Building A New Rig, Need Harware Advice

[VoXiNaTiOn]

At long last, after a years wait I've finally got the cash (and the OK from parents lol.)

Here's my planned spec, along with reasons as to why I plan to get that product. I will take into account alternative suggestions as long as they are reasonable and not fan-boyish (as in the age old nVidia vs ATI.)

Mobo - Asus P5Q3 Deluxe. I've gone for this as it has DDR3 support, Draft N WiFi (Not needed for receiving, but it can act as an access point and I want to get my PS3 off of my current Draft b network.) It is also said to overclock like a dream, and it fits the CPU cooler I wish to get.

CPU - Q6600 (All the latest revisions). This rig will be overclocked, and from what I've read this is the CPU to do it on and the cheap price (I will buy OEM from another site) it allows me to ramp up other factors of the PC.

CPU Heatsink - Thermalright Ultra 120 eXtreme. One of the best air cooling solution around, it will be tied to a Scythe S-Flex 1600RPM fan to get the most out of the Q6600. Will be coupled with Arctic Silver 5.

GFX Card - Asus GTX 275. One of the cheaper 275s, if it doesn't come in stock then I shall most likely go to the next cheapest non-value (The Palit) one. I am aware that the 4890 is cheaper, however the little things such as PhysX and Ambient Occlusion are what tempt me here, along with a bad record with ATI.

Case - Antec Nine Hundred Two. Am buying this as it looks good, cools brilliantly, fits my CPU Cooler, and has dust filters.

RAM - Corsair XMS3 4GB DDR3 @ 1333Mhz. From searching around, this seems to be a good choice to go with the motherboard, plus adding a RAM fan later will add scope for further OCing. These will also easily allow me to clock my Q6600 to at least 3Ghz (1333Mhz FSB.)

PSU - Corsair TX 650W. Trusted name, has all of the connectors I need, will allow me to OC easily. 'Nuff said.

C Drive - 2x Western Digital Caviar Blue's in RAID 0 for OS and Program Files. Provides ample space, is a known brand and will work with the Drive Xpert (RAID for dummies.) Note that the noise doesn't bother me as I wear headphones.

Data Drive - Western Digital Caviar Black 640GB. Will give me enough space for all of my photoshop stuff, plus I am a bit of a collector (I don't really delete things.)

Optical Drive - Samsung DVD-RW With Lightscribe. I have no need for BluRay currently, and lightscribe will come in very handy for me.

Screen - Samsung T240. Looks awesome, perfect 24" size and has HDMI for my PS3 if I feel the urge, and has HDCP for when I get the BluRay drive.

Mouse - Logitech G5. Awesome mouse, loads of buttons and is wired. Perfect.

Keyboard - Logitech G11. Programmable buttons, has a nice feel and blue back lighting. Fits my needs perfectly and I don't have a need for a G15, and I don't like the orange backlights.

The OS will be Vista Home Prem, it serves my needs perfectly and I'm willing to spend a while tweaking it.



Well, that's my plan, I'm going on holiday tomorrow so I planned to leave this open to discussion and check up on it before I buy the weekend I get back (should be the 25th.)

Thanks in advance for all the help, Vox.

[MonkeySoldier]

Instead of the GTX 275 (which is just a GTX 260 216 on steroids, source) you can take the EVGA GTX 260 216 Superclocked,which is:
- Just as fast (I haven't read anywhere in the source I linked to, that they used an OC version of the GTX 260 216, and the superclocked version has 100Mhz OC, so it has an even faster core clock then the GTX 275, and the memory clock is only slightly slower)
- Cheaper
- EVGA has better costumer support then ASUS (experienced myself)

Other then that the system looks fine to me.

[VoXiNaTiOn]

The EVGA GTX 260 SSC was the original card I had planned, so I may switch back to it, depending on what the prices are like when I get back. Also, thanks for including a source, makes for good reading.

[VoXiNaTiOn]

So I take it other than the GCard the rig looks solid?

I will be buying soon and will keep you posted.

[MonkeySoldier]

Seeing the pricedrops, a GTX 275 is only 5 pound more expensive. So you could take a GTX 275, if you want to.

[MonkeySoldier]

Edit: Doublepost

[Robbi]

Pics when it arrives

[SocketMan]

You can get 4 drives 512gb each and use RAID5 .Will give you ~1.2tb
in drive space+performance+fault tolerance

[VoXiNaTiOn]

Just put in the £1,400 order, due on Wednesday the 6th, will post pics when it's here!