Firstly, thanks for all the help from various threads about CPUs and GPUs. It's been a bit overwhelming having been away from hardware for a few years but you guys have really helped me out a lot.

Info about me, I will probably be playing mostly FPS and some RTS. I like to also use Photoshop a lot. I only have a 20 inch monitor currently and it's going to be a while before I upgrade that. Looking for a system to replace my last system which is probably about 5 years old.

Here's what I've come up with for my new PC.

http://secure.newegg.com/WishList/ [...] le=Rocha's

I would appreciate any suggestions and comments.

Thanks.

That's almost the same as my wish list. The only big difference is the HD. Why not get a VelociRaptor???

mine: http://secure.newegg.com/WishList/ [...] r=11725467

You can't use DDR2 memory with the motherboard you selected. I'd go for the Asus P5Q Pro or Deluxe instead.
You won't notice the upgrade in performance with 'standard' DDR3 memory unless you go for PC12800 memory, but needless to say, those come at a price. ($ 294,99 is the cheapest I could find on Newegg - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6820146828 )

Any reason you're getting that motherboard? I don't see the point in paying the extra premium for some of the 'features' you get with the Asus motherboard. I mean like, if you're going to be using the wifi, that's fine...but I've never been a fan of wireless internet when I'm playing fps games x_x. In addition, do you need all those pci-e lanes? Also something you may have missed...that board uses DDR3 ram and you picked out DDR2 in your wishlist.

So instead of the Asus board, I think you should take a look at this Biostar one: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6813138118 . It's got all you need in terms of features, idiot-proof overclocking, decent cooling of the chipsets and mosfets, and will save you a bit of money compared to the first board you selected.

With the bit you save on the motherboard, I'd suggest you get a different powersupply like this: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6817139006 . Granted I like Antec power supplies, I'd get this Corsair instead, because the price/performance/feature ratio. This psu will also give you the ability to drop another 4850 in the system in the future if you want.

One note about the Antec 900, my roommate had one, and he had an sli setup inside, it was a bit cramped with the psu on the bottom. Anyone else notice this too?

Are you going to overclock the processor? If so, consider an aftermarket cpu heatsink/fan. Are you getting a 64bit copy of Windows to support the 4GB of RAM?

Otherwise, besides the few bits I picked out, you have a nice system.

I also agree that you could find a better motherboard but in that price range I would go for this or for a little more this is the board I have and it's outstanding.

I don't see a need for the Raptor I think the hard drive you chose is fine but I might change it to the Seagate 7200.11 500gb because it has twice the cache and a 5yr warranty.

The memory you chose is overpriced and why did you choose DDR2 1066?
This is the memory I have and if your looking for 1066 that is what I would suggest.

DXRick, yeah I wish I had the extra money for the VelociRaptor! ha


Koencalliauw, Oops! Yeah you are right, I meant to add the P5Q Deluxe not the PQ5E deluxe to the wish list. Thanks for picking up on that.

effel, thanks for the input. I will take a look at what Biostar has to offer. I picked that powersupply because it's on for the cheap at a local store here. Around 78 bucks. I haven't thought about overclocking as I've never been really into doing that unless my PC slows down so much that I have to. I have 64-bit Vista and XP. Haven't decided which one I'll use yet.

As stated before Mushkin ram is amazing
mushkin 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 1066
With existing setup your PSU is almost OK
If you'll add another 4850 you'll need more power
Do not forget afermarket cooler

ausch30, I think I will switch the WD for the Seagate. 5 year is better than 3 and the price is pretty much the same. The reason I picked that RAM was it's on sale and has a mir so it brings the price down to 96 bucks.

kad, was going for Corsair because it was cheaper. any recommendations on a cooler?

thanks for all the help

This seems to be the most popular cooler currently, good performance, good price. Just make sure you get this with it.

You said that your not planning on overclocking so you really don't need an aftermarket cooler.

You do realize that there is no such thing as DDR2 1066?

This is why I asked why you chose DDR2 1066
JEDEC sets the standards for RAM and their standard for DDR2 is 400, 533, 667 and 800 all at 1.8v. Anything sold at anything different than that is sold at it's overclocked speed and you will have to go into the BIOS and manually set the memory to those specifications. The processor you are planning on has a 1333FSB and in order to run 1:1 all you need is DDR2 667. My suggestion would be to buy some quality DDR2 800 and underclock it to 667 and tighten the timings, that way you would get great performance and save a few bucks. Most RAM has several settings programmed into them already and to give you an example this is from my old set of RAM

as you can see there are several JEDEC and EPP (Enhanced Performance Profiles) settings built in. The RAM defaults to 800 5-5-5-15 1.8v but is sold as 800 4-4-3-10 2.1v. My suggestion in a situation like that would be to set it to it's EPP setting of 667 3-3-3-10 2.2v and run it 1:1 with the CPU.

Weird thing about Asus ,, some people swear by them other swear at them.

Thanks for all the help guys. I changed my order around a bit.

Here's what I ended up changing.

Switched out the WD for a Seagate Barracuda 7200.11 ST3500320AS 500GB 7200 RPM 32MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM (longer warranty)

Switched out the Visiontek 4850 for the ASUS EAH4850/HTDI/512M Radeon HD 4850 512MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFire Supported Video Card - Retail (30 dollars cheaper)

Switched out the Corsair Dominator for the CORSAIR 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory - Retail (only 66 bucks vs 100)

Thanks again for all your help. I should have my new system up by the weekend!

If you use code VGA7420 during checkout at Newegg you can save another $20 on that Asus 4850 bringing the total after MIR to $145

Also you might want to look at something like this for your RAM, it has the same timings as the Corsair you chose but at the JEDEC standard 1.8v which means it uses better chips.