My first ever build.

[longaadoc]

1. What YOUR PC will be used for. That means what types of tasks you'll be performing.

Moderate gaming, watching movies/videos, some work related stuff and internet surfing.

2. What YOUR budget is. A price range is acceptable as long as it's not more than a 20% spread

1200$ max.

3. What country YOU will be buying YOUR parts from.

USA

4. IF YOU have a brand preference. That means, are you an Intel-Fanboy, AMD-Fanboy, ATI-Fanboy, nVidia-Fanboy, Seagate-Fanboy, WD-Fanboy, etc, etc, etc, you get the picture.

No preference

5. If YOU intend on using any of YOUR current parts, and if so, what those parts are.

Logitech G9 mouse and G15 keyboard.

6. IF YOU have searched and/or read similar threads.

YUP

7. IF YOU plan on overclocking or run the system at default speeds.

I am planning to OC my E8400 to 4 Ghz (maybe not right away as I still need to read up about OCing).

8. WHEN do you plan to build it?

within a week or so

So, here is my planned build.

Antec 900 case - 70$ (after 40$ MIR from newegg)

Asus P45 Pro and ati 4850 combo deal - 277 (after 30$ MIR from newegg)

G Skill 4 GB DDR2 1000 - ~90$ (from newegg).

E8400 - 160$ (from microcenter)

PSU - ????

BenQ 2400VD - 379$

Arcatic cooling freezer pro - 27$ (from newegg)

Optical Drive - ~30$

Hard drive- ???

I am planning to run CF in the future and possibly upgrade to Quad-core once prices drop further.

Specific questions I have....

1. Will it be better to get Antec Sonata III for 100$ (w/ 500W PSU and case) or just get antec 900 and buy a better PSU as I am planning to CF in the future and OC my CPU.

2. Any good rec for hard drive and optical drive?

3. Is mobo an overkill/underkill for my OC and CF needs? Is P45 Delux much better than this mobo for OCing?

 

[modoheo]

Looks fine. If you want to overclock to 4GHz, you're going to need a better cooler though. The Xigmatek 1283 will give you a better shot to make it there than the freezer pro:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16835233003

A 500+ watt good-quality PSU should be plenty for your build. Personally I like to build in a little extra headroom, so I'd go for something like this - a great deal after MIR:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16817139005

Here's the best deal going and the general universal HD being recommended these days:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16822136218

I assume you have a copy of windows already?

 

[DSF]

The Corsair 520HX has plenty of power for what you're doing and is on sale now at Newegg for a very good price.

For the hard drive, the value of the Western Digital 640GB is tough to beat.

 

[longaadoc]

Do you guys think that 550W PSU will be enough for this build (considering that I will OC and possibly add CF).

There is a combo deal at newegg with the ram that I am planning to buy. Any input on this PSU?

http://www.newegg.com/Shopping...emList=N82E16820231145

 

[modoheo]

The thermaltake toughpower series is pretty decent, but I'm not sure about that one. Didn't see any reviews anywhere either. I'd stick with one of the Corsair's recommended above.

If you really think it's likely you'll crossfire, I'd recommend you upgrade your motherboard to get the full benefit (X38 or X48 chipset). The least expensive mobo that will let you crossfire at full speed is this one:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16813136051

If you're going to Crossfire and overclock, I'd definitely go at least 650 W or more on the PSU - the Corsair 750 W would be better yet.

 

[longaadoc]

Thanks for the replies. I have a tight budget of 1200$ so I might have to cut some corners somewhere.

Here is my updated build.

Antec 900 - 70 $ (after 40$ MIR)

http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16811129021

Corsair 650TX 650W PSU - 80$ (after 30$ MIR)

http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16817139005

E8400 CPU - 170$

http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16819115037

XIGMATEK S1283 CPU cooler - 27$ (after 10$ MIR)

http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16835233003

XIGMATEK retention bracket - 7$ (I hope this is the right one)

http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16835233019

G Skill DD2 1000 4 GB RAM - 85$

http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16820231145

Western Digital 640GB SATA HD - 90$

http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16822136218

ASUS P5Q Pro and ATI 4850 GPU combo - 277$ (after 30$ MIR)

http://www.newegg.com/Special/...&item=N82E16813131299+

Samsung Optical Drive - 28$

http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16827151154

Arctic Silver 5 Thermal compound - 6$

http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16835100007

TOTAL = 840.89 (after 110$ MIR)

SHIPPING = 14.55

GRAND TOTAL = 865.44

This is WITHOUT OS (i still need to buy a 64bit Vista) and LCD monitor.

I was originally planning to buy 24inch BenQ 2400WD but it costs 379$ and will easily stretch my budget.

I will need an OS for sure, which is another ~100$. So I might downgrade to 22" LCDs which are lot cheaper. Only thing is that I won't have the full glory of 1080p