Building A New Rig and Would Love Suggestions =P

[Gwiggles]

Hi fellow Over Clockers!

I'm building a new rig this coming November and have started working out which parts I'm thinking of putting in the beast. Obviously, I'll be using this for gaming and not really anything else. I have lots of experience OCing my laptop (2.4Ghz T7700 --> 2.9GhZ Stable AND 8700m GT 625 Core Clock --> 755 {1540 Shader}) and I'm planning on OCing this system to its maximum potential.

Here is what I was thinking:
Asus Maximus II Formula Mobo (Looks so good amirite?)

Q9550 Quad Core (2.83GHz). How much do you think I'll be able to overclock this? Also, I have the option to get the "EO" version, but I have no idea what this means. lol Can someone help me out with this? 0.o

ATI Radeon 4870X2. Can someone explain to me why all these "2-Slot" cards must have the Cool Looking side facing down? >.> It makes no sense to me; I don't want to see the underbelly of this card all the time, I want to see the cool design on the fan, ect.

300GB VelociRaptor 10k RPM. Is two of these in Raid 0 worth it? Also, If I buy one now, can I buy another later and just install it and start working with Raid 0. Would I have to start from Ground zero to get Raid 0 working if I did this?

Apevia 900W Warlock. I don't know much about power supplies.

OCZ Reaper HPC (2x 2gb sticks). How much do you think I would be able to Overclock these sticks? 1200?...easily?

Asus Lion Square Vapo Bearing CPU Cooler. When it comes to Heatsinks I don't know WTF I'm doing, I just like something that looks good. If you can't already tell, I'm going for a rig that doesn't just perform well, but it looks OMGWTFBBQ cool too.

Samsung Touch of Color T220 22" Monitor. This monitor looks really pretty and has gotten good reviews too.

I'm going for a full tower case with a clear side and lots of airflow. I'm not really sure which yet, but I will find out soon enough. Any case reccomendations? =P

Thanks in advance for those of you that DO give me reccomendations.

Happy OverClocking!
-Gwiggles

 

[WorshipMe]

Here is what I was thinking:
Asus Maximus II Formula Mobo (Looks so good amirite?)

Too right, that thing's a beast I wouldn't be too willing to spend that much on a motherboard with Nehalem and Deneb just around the corner. But if you're willing to spend that kind of money, it's one hell of a board. I wouldn't recommend buying it unless you really know what you're doing OC'ing wise though, otherwise, it just doesn't make sense, and you won't get your money's worth.

Q9550 Quad Core (2.83GHz). How much do you think I'll be able to overclock this?

Depends on the chip, some are better than others. P45's seem to do best with the FSB walls on these 45nm quads though.

ATI Radeon 4870X2. Can someone explain to me why all these "2-Slot" cards must have the Cool Looking side facing down? >.> It makes no sense to me; I don't want to see the underbelly of this card all the time, I want to see the cool design on the fan, ect.

Some cases support inverted ATX, which is basically ATX, upside down, which means the GPU's cooler is facing upwards.

300GB VelociRaptor 10k RPM. Is two of these in Raid 0 worth it? Also, If I buy one now, can I buy another later and just install it and start working with Raid 0. Would I have to start from Ground zero to get Raid 0 working if I did this?

To gain a few seconds in load times? I guess, or for loading a huge image? It depends whether you think the cost is worth it. I don't think it does, personally. How about the Samsung Spinpoint F1? Probably the fastest 7200RPM drive available, for about $100.

Apevia 900W Warlock. I don't know much about power supplies.

For cheaper, you can get the PCP&C 750W Silencer, one of the best PSUs on the market. http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=3247717&CatId=2533

OCZ Reaper HPC (2x 2gb sticks). How much do you think I would be able to Overclock these sticks? 1200?...easily?

They have the Micron D9GMH's. They should overclock pretty nicely, but 1200 might be pushing it. TigerDirect doesn't have a great choice, so that's the best memory available.

Asus Lion Square Vapo Bearing CPU Cooler. When it comes to Heatsinks I don't know WTF I'm doing, I just like something that looks good. If you can't already tell, I'm going for a rig that doesn't just perform well, but it looks OMGWTFBBQ cool too.

Are you overclocking? If you're just starting out, something like the Xigmatek HDT-S1283, or the OCZ Vendetta 2 would be the best choice. If you can afford it, for the extra few degrees of cooling, there is no better air cooler than the Ultra 120 Extreme.

I'm going for a full tower case with a clear side and lots of airflow. I'm not really sure which yet, but I will find out soon enough. Any case reccomendations? =P

Yeah, the Stacker 810 is a brilliant case IMO.

 

[Gwiggles]

Yea, I'll be overclocking as much as possible.

Do you think you could link the "Ultra 120 extreme" CPU Cooler you talked about? I can't seem to find it. If it looks as cool as that Asus cooler then I'm game. I don't really have a budget on this system.

That Stacker 810 does look pretty good but I want something a little more....flashy =P I like LEDs and pretty colors. hehe

 

[jayfella]

That Stacker 810 does look pretty good but I want something a little more....flashy =P I like LEDs and pretty colors. hehe

Do a custom job on it and make it all UV'ed n stuff - fans, cables, etc..

Thats the only way to get a case to look the part, otherwise they all pretty much look the same, but with 2 blue/red LED fans in em.

That case is great for cooling, and thats the most important thing to consider. Looks can be modded, airflow mods are hard and look ugly.

 

[Gwiggles]

Anymore suggestions or does this system look pretty solid as is?

 

[BossBorot]

all the bases have already been covered by past posters so I wont go into to much depth other then reiterating that the only weaknesses of the system you initally posted where the PSU and cpu cooler. As for these parts good alternatives have already been mentioned.


to OCF stick around and you should have a lot of fun tweeking your new system