First time, help building high-performance rig

[Jazzkokehead]

Hello everyone! In the past, I've always bought pre-built computers, but this is my first time building my own computer, to be used for gaming as well as 3D and graphics work. I'd like to think that my selections are pretty good, but I'm sure many of you have been doing this much longer than I have and know better than I do. I'd appreciate it if you could help me by checking for potential compatability issues and offering suggestions if you have them.

CPU: Intel Core 2 Extreme QX6700
Motherboard:EVGA nForce 680i SLI
Video Card: EVGA GeForce 8800GTX KO
Hard drive: Seagate Barracuda 320GB (x2 in RAID 0)
RAM:Corsair XMS2 2GB
PSU: Silverstone ST75F 750W
Cooler: Zalman 9700
OS: Windows Vista 64-bit Ultimate OEM
Drive: LG 18X DVD+/-R DVD Burner
Case: Gigabyte 3D Aurora
Speakers: Logitech THX Z-5300e

I also had a few questions I'm hoping someone could answer:

1. I picked one of the best Nvidia cards out right now, but do you think that it's worth waiting for ATI's R600? In which case I would need to pick out a different motherboard.

2. I'm not 100% sure that the RAM I've selected is compatible with the motherboard. The list I found on EVGA's website has Corsair TWIN2X2048-6400C4; I have TWIN2X2048-6400C4PRO. How different are the two?

3. How good good is the power supply I have? I'm thinking I'll probably need at least around 600W, plus some if I ever add more RAM or overclock. It's tough finding a good yet affordable power supply that's 600W or more, and if you have any suggestions I'd like to hear them.

4. Speaking of overclocking, I'd like to make sure that my PC is at least somewhat overclockable. I'm not planning to have to, not for a while at least, but I'd still like the option to be there.

Thanks in advance for your help!

 

[Rockwild]

Looks good,

I also had a few questions I'm hoping someone could answer:

1. I picked one of the best Nvidia cards out right now, but do you think that it's worth waiting for ATI's R600? In which case I would need to pick out a different motherboard.

2. I'm not 100% sure that the RAM I've selected is compatible with the motherboard. The list I found on EVGA's website has Corsair TWIN2X2048-6400C4; I have TWIN2X2048-6400C4PRO. How different are the two?

3. How good good is the power supply I have? I'm thinking I'll probably need at least around 600W, plus some if I ever add more RAM or overclock. It's tough finding a good yet affordable power supply that's 600W or more, and if you have any suggestions I'd like to hear them.

4. Speaking of overclocking, I'd like to make sure that my PC is at least somewhat overclockable. I'm not planning to have to, not for a while at least, but I'd still like the option to be there.

Thanks in advance for your help!

Question 1. I love Nvidia so keep it!

Question 2. The ram you have is fine.

Question 3. Right off the Evga website for the gtx 8800 video card.
Requirements
Minimum of a 450 Watt power supply.
(Minimum recommended power supply with +12 Volt current rating of 28 Amp Amps.)
The power supply you picked has these specs for the Output +3.3V@24A,+5V@30A,+12V1@18A,+12V2@18A,+12V3@18A,+12V4@18A,-12V@0.5A,+5VSB@3.0A

You may want to select a different brand of power supply unit which will put out the correct amps. Yet I do not own a gtx 8800 and what not so im just going by manufactured specs. So you might be ok you might not be.. better to be safe then sorry.

Question 4. You will be able to overclock your system but I would highly suggest you read up on how to overclock so you know what your doing.

Other then that I would change out your hard drive for Western Digital Ratpor 150GB. If your looking for really insane hard drive performance you can get 2 raptor hard drives and configure them for raid 0. On that note you would have 1 digtal hard drive at 20,000 rpm, 32 mbs of cache and 300 GB.

 

[alcattle]

Great start, not my kind of budget but looks hot!

1. Hard to say, 8800 is first out of the blocks and has some issues with some gqmes. It is also not the faster thing out there if you want to go with SLI right now, 2x7900 are faster and more compatible. The 8800 is DX-10 compliant and I know they will bring new drivers out and fix all the problems. Just depends on your timing, now and to upgrade.
2 Either one works great, probably the OC potential.
3 Looks good, will handle every thing you have and more.
4 It is still easy to work with at stock or with some mild OC, Have not heard much about OC the QX6700, should be screamming out of the box.

 

[drummerdude]

the psu you picked can supply 54A on the 12V rails, so your good
but if your interested in other psu's heres a good link 72 PSUs w/ Calculated Amps on 12V Rail(s)
@ alcattle: even 7900gtx sli cant beat a 8800gtx (or it comes close to it), check out the vga charts. no sense on dropping that much money on a dx9 card now, 2 x 7900gtx ~$400 x 2, 1 8800gtx ~$600

 

[Jazzkokehead]

Ok, thanks for your replies everyone!

Rockwild: As nice as the WD Raptors are, they're a little to expensive for me - 2 150GB Raptors cost about $440, while the hard drives I have picked out are only $180. This system is already quite expensive, and I can't really afford much more than what I have listed here.

I'm inclined to keep the video card, because I'd really like to buy this sometime soon, and I haven't heard anything very concrete on when the R600 is coming. I'm not expecting the performance difference between the two to be that great, but there's no way to know until it comes out.

As for overclocking, again, I'm not expecting to anytime soon, but it's a nice option to have for the future (this computer is gonna have to last me a while!). I've heard that QX6700 overclocks fairly easily, but also runs very hot. If I ever wanted to do serious overclocking, I'd probably be looking at a much more expensive cooling system. I'd rather go with a cheaper air cooler now, and upgrade later on if I really have to.

There seems to be some disagreement over whether the PSU is good enough or not... like I said, I've never built a computer before, so there are some things that I'm unsure of, and this is one of them.