New build advice please

[photobeans]

Hi Folks.

I'm looking at my second build. My first was a couple of years ago, and it went well enough (thanks to this board) that I'm going to try it again.

My main uses will be photo editing, video editing (HD), and some gaming (World of Warcraft, Guild Wars, that sort of thing).

Here's what I'm thinking so far:

Case: COOLER MASTER COSMOS
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16811119138

CPU: Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16819115017

Mobo: GIGABYTE GA-EP45
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813128358

PSU: CORSAIR CMPSU-750TX 750W
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817139006

RAM: G.SKILL 4GB (2 x 2GB)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820231166

Video Card: SAPPHIRE 100265HDMI Radeon HD
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...Tpk=100265HDMI

I'll be harvesting the DVD burner, hard drives, monitor and other accessories from the current pc.

I'd appreciate the thoughts of the board.

Thanks!

[jdeb]

looks good to me

[glc]

How many IDE devices are you harvesting? That motherboard can only support 2 IDE's.

[photobeans]

I have one IDE hard drive, as well as the DVD burner, so I should be okay? My other hard drives are SATA or external.

[shadowpr]

Drop the ram to ddr2-800. That is more than enough even if you choose to overclock.

You could also lower the psu to 650 or even 550 to save money.

[glc]

That's fine, as long as you are booting from a SATA drive. Booting from an IDE hard drive will slow things down.

[photobeans]

Okay, how about these replacements per shadowpr's suggestions?

RAM: G.SKILL 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820231122

PSU: CORSAIR CMPSU-650TX 650W ATX12V
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817139005

[not important]

The changes look good. That Cosmos case is a little on the pricey side and doors are easily broken but cases are a personal preference. Good Luck on your new build.

[photobeans]

I know what you mean...I haven't decided 100% on the case yet. I like the looks and the sound of the features, but it is spendy. I figure I'll be looking at it for a long time, but I may change my mind yet.

Anybody have any cases they love that they want to share?

[faint545]

Originally Posted by shadowpr Drop the ram to ddr2-800. That is more than enough even if you choose to overclock. You could also lower the psu to 650 or even 550 to save money.

Out of curiosity, why did you suggest to downgrade the RAM?

[Alaron]

Originally Posted by faint545 Out of curiosity, why did you suggest to downgrade the RAM?

To get the best match for the Intel processor's FSB, you can cut the number in half. So it would really be just fine with DDR2-533 but the standard these days is to go a bit over, so DDR2-800 works fine. The extra cash for the 1066 is really not needed unless one plans to overclock by a huge margin.

[glc]

I like the Coolermaster RC690 case.

[photobeans]

Some of the reviewers on the Quad Core suggest getting another cooler. Does anyone have an opinion on that?

Would this be good if so?

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16835186134

Thanks for all the replies so far!

[jdeb]

Originally Posted by photobeans Some of the reviewers on the Quad Core suggest getting another cooler. Does anyone have an opinion on that? Would this be good if so? http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16835186134 Thanks for all the replies so far!

it will void the cpu warranty if you do. the only reason to change the cooler is if you plan on doing heavy duty over clocking. you can still over clock with the stock cooler but it needs to be moderate.

I don't get why so many want to overclock, the cpu works fine out of the box. I play around with it (a little) just to see what all the excitement is about and personally, I find it very boring. I do have a friend who is a enthusiast and I have witnessed smoke coming out of his case... he thinks it is cool, I wish he would just give me the money that he wastes.

[shadowpr]

stick to the stock heatsink unless you plan on overclocking.

[photobeans]

Thanks! I'm not planning to OC, so I'll stick with the stock one.