How's this PC Build? My first time

Hey guys,

I am trying to put together a gaming computer rig. I am hoping to
learn more about computers as I research which parts need to go with
which others. Mind you, I am very new to computer building, so some of
the choices I made may be completely stupid; enlighten me if you see
any.

My father, who has built many computers, is going to help me actually
put it together, but I need to make sure I am picking out the right
pieces. Any criticism on the pieces I've chosen, whether it be on
specific hardware or the combinations of the hardware, all criticism
is welcome.

CASE: Aspire X-SuperALIEN ATXA6SW/500 PS Aluminum Gaming
MB: Asus P5Q3 Deluxe/WiFi-AP @n Core 2 Extreme/ INTEL P45/ DDR3-2000/ CrossFireX/ Wi-Fi/ A&2GbE/ ATX Motherboard
CPU: Intel Q9550 P4 CORE 2 QUAD LGA775 2.83G
MEMORY: Crucial 4GB ,2GBX2, DDR3-1333 PC2-10600 Memory
CD-ROM: SonyNEC Optiarc CRX320E 52X24X52/16X Combo
VGA: ASUS/MSI nVidia GeForce GTX280 OC 1GB
HDD: SAMSUNG F1 Spinpoint 1TB
MONITOR: Samsung 2253BW 22"
OS: Vista Ultimate 32-Bit

Need Sound Card

I'll be throwing in a Zalman fan or maybe the Arctic Cooling Freezer 7
Pro. I have been planning on getting a 750W+ PSU. Do you think that will
be good? I am considering learning how to properly OC on this
rig. I am also still up in the air over what soundcard to get.

I want the rig to be able to run Crysis on at least medium settings,
as well as Starcraft 2, when it comes out. I am planning on using
Vista Ultimate 32-bit as well, since I found it for a VERY low price
at my college bookstore.

Aspire/Apevia/Raidmax/Logisys and most Rosewill power supplies should not be used in a serious rig. Get a quality badged power supply to fit your uses. PC Power and Cooling 610w, Corsair 650w, Antec EA650 etc. I'd also go with a 64bit OS, not a 32 bit.

If you check the dates of most of the 64bit OS problems you'll see they're pre SP1 and many people tried using older, legacy components with the new OS. It's much better now. You should be able to get the upgrade to 64bit cheap at your college. The GTX280 OC uses about 200w of power.
http://forums.atomicmpc.com.au/index.php?showtopic=264
use a power calculator to figure system usage with room for an additional HD or 2, case fans, lights etc. Most PSU manufacturers recommend running about 60% at load.
http://extreme.outervision.com/psucalculatorlite.jsp

You're paying a chunk of money to use DDR3 RAM, the performance boost between DDR2 and DDR3 is pretty small, especially for the price differential. DDR3 prices should begin to drop after i7 and the X58 mobos have been out for awhile, but right now DDR2 is a much better deal. I'd go with a P45 using DDR2 and DDR2 800 1.8v RAM unless you're looking to do some extreme overclocking. I'd also use onboard sound long enough to see if will be sufficient for you. Unless you're an audiophile there's a good chance it'll be fine. You can always add a sound card later.

*edited for spelling and grammar* dammit

You're right. Most of the articles I had read were from '06 / '07, but I couldn't find any articles that would help any more in my choice between 64 and 32 bit. Unfortunately, my school store has only 32 bit Vista software ( ). Regardless, I'll just find the 64bit version somewhere. Thanks for the input.

As far as DDR2 vs DDR3 is concerned, I had heard a few things about the i7, and was thinking about waiting for it to come out, since it will should be coming out in November. I am actually considering getting this PC built in early 09, giving the video cards and memory's volatile prices more of a chance to reduce.

I have been editing this PC build for about 6 months+ now, so it is more of a project to get a build I know I'll like before I make my final decision. Any other criticism is GREATLY appreciated. Thanks all who have commented so far; it is very helpful.

I agree completely. You guys, especially dirtmountain, have definitely been helpful. I am so glad I came across such helpful members. This has definitely helped persuade my final decisions.