Ok, I know I've gotten bitched at for my last post which didn't include specs. Sorry, I was just still researching and needed input. My first post was a bit naive and I have realized that I can do better off. Here are the new possible specs. Please tell me what I've done right, and what would be a good upgrade or downgrade for the money. Keep in mind that I will be using this with a 32in HDTV as a monitor at 1360x768 resolutions.

Motherboard: DFI or Gigabyte X48 (225) Leaning Towards Gigabyte because I hear it is more noob friendly, and I am not a hardware guru.
Considering Asus Rampage Formula X48 (290) but (215) Open Box because I like that it has a special sound card.

Memory: OCZ Reaper HPC Edition 4GB DDR2 800 (70) considering 8GB if I will see a worthwhile performance increase (140)
CPU: Q6600 (200) or Q9450(330)
GPU: Sapphire 4870 (310) in crossfire if it's worth it with my resolution (620)
Hard Drive: SAMSUNG Spinpoint F1 HD753LJ 750GB (120) or 1TB (180) if I decide I need it
PSU: PC Power & Cooling 750W (120)
Case: Antec Nine Hundred (120)
Cooling: XIGMATEK HDT-S963 92mm Rifle CPU Cooler 15 (29)
XIGMATEK ACK-I7751 Retention Bracket 7
ARCTIC COOLING MX-2 7


Total at minimum: 1184
Total at Max: 1829

Either are in my price range. I'm just looking for the best performance for value with my setup. Any ideas or recommendations?

Forgot an Optical Drive....

SAMSUNG SH - S203B (27)

Q6600.
1x 4870.
Western Digital 6400AAKS.
PCP&C 610W Silencer.
Arctic Cooling Freezer 7 Pro.
(Skip thermal grease since ACF7P has it pre-applied on the bottom of HSF)
Look at RC-690 and Antec Three Hundred.
4GB is plenty. Get 4-4-4-12 2T timings.

Why the Western Digital over the Samsung? I have been reading here on tomshardware that it outperforms all 7200RPM Drives. I think I agree on the Q6600, especially with nehalem coming out. Does that cooling system perform better? I really know nothing about cooling. Why shouldn't I go for crossfire? I think I'm going to stick with atleast 750W in case I ever want to upgrade. I really think I like the nine hundred unless the RC and three hundred are just way better. Finally, would 8GB show better performance in any way, not restricted to gaming applications as this won't solely be a gaming computer. Thank you for the input!

Price/Performance Ratio. Look at the RC-690 reviews and Antec Three Hundred reviews. 8GB? No, nothing needs that much RAM besides Photoshop type programs.

It performs less well, but it is a solid, good performing cooler for $26.99. It's also easy to install and will allow easy OC to 3.2 Ghz. No need to fuss over 3.6 OC. CF and SLi doesn't scale perfectly in all games. It's very hot, you need more power. It's also much louder than having a single card like the GTX 280.

Your resolution is so low, CF would be a waste. 1920x1200 and higher need SLI and CF. Even there, a single card can hold its own at 1920x1200 with 4xAA/16xAF which is picture perfect.

Ok, So no crossfire. If a 1360x768 HDTV is really that awful for gaming, I do have the option of getting a new monitor now, or later. I still like the nine hundred, the price difference is not huge, and it looks pretty cool. The only reason I was thinking about 8GB was for the rare occasions when I run a ton of VST's in audio production programs. I won't go for 8GB, but should I go for some better ram then? What do you guys think about the Asus Rampage Formula vs Gigabyte X48 vs DFI X48 keeping in mind that I'm not an experienced overclocker, but would like to learn. Even though I'm not going for crossfire, should I still go for 750W for future upgrades?

4GB DDR2-800 4-4-4-12 2t 2.2v or less. TV is okay, I personally like a separate sexy monitor as it's designed to not screw up your eyes up close. I have 2GB and I'm happy. I play Crysis DX9 @ 1360x768 2xAA/0xAF on my 1680x1050 2252BW monitor. I plan to move it to my 32" LCD TV for a bigger picture.

