Another question about a gaming/multitasking build

[daysspentapart]

APPROXIMATE PURCHASE DATE: Probably next week.

BUDGET RANGE: $600-800

SYSTEM USAGE FROM MOST TO LEAST IMPORTANT: World of Warcraft, Photoshop/CS4, internet, movies/teleivision, light video and music editing.

PARTS NOT REQUIRED: Keyboard, mouse, speakers, monitor, OS

PREFERRED WEBSITE(S) FOR PARTS: newegg.com

PARTS PREFERENCES: No real preference; whatever works best.

OVERCLOCKING: Maybe.

SLI OR CROSSFIRE: No.

MONITOR RESOLUTION: 1900x1200

ADDITIONAL COMMENTS: I multitask like crazy. I think I've decided on a final build, but I need people far more knowledgeable to tell me whether or not everything will actually, you know, work together. It would also be nice if it could last me at least two years. One concern is the videocard. I want to be able to play WoW with decent settings on my 24" display, but I know that WoW is more CPU rather than GPU-intensive, so I'm torn between those two videocards.

Case: Antec Three Hundred Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - Retail

CPU: AMD Phenom II X4 940 Deneb 3.0GHz 4 x 512KB L2 Cache 6MB L3 Cache Socket AM2+ 125W Quad-Core Black Edition Processor - Retail

Or should I pay an extra $5 and go with AMD Phenom II X4 955 Black Edition Deneb 3.2GHz 4 x 512KB L2 Cache 6MB L3 Cache Socket AM3 125W Quad-Core Processor - Retail. Would that require me to get a different mobo, then? I believe the one I selected has AM3 support, but doesn't support DDR3. :/

Motherboard: GIGABYTE GA-MA790X-UD4P AM3/AM2+/AM2 AMD 790X ATX AMD Motherboard - Retail

Videocard: ASUS EAH4870 DK/HTDI/1GD5 Radeon HD 4870 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFire Supported Video Card - Retail

Or should I go with EVGA 512-P3-N871-AR GeForce 9800 GTX+ 512MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card - Retail?

Power supply: Antec earthwatts EA500 500W Continuous Power ATX12V v2.0 SLI Certified CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS Certified Active PFC "compatible with Core i7" Power Supply - Retail

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

HDD: Western Digital Caviar Blue WD6400AAKS 640GB 7200 RPM 16MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive - OEM

Optical: Sony Optiarc Black 24X DVD+RW

Thanks in advance for any input you guys can give me. I really want to know and understand as much as possible about everything before I attempt to piece it together.

 

[hunter315]

Looks pretty good, i would suggest paying the extra for the 955, thats a small price increase for the clock increase, it wont require a motherboard change, the AM3 CPU supports both DDR2 and DDR3.

I would swap out the hard drive for this one, it saves you 10 and will be alot faster
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822148395

This ram kit will be faster for less
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820227298

 

[godless]

get the phenom 955 or at least the 95watt 3 ghz phenom 945 at newegg. phenom 955 as both ddr2 and ddr3 memory built in. i have one on am2+ msi k9a2 platinum working perfectly.

i would stick to the 4870 because of more memory and better gddr5.

^+1 on new hard drive.

 

[batuchka]

 

[daysspentapart]

Thanks for the feedback so far. I'm definitely going to make some revisions before I buy. I really appreciate it.

 

[daysspentapart]

http://i137.photobucket.com/albums/q205/batuchka/AM3SLI.jpg

Thanks for this. I never pay enough attention to the combo deals. What's the difference between the X4 940 125w and the X4 945 95w? Haha, I'm not entirely sure I undersand. Also, out of curiousity, why the GTX 260 over the Radeon 4870?

 

[batuchka]

x4 940 is an AM2+ socket Deneb meaning its IMC or Integrated Memory Controller in chip could only 'talk' to DDR2 whereas 945 is an AM3 socket Deneb whose IMC can talk to both DDR2 and DDR3 The GTX 260 was picked to match the SLI capable 750a AM3/DDR3 mobo ^^

 

[daysspentapart]

Looks pretty good, i would suggest paying the extra for the 955, thats a small price increase for the clock increase, it wont require a motherboard change, the AM3 CPU supports both DDR2 and DDR3.

I would swap out the hard drive for this one, it saves you 10 and will be alot faster
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822148395

This ram kit will be faster for less
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820227298

Do you think going with a quadcore is overkill when all I'll be doing is playing WoW and editing images in Photoshop? I've been going back and forth between a quad and the Phenom II X3 720 BE. My multitasking is usually WoW, iTunes, Firefox + multiple tabs, Ventrilo, Photoshop, and VLC player all open at the same time.

 

[hunter315]

For photoshop you might get a boost out of the quad, for wow probably not. Either the 955 or the 720 would do quite well in gaming but you will get a small boost out of the 955 for photoshop work if you do alot of it. I wouldnt get the 940 anymore since its so close in price to the 955

 

[daysspentapart]

For photoshop you might get a boost out of the quad, for wow probably not. Either the 955 or the 720 would do quite well in gaming but you will get a small boost out of the 955 for photoshop work if you do alot of it. I wouldnt get the 940 anymore since its so close in price to the 955

I forgot that I still need an operating system, which will easily bump the cost up by $100-200, which is completely depressing. Is there anyway you could give me input as to how the system I posted would compare to something preassembled, such as this?