Im going to risk it!!

[lots]

I'd look towards the Geforce 7900GTO, as it should be a better performer than the 7950GT, and cost a bit less. If you can find one :P

As for PSU, Seasonic, Antec, Enermax, Silverstone, and PC Power and Cooling are good picks. Seasonic are pretty nice, and Enermax's Liberty is good if you're looking for a modular supply. PC Power and cooling is the best money can buy, Silverstone is a bit noisy but does get the job done well.. and Antec, is the cheapest I'd consider for a PSU... Something from one of these companies in the 500W range is more than enough for most any system. Expect prices for these supplies in the $65 to $100 range (USD).

Cases I find are personal preference. But My current favorite right now is the Antec SOLO.

Also check your motherboard, you want either a 965 based chipset or a 975X based chipset...

[Simon]

if you can get it on budget go for an antec p180 case. I have one and its the best case I've ever had. id say about 80% quieter than a standard cheapo case. And lots of big fans give it great airflow.

[lots]

The Antec SOLO (aka. P150) is a rework (mostly fixing the problems) of the P180.. Just FYI. It is slightly smaller though, so if size is a concern...

[motoxpress]

I second the recommendation on the Enermax Liberty PS. It makes building a lot easier by eliminating uneeded cables and being able to plug them in as you need them. It is also really quiet.

I think the Antec P180 is currently on sale at many places so give that a look.

-gl

[newman]

Nice to see a fellow product designer on the boards. The config looks good - I agree with lots about the GTO, also about the Enermax Liberty PSU - I own a 500W version, and it's great. I personally use Chieftec's LCX series midi tower, here's how it looks - http://den.pl/images/obudowa_chieftec_lcx_01sl_sl_b.jpg
Nice, simple design, plenty of space, easy HDD, DVD and floppy drives mounting, and good cooling options - works great for me.
As for the Christmas price drops - since you're in UK, and I'm in Croatia, what I'm about to say may not apply. Here prices do indeed drop around Christmas - but not for everything, just the 'most popular' (in other words, cheap and crappy) stuff. If you were here, I'd tell you to just go ahead with your purchase, since you're building a good and somewhat pricey system. But in UK.. you should know :)

[KittyKat04]

Hi guys my eyes are rolling been on the net most the night looking at recomendations youve all made and am real thankful for your input.

Did a search on the 7900GTO and looks like its a favorite amoungst many people and some very good reviews and recommendations....a touch more pricey at £230 but hey what can you do.

Also looked back at the motherboard i originally listed and thinking about changing to the Asus P5w Delux SKT 775, again some good reviews but ive heard it has some issues with particular RAM.
So i popped over to the extremoverclockers forum which has a long thread going on this particular mother board and seems people using this MB with G-Skill PC6400 Ram are having less complications.
But again these guys are overclocking their machines and not sure if its something i want to do....im mean really for what im using my machie for will i see any benifits from a slight over clock?? Just not sure if the MB & RAM ive chosen is an over kill for my uses.

Regarding the PSU looked into both Sea Sonic S12 500w and the Enermax Liberty 500w. With you guys all backing the Enermax and good reviews it would be rude for me to go with this so thanks.

I agree with you Lots on the case being a personal thing. The Antec P180 has always been a favourite of mine and the Antec Solo is nice too, looking at the Chieftec's LCX recommended by Night train im all confussed and spoilt for choice now ..dam lol!! Ive seen two others cases which i like also. But as well as the looks keeping the system cool with good air circulation is also important to me...so its going to have to be a balance between form V's function here. So still deciding on this one, but will keep you posted on what i pick and will post to get some feedback off you.

To be honest the case will be my last desicion im just concerned about the MB and Ram at the moment so if i can have your help here guys il appreciate it.

Nightrain I rekon your going be right about prices only dropping in items most popular and cheap crapy things...so im just going to go ahead once im sure with the set up.

Ok so far then:

Intel Core™2 Duo Processor E6600
Asus P5W DH Deluxe
Geforce 7900GTO
G-Skill PC6400
Enermax Liberty PSU 500W
320 Seagate Barracuda 7200rpm
NEC AD-5170A-0B- (DVD Writer)

Ok i do have a few other queries hoping you guys can help clear up for me.

Im planning to run 2 monitors with the 7900GTO to help with 3d modeling work will this card be ok with that?

Also ive been suggested it mite also be worth including a Western Digital Raptor 74GB for the operating system and programs and to use the seagate 320GB to just store work...whats your guys opinion on this?

Im mostly concerned about the MB and Ram at the moment so if i can have your help here guys il appreciate it.

Also seems people using the Asus P5W DH motherboard are also using heat sinks and further cooling is this somthing i need to take into account? Or again this due to the overclocking they are performing? The forum and thread is linked below which ive been looking into regarding MB and RAM.

http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums...ad.php?t=110193 (http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/showthread.php?t=110193)

Just want to say thanks to Lots, 99sproth, Nightrain, Motoxpress and everbody else reading the post appreciate your input, sori if some my questions are nobby!!

Thanks

[lots]

Third party cooling that finds its way onto a motherboard generally is placed there to improve cooling for overclocking purposes. In almost all cases, the motherboard's stock setup is just fine.

Enermax is a good PSU brand, but Seasonic is also very good. The difference here is a modular supply vs a non modular one. Personally the Seasonic I have installed on a friends computer was quite nice. Very heavy, which is a mark of quality in a PSU... I have also installed the Enermax Liberty, and the modular design is really good for keeping clutter down and airflow up. Its also a fairly heavy supply, though not quite as heavy as the Seasonic. They were about the same wattage if I recall... None of the brands I've recommended feel cheap, so really anything within those brands is most likely a good unit.

As for RAM, if you have no intention of over clocking, there really is no point in getting high end RAM. Personally I'd get a good value end brandname (Corsair Crucial Kingston OCZ, etc..) that is listed on your motherboard's RAM compatibility chart. This should end costing noticably less.

A Geforce 7900GTO should be more than capable of running 3D apps on multiple displays. I have a 7800GT (one of the first 7 series revisions) and a 24" flat panel (1920x1200) + a 19" CRT (1600x1200) and have not had any slowdowns when modelling or whatever.

In my experience, investing a little money in good quality parts goes a long way to avoid having hardware issues down the road. The major players tend to be PSU, RAM, and motherboard. That with cooling and a well maintained OS install, should make for a fairly solid stable system. ASUS is traditionally a good brand to buy from. If OC is not your path, you can also take a look at Intel's own boards. These are pretty reliable, though with fewer bells and whistels (for the price). I have been using a few Abit boards lately and they have all been great, granted they've all be on AMD systems.

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