Couple of questions for my new build.

Well i'll be building a complete new system in about a month or so. I have a couple of serious questions i'm concerned about that has put me into a dilemma over some of the components i'll be putting in it. Below is a list of what i'm thinking about putting in it right now.

Processor : Intel Core 2 Quad Q9550

RAM : OCZ Gold 4GB 2x2GB DDR3 1600 PC3-12800

Video Card : 2x XFX GTX 260 (216 core) Black Edition

Motherboard : EVGA 790i FTW Digital PWM

PSU : PC Power & Cooling T1KWSR 1000W

Hard Drive : 250GB Seagate Barracuda 7200RPM 32MB Cache

Sound Card : Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi Titanium Fatal1ty

Case : Cooler Master HAF 932


The two major things i'm stuck on is processor and video card. With the new i7's coming out i'd probably get the i7 920. How would that compare to the Q9550 if anyone knows? And for the video card(s), i've always been an NVIDIA fan but would it be better to get a single ATI HD 4870 X2? How would it run paired with my intel processor? You guys know A LOT more than i do and i'd like your professional opinion on what i should do. Anything would be nice. Thanks!

The i7 920 actually equals performance of a 3.2GHz quad core.

A single 4870 x2 would be a better buy than 2x 260s as the 4870 x2 provides better performance and the cost is about the same. With the 4870 x2, you also have the option to add a second in for 4x crossfire which will definitely outperform a 3 way SLI configuration of 260s.

Since you're already going for ddr3 ram, then yeah, a core i7 like the others suggested would be a better choice. The x58's aren't cheap, but neither is 790i.

You should go for a bigger HDD. Something like the WD 640GB offers good performance and value (without breaking the bank).

With your choice of video cards, I would go with what Slomo4shO suggested (but it really depends on the resolution you play your games at).

You should check out this month's article.

http://www.tomshardware.com/review [...] ,2064.html

The 2 260's will run better.....Crysis, W@W, for sure.

Had an EVGA gts 640 in a machine an tried W@W, card had momentary freeze ups. Swapped in a 4870, cranked up the AA to max. Had a couple of spots where it was a little glitchy. Lots of stuff going on. Put in my xfx gtx260 and all is good..... ( 1 card ) ... 2 cards should be great in that game and will surely cruise through Crysis. ( 1680x1050 )...... Tom's is glitchy tonight too......... Edit: Although, I think, if you can afford it, a 4870x2 should play those 2 games good too.

Go with the 6 gigs of ram at lower speeds, you will not see a performance difference by choosing the slower ram speeds unless you plan on hefty overclocking

the DDR3 1333 should be fine The only reason anyone should even consider higher speed memory is if they are considering the i7 965.

64 bit can use more than 4 gig of memory. Big, big plus.

Whoa! That's very impressive. I'll be running on all air cooling but i'll be buying the beefy Tuniq Tower 120 and of course some Arctic Silver 5. I think i'll be shooting for around the 3.4Ghz mark. Will my 3x2GB DDR3 1333 PC3-10666 9-9-9-24 memory be able to keep up? Or will i be forced to upgrade to a faster set of memory?