advice on components for an i7/860 system

[fizzy]

Hi Everyone,
I am looking for some advice. The primary purpose of this PC is to run 7x24 running a bunch of vmware vm's I need for software development purposes. The secondary purpose is to play some games a few hours per week. The machine will sit in my office so it needs to be quiet. There is a fair bit of ambient noise so dead silent isn't needed. Just reasonably silent.

Stable system is the goal. No overclocking.

Already Purchased
Case - Antec P183 (already purchased)
PS - Antep 850 (already purchased)
HD - assorted will eventually get an SSD
Memory - 6GB (already purchased)

Looking for advice on
CPU - Intel i7 860 ($300 price range)
Mobo - MSI P55-GD65 -- ($200 price range) -- http://us.msi.com/index.php?func=prodde ... od_no=1880
CPU Cooler - Scythe Mugen 2 -- ($50 price range)
Video card - Radeon HD 5850 - ($300 price range with low power draw while idle)
Video Cooler - ($50 price range if needed)


Thanks in advance...

[ascl]

Your parts list looks pretty good, although I'd go for a motherboard that has USB3 and Sata3 for the sake of future proofing.

[JamieG]

Your parts list looks pretty good, although I'd go for a motherboard that has USB3 and Sata3 for the sake of future proofing.

I agree. Consider something like the Asus P7P55D-E Pro or Gigabyte GA-P55A-UD4/UD4P/UD5. Be wary with the Gigabyte implementation of SATA3 / USB 3 though - I'd go for the Asus if I were you.

Otherwise, plan on spending a little more cash on replacing the stock Antec fans with something quieter from Scythe or Nexus.

If you are not gaming much, the 5850 is probably overkill. If you are stuck on the 5850 for some reason, consider the Sapphire Vapor-X 5850.

If you want something really quiet, go for the Powercolor 5750 passive heatsink version. As long as you don't plan on playing too demanding games at high resolutions / AA and AF, you should be fine.