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My system list and seeking advice/critique on choices (long)

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Ok, so my last build was a AMD 2500+ barton that was overclocked to 3200 and ran fine 24/7 until this year. So it is time to build something new. I plan to do this through dec/jan

I am keeping my current 19" LCD monitor, keyboard, mouse, Klipsch 2.1 speakers. 2 IDE HDDs

Also, I am staying with Win XP Pro SP3 because a)I work for a small business with our own VLK through M$) b) I see no reason to move to Vista unless I need 64 bit, and if I go 64bit I might as well wait for windows7

What I need this thing for: Web browsing (30 tabs in firefox + few in IE), lots of excel work, some Adobe CS2, BitTorrent and Emule. Watching movies. Only serious gaming I will be doing will be when Bioware releases Dragon Age. Otherwise I still got civ4 and older games. (can I mention mame or winkawaks here?)

I would prefer a relatively quite pc

So on to the list

Pricing via old faithful newegg, but obviously I will be shopping around

I will do light overclock

CPU:

Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 Kentsfield 2.4GHz LGA 775 Quad-Core Processor Model BX80562Q6600 - Retail $189.99
or
Intel Core 2 Quad Q8200 2.33GHz LGA 775 95W Quad-Core Processor Model BX80580Q8200 - Retail $189.99

I'm leaning toward Q6600, since I can always get a cheaper 45nm Yorkfield one or two year down the line

Mobo:

GIGABYTE GA-EP45-UD3P LGA 775 Intel P45 ATX Intel Motherboard - $116.99 after $20 MIR.

I'd like to keep the crossfire option open, just in case I feel like it down the line. I also thought about Asus P5Q Pro or P5Q-e, but I've read about too many IDE problems with them. I suppose there's the use usb enclosure to transfer data option, but only if some one really strongly feels I should go Asus rather than Gigabyte

PSU:

CORSAIR CMPSU-750TX 750W ATX12V / EPS12V SLI Ready CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS Certified Active PFC Power Supply - Retail $99.99 after $20 MIR

OCZ GameXStream OCZ700GXSSLI 700W ATX12V SLI Certified CrossFire Ready Active PFC Power Supply - Retail $69.99 after $30.00 MIR

PC Power & Cooling S75QB 750W ATX12V / EPS12V SLI NVIDIA SLI Certified (Dual 8800 GTX and below) CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS Certified Active PFC Power Supply - Retail $99.99 after $25 MIR

There's a combo deal for the OCZ PSU and Gigabyte Mobo, that's the only reason it's listed. I've read some bad things about ocz rebates so the choice for me should really be Corsair vs. PCP&C, unless some one really vouch for the OCZ. Again, I'm pick a larger psu to keep future crossfire option open.

GFX Card: Radeon 4850 512MB
SAPPHIRE 100245L Radeon HD 4850 512MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFire Supported Video Card - Retail $149.99

or

ASUS EAH4850 TOP/HTDI/512M Radeon HD 4850 512MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFire Supported Video Card - Retail $139.99 after MIR

I have no real brand preference, so I'm hoping you guys will. I like Asus' mascot EOS(the archer girl) when she was on their cards.....but that's no longer the case for their 4850. Yes, I know that's pretty shallow of me to pick gfx card based on the character on them. Down the line I hope to pick up a 22" wide screen LCD

Memory:

G.SKILL PI Black 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model F2-6400CL4D-4GBPI-B - Retail $59.99

A popular low cost choice around here. Don't know if I should go up a bit to 1066


HDD:

Western Digital Caviar Black WD6401AALS 640GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM $84.99 x1 or 2?

Another popular choice around here. Funny enough the price is exactly the same as what I paid for my Seagate 80gb SATA way back when.....

As noted above I'm keeping my 250gb and 500gb PATA HDDs. I would also like to buy another SATA drive for more storage, but I am not going to RAID so some one give me a good decent priced one or should I just buy 2 of the Western Digital?

Optical Drive:

LITE-ON 20X DVD±R DVD Burner Black SATA Model iHAS120-04 - OEM $22.99

and

SAMSUNG 22X DVD±R DVD Burner with LightScribe Black SATA Model SH-S223Q - OEM $28.99

I like two optical drives, plus they are cheap so I can afford to indulge my self.




