I am looking to build a computer for light gaming, movies/video.To last for a few years. The i7 needs to come down in price. And I want to learn over clocking slowly. Here is what I am looking at. I would like your advice. motherboard:GIGABYTE GA-EP45-UD3P PSU: CORSAIR CMPSU-750TX 750W ATX12V / EPS12V cpu:Intel Core 2 Quad Q9650 3.0GHz 12MB L2 ram: OCZ Reaper HPC 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 1066 (PC2 8500) Dual Channel Kit: (x2 for 8GB) Video card: EVGA 512-P3-N871-AR GeForce 9800 GTX 512MB 256-bit DDR3 Hard drive1:Western Digital Caviar Black WD5001AALS 500GB 7200 RPM 32MB Hard drive2: Western Digital Caviar Blue WD1600AAJS 160GB 7200 RPM 8MB DVD: LITE-ON Black 24X DVD+R 24X DVD-R SATA Black 24X DVD OS: Microsoft Windows 7 Professional Full - Retail
I think your best going for an i5 system. The OCZ RAM is cheap. Better video card for $5 more. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102849 Why 2 Hard drives? Get a WD 1 TB Caviar Black and be done with it.
The Q9650 CPU was amazing for its time, but it's now really an upgraders choice, not someone building a new system. The Core i5 750 is cheaper, faster, more efficient, etc. etc. and is strongly recommended for a new system Amend the CPU/Mobo/RAM to Core i5 750 Gigabyte P55A-UD4 2x2GB Corsair XMS3 PC3 12800 (1600mhz) CAS9 The video card is also a poor choice as it's an outdated card that uses a tonne of power and isn't very powerful. The HD4870 Xplorer posted is at least 30% faster, uses less power and costs almost the same. The hard drive choices are fair enough, as two physical drives can often be useful, but drives as small as 160GB are a real false economy, you may as well get a 500GB considering how little extra it will cost you. The PSU is fine, but you're missing a case. You'll need one!
Why does it seem more people go for the i5 750 @ 2.66ghz than something faster like the i5 670 @ 3.46? Am I missing something here? Or isn't it worth the 100 bones?