New System Build

[briansong2]

I'm attempting to build my first pc and I am finding the selections a bit overwhelming. However, I decided to give it a go, so here are my selections. I'm hoping someone with experience will look this over and help me to make changes, suggestions to maximize my investment, improve compatibility if needed, and generally just make good choices. My budget is $1500 or so. I am not a gaming addict, however, I would like to play when I want, what I want. I'm more of a multitasker, often converting dvd's, chatting on Yahoo, watching a movie, burning a dvd, and playing poker simultaneously. And my new pc will have a tv tuner also, so add another task!

Chassis/Case - Antec P182 SE Stainless Midtower
$154.99

Motherboard - ASUS Rampage Formula LGA 775 Intel x48 ATX
$288.99

CPU - Intel Core 2 Quad Q9550 Yorkfield 2.83GHz
$319

Video Card - ASUS 9800GT Ultimate
$149.99-$20 mir=$129.99

RAM - OCZ Gold 8GB (4 x 2GB) 240-Pin
$124.99-$25 mir=$99.99

Hard Drive - Western Digital RE3 WD7502ABYS 750GB
$149.99

DVD drives - LG Black 6X Blu-ray Disc Burner & HD
$229.99

Power Supply - Antec EA 650 650w
$64.99

CPU heat sink/fan - ARCTIC COOLING Freezer 7 Pro 92mm CPU Cooler
$26.99

TV Tuner Card - ASUS My Cinema-PHC3-100/NAQ/FM/AV/RC
$79.99

Thermal Paste - Arctic Silver 5 Thermal Compound
$5.99

Would you opt for 2 HD's like the western dig 500gb Caviars for about the same price?



This adds up to $1709 after rebates. It's a little more than I wanted to spend, but oh well, as long as my choices are good.

 

[Zecow]

Why not go for the ATI? that board supports Crossfire - at least you can crossfire the cards in the future. I have the Rampage too. Its a good board.

You might want to check the RAM as Asus has ram compatibility issues with some of the OCZs.

Swap the Artic Silver with the MX-2 - does not require a burn-in waiting period of 200hrs. Works instantly and the performance is the same.