CPU: Intel Core 2 Duo E8400 Wolfdale 3.0GHz LGA 775 65W Dual-Core Processor Model BX80570E8400 - Retail

MOBO: ASUS P5Q Pro LGA 775 Intel P45 ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail

RAM: OCZ Platinum 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 1066 (PC2 8500) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model OCZ2P10664GK - Retail

CASE: Thermaltake SHARK VA7000BWA Black Aluminum ATX Full Tower Computer Case - Retail

OPTICAL: LITE-ON 20X DVD±R DVD Burner with LightScribe Black SATA Model iHAS220-06 - OEM

PSU: Thermaltake W0106RU 700W Complies with ATX 12V 2.2 & EPS 12V version Power Supply - Retail

GPU: MSI R4850-T2D512 Radeon HD 4850 512MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFire Supported Video Card - Retail

HD: Western Digital Caviar Black WD1001FALS 1TB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM

this is a "rough draft" of a build. totals at just under $1200 just toying with the idea at the moment. any feedback appreciated.

are there any particular north and south bridges to look for or avoid?

Looks good, although you may want to wait a bit until the new platforms from Intel come out.

Heatsink? If you get ddr 1066 it means you want to overclock? If not get ddr 800.

The PSU is expensive, and more than you need for your parts. I would suggest the PC P&C silencer610: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6817703005

There is not much value in faster ram. DDR2-800 would perform within 1-2%.

Why not spend an extra $20 on the E8500?

Cases are a personal preference thing. Why do you like the Shark?
It is much larger than you need for your parts, and is somewhat expensive.

If gaming is your thing, save some on the case, and put more into the vga card.

P45 should be a good chipset.

The P45 mobo is a fine choice. Just know that it'll only do crossfire at x8/x8. You'll need to jump up to an x38 or x48 mobo for x16/x16.

Unless you're overclocking the hell outta your system, DDR2 1066 is a waste of money. Stick with DDR2 800.

Instead of the 1T HDD, you could get a pair of Western Digital Caviar SE16 WD6400AAKS 640GB and run that in RAID 0 (which your mobo already supports). It'd be cheaper, you'd have even more space, and I think it'd probably perform faster too (although don't just take my word for that).

don't drop down on psu if you plan to crossfire at somepoint. +1 to wanker comments. however, what resolution are you gaming at? that will impact if you need/want to crossfire and how much x8/x8 will impact.

agree on ram. 800 is the way to go expecially at the $$ range for your build unless way heave OCing.

agree on hdd. get more space by raiding the 640's and it will be cheaper. remember there is no redundancy so if one goes then both go but that is no different then running 1 1tb hdd so you lose nothing. i also agree that it should perform faster as well.

case - can definitely save money there unless you are set on that specific case. Antec 900 is about $50 cheaper as one example.

one other thing. with those savings you can go e8500 and still be under your current $$ figure and that would be a very nice build.