Great community here!

I'm a first time builder... building largely to play games (upcoming Age of Conan for starters). I also do a significant amount of graphic design work as well though... so I also need a computer for work.

My budget is 5k... anyone see any problems with the components I've chosen to build a top-of-the-line gaming/graphic design computer:

Monitor:
Dell Monitor 3007WFP

Case:
LIAN LI PC-A10A Silver Aluminum ATX Mid Tower Computer Case

Processor:
Intel Core 2 Extreme X6800 Conroe 2.93GHz 4M shared L2 Cache LGA

Graphics Cards:
2 x EVGA 768-P2-N835-AR GeForce 8800GTX

Power Supply:
OCZ OCZ1000PXS ATX12V / EPS12V 1000W Power Supply

MoBo:
ASUS Striker Extreme LGA 775 NVIDIA nForce 680i SLI ATX The Ultimate Gaming Motherboard

RAM:
mushkin 4GB(2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Chennel Kit Desktop Memory

RAM Drives:
2 x Western Digital Raptor WD1500ADFDRTL 150GB 10,000 RPM Serial ATA150 Hard Drive

Data Drive:
Seagate FreeAgent ST305004FDA1E1-RK 500GB 7200 RPM

Estimates with that have me just over 5k. I don't need to order for another 6-8 weeks, so I'm expecting pricing to drop slightly, and in turn I'll probably pick up some addition cooling fans or something.

I don't want to go to Vista, but I want the absolute best looking games possible, and I think many new games will start to incorporate DX10... so I'm thinking I need to go Vista... in the next 2-3 months hopefully most of the drivers will also be stable.

Any glaring holes in this config? Anything you would do differently?

Thanks in advance.

if you are goingto wait, then I would look at the newer Intel chips coming out. The x6800 will drop some in price but there will be others that better the price and upgrade the performance

If yu are waiting for some time,may be you can get X38 based motherboard.

The OCZ PSU is good but if you want the best go with PC Power and Cooling.

Unless you use XP or Vista 64bit, Your 4gb of ram is going to show up as 3gb or less, depending on how much memory your SLI cards have between them. While its true that 32 bit XP\Vista can handle 4gb, that will include every bit of memory from every device that uses memory. You might want to think about buying 3 gb ram to start with, 2x1gb & 2x512mb.

Personally, I wouldn't buy an EE chip. Not a good value. Get a step lower, overclock it, spend difference on Games or Software.

and . . What is a RAM Drive?

dung

For Graphics work, I'd do some fast checking around some graphic design shops. I think you'll find a lot of them using the Apple cinema series...

You make no mention of what HSF you will use.

Cases are somewhat personal, I'd look at the stacker 832 as well. It seems to have better airflow charactistics. I am sure you'll get other recommendations as well.

You will need a 64 bit OS to take advantage of 4GB ram.

If you aren't willing to wait for the new x38 MB's I'd consider the intel 975bx2 for stability.

The Silverstone 1000 w unit is a better PSU, the PCP&C is even better but at a much higher cost factor. Jonnyguru.com has some good power supply information.

Try a Q6600 instead of a X6800. Cheaper, and its quad-core vs dual-core.

i would say do't get 975x caus it supports 8x +8x.
whereas both 680i and x38 support 16x+16x

But you need an nvidia mobo to run sli.

If I were you I'd get a better powersupply an Enermax or Pc power & Colling. That case isn't bad but get either another hd rack from lian li (cause it won't hold more than 2 hd's with a longer than normal power supply specially if its modular) or get a silverstone tj-09 or tj-07. Wait for the intel 6850 (1333 fsp).

check out pentablets, I recomend Wacom. then again you propably have already and if not you aren't intrested... It's just that I would not want to start any graphics work without a wacom nowdays. then again i'm a little newbie so...

I built this without a monitor for under 3k$
x6800
8800gtx
p5k asus (p35 chipset)
4 gigs crucial ballistix pc8500
antect trio 650 psu
thermaltake 8000bws case
zalman 9700 cooler
seagate 400 gig sata 3.0 ata 7200.10
plextar 16x dual layer dvd/rw
x-fi extreme gamers edition
t7800 7.1 creative speaker system

if anything on your list I would say go with a different board, the striker board is expensive and the p35 chipset has a faster memory controller.

the sli doesnt deliver nearly the performance to justify a second card, so you might want to look further iunto that and hear from people who have set up that way, I was going to do the same thing but after researching it I couldnt justify the extra $.

anyway that above list was under 3k$ you could get a nasty monitor speacilized key pad, and mouse, the second gtx even and still be under your budget.
you need great power, good memory and good cooling.

I too went with the x6800, I know the less expensive 6600 can reach 6800 speeds, but I also know the x6800 can meet specs that arent even available so I opted to spend the exra money on the chip, I will grab a Q core later this summer after prices drop in July and try it out on the same rig to see if the Q has any benefit for me.
looks like a great rig though, glad to see somneone else building high end.
Lump

Thanks guys! While I have the budget for the parts, I don't have the experience to really dig in and determine what I need. I really appreciate the feedback!

With a 5k budget i'd atleast expect a Raptor hdd & a dual monitor setup. Also, check out Crucial Ballistix memory, they've got some good stuff.

Edit: Nvm, I see the Raptors now.

Hey Guys.. thanks again.

After further review and reading lots of reviews and recommendations, I've revamped my part list a bit and started ordering pieces:

Monitor:
UltraSharp 3007WFP-HC http://accessories.us.dell.com/sna [...] u=222-7175

Case & Powersupply:
COOLER MASTER Stacker 830 Evolution RC-830-KKR3-GP Black Aluminum ATX Full Tower Computer Case
Real Power Pro 1000W Power Supply

I got a bundle deal on these.. both were highly rated: http://www.newegg.com/product/prod [...] 6811119136

RAM:
2 x OCZ Flex XLC 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 1150 (PC2 9200) http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6820227184

Video Card:
2 x EVGA 768-P2-N835-AR GeForce 8800GTX 768MB

Processor:
Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 http://www.newegg.com/product/prod [...] 6819115017


Motherboard:
MSI x38.. supposedly available in August

OS / Application Drives:
2 x Western Digital Raptor WD1500ADFD 150GB 10,000 RPM Serial ATA150 Hard Drive RAID 0

Data Drive:
SAMSUNG SpinPoint T Series HD501LJ 500GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive

Optical Drive:
Sony NEC Optiarc 18X DVD±R DVD Burner With 12X DVD-RAM Write

Soundcard:
Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi Platinum Fatal1ty Champion

Cooling:
VIGOR GAMING CLT-M2I 92mm Thermal Electric CPU Cooler

OS
Vista... but I don't know what version I should get for 64 bit


Do you see any glaring problems with this set up? I want Vista for DX10, but I'm undecided on which version to shoot for. ALso, can someone recommend a good raid 0 controller for my raptors?

Thanks guys!