First Time Computer Builder Looking for Help on $1500 Rig

[Wein13]

1. I'll be using my computer mostly for my major work (I'm a Com Sci major), though I do my share of gaming, mostly RTS and RPG.

2. I'm shooting for no more than $1500, not including monitors or OS.

3. I live in the U.S. . . don't let that prejudice you against me!

4. I wouldn't call myself a fanboy, but my hard drive experiences have been nothing but positive with WD, whereas half my Seagates have died on me.

5. I have a 250 GB WD I will be reusing, but that will be for extra storage.

6. I've done a fair bit of research in the last week or two, both here and on other sites. I've read a lot of threads, but my situation is my own, and as such, I'd like my build to be my own.

7. I plan to Overclock, though I have never done that either, so I will be taking it slow and doing lots of reading

8. I plan to build my computer within the next month.


Other things you should know:
-I want a Quad, I'm currently looking at the Q9550
-I want my motherboard to be capable of Crossfire, for future expandability
-I want 2 hard drives (250-320 GB) in RAID 1, 7200 RPM is fine
-I want an additional hard drive (500+ GB) for storage
-I want a HD4800 series video card, I'm leaning toward a 4870 at the moment
-I want a CPU cooler
-I'm currently leaning toward the Antec 900 case
-I will be running 2 22" WS monitors

I welcome all input, and if anything needs clarified, please let me know.

 

[cwestwell]

G.SKILL F3-12800 2X2GB DDR3-1600 CL7-7-7-18 $300
DFI LP UT X48-T3R or Asus Rampage- $300
Intel Core 2 Quad Q9550 Quad Core Processor $360
OCZ Vendetta 2 $35
Antec Nine Hundred $100
Corsair HX620W $150
Western Digital SE16 500GB SATA2 7200RPM $85.00
Western Digital Caviar SE16 250GB SATA2 X 2 $130

Total $ 1460 ish ah crap Forgot the GPU damn well 4870 is + $260 soooo $1720 but a solid system but just in case here is another

Mushkin XP PC2-8500 4GB 2X2GB DDR2-1066 CL5-5-5-15$145
DFI LP Dk X48-T2RSB+ $240
Intel Core 2 Quad Q9550 Quad Core Processor $360
OCZ Vendetta 2 $35
Antec Nine Hundred $100
Corsair HX620W $150
Western Digital SE16 500GB SATA2 7200RPM $85.00
Western Digital Caviar SE16 250GB SATA2 X 2 $130
Visiontek 4870 $ 260
Total $ 1505

 

[Wein13]

Ah hell, I forgot to include that I would like a Blu-Ray player in this, too. Sorry about that.

For your build, cwestwell, are those the prices in American $?

 

[Iamcanadian7]

If you plan on running Crossfire in the future, you won't be able to run dual monitors unless you spend some money on a Matrox dual head-2-go.

Also, for a system in the $1500 range I wouldn't suggest DDR3. The second build Cwest quoted would be perfect.

Mushkin XP PC2-8500 4GB 2X2GB DDR2-1066 CL5-5-5-15$145
DFI LP Dk X48-T2RSB+ $240
Intel Core 2 Quad Q9550 Quad Core Processor $360
OCZ Vendetta 2 $35
Antec Nine Hundred $100
Corsair HX620W $150
Western Digital SE16 500GB SATA2 7200RPM $85.00
Western Digital Caviar SE16 250GB SATA2 X 2 $130
Visiontek 4870 $ 260
Total $ 1505

 

[cwestwell]

ahhh I was wondering ... I was thinking of throwing is a combo BluRay DVDRW but I wasnt sure. The Prices are in Canadian they are just the average price of a view different suppliers if you ask the right people these prices should be attainable. Were you thinking of NCIX build or local computer shop or a eTail shop around.

Holy Hell IamCanadian 2 4870X2's wooooooooot

 

[Wein13]

If I do end up going Crossfire, I would only enable it for gaming. Otherwise, I would run one monitor on each card.

 

[3.0charlie]

Another option:





US prices from NCIXUS.com

But it's missing a Blu-ray burner.

 

[Wein13]

Ok, so if that comes to $1500 Canadian, it'd probably run me like . . (finding conversion rate) . . $1410. Could I get a cheaper motherboard in order to make up the difference and get a combo BluRay DVDRW? As far as ordering, I was probably looking at newegg, they seem to have a wide selection, good prices, and low shipping costs.

 

[Wein13]

And as I typed the question, 3.0charlie answered it. Apparently, I could get a cheaper motherboard and free up funds for a BluRay drive

 

[jay51]

i have i lightly used player/burner burned maybe 15 discs only Lg GGC-H20L BLU-RAY HD-DVD Reader BD-ROM 6X Hd DVD-ROM 3X DVD+-RW 16X8X6 Dl 4X Black Sata Software - DirectCanada
from my htpc ,will be listing in buy/sell in next day or so if your intrested