building a new comp, have a few questions

my job requires me to work in 3ds max and i do alot of gaming (plus i modify every game i play, to have more detail), also working on a large scale (not for low-end computers) project on the torque shader engine, so i have roughly 2.7k to spend on a new intel/nvidia comp and this is what i have in my list so far:
Case - $290
Thermaltake Black Kandalf LCS Full-Tower ATX Case with Clear Side, Front USB, FireWire, Audio Ports and Built-In Liquid Cooling System
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applica [...] 0&NoMapp=0
will that built-in wcu be enough for a core 2 duo/quad?

2x Video Cards - $570 (after $30 rebate) each
BFG Tech BFGR88768GTXOC2E GeForce 8800GTX 768MB 384-bit GDDR3 PCI Express x16 HDCP Video Card - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6814143093
i looked at the ACS3 8800 gtx and the only differance i could see was that this ran at 621 as opposed to stated 626, the fan case fully covered the ACS, and the price.

Processor - $226
Intel Core 2 Duo E6600 Conroe 2.4GHz 4M shared L2 Cache LGA 775 Processor
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6819115003
should i go higher? e6700 is too expensive for only 260mhz more, and i dont have enough for quadcore.

MainBoard
$187 - ASUS P5N32-E SLI Plus LGA 775 NVIDIA nForce 650i SLI ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6813131153
OR
$225 - EVGA 122-CK-NF68-A1 LGA 775 NVIDIA nForce 680i SLI ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6813188013
all the boards i've looked at seem to have reviews with problems concerning the bios and the board just dieing, are there better choices than these two?

PowerSupply - $180
Thermaltake / ToughPower / 750-Watt / ATX / 140mm Fan / SATA Ready / SLI Ready / PFC/EPS / Power Supply
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applica [...] 0&NoMapp=0
do i need to bump it up to 800w for 8800gtx's in sli?

SoundCard - $90
Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi XtremeGamer 7.1 Channels 24-bit 96KHz PCI Interface Sound Card
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6829102006

DVD+R/RW - $38
LITE-ON Black 20X DVD+R 8X DVD+RW 8X DVD+R DL 20X DVD-R 6X DVD-RW 8X DVD-R DL 12X DVD-RAM 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-R 32X CD-RW 48X CD-ROM IDE Burner with LightScribe Technology
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6827106045

for ram i've looked at a bunch and i cant tell the differance other than cooling/casing. i'd like at least 4gb, but i can settle for 2. heres the two i have in my list for possibilities:
$350 ($310 after rebate) - Corsair Dual Channel TWINX 2048MB PC8500 DDR2 1066MHz E.P.P. Memory (2 x 1024MB)
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applica [...] CatId=2531
OR
$230 - OCZ Dual Channel 2048MB PC8500 DDR2 1066MHz Nvidia SLI-Ready EPP Memory (2 x 1024MB) http://www.tigerdirect.com/applica [...] CatId=2370

also plan to buy 2 more 22" monitors some day, probaly wont have enough after i build this comp though. currently looking at:
$350 - ViewSonic X Series VX2235WM Black/Silver 22" 5ms DVI Widescreen LCD Monitor 280 cd/m2 700:1 Built in Speakers - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6824116059
$260 - ViewSonic X Series VX2235WM Black/Silver 22" 5ms DVI Widescreen LCD Monitor 280 cd/m2 700:1 Built in Speakers - OEM - OPEN BOX
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 824116059R
$309 - Dell 22" Widescreen Flat Panel Monitor
http://accessories.us.dell.com/sna [...] u=320-5205
currently using the viewsonic one i posted, but i have a 1.5k credit line with dell so i would be able to get two of those sooner, although i'm worried about their image quality being far too different from my viewsonic, or should i just upgrade to 24" and get 2 more of those 24"'s later down the line?


also putting together a 1.6k comp for my girlfriend, basicaly a watered down version of mine.
any sugestions or changes would be appretiated (though it must stay intel/nvidia).

dont know a whole lot about overclocking so thats why i chose the higher ram, guess i can bump it down a bit.
dont think the monitor is the ultrasharp one, all it says on the site is "dell 22" widescreen"

First, SLI I think you won't see much difference. Indeed the FPS is higher but your monitor refresh rate is 60Hz (60fps) you won't need it yet. It is better to buy 1 card for now and wait 2.5 yrs and buy the 2nd one it will be cheaper by then.

Your memory is WAYYY overkill. look into this:
You can get the links from www.slickdeals.net on the may 7 2007 section.

Get the Crucial Ballistix normal or Tracer, it's so cheap you can get 4GB, and it is highly overclockable. But in your case you won't overclock. If you buy 2 sets, keep in mind the rebate is for one person, one household. so you need to get a friend's address.

SLI: 2x power consumption = higher electric bill, more heat dissipation
25% to 50% performance increase, 2x the cost, should be able to handle that many polygons

memory: example, I bought 2GB for my laptop back when 2GB was the high end, and in task manager it shows that when I run a lot of programs together my max memory usage was about 1.3GB.
so I say the 8GB would decrease the overall bandwidth by 2% which is not noticeable and I don't think your games and programs will exceed 2GB and to be conservative 3GB max. so if you do put in 8GB it would by consuming power and not doing anything. I would recommend buying 2GB or even 4GB then increase when appropriate. Although you do need to have it in dual channel mode by having either 2 sticks of same amount or 4 sticks. That makes it smarter to do 2x2GB first then add another 2x2GB sticks.

Cooling: I don't think that is going to make your room any cooler by using watercooling system, because it has a radiator. The more Watts you use, the more heat dissipates, because they are not perfect conductors. So with your SLI, you are looking at 400 to 500w usage at least, and if you are dissipating the heat with watercooling system which is more efficient, I think there will be more heat transferred to the room. If you want the room heat to go away then turn your room into a fridge.

I have a watercooling system, and my room is hot...