Help with CPU, Videocard, Motherboard

I want to build somthing that will last me 2-3 years.

I had some questions along the way, and I was hoping that you guys can help me.

Motherboard (MB) = I was looking into which motherboard will be the best. I was planning on buying a 680i MB but im hearing there is tons of problems. A new MB 650i came out by Asus (Model P5N-E SLI). I read a review of it on anandtech.com, and it seems very good. During the review the writer wrote this

"Sure, the 680i boards have additional features such as dual Gigabit Ethernet connections with DualNet technology, dual x16 graphics slots along with a slot designed for physics capability, an additional two SATA 3Gb/s and USB 2.0 ports, and enhancements like LinkBoost, SLI Ready Memory, and extended overclocking capabilities. However, does every user need these additional features?"

And I have no idea what that means! Do I really need those? I do plan on overclocking a little bit and I prob wont go SLI. And thats where my second question comes in. If i get a SLI board and dont plan on doing SLI... Is that bad as far as performance if i only just have one card in there? Or will a MB without SLI be a faster MB?

The 650i MB is about $100 cheaper and it seems like it has almost the same performance as the 680i, but doesnt come with the features above.

CPU = I am having a hard time deciding on intel duo core e6400 or e6600. Im reading that lots of people are suggesting people to get due core e6400 since you can overclock it up to e6600 speeds. But cant you also overclock the e6600 way past it designed speeds? The e6600 is about $80 more. Will that extra money be worth it to get the e6600?

Videocard = I just bought a evga 7950gt from frys for $200 which was a really good deal. Now im wondering if i should just go and buy the 8800gts for $400. With the games out right now will the 7950gt be able to run the games at max settings(Like Oblivion)? Or should I go and buy the 8800 gts? I was also thinking about doing the step-up program later on if i wanted to.


Those are my questions for now. Thank you for reading it and helping me out!

Couple other things i already decided on is a PC power and cooling power supply, 2 x 1gb corsair 4-4-4-12 memory. And I have rest of my computer.

This is purely my opinion:

7950GT for $200 is a great buy. I watch the Frys ad weekly, must have missed that one.

How much are the boards you're looking at? You're typically paying more for the 2nd SLI slot which you said you won't use. My suggestion is the GIGABYTE GA-965P-S3. Great for overclocking w/o a lot of the extra fluff. Shows out of stock at newegg, but I've seen it for less at mwave anyway.

CPU just depends on you and your budget. If you can afford the 6600, go for it. Nothing wrong with the 6400 either though. And yes, both will OC nicely.