First new computer in 5 years (bye bye ATI 9800) Double check help.

Hey guys, just hoping you could take a quick look and make sure I have everything I need. Sometimes I stare at something so long I miss the obvious. This is mainly a gaming machine but I decided to go with a quad core because I figured it would give it a longer lifespan.

http://secure.newegg.com/WishList/ [...] er=5140709

And the case from http://www.buy.com/prod/antec-thre [...] 06549.html for the free shipping and cheaper price.

Couple of quick questions.

Is that a decent monitor? I know Asus is good (never heard anything about their monitors though). It has the stats I'm looking for however, a 22" wide screen LCD with a 1680 x 1050 resolution and a 2ms response time.

I've never had a VisionTek video card but the reviews on newegg are positive (for whatever that is worth), but I could get the Sapphire 4870 for $10 more ($10 less if the mail in rebate goes through). But the $10 is of little consequence so I'd rather go with whichever is the more reputable brand.

Is the Q9950 worth it, or would it be better to save $55 and go with the Q9400? I plan on OCing which ever to at least 3.0 GHz down the road a bit, maybe a little higher if it doesn't hurt the lifespan of the CPU. Even with the Q9950 it's still within my budget of <= $1,500 total, just wondering if you had any opinions. How big of a difference would I see going from a 6MB cache to a 12MB?

Aside from that I'd just like to make sure I'm not missing anything. Should I throw a couple SATA cables in with it? How many of those three 120mm optional fans do you think I'll need to keep everything at a nice low temp? Can anyone recommend a decent fan? I've never purchased any.

Any other recommendations on different components, or maybe a different supplier for some of it where I can get a better deal?

If everything is good I suppose I'll order ASAP, hopefully some of those deals will still be in place. Sorry for the long read, I like to be thorough. Thanks guys (and gals... maybe? nahh, probably not)


-DaftPunk

Solid build, well thought out with room to expand in the future. There's only a $5 difference between the Q9450 and the Q9550, why would he go with the Q9450?

I think emp might be talking about the q9400, which is about $270 shipped, so that would be about $55 savings over the q9550. The q9450 is out of stock at the egg right now, so I'd get the q9400, so you can afford the better Mobo.
Intel Core2 Quad Q9400 2.66GHz 6MB L2 Cache LGA 775 95W Quad-Core Processor - Retail

Also if you'd consider the Corsair 650tx (which has plenty of power), it's going for $93 shipped - $20 MIR = $73!!!!
Corsair TX 650W ATX12V Power Supply - CMPSU-650TX

Other than those ideas/suggestions, I'd stick with what Emp has to say. The rest looks pretty good. You can tweak the DDR2 a bit, but I'd just stick with quality 800mHz stuff.

You even threw in a 2ms monitor. Big Thumbs UP The only thing I'd change would be going with a retail burner. I mean really the cost difference is negligible and they put in nice things like extra screws and a SATA cable. I guess you could also find some value in the usual included copy of Nero or Roxio in case you don't have a copy already.

I like Visionteks warranty and their site. It's quick to access and has a consumer forum for information. In the past i've gone to big box retail stores and checked out different monitors side by side. It helps to see what you're thinking about buying. Good point by Mega about getting the retail burner for software and cable, your motherboard will come with a couple of SATA cables. Best place for cooler reviews is www.frostytech.com they have top 5 (10) ratings for coolest and quietest.

+1 @dirtmountain. In fact, I often spend a little more and get my monitors from brick and mortar stores. I will have seen them first, and don't need to worry about a "7 dead pixel" policy for returns. I want NO dead pixels on my monitor. That said, I bought my current Acer 22" from Newegg (would have become a secondary if any dead pixels), and was not disappointed.
Good choice on the RAM, although right now OCZ has a 4GB kit that also runs at 1.8v for $56 after MIR. The timings aren't as good, but you probably won't see a difference, and you can oc it yourself.
I think the build overall looks good. That it is a little more than you need is not a ding on that excellent PSU.
The only thing I'd change is the case. The CoolerMaster RC-690 is very similar to the Antec 300 with one nice difference: the bottom-mounted PSU does not have to be mounted upside-down, because it can pull its air up from the bottom of the case. In the Antec-300, there is no opening in the bottom of the case under the PSU. It will be pulling warm air down toward itself, which is counter intuitive.

Thanks for all the help guys.