Long time user, first time builder

[VTLeet]

I started programming computers over 25 years ago and have incrementally upgraded many purchased machines, but have never built myself. After a couple years primarily on laptop, I want to get a desktop rig again, and I think it is time to build.

Basic stats:
Building in USA (Vermont) - will mail order supplies, it looks like mostly from newegg

Budget:
Looking to spend around 1,250 - 1,500 or so on hardware, excluding monitor and peripherals, willing to go higher with compelling reason

Mission:
Flight Simulator X is the most stringent current mission. General game machine. Also I am an architect so may use this home system for high end graphics, rendering, Photoshop, etc. in the future.

General Approach:
From what I've seen FSX is CPU bound, not GPU, and supports multiple processors, so I definitely want quad core. I've put together a general system that totals about $1,250 from Newegg (priced most parts around and kept ending up there). It is:

Antec Nine Hundred Steel ATX Ultimate Gamer PC Case (Black)
Corsair CMPSU-550VX 550-Watt
Gigabyte GA-X48-DS5 Motherboard
Intel Core 2 Quad Q9550 Quad-Core Processor, 2.83 GHz, 12M L2 Cache, 1333MHz FSB, LGA775
Corsair XMS2 DDR2-800 ( 2 X 2GB )
Sapphire ATI Radeon HD 4850 TOXIC
SAMSUNG Black 22X DVD+R 22X DVD-R 16X DVD-ROM 2MB Cache SATA 22X
Western Digital Caviar SE16 WD6400AAKS 640GB 7200 RPM 16MB Cache SATA
Vista Home Premium 64 bit

I'll supply keyboard, mouse, speakers. I'll need to purchase a monitor. Right now I'm looking at:

LG L226WTQ-BF Black 22" 2ms GTG Widescreen LCD Monitor

So my questions:

1. Anything key I am missing? I didn't include a cpu cooler, should I plan on that from day 1? I guess I should plan on overclocking, but that is also a new world for me.
2. Any comments on whether that GPU will fit comfortably in the case? I saw some reviews of the Antec 900 that made it sound tight with cards that feed power off the back and the picture of the card looks like that could be an issue. I'd really rather not step up to a much larger case though.
3. I'd like to build to the future so think Vista 64 bit is appropriate. Any comments?
4. The big one: Should I go with a Nephalem 920 setup instead. From what I can see it is about $250 to step up to that level from what I'm already looking at, and that would include increasing memory to 6 GB. OTOH the raw processor speed would actually drop.

Thanks for any input!

 

[ther00kie16]

Well, I'd say since the q9550 and the upcoming core i7 920 are similarly priced, you could choose either one because they overclock to roughly the same speed with the 920 being faster clock for clock. Key is that the x58 will be $200 more than a p45 and ddr3 will be almost $100 more. If you plan on upgrading the processor in the future, it may be worth considering the core i7 despite the extra $300.
For ram, just get whatever's cheap and has decent reviews. Cheapest 2x2gb kits are now <$30 after rebate.

For the price of that TOXIC card (which isn't better than most of the other 4850s because it doesn't have the vapor chamber cooler like past TOXIC cards), you could almost get a 4870. In fact, a 4870 1gb would be about the same price as the 4850 TOXIC if you got one on ebay with live.com 25% cashback.

Everything else looks good though.

 

[VTLeet]

Thanks for the feedback. Looking closer, you are probably correct about not the right video card. I find I don't usually need cutting edge there, so I'll probably step down to something like VisionTek 900241 Radeon HD 4850 512M.

I do think I'll look harder at the Core i7 options. It looks like your analysis of cost matches mine, so I just need to read some motherboard reviews.

 

[DSF]

I don't see any justification for such an expensive motherboard.

 

[betasub]

Originally posted by: DSF
I don't see any justification for such an expensive motherboard.

Agreed. Does OP have a reason for the expensive X48 over the standard P45 equivalent?