Buying a new system today. Need advice and comments.

[Psilent]

Hi there.

Oh look its another new guy looking for advice/suggestions on a new setup! Please forgive me.

Last time I built a computer was 4-5 years ago, a Athlon XP 3200+, x800 Pro, 1gig of ram. I am only upgrading because my psu finally died and I thought it would be a better idea to spend $1500+ on a complete new system instead of $100 on a new psu.

I will be using this for lots and lots of gaming, Unreal ED/Maya and that sort of thing, porn, the usual. So I have been reading up on all the new stuff for the better part of 2 days and have finally come up with something. I would like to keep this system for awhile, 2 years atleast without having to do any upgrades in that time. Budget isnt really an issue but I also dont want to spend 1k on a cpu alone.

Case
Antec Nine Hundred Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811129021

PSU
CORSAIR CMPSU-750TX 750W ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139006

Motherboard
GIGABYTE GA-X48-DS4 LGA 775 Intel X48 ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128336

CPU
Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 Kentsfield 2.4GHz LGA 775 Quad-Core Processor Model BX80562Q6600 - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115017

Cooler
XIGMATEK HDT-S1283 120mm Rifle CPU Cooler - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835233003
and
XIGMATEK ACK-I7751 Retention Bracket - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835233019
and
Arctic Silver 5 Thermal Compound - OEM
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835100007

Video Card(s)
ASUS EAH4870/HTDI/512M Radeon HD 4870 512MB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFire Supported Video Card - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814121258
and
POWERCOLOR AX4870 512MD5-H Radeon HD 4870 512MB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFire Supported Video Card - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814131113

Memory
CORSAIR XMS2 DHX 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model TWIN2X4096-6400C4DHX - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820145194

Hard Drive
Western Digital Caviar SE16 WD6400AAKS 640GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136218

Optical Drive
SAMSUNG 22X DVD±R DVD Burner with LightScribe Black SATA Model SH-S223Q/BEBN - OEM
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827151173

OS
Microsoft Windows Vista Ultimate SP1 64-bit English 1pk DSP OEI DVD for System Builders - OEM
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16832116493

Alright, so first off I am unsure of the processor. I cant decide between Quad or Dual Core (Q6600 or E8500). I put up the Quad because it might be better in the long run but I still dont know.

As for the video cards I am not entirely sure if I want to do a crossfire setup. Is it worth it right now and would I be better off going with 2 4850's? I went with 2 different brands to get 2 rebates and 2 games that I will probably never play. Will this cause a confilt or is it ok because they are both refrence cards anyway? I know that the 4870x2 will probably be released within the next month but I am impaitent

Wasnt sure about the OS, how does that look?

Looking for suggestions on everything, but mostly those that I just talked about.

Thank you.

 

[Psilent]

Anyone?

Still dont know if I should go Quad or Dual Core?

Are 4870's in CF overkill? Would I be fine with 4850's in CF or a single 4870?

Still unsure about the Operating System.

Do I have good enough PSU to run all of this if I go with 4870's in CF?

Am I missing anything like cables or something important I might have completely overlooked?

 

[Psilent]

Ah, so ive found a good read on the Vista OS's and think I will go with Home Premium for $70 less.

Could put that into an extra 4GB of ram. Is 8GB overkill

 

[slayeron444]

If you are doing a lot of gaming, definately go dual core. Games right now only utulize 2 cores anyways. Look at the e8400. I guess it is VERY easily overclocked to 3.6ghz

 

[hyperjoe]

Since your budget seems to be pretty high, I'd go with a Q9450 if you wanted to go Quad Core. The 45nm process and 12MB cache will be more future proof than the Q6600.

However, although I got the Q9450, most people will vouch for the E8400/E8500 for gaming. It's really a judgement call. If you play games that are CPU intensive, then go for the higher clock dual cores. If you play games that are more GPU intensive, then either CPU should be fine.

 

[Wanker79]

Since you're so impatient, go with Tuniq TX-2 instead of the AS5. It's just as good (if not better), non-conductive (so it's safer), and has no cure time.