-X48-DS4 or Asus P5E Deluxe X48 or Asus Rampage Formula. Read this:
http://www.tweaktown.com/articles/1472/intel_p45_vs_x48_crossfire_performance/index.html

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128336&Tpk=GA-X48-DS4
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131317

Since you're bothering with the Arctic Silver and DDR2-1066, I'll assume you want to overclock. Add a Xigmatek HDT-S1283 to the list.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168... $84.99
COOLER MASTER RC-690-KKN1-GP Black SECC/ ABS ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - Retail

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168... $129.99 ($119.99 after $10.00 Mail-In Rebate)
CORSAIR CMPSU-750TX 750W ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply 100 - 240 V UL, CE, CB, TUV, FCC, CCC - Retail

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168... $189.99
Intel Core 2 Duo E8400 Wolfdale 3.0GHz 6MB L2 Cache LGA 775 65W Dual-Core Processor - Retail

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168... $36.99
XIGMATEK HDT-S1283 120mm Rifle CPU Cooler - Retail

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168... $6.99
XIGMATEK ACK-I7751 Retention Bracket - Retail

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168... $149.99
ASUS P5Q Pro LGA 775 Intel P45 ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168... $99.99 ($69.99 after $30.00 Mail-In Rebate)
OCZ Reaper HPC Edition 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory - Retail

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168... $199.99
VisionTek 900241 Radeon HD 4850 512MB

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168... $89.99
Seagate Barracuda 7200.11 ST3500320AS 500GB 7200 RPM 32MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168... $23.99
LITE-ON Black 20X DVD+R 8X DVD+RW 8X DVD+R DL 20X DVD-R 6X DVD-RW 12X DVD-RAM 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-R 32X CD-RW 48X CD-ROM 2MB Cache SATA 20X DVD±R DVD Burner - OEM

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168... $6.99
ARCTIC COOLING MX-2 Thermal Compound - Retail

Total
$1,019.89
$979.89 w/mail in rebates

That sounds good.

The P5Q Pro will not let the HD 4850 Crossfire work at its best, but I guess on a 22" monitor (1680x1050) the performance loss is not that bad. It only starts hurting at 1920x1200 or more, as far as I can see.

HD - Tom's says the barracuda performs better than the WD. http://www.tomshardware.com/charts/hard-disks/average-r...

Is Tom wrong?

Fans switched to http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...

PSU http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...

What's that retention bracket for?

A cheaper DVD burner is probably best - I won't use it often anyway.

Thanks for the mobo advice. I am really hesitant to buy a more expensive mobo since in a few months it will be obsolete anyway with the new chipsets. I'll consider the x38. Maybe a cheap one like..
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...
?

I was planning on attempting to OC - but it seems like it will cost me $60 (added ram cost, CPU cooler, paste). This is my first build - maybe I should keep it simple? =/

The retention bracket is for people who don't like push-pins. It's useful if you don't want to risk pushing too hard and breaking the MB. Also useful if you move the PC, to LAN parties for example.

Yeah, the aBIT IX38 QuadGT is a good MB and solves your Crossfire issue nicely.

About the OC - just see if your CPU reaches 90% or more. If it never does, don't bother with the OC. That's what I did, my Q6600 is so fast that I simply didn't bother this time. I got a Scythe Ninja for it but never got a chance to actually use it properly  

Your link for HDDs doesn't include either the WD6400AAKS or the Seagate 7200.11 500GB. I honestly don't see how you can compare those two disks using that page. The numbers you want are 90 MB/s for the Seagate and 97 MB/s for the WD. Mind you, they're close enough to be identical for practical purposes.
I'll post a link here. My apologies in advance it's useless to you, it's in German.
http://www.computerbase.de/forum/showthread.php?t=423578

Edit - just to clarify: the 500GB Seagate has 250GB platters, while the WD6400AAAKS has 332 GB platters. This means the bits are more densely packed on the WD. If the rotation speed is the same (7200rpm), you can read or write more when the bits are closer together. 332 GB (or 334GB for Samsung) is as good as it gets, for now. AFAIK it's available in some 1TB models too (including Samsung, Seagate). I just wouldn't buy a 1TB yet because the price/GB is higher than for 640GB or 750GB disks.

