Would appreciate opinions/suggestions on my new rig

[rapmaster]

Originally Posted by gambel626

...personally I would recommend a different power supply. You should take a look at the Silverstone Strider 750w power supply. With a price match you can get it for 20$ less then the CM PSU. Also do you plan on overclocking your processor?

I would get the Strider Plus instead for around the same price. http://ncix.com/products/index.php?s...e%20Technology

[Smn123]

Ok Markone my mistake.
As for OCing his 5850 I believe it's not worth it at that resolutions,at least yet.When it starts proving itself inadequate only then he should consider it,since there are possible risks,esp if he's a rookie at OCing.Plus by then the card would have payed for a major part of it's budget(it's not the same risking 300$ you haven't yet made use of and risking them after you've been enjoying your purchase for a year or so).
Moreover,I would go with a HAF 932 and add a second Caviar black while saving on a regular 5850,instead of the XXX edition.I also believe it is worth buying a 850-900W PSU if it is affordable since Crossfire might be one of your future prospectives,I think the Thermaltake Qfan 850 would be a good choice.Thought I'm not the best advisor since I haven't used many PSU's and this is more of an impression than a conclusion so more experienced users should help in this.Generally,don't hurry to buy what people will tell is the best buy for your budget and try to choose according to what you need (or will need).Only that is what you will manage to make use of and therefore worth paying for.

[Smn123]

But is the CPU's contribution that negligible?With X58 he will be able to upgrade to 6-core HT processors in the future.Wouldn't they bottleneck his prospective VGA(s) substantially less?

[MarkOne]

How many members here , aside of folders , will really need a 6 cores ?

[rapmaster]

The OP only play games and decode HD video, hexo-core will be more the overkill. Even i5 750 will be better than the i7 920, lower temps, lower power consumption and cheaper. He won't benefit the i7 920.

[mike.mgs4]

Wow, this thread sorta exploded since I checked it last. Thanks for the replies, and I will look into that Strider Plus PSU.

However, a friend tried to dissuade me from building a new rig right now by telling me about usb 3.0 and how right now prices are higher than usual. I don't know about the prices being high, but I am under the impression that usb 3.0 won't become mainstream for another year or so, and even then I could just get a PCIe interface adapter. I know this is an age old question, but should I wait a couple more months?

[Smn123]

For what?There are already usb 3.0 mobos out there,though they should be pricey.Now if prices would drop in two months?I don't think so and you are right about the adapter.As for as new things coming out you know they always do,though there are some transitory periods where bigger changes are made.IMHO these year maybe the next too are such periods.It clearly isn't 2 months we are talking about and I don't think the native support of USB 3.0 is worth a 2 month wait,which might result in an eagerness for an extra month's w8 for nVIDIA.ATI should fit your needs now and new CPU's at your price range will prolly take a long to get released so try to invest on parts that you can keep for some well many years and don't pay attention to the rest of them(parts).It's possibly a psychological dillema IMHO.

[SugarJ]

+1 for the Silverstone PSU's. As for the waiting game, you could wait forever for new tech. Whatever you buy, there will be something new in 6 months. I always ask clients to give me a budget, and tell them I'll build them the best machine possible TODAY within the budget. You've already got a budget in mind, so if you're comfortable spending it, I'd say go for it.

The only parts that I would say are expensive now is the RAM.

Make sure you price match, and check NCIX's weekly sale as well. I know that Windows 7 Premium 64 bit was on for 99.99. I got one.

[mike.mgs4]

I'm looking at the Windows 7 deal right now. But isn't it even cheaper if I buy it when ordering a new rig from NCIX? (I might be hallucinating this part in my head.)

[mike.mgs4]

Alright, I've gone ahead and placed the order. The revised/finalized spec is below:

Case: Coolermaster CM 690 II Advanced - $88
PSU: Silverstone Strider 750 Plus 750W - $122
Mobo: ASUS P7P55D Pro - $180
CPU: Intel Core i5 750 - $214
GPU: XFX Radeon HD 5850 725MHZ 1GB - $345
Memory: G. Skill Ripjaws 1600 2x2GB - $115
Hdd: WD Caviar Black 640GB 7200RPM 32MB Dual Proc - $68
Optical: Samsung SH-S223C - $20
OS: Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit - $100
Assembly - $50

Total: 1463 (incl. tax). Obviously, a few items are awaiting price-match approval. Anyone know if NCIX considers DirectCanada.com acceptable?

A big thank you to EVERYONE for their inputs/suggestions!!!