Critique my new build component choises

[Zozobra]

Hi, I'm building a new desktop since my old one blew up last week :(
Anyway I've not kept up to date with hardware developments since I built my old box in 2005. I'm looking to build a machine that will mainly be used to audio work (I'll be buying a separate interface, focusrite saffire pro 40) and a spot of gaming. Because of the audio work I'll be sticking to XP for now until a decent DAW and interface drivers comes along for vista (thus the 2GB of ram). I want to keep the budget to around £600 and I've selected the following components, annoyingly the PSU is out of stock so I'll have to wait for it to be restocked.

The list:

OCZ 2GB PC3-10666 DDR3 Gold (2x1GB)
Cooler Master CM-690 Dominator
320Gb Samsung HD322HJ F1 SATA
OCZ 500W ModXStream Pro Modular Power Supply PSU
Intel Core 2 Quad Q8300 2.50GHz 1333FSB (Retail 775)
Asus P5Q3 iP45 Socket 775 Motherboard
nVidia GeForce GTS 250 1GB PCI-E 2.0 Ret

So are these good choices? Would you change anything?

Cheers
Ian

[Lynx]

Gigabyte GA-MA78GPM
2x2gb PC2 8500 OCZ ram
320GB samsung F1
CM-690
OCZ StealthXstream/modstream 500w+
AMD phenom II 720
http://www.aria.co.uk/Products/Components/Graphics+Cards/PCI-E/ATI+Radeon+4000+Series/XFX+Radeon+HD4870+1GB+PCI-E+2.0+?productId=34717
That 4870 is miles faster than the 250 for a few pounds more.

[mac124]

Yeah i would recommend against the q8300 for a ground up build its basically old tech now.

[Zozobra]

Cool, Thanks guys. Anything else I should look at?

[Lynx]

If the new spec is under budget I would say get a 500gb hard drive, and higher spec psi.

[Monkey]

Cool, Thanks guys. Anything else I should look at?
In my opinion i would either look for a cheaper quad like a Q6600 or buy into new tech, such as an i7 or the Phenom 2's

Oh and a samsung spinpoint F1 will serve you well, fast large capacity and very quiet which i guess is important for audio work, less interfereance when recording

[Zozobra]

OK, I'm looking at this setup now:

AMD Phenom II X3 720 Black Edition 2.8GHz, Socket AM3, Retail
Gigabyte GA-MA78GPM-DS2H AMD 780G Socket AM2+ Motherboard
OCZ 4GB PC2-8500 DDR2 1066MHz Gold Dual Channel (2x2GB)
XFX Radeon HD4870 1GB PCI-E 2.0
OCZ 500W ModXStream Pro Modular Power Supply PSU
Cooler Master CM-690 Dominator
320Gb Samsung HD322HJ F1 SATA

Rolls in at £559.59

So how do the Phenom II's stack up in the scheme of things? I know the i7's are supposed to be pretty sweet but they're out of my price range really.

[mac124]

Yeah unless you can sink another £200-£300 into it Phenom 2 is a good choice and that should serve you well for the time being.

[Audigex]

Phenom II is an excellent choice unless you can afford i7. Although they're not really any better than Core2 you have the option to upgrade to DDR3, and the fact that AM3 is the current socket, rather than LGA775 which is all but defunct.

We can never be sure how long a socket will last, but AM3 should still have a few releases left - and AMD stick with a socket for longer than intel most of the time. AM3 is more future-resistant than 775

720BE is superb for the money - 3/4 the price of a Q6600 and comparable performance, not to mention great overclockability.

A definately argree to avoid the Q8xxx chips, they were never that great in the first place - Q6 are cheaper.

[Zozobra]

Cheers chief

[Zozobra]

Oh man that graphics card aint ever going to be back in stock is it? :(

[Monkey]

Hey, just thought id throw in my 2 pence :P

If your gonna be doing alot of audio work I would consider getting the 1tb Samsung, you don't wanna run out of space and be forced to delete samples now do you :P

Just thought id mention it

[Zozobra]

I prefer the safety of a smaller disk. You're more inclined to back up frequently! I've never been stung by hard disk failure but boy it must suck to see a project go down the pan.