Building for Power (but first I need guidance)

[Touc]

Hello! This is my first post on these forums and I am seeking some guidance with the hardware that I will buy for my new computer. I am strictly looking for power, cooling and something that will last me 3 years. I play all PC games but heres my rundown at the moment: Fear, Oblivion, WOW, SWG, CS, and I try anything new. My room is 80 degrees all of the time except in winter. I have a pet lizard in my room that needs proper heating so it is warm in my room. I am going to use my old drives and 500w dual 12v rail Power Supply; I do not need more than 2 PCI slots. Onboard sound and ethernet is a must. I use 2 speakers and a headset; they do me well. I do not play games in high resolutions, 1024x768 at the most. I am using a 15 inch CRT monitor which has always done me right.

Here is what I am coming up with in my quest.
Looking for Power and Cooling above all

Motherboard
ASUS P5N-E SLI LGA 775 NVIDIA nForce 650i SLI ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16813131142

2x Video Cards(Sli)
EVGA 320-P2-N815-AR GeForce 8800GTS 320MB 320-bit GDDR3 PCI Express x16 HDCP Video Card - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16814130038

CPU
Intel Core 2 Duo E6600 Conroe 2.4GHz 4M shared L2 Cache LGA 775 Processor - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16819115003

Memory
CORSAIR XMS2 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16820145590

My questions:
What Cooling should I get (fans, liquid, vga)?
Do I need a new case so both cards will fit?
Will both cards fit on Motherboard?
Will both cards fit on Motherboard with vga cooling if I need it?

Thanks so much I appreciate such a great site.

 

[senor_bob]

I do not play games in high resolutions, 1024x768 at the most. I am using a 15 inch CRT monitor which has always done me right.

2x Video Cards(Sli)
EVGA 320-P2-N815-AR GeForce 8800GTS 320MB 320-bit GDDR3 PCI Express x16 HDCP Video Card - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16814130038

Are you serious here? You don't need GF8800's (even "lowly :lol: " GTS-320s) in SLI to run 1024x768. One of those cards can kick all sorts of butt at that resolution by itself. But whatever, you can buy them if you want to. Also, what do you mean by 500 Watt (dual) power supply - do you have two 500W supplies, or do you mean you have a dual 12V rail?

Anyway, your questions:

My questions:
What Cooling should I get (fans, liquid, vga)?

I would go with air cooling - 80 F isn't all that hot. Especially if you put a nice heatsink/fan on that E6600 like the Thermalright Ultra 120 or the Tuniq Tower. Are you going to overclock the CPU? The 8800GTS doesn't run all that hot compared to the GTX, I would stick with the stock cooler. If you have to cool the graphics cards, try this cooler. Noctua and Scythe make nice case fans as well as plenty of others.

Do I need a new case so both cards will fit?

It will probably fit, but you need to tell us what case you have to be sure.

Will both cards fit on Motherboard?

Yes. But please consider if you really need them both. Also, one of them will block one of the PCI slots.

Will both cards fit on Motherboard with vga cooling if I need it?

Probably. It depends on how insane of VGA cooling you go with. You might have to cool one board from the top of the card and one from the bottom to keep the coolers from hitting each other.

 

[hunter_green32]

BFG has a watercooled 8800GTX. Single slot, doesnt cover anything. Pricey tho, at around $900 and change.

 

[Touc]

I have 500w dual 12v rail

I don't know why I put full tower .. its a mid tower at 17 x 7.5 x 18 (HxWxD)
Therefore, I am guessing that I am going to need a full tower. I really don't want anything fancy if I have to get a full tower. I'm not looking at my case; I am looking at my monitor.

I will stick with the one video card and get the cooler.

thanks.

I currently have 1gb ram (kingston valueram), diablotek radeon x1600 pro 512mb, and Athlon 64 3200+ 2.0ghz. My games hang often and I do not know what the problem is. This is why I want a new computer. I have latest drivers for everything, bios, temp is ok, no spyware and I am just lost. It does it to me in WOW and its like playing Playstation.. it shouldn't be hanging ever. Is this a processor issue or video? Should I just buy a new computer?