New to system building and Anandtech

[Silent Thunder]

Overview

I am primarily going to use my PC for gaming and watching TV/Movies, though primarily gaming. Though require large hard drive for music collection. I plan on playing on a 22 inch at 1680x1050 res. Also a TV card to plug in console(xbox/ps2) via AV cable.

I live in Australia so the prices are generally higher than typical of Newegg prices(no international shipping) and the recently weakened AUD.

I will be buying parts from a local supplier in melbourne (probably cpl)

My current computer is a 2007 model T60 laptop which just doesn't cut it for new games.

I have read multiple threads and seen very similar builds to mine, though a final look over from the community would be much appreciated.

I will definitely be planning on OC'ing and i think I have already caught the bug! I have been pouring over various threads regarding Oc'ing and troubleshooting.

I plan to build the PC in the next two weeks. My budget is approximately $2000

Current proposed build

E8400 -$269 (8500 is $295 and 8600 $425, Q9400 $399, Q9550 $489)
Corsair C5(2*2GB) 800mhz -$125 (1066- $225)
P5q pro - $175 (EP45-DS3 - $169)
WD 640GB SATA II - $115
Asus Powercolor 4870 1GB PCS+ - $429 (512MB 4870 $369 4850 $225, gtx260 $399)
Winfast DTV-1000S $35 (DTV2000 $75)
Microsoft KB+mouse $29(g15 KB-$89, G5 mouse - $67)
Samsung DVD-RW-$32 (LiteOn $25)
Antec 300- $89 ( Antec 900 $185, C/Master RC690 $149)
C/Master Extreme 650W- $99 ( C/Master Realpower 650W- $155, Antec Neopower 650W- $169)
Zalman CNPS9500A LED $69 ( Thermaltake max orb $69)
Asus VW224U LCD- $275

Totals: $1741
Feedback would be much appreciated with suggestions of other components I've included in brackets to see relative prices or any other components not listed.

Prices listed of components can be seen at
http://www.cpl.net.au/greenguide/20081106-web.pdf
if you'd be kind enough to suggest a better solution than what I've come up with.

Cheers in advance.

 

[Blain]

This is a little off topic, but I'm curious.
I see you are a new member here to the forums.

Could you please tell me how you ended up finding & joining the forums here?

Thanks and welcome.

 

[Silent Thunder]

Well I mainly started looking for advice all ofer the web on general computer hardware and OC'ing. I narrowed down to tomshardware and Anandtech. I chose Anandtech due to the wide variety of in-depth articles it publishes and the what I've seen as a friendly and helpful community.
Thanks for the welcome

 

[Blain]

Thanks for the reply.

Did you look into the TechReport forums? Just curious again.

 

[Silent Thunder]

haha
yeah i did and narrowed down to Anand by the crude measurement of no. of posts and the layout.
*grammar

 

[Blain]

I ask because I'm addicted to The Tech Report podcasts. :laugh:
Working at my non-tech job, the podcasts are like a tech fix for me

 

[Silent Thunder]

Well I can say you're good at picking a noob when you see one. Thanks for the link to the podcasts, looks to be ahead of all the other junk out there and nice link for your "fix" hehe.

 

[Blain]

Ok, here we go for an OC'd gaming/media PC...

CPU: The E8400 would be nice if you didn't plan on OCing.

A better candidate to save $$ on and squeeze MHz, would be the E7200 or the E7300 if you wanted to push a bit more.
Both are 45nm CPU's, so heat is very manageable. They are reasonably priced and will OC with little to no extra core voltage. Personally I'd pick the E7200, dial up the FSB to 333 and be happy with a cool running 3.16GHz rig.

Memory: Corsair DDR2 800 is a good option.

Personally I'd pick modules that are rated to run on 1.8-1.9v.

MB: Asus P5Q Pro

To each his own. I'm more of a Gigabyte fan myself.

HD: WD 640GB

I'm assuming you're looking at a WD "Blue" version. "Blue" is fine, but I'd grab the 32MB "Black" if I was starting fresh, since it's only a few bucks more.

Video: Asus 4870 @ 1GB.

Since your resolution aren't going to be extreme, I'd save some $$ and buy the 512MB version.

DVD: Samsung 22X

Nice solid drive. Get the SATA version if you can.

Case: Antec 300, 900 or CM 690

Both the Antec cases have good function and would be good picks. The CM 690 is also well designed.

PSU: CM Extreme 650, RP 650 or Antec NP 650

Those wattages would serve you well and give your system some buffer on power. Personally I'd get a PC Power & Cooling 610W, Silencer 750W or go with a Corsair 650TX.

Cooler: Zalman 9500 or TT Max Orb

If you're going to OC to an extreme level, fine get the Zalman. But if you're OCing to a reasonable GHz. I'd go with an Arctic Cooling Freezer 7 Pro or the TT Max Orb.

Monitor: Asus VW224U

Sorry, but I'm a (178° x 178°) viewing angle fan.

 

[Silent Thunder]

Thanks so much for the input, I really appreciate it and have been convinced to save on an E7 and a 512 4870.
I'll definitely have to check out other suppliers to check out the Freezer 7and the PSU's.
Thanks again and I'll be sure to post an update when it's all built in a few weeks.