Rate and help with my draft build

[esky]

I made a draft build based on suggestions from my old thread and other posts. Still have questions and would like some opinion. To reiterate, I'll be using this primarily for development in Adobe suite, office apps, video editing, 3D (Maya), some gaming, all with two 19in LCDs.

Case
I guess I'm open to other suggestions? This one seems fine though.
COOLER MASTER RC-690-KKN1-GP Black SECC/ ABS ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - Retail - $79.99

1. CPU
Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 G0 2.40GHz 8MB L2 - $285.99
Does newegg gaurantee the G0 stepping?

2. PSU?
CORSAIR CMPSU-520HX - $100.99
OR
CORSAIR HX CMPSU-620HX - $136.99 (-$25.00 MIR)

3. DVD
SAMSUNG DVD Burner with LightScribe - OEM - $33.99
OR
without LightScribe - $29.99
... just curious if this "LightScribe" really makes a difference?

4. MOTHERBOARD
ASUS P5K DELUXE/WIFI-AP LGA 775 Intel P35 ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail - $199.99

• RAM DDR2 1066 / 800 / 667 MHz but seems that 1066 is only up to 2GB?
• 2 PCI Express x1 slots
• SATA RAID 0/1/0+1/5
• eSATA 2 x eSATA 3Gb/s

OR
ABIT IP35 Pro LGA 775 Intel P35 ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail - $179.99

• RAM DDR2 800
• 1 PCI Express x1 slot
• SATA RAID 6 x SATA 3Gb/s offer by Intel ICH9R support Intel Matrix Storage Tech(AHCI & RAID0/1/5/10)
• 2 x eSATA 3Gb/s through JMicron JMB363 support 0,1JBOD RAID function
• eSATA 2 x eSATA 3Gb/s

OR
GIGABYTE GA-P35-DS4 Rev. 2.0 LGA 775 Intel P35 ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail - $179.99

• RAM DDR2 1066
• 3 PCI Express x1 slots
• SATA RAID 0/1/5/10 Matrix RAID

The Abit and ASUS boards are very similar, so the notable difference seems to be ASUS has 0+1 RAID, 2 PCI Express x1 slots, and DDR2 1066, but that's not fully supported? Abit only has one PCI Express x1 slot, but RAID 10 and eSATA RAID. My questions is then, what would I use the PCI-E x1 slots for, do I need 2? Is DDR2 1066 something I want to use and compromise 2GB vs 4GB of DDR2 800?

5. VIDEO CARD
EVGA 512-P2-N773-AR GeForce 8600GTS 512MB 128-bit GDDR3 PCI Express x16 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card - Retail - $179.99
OR
MSI GeForce 8600GTS 512MB 128bit GDDR3 PCI Express x16 HDCP & SLI Ready Video Card Retail NX8600GTS-T2D512EZ HD - $174.99 (-$30.00 MIR)
They appear to be the same card, but does one cooling solution seem better than the other?

6. HDD
Seagate Barracuda 7200.11 ST3500320AS 500GB 7200 RPM 32MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM - $119.99
OR
Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 ST3320620AS (Perpendicular Recording Technology) 320GB 7200 RPM 16MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM - $84.99
Does the 7200.11 offer a significant performance improvement with the 32MB Cache? I might get two of whichever I pick either right away for RAID, or hold off and do RAID later...

7. RAM
Please suggest some RAM options, I guess I'm aiming for 4GB.

Thanks for any comments or suggestions!

 

[Dangman]

1) No, newegg does not guarantee G0 stepping. ClubIT.com does though:
Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 G0 Stepping CPU - $278

2) All you need is the 520W. Though the 620W would give you more headroom for future upgrades

3) Nah, Lightscribe doesn't make a deference.

4) IP35 Pro

5) Drop the 8600GTS. The HD 3850 absolutely rapes the 8600GTS and it's $10 cheaper:
VisionTek Radeon HD 3850 256MB PCI-E Video Card - $170

6) Not too sure. Will check back with you later

7) Good choice for RAM:
A-DATA 4GB DDR2 800 RAM - $70

 

[tiraides]

6. The Seagate 7200.11 is the better drive out of the two due to its 32MB cache, but you won't see a drastic difference in performance (unless you had an 2MB cache in your last HDD, you wouldn't see more than a 15% improvement). Here are some reviews on the 7200.11 drives from The Tech Report (for the 750GB drive) and AnandTech (for the 1TB drive).

If you do get a 7200.11 drive, there are a few of them that don't fully utilize the 32MB cache... but a firmware update will fix that problem. (That, along with HD noise, is the most common complaint about the new drives.)

If you want a quieter hard drive, go with one of the Samsung SpinPoint HDDs. Seagates are generally preferred for their five-year warranties, but they also perform (generally) better than the Samsungs. It's a trade-off between noise and performance.

Also, if you are planning to use RAID, don't use RAID 0 for your OS drive. Unlike the other RAID configurations, RAID 0 doesn't protect your data, so if one drive goes bad, all of your data could be lost.

 

[esky]

5) Drop the 8600GTS. The HD 3850 absolutely rapes the 8600GTS and it's $10 cheaper:
VisionTek Radeon HD 3850 256MB PCI-E Video Card - $170

There seens to be a difference between PCI Express and PCI Express 2.0... the ATI card requires 2.0, but all 3 of the motherboards I listed don't mention 2.0... is it implied that those motherboards have PCI Express 2.0 and are compatible with the HD 3850?

Also, looking at Tom's hardware charts, why does the memory of each card seem so unimportant? i.e. 256mb cards beating many 512 cards and vice versa....

 

[engiNURD]

There seens to be a difference between PCI Express and PCI Express 2.0... the ATI card requires 2.0, but all 3 of the motherboards I listed don't mention 2.0... is it implied that those motherboards have PCI Express 2.0 and are compatible with the HD 3850?

Also, looking at Tom's hardware charts, why does the memory of each card seem so unimportant? i.e. 256mb cards beating many 512 cards and vice versa....

PCI Express 2.0 cards are backwards compatible with PCI-E 1.1 slots. The only boards with PCI-E 2.0 right now are X38 and nForce 780i. Though, with these midrange cards, it doesnt really matter if you're using a PCI-E 1.1 slot with a PCI-E 2.0 card.

VRAM can only take you so far... you need to have the GPU that can take advantage of large amounts of VRAM.