Advice on an i7 build (first time builder)

[monkeyswinkle]

After a couple of poor decisions in the past on buying bundled store-bought PCs (e.g. my current ~2002 computer has a ZIP drive... yeah), I have decided to build my own this time around. I've been reading up on everything for the past couple of months, and I think I'm finally sick enough of looking at stuff that I'll go ahead and throw down my proposed build to get some feedback from people who actually know what they are doing.

I'm planning on buying everything this week, assuming that everything looks good. I'll buy primarily from newegg, unless I can save a few bucks at Amazon with free shipping or something. I plan on doing a bit of everything with this computer. Primarily, it will probably be used for applications, and I typically have a few things all running up at once. I also watch movies on it, surf the internet, and I plan to get back into some gaming.

Since my current setup is pretty old, I'm updating just about everything. I already have a new keyboard and mouse. I plan on buying a printer and maybe some new speakers, but these can wait. I'm hoping that, including the keyboard/mouse I already bought (for $85 total) and any potential printer and/or speakers I end up getting, to spend no more than $2000. I tend not to upgrade bits at a time or tinker much with any hardware once I have it going. That may change from now on, but I'm not sure. So, I tend to want to get stuff that lasts, and I lean towards trying to get the best performance for my money. Also, I figure that I might as well try my hand at some modest overclocking while I'm at it.

Ok, here's what I was thinking of getting this week (and how much it currently costs):

Case: Antec Nine Hundred = $104.99 @ Amazon (free shipping)

Power Supply: CORSAIR 650w TX Series = $94.59 @ Amazon (free shipping) - $20 rebate
- Is this enough power? Do I need to up it to 750w?

CPU & Motherboard: Intel Core i7 920 & Asus P6T Deluxe V2 = $553.98 combo + some game included @ Newegg
- I originally thought of going with a Core 2 Duo E8500 build, but it looks like the i7 920 gives some pretty nice performance for a decent price. I also leaned towards overdoing it, after years of a sub-par computer.

Cooling: ZALMAN CNPS9900LED 120mm 2 Ball CPU Cooler = $59.99 @ Newegg (free shipping)
- I should get this if I plan on overclocking, right?

Memory: OCZ XMP Ready Series 6GB (3 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Triple Channel Kit Desktop Memory = $92.99 @ Newegg (free shipping) - $20 rebate

Hard Drive: Western Digital Caviar Black 750 GB Bulk/OEM Hard Drive 3.5 Inch, 32 MB Cache, 7200 RPM SATA II WD7501AALS = $79.99 @ Amazon (free shipping)
- Not sure if I will need 750GB, but it was the best GB/$.

Video Card: EVGA 896-P3-1260-AR GeForce GTX 260 = $189.99 @ Newegg - $20 rebate

Monitor: BenQ G2400WD Black 24" = $359.99 @ Newegg
- This seemed a bit expensive, but just about everywhere I looked picked this monitor with their builds.

DVD Burner: SAMSUNG Black 22X DVD Burner with LightScribe = $25.99 @ Newegg (free shipping)
- I toyed with the idea of Blu-Ray, but decided against it. Maybe later.

OS: Vista Home Premium 64-bit = $99.99 @ Newegg (free shipping)
- I went with 64-bit to make full use of RAM. I'm hoping I won't have driver problems or anything with any of the programs I regularly use.

In total, the Newegg stuff comes to $1382.92 + ~$30 shipping, and the Amazon stuff comes to $279.57.

Are there any glaring issues with this proposal? Any other comments or advice on how I might better spend my money or anything? I'd appreciate any help before I open my wallet.

 

[mailliw]

Bump the PSU up to the 750w if you plan to SLi in the future, incase you get into some demanding games 😛. You could also save $50 by going with the P6T. Also get the 216 core GTX260

 

[Why_Me]

Bump the PSU up to the 750w if you plan to SLi in the future, incase you get into some demanding games 😛. You could also save $50 by going with the P6T. Also get the 216 core GTX260

+1 for that post

 

[the_one111]

Looks good. Now ship it to my home address.

😀

 

[march10k]

Yeah...get the 216...or the 4890. Noctua has a better CPU cooler for a couple bucks more, but that's deceptive, since it accepts two fans, but only comes with the one. NHu12P SE 1366, if you're interested.

 

[monkeyswinkle]

Thanks, everybody. I went with most of the suggestions. I got the 216 core GTX 260 (thanks for catching that), the 750w, and the P6T instead of the Deluxe. I stuck with the Zalman cooler over the Noctua, though, since in the Newegg reviews, people said they had a hard time fitting the Noctua in the Antec 900, whereas the Zalman fit well.

Now I just have to wait...

 

[globalgoon]

I think thats wayyy too much to pay for your monitor. You should be able to pick up a 22" for 200$ no problem, probably less.
Unless you are really in love with the case you really don't have to spend that much money either. You can get a nice simple coolmaster for like 50$
I have a really similar building going on, I don't have specifics on me, but mine came out to just under 1000$ w/o a monitor. That included the same Ram, cpu, ect.. but I'm going with the Radeon HD 4890. If you want to see it let me know, I think I can e-mail you my newegg shopping cart.

 

[globalgoon]

Also, I think that if you are going to be spending that much money you might as well drop the extra 70$ on the blu ray drive?