Advice on a Q9550 Build

[Skruch]

Hello all! This is my first post although I've been lurking here for a month or so. I've been planning this build for quite some time now and I will be ordering parts within the next few weeks.

1. This build will be for gaming/music/movies
   
2. $1700 is the upper limit
3. I would prefer to order everything from NCIX and price match
4. I'd like to avoid ATI, Seagate, and Acer
5. This is a completely new build (I have a keyboard, mouse, headphones, and speakers)
6. And finally, I'm hoping to OC the CPU to 3.6 or 3.8

Right now with NCIX's weekly sale and price matching I've put this together:

• Intel Q9550 -- $384.05
• OCZ Vendetta 2 -- $29.11 (after rebate)
• ASUS P5Q Pro -- $134.98 (after rebate)
• G.Skill F2-8000CL5D 4GB -- $55.67
• BFG GTX 260 maxcore OC2 -- $293.99 (after rebate)
• Asus Xonar DX -- $84
• Samsung Spinpoint F1 1TB -- $108.99
• Samsung DVD-writer -- $23.98
• Corsair TX650W -- $94.59 (after rebate)
• Antec 300 -- $52.18
• Samsung T240 24" LCD -- $309.85 + $15.49 zero dead pixel exchange

So all-in-all with taxes it'll be $1666. (I'm hoping that if I order by phone I could negotiate free shipping)

I'd get a couple extra case fans and some MX-2 from a buddy.

I have a couple questions though:

1. I've read that the Xigamatek Crossbow mounting kit might be a good idea to get. Is this really necessary for performance/less stress on the MB or is it just a convenience thing? There's 2 versions of it and the 3 pipe one seems to be unavailable.
   
2. This is pure speculation but with AMD releasing the Phenom IIs tomorrow, and Intel announcing their 65W TDP quads soon, would the price of the 95W Q9550 really change significantly in the next few weeks?

Any suggestions/advice/thoughts would be greatly appreciated.

[Neolithium_Wpg]

1 - If the crossbow mounting kit is out of stock you can always check for the thermalright bolt thru kit and that will work just fine. Both the Bolt Thru and Crossbow give you a more secure mount on your HSF.
2 - I doubt there'd be any real significant change in the next little while, except for some sales to move stock. Most of what the companies probably have shelved right now were still purchased when our dollar took a dump on the consumer. Then again my crystal ball broke :/

[1Tanker]

I think you'll see the C2Qs(Q9450/Q9550) drop ~$20 by the end of January. Looks like you'll have yourself a great rig. Just out of interest, i figured out your order without the MIRs, and it comes to ~$1662+Tx. With tax, it'll be ~$1745...i hope you can afford that(your stated max was $1700..so close)...as you'll have to pay it upfront, and counting on that many MIRs is almost a guarantee for troubles on some. I also don't see an OS on the list... do you already have one? If not, VISTA Home Premium64 would be your best bet for future "OS Longevity". GL

[Skruch]

Thanks for the quick replies! The TRU Bolt Thru kit is actually cheaper than the Xiigmatek crossbow kit, although it's backordered . I saw some reviews this morning on Toms and Anandtech about the Phenom II and yeah, I guess the Q9550 won't drop that much too soon. So I think I may just go ahead and order this afternoon!

About the MIRs, I've never had problems in the past but then again, I've never done 4 at once. I do realize it's more upfront but I think I can manage it. Hopefully I can get free shipping...

Oh yes, and I already have vista x64

[Gregory]

You can get Q9550 for 309.99 from Newegg.
Newegg.com - Intel Core 2 Quad Q9550 Yorkfield 2.83GHz 12MB L2 Cache LGA 775 95W Quad-Core Processor - Processors - Desktops

[Skruch]

Woah, my heart almost stopped when I read that, but then I checked the link and the price is in USD. Whew... anyway, it wouldn't have mattered since UPS should be delivering today .

I can't wait to build this, although I'll be using the stock cooler for now until NCIX ships me the bolt thru kit for my xigmatek s1238.

[Eagle Eye]

Greg, Canadians currently don't get to share in the better US pricing since our dollar tanked, cheapest Q9550 I have seen is 349.99 plus tax.

Comparable newegg.ca price Newegg.ca - Intel Core 2 Quad Q9550 Yorkfield 2.83GHz 12MB L2 Cache LGA 775 95W Quad-Core Processor - Processors - Desktops

EE