How-To Geek

Hey, this is my first computer build EVER, it's going to be for gaming
components ive chosen so far are: (im living in canada so the links are to canadian sites, where i plan to buy)
CPU - Intel Q9650
Memory - 4gb (2x2gb) Corsair XMS2 Dominator
HD - Seagate 500gb 7200rpm 32mb cache
Videocard - Ati Radeon HD 4870x2 << the place i'm buying this has only 3 to buy from Gigabyte, Palit and Asus(which is $100 more than the other 2) which do you suggest i buy?
Mobo - i picked a EVGA 132-CK-NF79-A1 i wanted a mobo that i could still upgrade on in 2-3 years, but i still want to see if i can shave off like $100, anyone know of a cheaper reliable mobo with the same flexibility?
Optical Drive - Samsung DVD 20x
OS - To utilize the 4gb memory i picked Windows Ultimate 64, but am unsure if i should just go with Windows home 64 to save like $150?
Case - I'm thinking Antec Nine Hundred

I don't know how much power i will need for this build, so any suggestions would be nice, keep in mind i hope to upgrade maybe 2-3 years down the line, a friend suggested 750W
And i need a suggestion on a nice quiet cpu fan
besides that, are there components that i could change to cut down on the cost? im just about hitting my budget of $2500 but id be happy if i can cut about $500
thanks in advance

thanks rapheonix, but i want to cut my cost

scottw
i didnt notice the ddr2, i guess its an excuse to change the motherboard, i mean i'm never going to use more than one gpu, people have said theres not enough difference in two gpu's to justify the price
i dunno what the asus offers, alls i know its $100 more, can u spot the difference? gigabyte, asus
i put the wrong link for the optical drive it should be this
thing about getting vista is that i dont have a copy of xp, so i would have to buy that AND then buy vista if i were to change it to that later

SSSammy, I'm looking at the 2 video cards, and there is not a lot of difference. The Asus board seems to be mildly overclocked which is probably a bad idea since the 4870x2 is a very hot chip (temperature hot). Overclocking it will just make it hotter and need more cooling and make more noise. The reviews at NewEgg seem to bear this out. I would suggest that you pick the Gigabyte and save the extra money. The reviews also mention that both boards are very long, so you might want to check the measurements in your case.

Glad to hear the plan was for a SATA DVD drive. Were you thinking of the Retail or OEM version of Vista? My suggestion above was that you could get the retail box of Vista and install the 32-bit version now for better gaming compatibility and performance. Later on, when the 64-bit drivers have matured, you could switch to 64-bit Vista. Of course, the retail box is more expensive but you get the 32- and 64-bit versions. You could get Home Premium instead of Ultimate to offset the price bump. I was not suggesting that you run XP.

@rapheonix
didnt mean to sound like i was scoffing your suggestions, actually i appreciate any help, this is my first time post on any pc-help forum, heard this was a very friendly forum me being a newb to all this ;)

@scottw
wow more help than ive gotten from my own friends
sorry, i didnt catch that u meant the 32 vista instead of xp, i was planning on getting oem, but your plan sounds better.
thanks for the psu info

im wondering should i just change my intel Q9650 to a intel Q9550? the ghz is lower but i save $200. not sure if an extra .17 ghz is worth $200. but if i were to do that then theres the question of getting a intel e8600 duo or q9550 since duos i heard are better for gaming. all this makes my head spin

SSSammy, you learn fast. I like the new mobo and HDD. Asus is a good name in motherboards and I've heard good things about the Maximus line. Also, it matches the DDR2 memory that you have already chosen. The Western Digital (Veloci)raptors are known for their speed which is a big plus with only 1 drive in the system.

It's not that the dual cores are "better" for gaming, but few games take advantage of 4 cores today. A Core2 Duo is a better value -- more bang for your buck -- since you can get a higher clock speed with less power consumption and heat generation. Of course, when you do have a game that supports the Core2 Quad, look out! That's 4 CPU cores and 2 GPU cores all working together. It's like the 9-core Cell chip in the Playstation 3 -- lots of little procs doing various jobs. The choice is up to you.

still deciding between the duo or quad, thinking maybe overclocking a q9550
and after reading some intel p45 and x48 benchmark tests with crossfire, and with the x48 outperforming the p45 im really tempted to take rapheonix's advice and wait for the x58