Some well valued opinions needed

[Guest flightsimmernick]

Hi all, Some of you may have seen my previous posts on here asking for help! I have spent the last month or so trying to bring myself up to speed on the latest and greatest in the world of computer hardware. I have now put some components together for a new PC for myself. You may have seen from my earlier posts that I am now involved with a business that have employed me to do video editing work. Although the main priority of this PC is to do video editing work, I am also hoping (if and when I get any spare time ;-)) to use it for gaming sessions including FS9! I would be interested and grateful to see any one's opinions or suggestions? **Processor

[Guest wayupthere]

Hey Nick,Yeah, that seems like a good setup balancing money/performance.Few things:CPU: Q6600 but try to get the G-stepping (better thermal performance, yields higher potential overclock)Mobo: Good board, can't go wrong with Asus.The thing right now is are you willing to fork over the prices for DDR3 now or not. If so than you might need to search again for one that supports it. This particular board is a very nice board, stable and good OCer potential. DDR2 right now gives best bang for buck, DDR3 isn't quite there yet.Its a personal thing where one can't easily advice on, have a look around and see if you can justify to yourself DDR3 prices vs. DDR2 and its future compatibility.HDs: Raptors are very nice drives, and when getting one go with the largest capacity, no point in getting the older tech based and lower capacity 74GB.With that said, there are other options for 10k drives too, look around if you prefer another brand over WD. as to RAID-HD, If you are not familiar with RAID, stay away, If problems arise it will leave you clueless. RAID can be tricky for many.Just go here for a good overview, what you should look for when buying a Hard drive:http://www.pcworld.com/article/id,125778-page,3/article.htmlGPU: 8800GTX, great card but could be overkill depending on the resolution its going to display.. If only displaying 1680 a GT will do more than fine.In anycase, have a look at the link below for more details, and opinions: http://forums.extremeoverclocking.com/show...ad.php?t=243453Soundcard: Onboard is good, and many people claim its better than standalone. Well there is def. an improvement over the old onboard and todays board do an "ok" job.....BUT, if you are an avid gamer and want the absolute max performance out of your CPU (meaning no cpu-cycles being "stolen" by the onboard sound) get a standalone card. It does make a difference, without going into details, I personally only swear by stand alone.CPU Cooler: Default Intels coolers are fine cooling the die on their stock speed, but for better performance and specially with Overclocking get a 3rd party cooler like a Scythe NINJA, ASUS Silent Knight or similar. One of many good sources you'll find here:http://www.xbitlabs.com/articles/coolersAnd even if you don't overclock, a 3rd party cooler isn't a waste, as lowering the overall thermal temperature should increase the CPUs lifespan.Monitor: After having seen LGs 22ers at the recent Computex, I'm pretty sure you will love it, I was never a big fan of LG, but their latest lineup produces excellent visual quality. But again, always match your display based on your choice of GPU, or at least find one that comes close to matching.PSU: Read the following articles, as marketing can be very confusing, and will make many people buy the "wrong" PSU.Most importantly, you will need the correct plugs and RAIL requirements. Follow the articles below to get yourself somewhat up to speed.http://www.anandtech.com/video/showdoc.aspx?i=2870&p=18http://www.pcpower.com/technology/mythshttp://www.extreme.outervision.com/psucalculator.jspHope this helps you along,Regards,

[Guest flightsimmernick]

Hey Davis, Thanks for having a look at this for me. I have written a few comments based on your suggestions below.CPU - Yes I have been trying to find out if the company I am looking at provides the G-stepping version of the board as I have read about performance increase with this versionMobo - IU have received some mixed reviews about this board but most seem to be positive and I am happy with this board as well as having DDR2. I didn