New Multipurpose-but-mostly-gaming PC

[lanken123]

1. What YOUR PC will be used for. That means what types of tasks you'll be performing.

50% gaming, 50% surfing/movies/music/msn/light photoshopping

2. What YOUR budget is. A price range is acceptable as long as it's not more than a 20% spread

1000-1500 Canadian

3. What country YOU will be buying YOUR parts from.

Canada and one item from the US I think.

4. IF YOU have a brand preference. That means, are you an Intel-Fanboy, AMD-Fanboy, ATI-Fanboy, nVidia-Fanboy, Seagate-Fanboy, WD-Fanboy, etc, etc, etc, you get the picture.

intel right now, but I'm willing to sway over to AMD.

5. If YOU intend on using any of YOUR current parts, and if so, what those parts are.

other than the monitor, kb/m, speakers; no.

6. IF YOU have searched and/or read similar threads.

yes

7. IF YOU plan on overclocking or run the system at default speeds.

YES!

8. WHEN do you plan to build it?

Mid august

9. What resolution do you use?

21.5" = 1680x1050
40" HDTV = 1920x1080 (just for movies)
would like headroom for larger screen thought, 24" possibly.

So basically my old rig which I built a year and a half ago will have a new owner, and since I've been working non-stop since april, I've save enough cash to splurge on myself. before I went for a tower style PC with some ugly components, so this time I really want something eye catching and powerful.

This is what I've chosen so far;

CPU: Xeon X3440 - I understand it's a server processor, but from what I've read so far is that it's known to be the "poor mans" i7 since it support HT, plus it overclocks fairly well which is something I do want.
Mobo: EVGA P55 Micro mATX - Something stylish with abundant of feature I guess.
RAM: No idea, I was thinking about Corsair dominator GT but I'm not sure if it's compatible with the CPU?
Optical drive: standard one I have laying around, it's fairly new and unopened since I bought one with my old rig.
GPU: Either 5850 or 5870, can't really decide
PSU: Looking at the HX850W. I would like the headroom for future crossfiring
Cooling: Corsair H50
Case: Da Box 100 from Lan Gear - this is the one thing I'm ordering from the US. a bit pricey especially with the 55 dollar fedex shipping, but man i love the look.

um...I guess thats it?

[crazyhorsejohnny]

Good choice for power supply. As for RAM take a look at G.Skill. Very good but not expensive like Corsair Dominator.

[lanken123]

Will it be compatible with the xeon?

[_dangtx_]

looking good. id go with a higher end air cooler, that corsair is good but not super good lol...unless you find it on sale at 50 bucks or so

[lanken123]

I think I might be able to get it for 60 through a friend ;) plus, not a big fan of those finned heat pipe coolers...my house is very dusty :/

[Lpfan4ever]

Originally Posted by lanken123

I think I might be able to get it for 60 through a friend ;) plus, not a big fan of those finned heat pipe coolers...my house is very dusty :/

Radiators eat dust much quicker than a tower heatsink does in my experience. I'm for getting a better air cooler, such as the Prolimatech Megahalems or Thermaltake Venemous X. Going into the cheaper end, the Hyper 212+ also does a damn good job if you're not going super crazy on the overclocking.

[_dangtx_]

i dont remember if the h50 beats a 212+ (if yes by how much?) with a not so loud fan :)