Opinions on this build please (first timer)...

Going to be building my first system some time in the next few months. Will be used for heavy gaming and general use.

This is what I have so far:

Xclio / Meridian Technology A380PLUS-36 Black Tower Computer Case

http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/Xclio...s-Screwless-w-

Corsair TX 650 W Power Supply (PSU)

http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/650W-...Fan-ATX12V-v22

Gigabyte GA-MA770T-UD3 AMD 770 AM3 Motherboard

http://www.scan.co.uk/products/Gigab...3Gb-s-RAID-ATX

AMD CPU Phenom II 965 Black Quad Core Processor

http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/AMD-P...he-125W-Retail

2x 2GB (4GB) DDR3 RAM StickS PC3-10600 • CL=9 • Unbuffered • NON-ECC • DDR3-1333 • 1.5V • 256Meg x 64 •

http://www.crucial.com/uk/store/list...=GA-MA770T-UD3

Pioneer DVR-S18LBK 22x DVD±R, 12x DVD±DL, DVD+RW x8/-RW x6, RAM x12, SATA, Black, Retail Labelflash -

http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/Pione...ail-Labelflash

1TB (1000 GB) Samsung Spinpoint F3 Hard Drive - HDD

http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/ss1TB...-89-ms-NCQ-OEM

XFX HD 5850 Graphics Card

http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/1GB-X...I-DPplusAssins


Extras:

2x 2GB RAM Sticks (to give me 8GB of RAM)

http://www.crucial.com/uk/store/list...=GA-MA770T-UD3

HRU-215A3 - Scan Black Floppy Disk +Int Combo All in 1 Card Reader Fits 3.5" Bay USB2

http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/Scan-...ts-35-Bay-USB2

Edimax EW-7128G 54Mbps Wireless PCI Card - £11.32

http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/Edima...eless-PCI-Card

or maybe a PCI-E Wireless card.

Antec Easy SATA - Hot Swap HDD Caddy with e-SATA Port - Fits in 5.25" Slot - 1x 3.5" SATA HDD

http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/Antec...1x-35-SATA-HDD

I DO NOT NEED OS (have 64 BIT OS), Keyboard, Mouse, Monitor etc.


.......................

Questions:

1. Does all this look ok?

2. Is it best to go for 2 smaller hard drives? What setup would be best. I currently have 64 BIT XP Pro but I might buy WIN7 64 Bit and have a dual boot system.

3. Thinking about the future, I may want to do crossfire. The motherboard selected would not support this.

Should I go for this now:

Gigabyte GA-890GPA-UD3H AMD 890GX AM3 Motherboard

http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/Gigab...Gb-s-SATA-RAID

This would support crossfire, already has USB3 and faster SATA. I want to go for a Gigabyte board 100%.

4. Is 8GB worth it or should I stick with the 4GB for now?

Thanks for looking, I think this looks a good system with a good price. But would really appreciate input as this is my first build and have probably overlooked something.

Cheers!

If you're not going to use two GPUs get a smaller wattage PSU and save some cash. (500-550W is more than enough)

Cut down the 965 to a 955. The saving might not be much but its for only a 200mhz loss which can easily be made up bu OCing.

there are 5850s about for about 190iirc. I would have a hunt around.

Unless you really like the case there are more options for the price. Check out the threads on here.

Mobo is pre-order which may delay your order. If you go for the better one then seriously consider an i5 build as the price difference will be much less

Thanks for the input.

I'd like a more than capable PSU in case of future upgrades, plus I tend to go mad adding extra hard drives and optical drives, so I think 650W is a good fit for me.

Good point on the 955, will look into it.

I really like the case designn and have got it for £52 delivered.

Would prefer to stick with AMD as I have always had my systems as AMD, but will investigate.

Thanks again.

AnandTech has a useful bench for CPUs and graphics as well now. Lets you get a rough idea of how much difference there is bewteen processors at stock speeds.

http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/88?vs=109

it would be handy if you could tell us what resolution you game at with that monitor and also, what is your budget for this build?

Don't really know on my budget, I'd say £800 max.

Monitor is 19" widescreen, but I have two of them. Also like to connect to my 40" TV every now and again (but rarely, so don't consider that a factor).

However, that's not to say I wont get a bigger standard monitor in the future and play at a higher res, I want to be future proof...well, as much as one can be in this ever changing game.