$1,400 Build Ready, Need a Fast Double Check from the Pros!

[burwang]

Alright well I think I've got a pretty good $1,400 rig built (price includes a 300 monitor so aka 1100 rig) but I would like a second opinion or 2. I will list my build first and then ask a couple questions, if you see other things that I missed please illuminate and include other options for me. Thanks so much for the help. My overall goal, btw, was to build a very good gaming machine for the price. I wanted the best bang for the buck, putting a bit of extra cash in for the vid card since it is the main workhorse. I want the option to expand (more memory, another GPU) in the future. This build includes a nice monitor. I will be using vista (already have with mouse, keyboard, etc). & I play FPS, MMO's, RPG's and RTS's.

GPU: SAPPHIRE 100281SR Radeon HD 5870 (Cypress XT) 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFire Supported Video Card w/ATI Eyefinity - Retail ($379)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102856
CPU: AMD Phenom II X4 955 Black Edition Deneb 3.2GHz Socket AM3 125W Quad-Core Processor Model HDZ955FBGIBOX - Retail (Combo w/MB $299)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103674
MB: ASUS M4A78T-E AM3 AMD 790GX HDMI ATX AMD Motherboard - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131366
Power: CORSAIR CMPSU-750TX 750W ATX12V / EPS12V SLI Ready CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS Certified Active PFC Compatible with Core i7 Power ... - Retail ($119)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139006
HD: Western Digital Caviar Black WD6401AALS 640GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive - OEM ($75)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136319
MEM: G.SKILL 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 (PC3 10666) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model F3-10666CL8D-4GBHK - Retail ($85)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231189
Case: COOLER MASTER RC-690-KKN1-GP Black SECC/ ABS ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - Retail ($70)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119137
Media: SAMSUNG DVD Burner Black SATA Model SH-S223L LightScribe Support - OEM ($33)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827151188
Cooling: Scythe MUGEN-2 SCMG-2000 120mm Sleeve CPU Cooler - Retail ($40 w/Arctic 5)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835185093
Monitor: ASUS VW266H Black 25.5" 2ms(GTG) HDMI Widescreen LCD Monitor - Retail ($299)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824236047

Subtotal = $1,401.90

1. Does my MB allow for expansion to a second vid card in the future? I thought It did but I wanna make sure.
2. Did I pick the Right Memory? is there a better option here for a few extra bucks?
3. 750 should be plenty of power if i want to expand yes?
4. I wanted the asus 5870 but newegg was out so i picked saphire, is there any difference or should i be fine here?
5. Do I need the aftermarket cooling for the CPU?
6. And of course if you see things you would switch or another option please just let me know the newegg link and why you are recommending it. Thanks so much. I am going to purchase this in the next 24 hours so fast help is appreciated.

Thanks guys!

Ernie.

 

[wathman]

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822152181&cm_re=Samsung_F3-_-22-152-181-_-Product
If you don't mind trading a little capacity for speed, the Samsung F3 is faster than the Caviar Black 640GB, take a look at the hard drive charts on Tom's if you're unsure. It also saves you $25 or so.

PSU looks fine. You don't really need an aftermarket cooler unless you're overclocking, but it certainly doesn't hurt to use one for stock speeds.

Also, I hope your version of Vista is 64-bit. If not, I'm finding the 5870 is giving me some headaches on my 32-bit OS in certain games with 4GB of system RAM installed. I'm switching over to 64-bit Win 7 as soon as it comes in

 

[jay2tall]

Looks good. You don't need an aftermarket cpu cooler unless you intend to OC. The stock one if fine.

The 750W PSU is total overkill unless you are sure you will be adding a 2nd card in the future. If you are looking to cut costs a little you can tone that down.

Memory is fine.

For the hard drive, are you looking for speed or size? The Black drives are nice but the green drives use less power and are still fast.

DEFINITELY make sure you get 64bit OS

 

[burwang]

thanks for the responses, yeah i guess i do plan on adding another gpu later so thats why i wanted a bigget power supply.

one last question - do i need 8BG of Ram or is 4GB good to go?

thanks

 

[jchan]

looks good.

in my opinion, 4gb is plenty ... depends what you do with your computer i guess.

i have 6gb and i only use like 2gb at most lol. But if you have the money, i guess it wouldn't hurt to get more.

Whats sad is that my system cost me like $1100 also ... but i got a much worse graphics card than you But i had to buy my OS =[

 

[jay2tall]

I have 6GB as well on 64bit Vista, and I don't think it's ever really gone above 3GB usage. Honestly I'd throw the 8GB in there, unless 4GB is a cost saver and you are trying to "trim the fat". If its not much more for twice the ram, go for it. It also depends on what you use it for. Games... 4GB is fine. Heavy MEM apps maybe 8 then. Or if you like to run 20 IE windows, while encoding video, and batching RAW photos in Photoshop.

 

[hunter315]

Get the ripjaws instead, $4 more for tighter timings and slightly lower voltage
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231276&cm_re=ripjaws-_-20-231-276-_-Product

Or for slightly more before MIR you can get this combo
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.263459
the i5 will perform better at everything, the 955 performs very similarly to the i5 in gaming.

 

[obsidian86]

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231276&cm_re=ripjaws-_-20-231-276-_-Product here is some better ram

 

[obsidian86]

that combo's second pci slot runs at x4 not x8