Oops!!! I forgot about zee cookies. The chart I sent doesn't have the two we're comparing but if you hit add all products it does have the 7200.11 and the WD7500 which I thought would be similar.

I think i'll buy that retention bracket. Anything to save me from ruining a $150 mobo.

Great advice about OCing. I think I'll install everything as normal and OC later if I need too. Odds are I won't need to.

No I can't read German  

But thanks for the help!

Actually, the value on that page is valid for a 7200.11 500GB. The one it doesn't have is the WD.

Well the one I have is cheaper and I'll never need more than 500gb anyway. I think I'll stick with the barracuda. Plus, it has a song named after it!  

It shouldn't make a big difference either way. I'm more concerned with in game performance than loading time.

I'll stick with the 900 - It's a bit cheaper (free shipping) and I've seen it up close and like the look/design/etc

Case – Antec Nine Hundred
http://www.buy.com/prod/antec-nine-hundred-steel-atx-mi...
$99.99 + 0

DVD – Samsung 203B (cheaper)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...
$26.99 + 0

HD – Seagate Baracuda 7200.11 500
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...
$89.99 + 0

Case Fan – Scythe (2)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...
$14.99 + $5.99 x 2

Thermal Paste – Artic Silver 5
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...
$5.99 + $5.99

Wrist Strap – Belkin
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...
$7.99 + $5.99

MB – ABIT IX38
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...
$179.99 + $7.92

RAM – OCZ Reaper 4g DDR2 800
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...
$69.99 + 0

CPU – e8400
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...
$189.99 + 0

GPU – ASUS 4850 (cheaper)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...
$169.99 + 0

PSU – PC P&C 750w
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...
$119.99 + 0

Retention Bracket - XIGMATEK
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...
$6.99 + $5.99

Total (USD) - $1035.74

Okies. Anything else? This looks good enough to buy to me. Think I can avoid aftermarket coolers for the 4850 and e8400? The 4850 worries me but I imagine by the time I set this thing up they'll have the drivers to fix their heating issues.

EDIT - replaced PSU. Aparantly you save $15 just by having a black PSU rather than a red one  

Nice build.  

That retention bracket is even more useful if you buy the Xigmatek cooler too  

Nice build indeed.

Yeah, I think you can skip the aftermarket coolers for the graphics cards.
The Antec 900 has excellent cooling, it should be able to handle that.

Thanks a bunch guys! Now I have to hold back the urge to buy two 4850s today. If I do, I may buy Crysis just to test those babies out ^^

Okay - I found a coupon for an ASUS 4850 for just $150. That's too much... I'm buying two.

If I buy two will I have any issues given the build above?

BTW - the promo code for the newegg ASUS 4850 is VGA62320. That'll get you an extra $20 off the card.

Scythe makes great fans, but the numbers they report just can't be taken as they are. They don't exactly report their testing methods to draw the dba, and that bugs me, as they do make great products but exaggerate some.

I don't like to pick favorites, but my Nexus 120mm fan I just got from svc.com (yeah the bright orange one) is remarkable. http://www.svc.com/d12sl-12.html

Aside from that, the build looks good.

Nexus has been sending the wrong screws with their fans - or so I've been told by newegg reviews ^^

I'll stick with Scythe. Thanks though!

That Nexus is in fact better than the SFF21E, if you look at the numbers here:
http://www.madshrimps.be/?action=getarticle&articID=421
But anyway, they're very close, I doubt you'd really notice a difference either way.

God...please don't base your purchases on the customer reviews from newegg alone...a lot of people there lie and are sheep.

I went to buy this baby but the ABIT mobo is out of stock  

What's the next best option? There are a few open box mobos at a good price. Should I trust those? If not, what else?

aBit IX38, $189
http://www.ncixus.com/products/27002/IX38QuadGT/ABit/

GA-X48-DS4, $225
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128336

Asus P5E, $225
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131219

I personally don't trust Open Box. They may have been returned because they had defects, or because somebody tried to overclock them too much and damaged them, etc. They may be missing some cables or other things. Warranty terms are different too.

I would definitely recommend spending another $20 for the Coolink Gfxchilla 4 VGA cooler. The 4850 does run hot and my Gfxchilla dropped the idle temp to 41 C. You can check out the price and user reviews here:
http://www.ncixus.com/products/28504/KL-02/Coolink/.