Evaluate my i7 build

[georgexi]

1) What will you be doing with this PC? Gaming? Photoshop? Web browsing? etc
Gaming @ 1080p, watching HD movies @ 1080p, basic computer use (web, word/excel, occasional photoshop, spider solitaire lol)
Want this machine to last reliably with no upgrades for 4+ years

2) What's your budget? Are tax and shipping included?
No specific budget but as cheap as possible without sacrificing quality

3) Where do you live?
PA (a Microcenter within driving distance)

4) What exact parts do you need for that budget? CPU, RAM, case, etc. Please be very specific.
Everything for just the system. Monitor/speakers not needed

5) If reusing any parts, what parts will you be reusing? Please be especially specific about the power supply. List make and model.
None

6) Will you be overclocking?
Yes but not heavily. What's a reliable overclock if I want this system to last 4+ years? I'm also a OC noob :-/

7) What size monitor do you have and/or plan to have?
1080p plasma (HDMI/VGA), 1920x1200 monitor (DVI/VGA). I'd like to be able to toggle easily between the two

8) When do you plan on building/buying the PC?
within the next 2-6 weeks. i'm buying the parts now as i find good deals

9) What features do you need in a motherboard? RAID? Firewire? Crossfire or SLI support? etc.
OC support. Maybe RAID-0 (see my HD notes below). Decided I'm going 1-GPU so don't need CF/SLI

10) Do you already have a legit and reusable/transferable OS key/license?
No



Here's what I have/on order:
CPU: i7 920 ($211 from Microcenter)
Video: BFG GTX 285 ($294/$269AR from Dell)


Here's what I'm leaning towards:
RAM: G.Skill 3x2GB DDR3 1600 ($90)
Motherboard: Asus P6T ($250/$230 after combo w/RAM)
HSF: Xigmatek Dark Knight-S1283V ($40)
Case: Antec Nine Hundred Two ($123.49) . . . pricy but I like the look and it has tons of cooling fans
OS: Vista Home Premium 64-bit ($99)


Here's where I'm undecided:
Keyboard/Mouse: any recommendations for a blue-tooth or 2.4ghz set? When conected to my plasma, the kb/mouse would need to work from 15+ feet away
PSU: should I go 650w or 750w? There's a PC P&C 750 on sale right now ($100/$70AR). Should I get that or a Corsair?
DVD Burner: haven't decided if I'm going SATA or IDE yet.. i thought i read somewhere you can't run RAID if a SATA DVD drive is connected
CPU paste: assuming I should get Artic Silver 5. again I'm an OC noob
Extra Fans: should I get a side-mounted 120mm fan?

HD: WD6401AALS 640GB vs 2xSSD 30GB Raid0
I have a separate file-server running 24/7 so disk-space isn't an issue. I could probably get by with only 60gb for OS/apps.
But would 2xSSD performance be justified for the extra cost? My gut impression is no but any tips would be nice

Any tips/suggestions regarding the other parts would also be nice.

 

[engiNURD]

Looks fine to me. Either PSU would work fine and both are of good quality, so go for the cheaper one.

Ditch IDE all together, get a SATA optical drive. Samsung and Asus drives are quiet and fast, from my experience.

MX-2 or AS5. MX-2 is non-conductive and doesn't require cure time, but its not as easy to spread around as AS5.

If you need any, get some medium or low speed Yate Loon 120mm fans from jab-tech.com or petras.

HDD... unless the 30GB Vertex OCZ SSDs are slower than the 120GB versions, the RAID0 dual 30GB array would smoke the single Caviar Black.
http://www.hardforum.com/showpost.php?p=1033928895&postcount=183 (link to main thread for Caviar scores on the top right)

 

[PC_User]

1. Go with the WD6401AALS over the SSDs.
2. The PC P&C 750W for $70AR is a great deal.
3. Choose Arctic Cooling MX-2 instead of Arctic Silver 5.

Otherwise looks good.

 

[engiNURD]

Oh, to clarify my earlier post, the OCZ Vertex SSDs are probably your best choice if you want SSDs, fast as Intels but much much cheaper. The cheapest I've seen the 30GB version was $90AR (yesterday and once before that). Considering even those prices, the WD6401AALS is still your best bang for buck.

 

[georgexi]

thanks for the tips guys.
i placed an order for that PCP&C last night.

i also decided i'm going with the WD6401. there's a combo deal with that drive + Vista basically bringing the price of the WD down to $55. the cheapest OCZ 30GB Vertex I could find is $140. would be cool to boot up Windows in 10 seconds and load apps lightning fast but $200+ is too steep.

and what the hell.. the price of that RAM jumped $5 today and the MB doesn't have free shipping anymore. does NewEgg read these forums and adjust prices when they sense people are about to buy??

 

[PC_User]

and what the hell.. the price of that RAM jumped $5 today and the MB doesn't have free shipping anymore. does NewEgg read these forums and adjust prices when they sense people are about to buy??

Would be funny. Apparently they have some automatic system that adjusts the price according to the demand for a product.