FIrst Build ~ 800-900$

APPROXIMATE PURCHASE DATE: before or around Christmas time

BUDGET RANGE: 800 to 900$ CAN

SYSTEM USAGE FROM MOST TO LEAST IMPORTANT: Photoshop, gaming, some movie editing, daily office/internet usage

PARTS NOT REQUIRED: monitor, mouse/keyboard, OS could also wait...

PREFERRED WEBSITE(S) FOR PARTS: not sure, I've been mostly looking on ncix.com and newegg.ca

COUNTRY OF ORIGIN: CANADA

PARTS PREFERENCES: not really

OVERCLOCKING: Maybe, if it's easy and safe enough

SLI OR CROSSFIRE: No

MONITOR RESOLUTION: 1280x1024

ADDITIONAL COMMENTS: I'm total noobie at building my own system. I've been looking a bit at the main parts but I'm not sure if all this fits together and what kind of motherboard, power supply or casing I should get. So far I've only got these:


CPU: Intel Core2 Quad Q9400 2.66GHz 6MB L2 Cache LGA 775 95W

or

Intel Core 2 Quad Q9550 Yorkfield 2.83GHz 12MB L2 Cache LGA 775 95W

HD: Western Digital Caviar Black 640GB 7200RPM 32MB Dual Proc 3.5IN SATA Hard Drive OEM 5YR Mfg Warranty


GPU: Gigabyte Radeon HD 4850 700MHZ 1GB 1.92GHZ DDR3 PCI-E CrossFireX Dual DVI-I HDCP HDTV Out Video Card

But isn't i5 going to increase the price on motherboard? The computer is mostly going to be doing a lot more Photoshopping and image editing than gaming though. I'm planning to play some, but I'm not an intensive gamer. Plus I read that there seems to be issue with the P55 board for the i5 core?

Not for work, which is why i'm not actually putting a big amount in. But i still want a decent system that can last maybe 3 years, more if possible. And be decent for some 3D gaming too. Does anyone has suggestions for mobo, case and PSU?

This case:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] -_-Product
This PSU:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] -_-Product
This mobo:
http://ncix.com/products/index.php [...] e=Gigabyte

So I've updated the parts list to this:

CPU: Intel Core i5-750 Lynnfield 220$

Motherboard: ASUS P7P55D 185$ or Gigabyte P55-UD3R 150$

RAM: Not sure....

GPU: XFX Radeon HD 4870 750MHZ 1GB 3.6GHZ GDDR5 PCI-E 2XDVI HDCP 130$

PSU: CORSAIR CMPSU-550VX 550W ATX12V V2.2 100$

Case: COOLER MASTER RC-690-KKN1-GP Black SECC 80$

Hard Drive: Samsung Spinpoint f3 1TB - It's not available on the Canadian version of Newegg or Ncix, does anyone has an idea where else I can find it?

Does all of this add up together fine or is there better choices out there? Do I need a CPU Cooler if I'm not planning to overclock right away? Also does this build allow me to upgrade the computer too an i7 in the future?