Building a $1500pc need some advice and help please and ty

[nadbor]

APPROXIMATE PURCHASE DATE: as soon as we all agree (or by Saturday which ever comes 1st) BUDGET RANGE: US$1600capped

SYSTEM USAGE FROM MOST TO LEAST IMPORTANT: Gaming, Video editing, home movies, would like to be able to DVI out to TV to utilize netflix. Current TV has DVI inputs 60inch flat panel. (but that is not a priority, if I can that is great if not no big deal)

PARTS NOT REQUIRED: Monitor(Acer P243W 1920x1200), mouse(Microsoft SideWinder HKA-00001), keyboard, HD (WD Caviar blue 320gb - WD3200ksrtl) I plan on picking up 2 WD 500's next month but for this build they are not need atm.

PREFERRED WEBSITE(S) FOR PARTS: Newegg.com mostly but I have ordered from other places if needed

PARTS PREFERENCES: I have always used Nvidia GPU's and have never had a problem with them. I have never used a ATI/AMD GPU in my life so I am nervous about drivers and such. 6 of the 7 PC's I built for me have been Asus boards and (knock on wood) I have never had a problem with them. Currently using WinXP Pro Ver2002 SP3. All my previous builds have been AMD CPU's but now Intel is the winner to me.

OVERCLOCKING: Yes just not extreme SLI OR CROSSFIRE: Maybe/but not for a while

MONITOR RESOLUTION: 1920x1200

ADDITIONAL COMMENTS: With a wife and 3 kids I rarely have the chance to upgrade my pc. Well this is the year I get to upgrade and I want to do without loosing my mind. I have read so many threads here and I like the fact that everyone has their own opinion and are straight forward. Conflict can be a good thing if it shows positive results in the end.

HISTORY/CURRENT SYSTEM: Last build (current system) GA-K8ns Ulrta-939, BFG6800OCGT 256 AGP, AMD64 3200+, 2gig of Corsair Pro series w/the led lighting. Hey that was the bling bling back in the day. I have built around 50 systems so far for friends and family but that was awhile ago and I know things have changed alot since then.

I would like to build a PC that I am not going to have to worry about "HAVING" to upgrade to run games and in a couple years. My son and I game a lot together and we have a blast doing it.

First I would like to talk about the OS to be 100% honest Vista makes me nervous with all the BS that I read and the troubles my friends are having. I like a simple OS not one that is going to prompt me every single time I do something. Now if it is easy to tweak out Vista like XP then I would have to reconsider. I know this also puts limits on how much Ram I can use with my new system. Plus is it actually worth getting VIsta now with Win7 on the way?

Ok enough of that here is what I have so far on the system build:

Case: COOLER MASTER COSMOS 1000 RC-1000 $189.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119138

PSU: CORSAIR CMPSU-750TX $114.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139006

CPU: Intel Core i7 920 $274.00
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115202

CPU cooler: CoolIT Domino A.L.C. (does come with hardware for Intel 775/1366 and AMD AM2+) $79.95
http://www.performance-pcs.com/catalog/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=59_202&products_id=25081&zenid=67b22085f7a3dab3cceaacee42e0474c

Everything below here is where I am having difficulty choosing and would like advice. Not saying I am already closed minded with the above mentioned.

Memory: Here is the choices by OS
XP = CORSAIR DOMINATOR 3GB (3 x 1GB) $107.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820145225
Vista64 = CORSAIR DOMINATOR 6GB (3 x 2GB) $187.00
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820145224

MOBO: Ok here is the motherboard I really like due to the fact I can over-clock and I am able to convert the board over to watercooling. I am sure I will never run 3GPU's but I would like the option to run 2 down the road.
ASUS Rampage II Extreme $398.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131352

GPU: EVGA 01G-P3-1280-AR GeForce GTX 280 1GB $334.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130365

Total system cost are:
$1514.95 with the 3gig of ram
1594.95 with the 6gig of ram

Only problem is I would have to buy Vista64 and that would put me over 1600 without shipping.

Also I would like to say after reading these forums for I do not know how many years this is actualy my 1st post here.

