Help Me Build A High-End Windows 7 PC

My main PC stopped working today.  No matter what I do the network adaptor on my Abit IP35-Pro motherboard won’t work.  I’ve been toying with building a new high-end Windows 7 rig for a while and given that my PC is my livelihood I want to build a new Windows 7 machine fast.  If I can salvage any of the parts from my current system, I will use them to upgrade other PCs in my household.

My current spec is below:

  • Q6600 LGA775
  • Abit IP35Pro Motherboard
  • 4GB Ram
  • ATI HD 4650
  • X-Fi soundcard
  • Swiftech CPU&GPU watercooling
  • 600w Seasonic S12-600 PSU
  • 400GB HDD
  • Gigabyte case

I’m planning  on keeping the PSU, GPU, HDD and soundcard so I need:

  • A new fast HDD to run the OS – should I get a SSD?  Which one?
  • A new CPU and motherboard.  I’m hoping to keep my LGA775 watercooling block, but getting a different size isn’t a problem -it just adds $50 to the cost (hassle removing as well, but I can handle)
  • Lots of new RAM – how much should I get?  I don’t play games but I do a lot of encoding/decoding, multitasking etc
  • Will I need a more powerful PSU?

My total budget is £1000/$1600 so this should buy me a very good spec machine.  Suggestions on what I should buy and why below please!  Also suggestions for a cheap LGA775 motherboard please just in case I can’t salvage the Abit IP35Pro.

Update 20/12: I’ve ordered my parts and they should arrive on Tuesday – thanks to everyone who made suggestions. Here’s the spec for the new machine (new parts in bold):

  • Case: Gigabyte Aurora
  • PSU: Corsair TX 650W
  • CPU: Intel Core i7 920 2.66Ghz pre-overclocked to 4.00GHz icon wink Help Me Build A High End Windows 7 PC
  • Motherboard: Gigabyte EX58-UD5
  • RAM: Corsair XMS3 6GB (3x2GB)
  • GPU: HD4650
  • Soundcard: X-fi Xtreme Music
  • OS HDD: 80GB Intel X25-M SSD
  • 2nd HDD: 400GB SATA II
  • Cooler: Noctua NH-U12P SE1366 (ditching my Swiftech watercooling as the pumps are about to go/it’s getting very noisy)
  • Monitors: Samsung T220 22-inch x2

I can’t wait to put this baby together!

My old Abit IP35 Pro motherboard completely died last night, so I ordered a Gigabyte GA-EG41MF-US2H motherboard to build a new machine for my wife (she has a very,very old laptop at the moment) from what was left of my old PC:

  • CPU: Q6600
  • PSU: Seasonic S12-600
  • Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-EG41MF-US2H to go in an old Foxcon microATX case
  • RAM: 4GB Ram
  • HDD: 400GB SATA II(canibalised from my WHS)
  • Cooler: stock
  • Monitor: Samsung T220 22-inch