Questions for new AM3 Build re vid card, HD's, PSU

[Agent_Orange]

Proposed Spec:
Phenom II X4 965
Gigabyte GA-MA790FXTA-UD5
ATI 5770 or equivalent
WD 500GB Caviar Black 7200rpm SATA II 32mb Cache x 4 (RAID 0+1)
4GB DDR 3 dual channel 1333/1600
750(ish)W power supply non-modular
LG 24X SATA DVD drive.
Antec 900 Case

Questions:
1. Suggestions for which 5770 card to go with? I've seen some interesting deals from Saphire here in Canada. Eventually I plan on adding another 5770 in a year or so or once games start slowing down again.
2. $240(ish) for 4 hd's, or $200 for a single 150gb 10,000rpm VelociRaptor. Do any of you see the price of a 10k rpm drive coming down any time soon, or is it pointless to shell out for that when the price of SATA-3 SSD's is coming down in the future?
3. Suggestions for memory? I found a nice set of Patriot 4gb dual channel with 777-20 timings for a reasonable (i.e. less than $200cdn) price though the customer comments took issue with stability at 1.65V and mentioned 1.75 or 1.8V was required to meet those timings.
4. Suggestions for a power supply? I've had good experience with OCZ, and definitely want an 80+ PSU.
5. I'm somewhat future-proofing myself with the Gigabyte FXTA to get the USB3.0, I also like the Dolby on chip, however the FXT-UD5P is virtually identical and has been in the system longer. Anybody seen any problems with the FXTA yet? Would anyone recommend a different 790FX board?
6. Comments, criticism, questions, suggestions, always welcome!

Thanks!

-A.O.

 

[p55ibexpeak]

Really can't suggest anything unless I know what the uses of this pc are.

What's your budget?

Where do you shop? newegg.ca, ncix.com...

What's the monitor native resolution?

 

[saint19]

I only can say one thing. YOUR PSU IS A DISASTER.

 

[Agent_Orange]

Ah sorry didn't follow the format, thanks P55!

purchasing in the next week or two
main purpose is going to be gaming with some amateur photo editing
Budget is roughly $1000CDN
Shop at NCIX, MemoryExpress (local shop), bestdirect.ca
Monitor is 1680x1050, it's a BenQ X2200W.

Saint, I'm not exactly sure what you mean, you don't like OCZ PSU's?

 

[saint19]

^For PSU, start with the best. Corsair, Thermaltake, Antec, PC power and cooling...OCZ have good RAM memory but PSU i never had one. (is IMO)

 

[ubernoobie]

At ncix, use the boxing day sale and get a ocz 550watt, I've ordered it already, 40 dollars after rebate for a 80+silver is a steal

 

[Agent_Orange]

will 550W be enough to run dual 5770's, or a 58xx or two in the future? I'm hoping to not have to replace many of these components for the next two years or so, other than maybe a bit more/faster memory and video cards.

 

[1st duke of marlborough]

550W might be pushing it, but 650W will be plenty. I would err on the side of caution and go with the 650. OCZ makes fine PSU's, my friend has their 750W and it works like a charm.

Also, go with the AMD 955, not the 965. You can easily overclock the 955 to the stock settings of the 965, and much higher than that if you so choose. You will save a little extra money, perhaps enough to afford a 5770...

If you can, get the Samsung Spinpoint F3 over the Caviar Black. Slightly cheaper for, what I understand is, better or comparable performance. At this point, you won't notice much of a difference between these higher end drives, only really see performance gain with a SSD. From my experience, from HDD to HDD, there is very little performance difference anymore between brands. I could be off on this point, just from personal experience. Hope this helps!