1st build attempt, looking for input

I've never built before, but I've been reading up on components for weeks, and I'm pretty sure I have a decent selection. There are still some things I'm just not sure about, though.

I'm aiming for something to run games at 1920x1200 on a 24" monitor. I haven't overclocked before, but I'd like it to be an option. Ideally I'd like my system to hold up for 3-4 years. I'd like to keep the tower budget around $1200, though I wouldn't rule out going higher.


Case: Antec Twelve Hundred
Probably bigger than I need right now, but I won't have to worry about space.

PSU: Corsair 650TX
Some people swear by modular PSU's, is there any benefit to them other than cable management? I'm not sure they're worth the price jump for me. Some PSU cables come up short in full tower cases, I don't know if these cables are long enough.

Video Card: Asus EAH4850
Not really sure what brand to get, this is just the cheapest one right now. I don't know if this will be adequate for 1920x1200, and I'm not sure if I would be better off with a 4870 or crossfired 4850's. 2 4850's sound like a better value, but I know 4850's run hot, and putting 2 of them together kind of concerns me. The 4850x2 could be good if it ever comes out. 4870x2 seems too expensive.

CPU: Intel Core 2 Duo E8400
I've seen this recommended countless times. Q6600 would be an alternative, but it sounds like Duo suits my needs.

Motherboard: Asus P5Q Pro
$35 off combo with E8400... I see a lot of people use the Deluxe, but I'm not sure what it offers for the price.

Memory: G.Skill 4GB PC2 6400
The PC2 8000 version is only a few dollars more, but I don't see motherboards listing compatibility with that, so I'm not sure how good it is.

Heatsink: Tuniq Tower 120
I don't know how good the included thermal compound is.

Hard drive: WD Caviar 640GB
Seems highly recommended. I don't think raptors or RAID make sense for me.

DVD: Samsung 22x

Wireless: D-Link b/g
I'll probably have to use wireless for a while; this doesn't seem to have issues with Vista like some wireless cards.

OS: Vista Home Premium 64-bit

Sound Card: I haven't picked out anything... is it worth it?


I think that's all the parts, unless I'm missing something. I guess my main concerns are what video card(s) I'll need to play at high settings at my resolution and what motherboard makes sense.

Your research has done you well. For your GPU's, a 4850 isn't going to cut it at that resolution. Twoi 4850's is the best deal but they can be bottlenecked on a P45 due to the drop to 8x in crossfire. I am not sure if it is affected at that resolution or only higher. There is a nice thread I belive Brollocks did in the GPU section you should take a look at. The thermal paste that come with the TT is fine. I would go with the PC8000, as you said it is only a few dollars more for a lot more headroom. It will work fine in that motherboard. Also I wouldn't worry about a sound card unless you have a really nice set of speakers or headphones. The onboard stuff is very good these days.

case : be sure you want big my case atm is too big for me, wish I had got a smaller 1

PSU : should be fine, modular is only really sueful for smaller cases where space is an issue, otherwise you can just hide the cables behind the mobo tray

video card: as ou says, 4850 wont cut it at that high resolutions really, personally id recomend the 4870 then if in a year or 2 you want a cheap upgrade you can get a 2nd

CPU: seems fine

mobo - dont know much about this 1 specifically, but basically id say P45 if you want to overclock and X48 if you want crossfire (if you want both then youll have to make your own choice)

memory: seems fine is that 2x2gb or 4x1gb? (if its 1x4gb then make sure your mobo supports it) id recomend 2x2gb as this allows space to upgrade

rest seems fine
sound card as said above, if you want much of an audiophile then there isn't much need to buy one atm.

I did read through Brollock's topic about crossfire 4870s, as well as the link somewhere in there about 4850s, and it sounds like the difference between p45 and x48 is marginal at 1920x1200. I suppose future games could change that, though.

If I were to get an x48, I guess I'm not sure which one. Asus Rampage Formula seems to be a top choice, which is considerably more expensive than the p45 P5Q Pro, but maybe that's not the best choice for p45 anyway?

If a 4870 would stand up on its own for long enough, then maybe it would make sense to get that then crossfire it once those drop in price. Is there that much of a difference between 2 4870s and 2 4850s though at 1920x1200?

The memory is 2x2GB yeah. I'll go with the PC2 8000 model.