New Build about 1700k

What do you think of this build?

DIAMOND 4870X2PE52G Radeon HD 4870 X2 2GB 512-bit (256-Bit x 2) GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFire Supported Video Card

CORSAIR 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model TWIN2X4096-6400C5

ZALMAN CNPS9700 LED 110mm 2 Ball CPU Cooler

Intel Core 2 Quad Q9550 Yorkfield 2.83GHz LGA 775 95W Quad-Core Processor Model BX80569Q9550

Antec TPQ-850 850W ATX12V / EPS12V SLI Certified CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS BRONZE Certified Modular Active PFC Power Supply

as a case antec 1200 or antec p180(or182), cable management is a must so the antec 900 is kind of out

for my motherboard i was thinking p45. i probably wont ever need to crossfire 4870x2 so yeah... and is the 850 watts too much power? i plan on having maybe a wd caviar 640gb maybe run two of them in raid, maybe get a solid state drive

What usage?
What screen size?
What budget?

I'll check back when you post again.

Jeremy

yeah budget about 1700, but i dont mind going to about 1900, also i plan on using a 22inch monitor, it will be for gaming

Awesome right:

- CPU, RAM choice is good. Might be tempted to wait until i7 releases next month to see the effect on Intel CPU prices.

- 4870X2 is far too much power - you will see very little return at 22" for the extra $250 over a 4870.

- 600 to 700W will be ample for a 4870. Try Enermax, Corsair, PC Power and Cooling, Antec.

- P45 is a good choice. Try an Asus P5Q Pro.

- Two WD 640Gb drives would be a good choice, espcially in raid, even better with an SSD acting as a boot drive.
- You MUST buy a SLC flash drive if you go SSD. These are expensive! Recommend waiting until Intel release their SSD's they should up the competition nicely.

Jeremy

-

ok here is my updated build still keeping the budget

NZXT TEMPEST Crafted Series CS-NT-TEM-B Black Steel / Plastic ATX Mid Tower Computer Case

Western Digital Caviar SE16 WD6400AAKS 640GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive

Western Digital VelociRaptor WD1500HLFS 150GB 10000 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive (bare drive)

SAPPHIRE 100251SR Radeon HD 4870 X2 2GB 512-bit (256-bit x 2) GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFire Supported Video Card - Retail

Antec TPQ-850 850W ATX12V / EPS12V SLI Certified CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS BRONZE Certified Modular Active PFC Power Supply

CORSAIR 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model TWIN2X4096-6400C5

ZALMAN CNPS9700 LED 110mm 2 Ball CPU Cooler

GIGABYTE GA-EP45-UD3P LGA 775 Intel P45 ATX Intel Motherboard

Intel Core 2 Quad Q9550 Yorkfield 2.83GHz LGA 775 95W Quad-Core Processor Model BX80569Q9550

plus ill put vista 65bit, and a crap cd/dvd drive, anyone got any beef with the gigabyte board? i dunno its just got a combo with the cpu so i save like 30 bucks versus the asus boards. i also decided to take the money i saved and plan to buy a velociraptor hd but i will wait to see if prices dont drop on those drives i hear some competition might be stepping up. i will order first week in December so prices will drop a little.

to answer the question about whether i will use 100 of the graphic's card power, probably not, is it overkill, probably and will i see the same results with a single 4870 eh, maybe, but i think the prices will drop by december and the 4870x2 will last me for a long time.

sorry, i meant 64 bit, yeah i was thinking about the cooler. i want to do some overclocking, maybe not immediately but i would like to get the q9550 to up at about 3.6 ghz which i think is reasonable. i have heard the stock cooling really isnt good, but ill look at the hdt-s1283.

any comments about the hard drives. since it is a gaming machine is the velociraptor and the 640gb a good combo? would running two 640 wd caviar in raid0 be better (150 bucks for raid0 versus 225 for the raptor plus caviar) ?

hmm then maybe i should just go two 640 wd drives? i mean for the price of a raptor 150gb and the 640gb drive i can get 3 wd drives. maybe i should save the cash and only get one now? but i dunno i have heard good things about these raptor drives and especially at only about 150 bucks it seems like you get a lot of speed. also being twice as fast as the 640gb caviar would be really fast, but i dunno the read write speed is excellent on all raptor drives.