Would like some help with PC build

[TimFromFinancing]

1 x AMD Phenom II X4 965 Black Edition Quad Core Processor AM3 3.4GHZ 8MB Cache 125W 45NM Retail Box

1 x Noctua NH-U12P SE2 LGA775/1156/1366 AM2/AM3 I7/I5/PHENOM Heatpipe Cooler W/ 2XNH-P12 120MM Fans

1 x ASUS Maximus III Extreme P55 LGA1156 5PCI-E16 1PCI SLI CrossFireX SATA 6GBPS USB3.0 Motherboard

2 x Corsair CMT8GX3M4A1866C9 Dominator GT 8GB 4X2GB DDR3-1866 CL9-9-9-24 Memory Kit

2 x GeForce GTX 480 700MHZ 1536MB GDDR5 3.696GHZ PCI-E Dual DVI-I Mini HDMI

1 x NZXT Tempest Evo EATX Mid Tower Case Black 3X5.25 1X3.5 8X3.5INT No PS Front USB eSATA Audio

1 x Corsair HX1000W CMPSU-1000HX 1000W ATX 20/24PIN ATX 80A 12V Afc Modular Power Supply W/ 140MM Fan

1 x Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium Edition 64BIT DVD OEM

1 x Microsoft Office Ready 2007 SP1 60 Day Trial - Free with New NCIX or Nx Fusion PC Purchase

1 x Power Cord for Computer / Monitor 6FT NEMA5-15P to C13

1 x Western Digital Caviar Blue SE16 640GB SATA2 7200RPM 16MB 3.5IN Hard Drive OEM 3YR MFR Warranty

4 x Western Digital WD20EARS Caviar Green 2TB SATA2 3GBPS 64MB Cache 3.5IN Hard Drive OEM

1 x Intel X25-M 160GB 34NM Postville 2.5IN SSD SATA Solid State Disk Flash Drive

1 x LG BH10LS30 Bluray Writer 10X BD-R 16X DVD-RW Lightscribe SATA Retail Box
1 x LG GH22NS50 Black 22X SATA DVD Writer OEM

1 x Syba SY-USB-FDD External USB 1.44MB Floppy Drive

1 x nGear Flash Card Reader 3.5IN Internal USB Black CF/SM/SDHC/MMC/MS/XD 18IN Cable

1 x Creative Labs Sound Blaster X-FI Titanium FATAL1TY PCI-E 1X 24BIT Sound Card 7.1 Optical IN/OUT

1 x Onboard Network Ethernet Card Integrated Motherboard.


my basic question is and keep in mind i live in canada what is your opinion is there anything that should be upgraded/downgraded is there ne pieces you would change out for another and what exactly is ssd and is one enough for this computer thank you in advance for any replies.

 

[davidandersson]

The only thing I can say is that I personally would go for an i7 or i5/i3 because I believe that they beat your amd cpu that is in that setup... Also you have a bit too much ram in it, 4 or 6 GB will easily be enough.

 

[jevery]

SSD, Solid State Drive is a much faster alternative for a hard disk drive. Typically used for the operating system and other essential programs with a traditional hard disk drive for additional storage. A single SSD and a single large storage drive should be sufficient for about anyone's needs. I can't imagine a need for the two storage hard drives or more that 4 GB of RAM. A 750 W PSU is more than enough for the current setup, though might want 850W if you might possibly SLI another graphics card in the future. Also, most motherboards come with very good onboard sound, so unless you have some specific need for the Sound Blaster save your money.

 

[Jamin43]

1 x AMD Phenom II X4 965 Black Edition Quad Core Processor AM3 3.4GHZ 8MB Cache 125W 45NM Retail Box

AMD CPU

1 x ASUS Maximus III Extreme P55 LGA1156 5PCI-E16 1PCI SLI CrossFireX SATA 6GBPS USB3.0 Motherboard

Intel Motherboard

These 2 parts are incompatible.

You need to match up your Motherboard socket with your CPU socket - intel to intel / or AMD to AMD.

2 x GeForce GTX 480 700MHZ 1536MB GDDR5 3.696GHZ PCI-E Dual DVI-I Mini HDMI

IMHO - that's complete overkill for today's games. I'm not a hardcore gamer - but I would think if you were one - you could get by fine with a GTX 480 and be plenty happy - and as more demanding games come out - you can add a second GTX 480 for less money than they sell for today.

2 x Corsair CMT8GX3M4A1866C9 Dominator GT 8GB 4X2GB DDR3-1866 CL9-9-9-24 Memory Kit

You could get by with 2x2 - unless you have some specialized computer application that would need the extra 4 GB of RAM.

1 x Western Digital Caviar Blue SE16 640GB SATA2 7200RPM 16MB 3.5IN Hard Drive OEM 3YR MFR Warranty

4 x Western Digital WD20EARS Caviar Green 2TB SATA2 3GBPS 64MB Cache 3.5IN Hard Drive OEM

1 x Intel X25-M 160GB 34NM Postville 2.5IN SSD SATA Solid State Disk Flash Drive

SSD is a Solid State Drive - as in no moving parts. Thing of a really large flash card - like you put in your USB flash drives. The benefit - is they read / write faster - but the downside is the price / memory is still quite high. The price should come down over time.

Youv'e got 5 drives listed - what exactly are you trying to accomplish with the mix of Blue / Green / and SSD drive? BTW The Green Drives spin slower - so read / write slower b/c their main focus is saving energy ( aka being green )

1 x Creative Labs Sound Blaster X-FI Titanium FATAL1TY PCI-E 1X 24BIT Sound Card 7.1 Optical IN/OUT

Do you need a sound card? You might - but For general use - most people can get by just fine. If you're doing some audio recording where you need 3D soundsystem - it'd be worth the extra money.

 

[davidandersson]

The Green HDDs will still be able to process data faster than windows will support (my HDDs can do up to 3GBs and the maximum I have ever had was 100mbs), maybe I'm wrong on that though...