Case: Antec P182 Gun Metal Black 0.8mm cold rolled steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - Retail $149.99

I like a quite case that comes with fans. Any cheaper alternatives feel free to let me know

Cpu Cooler: ARCTIC COOLING Freezer 7 Pro 92mm CPU Cooler - Retail $26.99

I think stock cooler is ok, but the pc will be on 24/7 so I feel more comfortable with an aftermarket cooler?


thanks for reading, any input is appreciated.

More about : system list seeking advice critique choices long

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Short.

Q6600
XIGMATEK HDT-S1283 120mm Rifle CPU Cooler
XIGMATEK ACK-I7751 Retention Bracket
Asus P5Q-E
G.SKILL PI Black 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800
WD6400AAKS
CORSAIR CMPSU-650TX 650W
Antec Nine Hundred Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case

-Q6600

-corsair or pcp&c psus are both good

-sapphire...just cause they actually build the ati branded cards and refference models, there both prolly fine...

-get 2x160gb drives (same $$$ as 1x320gb) and make a raid for system and game installs, single drives are fine if they are just for storage. unless ur getting 10000rpm drives, stick to seagate

-pioneer optical drives are the best...i say pioneer+samsung (if you really want 2 of em)

-case is a fail... wicked cases made by NZXT for under 100$ (look for a model called "hush"

-cpu cooler...anything fanless is good and worth the tedious installation...
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Your choices are good.

I'd go with the Gigabyte or Asus board as suggested.

I have the OCZ GameXtreme. It's nice, but if you ever have a power hungry card, or two, you'll run out of PCIE connectors quick.

I'd pick the Q6600.

+1 to the Xigmatek coolers.

Good luck with the build.

Ok, so why fail on the P182, because of the price?
I looked at the Hush, it comes with 2 fans, so I'll need to add one.
the 900 looks nice, I wonder how bright are the lights and it is louder than the p182? Microcenter has the 900 on sale for $79.99, so I might just go pick it up after work today.

Concerning the Corsair 750w vs PCP&C 750w the difference seems to be the connectors.

Corair has 8 Sata whereas the PCP&C comes with 6.
Corsair has a 12v connector that is 8 pin/4pin, PCP&C has separate 4 and 8 pin connectors.

I'm leaning towards the Corsair due to the higher number of sata power connectors, but is 2 that much of a difference......

+1 for the Antec 900 - Quiet, well built case with plenty of air flow.
+1 for the Xigmatic cooler, make sure to get the retention bracket with it, save yourself the head ache
As far as the power supply Corsair and PC power and Cooling are both exellant choices cant go wrong with either.

yes the price is why i failed it.... you should look to spend between 60$ and 110$ on a case (w out psu).... under 60 and youll start to get flimsy ****...over 110 and its kind of overpriced for what it does...

i trust antec....looks like a good deal... fyi you dont really need more than 2 case fans...for me 2 case fans is allot... are you building a computer? or a wind tunnel? the less fans, the less noise....

Ok, parts so far. plus I have new questions due to a deal presenting itself

Case: Antec 900 (bought at microcenter for $79.99+tax)

PSU: Corsair 750TX ($99~ after MIR from Buy.com, on its way to me)

Now here's a deal that kind of throws a wrinkle into my plans.
Tigerdirect has a barebone system consisting of
Intel C2Q Q6700 2.66GHz OEM
XFX MG-63Mi-7159 Motherboard
Corsair 4096MB PC6400 DDR2
Power Up Standard ATX Black Mid-Tower Case
Ultra LS500 Lifetime Series 500W Power Supply

For $299.99 after MIR, also, there is 10% live.com cash back.

so. I can take the Q6700 from this for my build, along with the Corsair RAM. Save the rest of the parts for another build or sell them.

Do you guys think I should go for this instead of Q6600+G.Skill ram?

Personally I wouldn't do that, for one, the Motherboard stinks you'd have a hard time selling it. two, the case stinks you'd have a hard time selling it. Three the PSU stinks you'd have a hard time selling that as well.

And there really isn't a whole lot of difference between the q6600 and q6700, since they both overclock to about the same speeds.
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