going solo and need help

[argoldst]

Ok, I have decided to assemble my very first computer (did a lot of upgrades and etc but never a complete system).

I need some help picking out some parts. Really, I want to get the best quality/performance parts. ALso, I want to keep the system as quite as possible. My current system is just too loud but I am leaning against watercooling.

Here are my specs so far:
amd x2 4800
2 bfg 7800gtx sli
2 74 gig WD 10,000 hard drives in raid0
Asus® A8N-SLI Dlx. Nvidia® NForce® 4 (or should I go with gigabyte)?

I want 4 gig ram but not sure which brand to go with.

No idea on the case (maybe Thermaltake Shark Series VA7000BWA Full Tower).

No idea on the power supply (maybe an antec)?

No idea on what fans to get.


Any recommendations or changes you would make would be greatly appreciated.

 

[n0cmonkey]

Budget?

Do yhou need 4GB of ram? What are you planning on doing witht his system?

 

[argoldst]

no real budget, I can go kind of crazy.

I just want to future proof it (that is why 4 gigs)

 

[suicidalpigeon]

get x2 4400 and oc it since you're oc'ing with watercooling (zalman?). you only need 1 7800 atm. so just buy one now and purchase another one at a smaller price and when you really need it. 2 raptors in raid 0 = no thnx. just get a 7200.8 seagate 250gig. asus is fine. 4 gig? are you nuts? or are you photoshoping or osmething. 1 gig is fine, corsair or ocz. lian li for the case, dont know which one you would like. antec for the psu. and a couple of nexus 80mm's or 120's if your case fits it from jab-tech, svc, or directron. dont remember if directron sells them. have fun.

 

[suicidalpigeon]

technology progresses to fast to have a top of the line computer and consider it "future-proofed".

 

[Snoop]

Forget the RAID 0 and raptors. If you have tons of cash, which is odvious, go for something more exotic and faster. Personally, I would go with 3 15k rpm SCSI drives in a RAID 5 array. At the very least, consider getting two more raptors and run them in a 0+1 raid configuration for some Data redundancy. Straight RAID 0 is for newbs
Also, do you really need sli 7800's?

 

[n0cmonkey]

The only technology that is future proof is dead technology.

 

[CreativeTom]

I think that case is all wrong if you want to keep it as quiet as possible, you need to look at another case especially if money isn't an option....check out some Lian Li cases. I think everything else looks OK, especially if you have the money to burn, I would however maybe go with something other then the Raptors. I think maybe go with some Ultra320 15k SCSI drives and nice controller card for them, set them up in a RAID5.

 

[suicidalpigeon]

why is everyone posting something similar to the post already stated before them?

 

[Mrvile]

Ok first, get only one 7800 like everyone's been saying. If you wanna get a 4800 that's fine but I'd stick with just a 4400 myself (even if I had your kind of money). Two 74's are fine but personally I think they're a waste. And don't get any more than 2GB ram, you won't need it (4GB ram doesn't futureproof anything). As for the motherboard the Asus is good or you could get the MSI or DFI ones. Those are the top three imo. The Shark case is fine (albeit fugly as hell). For a PSU make sure you get at least 550w from a good brand (Antec is good, so is Enermax, OCZ, PSP&C, etc).

And wtf, are you stealing this or something? Even if you were rich as hell it's kind of a waste to get such an expensive computer. You're definately better off getting an average 1.5k comp and upgrading or rebuilding every two years than getting a 5k comp and upgrading every four or five years.