I'm building a new system, and I just wanted to check to see what you fine people thought about it... get yer input, ya know?


ME: I am building a new system, one that originally started out with a limit of $1600, but then all the new goodies came out, and I just had to have them....

USE: This rig will mostly be used for workstation-class applications, mostly graphics, 3D animation, some 2D, video, compositing, and a little audio.

COMING FROM: I am currently using a
dual PIII 1ghz
786mb SDRAM
2x 20gb IBM hard drives in RAID0 (for video, mostly)
1x 40gb IBM hard drive (for OS and programs)
Sound Blaster Live! 5.1 with Live! Drive
Plextor CDRW (16/10/40A)
Creative 52x CD-ROM
Antec SX1040 with 400watt PSU


THE NEW SYSTEM: (**Prices do not reflect S&H charges, if they exist**)

Motherboard:
Asus A8N-E
nForce4 Ultra Athlon 64(FX) Skt939 DDR ATX Motherboard w/Audio, Gigabit LAN, RAID/Serial ATA Retail [1600/2000FSB, ATA/133, 1 PCI Express x16, 2 PCI Express x1, 1 PCI Express x4, 3PCI, 4DDR DIMM, USB 2.0, Audio, Gigabit LAN, RAID/SATA] RETAIL
I don't have a need for SLI since I am running dual monitors. I also won't really be overclocking that much. A good, solid, fast board that is stable is my top priority.
From: XPCGear, $104.00

CPU:
AMD Athlon 64 X2 Dual-Core Processor 4400+
Dual Core, 2.2GHz, 939-Pin, 64-Bit, 2 x 1mb Cache, Hyper Transport, Bandwidth 14.4GB/s, 90nm SOI, C&Q, Retail
I have been going back and forth between this and the 4600+ a lot; the 4600+ is very tempting becuase I can find it a lot easier. But, many have said that the performance increase isn't that big, so I might as well stick with the 4400+. Getting the retail box becuase I will not be overclocking. Please let me know if a 4400+ exists cheaper than at XPC... it seems like they have the lowest price who is in stock.
From: XPCGear, $625.00

Video Card:
BFG GeForce 7800 GTX OC
BFGR78256GTXOC BFG NVIDIA GeForce 7800GTX Video Card 460MHz/1300MHz 256MB GDDR3 256-bit PCI Express X16 DirectX9.0 Dual DVI/TV-Out HDTV Cable Retail Box
Want to get BFG mainly for their warranty policy. I've had good luck with their products in the past. I would settle for an OEM board, but it doesn't seem like BFG OEMs are too common, and not much less in price anyway. I would REALLY LOVE to find this cheaper (like with one of those nifty Dell coupons... unforunately, I live in NY, so tax ends up being $40+ so it really only pays if I'm getting a price in the $460 range).
From: ChiefValue, $567.00

Memory:
Mushkin SP3200 1GB
991130 1GB SP3200 3-3-3-8, 184-Pin DDR SDRAM Unbuffered DDR 400 (PC 3200) System Memory - Retail
I know this ram is spec'd by Mushkin at cas3, but according to Newegg, "Cas Latency = 2.5" and I've heard of people running it at 2.5 (i think??). Regardless, I'm not looking for uber-fast ram, stability is more important. A BIG, very noticable latency hit would be bad, but I dont think i'll experience that with this mushkin. I am getting 2x1gb becuase I still want to run DDR400 and have 2 gigs in there.
From: Newegg, $80.00 x 2 = $160.00

Optical Burner:
Plextor PX-716AL
Internal E-IDE CD-R & DVD±R Recorder Double Layer (16X) 8.5GB, 6x/DVD+R 8x4x16x/DVD+-RW 48x24x48x/ CD-RW EIDE W/SW (Black) (#PX-716AL/SW)
I know that some don't like Plextor, but my current CD burner is fantastic, and I generally like their products. I know its expensive, but hey, slot loading is damn sexy, and I want it!! Problem is, this product has been delayed over and over again, so I have no idea when I will be able to get it (Mwave.com has a funny listing for the drive: "(NO STOCK - Estimate arrival on 12/31/2009)". In the meantime, I may stick buy its sister drive, PX-716A (same drive, just with a tray) from Best Buy and just return it within a month (hopefully, someone will have it in stock by then).
From: No one yet. $170.00

Disk Storage:
Western Digital Raptor 74gb
WD740GD 74GB SERIAL ATA 10000RPM Western Digital 74GB 8mb 740GD Raptor SATA 10K RPM 8 meg cache
2 of these drives will be in RAID0, probably with the OS on one partition, programs on another. I'm considering getting another drive later in case i run low on space, maybe like a DiamondMax 10, in which case i will put OS and programs on there, and leave the Raptor RAID just for video.
From: Newegg, $166 x 2 = $332.00

PSU:
Antec TRUE550 EPS12V
TRUE550 550W ATX SIZE 12V POWER SUPPLY PS/2 2 FANS LOW NOISE SSI TRUE550 EPS12V / TRUE550EPS12V
Unfortunately, my 400watt won't safely cut it with the new system, so I am upgrading. I am getting an EPS-rated power supply becuase if I ever upgrade to a server-type board (which I was very close to doing this time around) with xeon processors, etc., they need an EPS PSU. It just covers my bases in terms of upgradability.
From: TheBoyz, $90.00

Grand Daddy Total: $2054.00


My only concerns are that the PSU wont fit in the case, but I have called Antec and they assured me it would; also that when I get my Asus A8N-E, it wont ship with the appropriate BIOS for an X2, and I will be stuck with not being able to turn the machine on.

If YOU see any other concerns, see any better prices, have any suggestions on what to get, PLEASE TELL ME!!

THANK YOU!!