 

[Transmaniacon]

Upgrade to this PSU: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139009&Tpk=850tx

Change to this CPU Cooler: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835103055&Tpk=v8

Save 100 bucks with this motherboard, unless you are going for record breaking overclocking, this will get the job done quite well: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131346

That 100 bucks can get you Vista Home Premium 64-bit: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16832116488

This is also a great case, its very roomy and has excellent cooling: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119160&Tpk=haf%20932

You can save a little money that way, or, drop down to this case: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119137

And upgrade the graphics card to this: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130447

 

[theAnimal]

Change the GPU to GTX285 for $320AR.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130442

Change the RAM to G.Skill lower voltage DDR3 1600 for $110AR.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231225

The Xigmatech Dark Knight cooler performs very well and is only $40.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835233029

And welcome to the forums.

 

[xthekidx]

Vista is a very good OS now that SP1 is out, before then is where all the horror stories come from. The new format of OS takes a little bit to get used to, but after a week or so you will be glad you switched...that is how my story goes anyway. DX10 is only available with vista atm and it looks so much better than DX9 if you compare them side by side...XP just looks bland by comparison. You can tweak Vista to disable the features you don't need which will make it run smoother and give it a more XP like appearance if that is what you want. I highly recommend you get vista to unlock the full potential of your new BEAST

I like all of theAnimal's suggetions, the V8 is better than the Xig but the xig is more value for the money you pay, either one will do great.

I would also upgrade to the 850tx if you think you will SLI, the 750w will be cutting it close.

Look at microcenter.com for your case, whichever you decide you want to go with. They generally are 10% or more cheaper there than newegg. (all of the above suggestions are very good, including the one you were looking at, they just have different things to offer.)

On the mobo; the P6T Deluxe V2 is my recommendation. I like the spacing of the X16 slots better than the rampage for SLI and it overclocks like a champ...and $100 cheaper than the one you were looking at. The rampage isn't worth the price, unless your bank account is bottomless.

Go with the GTX 285 that theAnimal linked, great value there and it will be a better fit for your monitor if you like to have all the eye-candy turned up

Here is my favorite memory for the i7, I currently use it and it is awesome. It is a great value for the price you pay when compared to those corsair dominators.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820227381

So those are my recommendations. If you are REALLY opposed to going with vista, then you can get XP Pro 64bit, which will allow you to install as much ram as you want, but I still would highly recommend you go with Vista home premium.

 

[nadbor]

Ok I bumped up the 850PSU and the V8 CPU cooler. Thanks for the links transmaniacon. Is there a reason no one likes the coolit for a PSU cooler? I thought it would help keep the temps more consistant and the things is getting awsome reviews.

As for the GPU I am going with the GTX285 theAnimal linked that is one heck of a deal. Thank you

As far as memory that OCZ has some nice low timing and is a lot better deal than the corsiar. thank you
@xthekidx is the only differance between P6t deluxe and the V2 is that the V2 does not have the SAS Controller?

And yes I am going to upgrade to Vista Home Premium SP1 64.

As far as the case I am going to go with Cosmos as I have wanted this case since the day it came out. I have been drawing up exactly how I want to custom paint it and tweak it... lol and microcenter is a lot cheaper. Plus there is one right on my way to one of my sites I need to go to today.

Thank you for all the advice and I will update the orginal post with everything later on today need to get on the road before traffic starts.

 

[xthekidx]

Yeah the V2 lacks SAS, but its the newest version of that board which makes one think that maybe there was an underlying problem with the original...since you want this thing to last, I would go for the revised version of the board, which just happens to be $10 cheaper. And SAS isn't really used much except for servers, most people don't need SAS.

 

[kubes]

Really great start to a build. Looks like you've done your homework

If your not planning on doing upgrade until its the point of getting a new pc, then I'm going to disagree with the 850 psu. It'd be overkill. Unless your dedicated to picking up an extra graphics card then stay with the 750 which is cheaper.

The ram kits that xthekidx linked are an amazing deal for ram. I'd reccommend heavly on picking those kits up. The dominators would be helpful if you planned on doing some extreme overclocking but as you commented that's not your plans. Not only that but the ones linked will OC fairly nice anyways.

For motherboard another verison of that same board is this one: Asus P6t Its not the deluexe verison but it'll save you another $30 bucks. Just in general don't go with the extreme board, I don't think your needs and wants suit for well for that board.

Are you looking for your price to be below 1600 before or after rebates/shipping?
(i'm actually shooting to get a GTX 295 in this rig.)

 

[nadbor]

@xthekidx thx for in the info on the differance in versions.

@Kubes $1600 is my total price including shipping for the rig. I do not even take into account mail in rebates as I have learned over the years they do not always hold up.