Also, I can play Crysis at 1680x1050 all high DX9 0xAA/0xAF. The higher resolution is like free AA, it reduces jaggies. 1024x768 has way too much jaggies. If you game on a 32" 1360x768 LCD TV, make sure your GPU can handle 4x AA on all games or it will look like crap with all the enlarged jaggies. 8xAA is best. The 4870 can do that.

Good, I like the tv. Would some crucial ballistix tracer 4gb DDR800 work? Any advice on the motherboard? Thanks

Thanks. So I should look for the card that handles AA the best? Sorry for sounding like an idiot about this, I'm more of a software guy. I've written my own algorithms for AA in Java but haven't gamed or cared about PC gaming in 2-3 years. So the 4870 handles AA really well. Is it the best?

Does anyone have any second opinions? And I'm still really curious about which motherboard.

Current Build:
Motherboard: Undecided between Gigabyte, DFI, Asus X48 boards (225ish)
Memory: Patriot Extreme Performance 2GB DDR2 800 x 2 (94)
CPU: Q6600 (200)
GPU: Sapphire 4870 (310)
Hard Drive: Western Digital 640GB (95)
PSU: PC Power & Cooling 750W (120)
Case: Antec Nine Hundred (120)
Cooling: Arctic Cooling Freezer 7 Pro (27)
Optical Drive: SAMSUNG SH - S203B (27)

Total: $1218
Gosh, I sound so spoiled saying this, but I really planned on spending at least $1500, probably up to even $1900. What can I change to beef this up?

Get the Gigabyte X48 @ newegg for $224.99, get this PSU down below and save some money, then get another vid card and run Crossfire.

http://www.buy.com/prod/corsair-tx [...] 78325.html $109.99 Price After Rebate(s): $99.99
Shipping: FREE
Corsair TX 750W ATX 12V Power Supply - CMPSU-750TX

p5k is a great cheaper alternative, depending on what you want to spend where, but there are great x38 and x48 boards as well. be sure to check out the p5k epu specs.

If you have a good speaker system, I'd look into getting a sound card if you just want to spend more money (while getting a better gaming experience).
The Asus Xonar is rather inexpensive. Go with the X-Fi Titanium if you have a whole home theater system, with reciever and all that can take optical or else the Xonar should be just fine (I believe the Xonar doesn't offer optical).

As for brand names, Asus is arguably the stronger brand name at things like compatability/reliability. But that is rather arguable :]

If you're not going to tweak the system a lot (you say you're not a hardware guru), and you're not going crossfire (very low resolution), why bother with an X48? Just get a decent P45 board and save the cash. They still OC well for all general intents and purposes, and (can) cost a lot less. Spend the saved cash on a higher-resolution monitor, or a 45nm CPU (the 45nm processors run very cool and are more power-efficient).

I think pcgamer has provided some good information throughout. No need for Crossfire or SLI at your resolution. If you were a more experienced overclocker, you might want a Xigmatek cooler, but the AC Freezer 7 Pro should suit your needs just fine. I use them a lot, as my interest in overclocking is also limited.
Onboard sound is pretty good these days, but if you want to spend more money you might start with some really nice speakers. I'm not the one to ask about speakers as I am not an audiophile and am deaf in one ear, but I'm sure others here can make good suggestions.

I do have a good speaker system (Klipsch ProAudio 5.1) so if I would get a noticeable audio difference from going for an Asus Xonar I would definitely go for it. Is the Q9450 a good choice for a 45nm processor? Knowing me I will probably want to overclock once I research more about current overclocking. Heh, the last thing I overclocked was my current P4 3.2ghz. From what I've read now, I'm actually thinking about getting a new monitor. Something that will give me 1920 resolution. What would you guys recommend?

Here's my updated build. I decided to ditch crossfire, go for a velociraptor, Q9450, and 4gb of DDR2 1066. What do you guys think???

MOBO: Undecided, I'm not going for crossfire, can anyone reccomend a high end board that I should go for if I'm not going for
crossfire but want the same quality, capibilities, and power as the X48 boards (100-250)
Memory: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6820231166 (90)
CPU: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [.