New gaming build need advice and compatibility check

Hello forum readers,

I have been researching a new build for keeping up with todays and tomorrows high demanding games for a while now. I have taken computers apart and replaced every component on them but this will be my first personal build. It is hard to keep all the reviews and product commentary straight so I am here to see if what I have invisioned will work and if I could do better for a price range of $2000-2500 USD. I also plan to overclock, I want at least 3ghz on the CPU.

Case - Cooler Master Stacker 832

Motherboard - EVGA 680i SLI version A1

Processor - Intel Q6600 G0 stepping

Heatsink - Zalman 9700 NT

RAM - 4GB total of Patriot eXtreme Performance 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800

Video Card - EVGA 768-P2-N831-AR GeForce 8800GTX 768MB 384-bit GDDR3 PCI Express x16 HDCP I plan to get a second as soon as I can

PSU - The one I want is not out yet. Cooler Master Real Power Modular 850

Hard Drive - 150GB Raptor, I have a Caviar 250GB in my current PC I will transfer over.

CD/DVD Drive - LITE-ON Black 20X DVD+R 8X DVD+RW 8X DVD+R DL 20X DVD-R 6X DVD-RW 12X DVD-RAM 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-R 32X CD-RW 48X CD-ROM 2MB Cache SATA DVD Burner with LightScribe

OS - Windows Vista 64bit and XP Pro 32bit dual boot

Monitor - I will transfer old monitors over till I can get a 24 inch.

Other - 5 Aerocool extreme turbine fans, G9 mouse, G15 keyboard, Zalman MFC1 Plus fan controller

I appreciate any feedback that can be provided.

Well if you changed the PSU to good one like the silencer 750, please enlighten me, what the hell do you need help on ? You did pretty damn well by yourself... Kudos to you.

One thing I'd like to point out though, even though the Zalman is good, I would prefer using the Tuniq Tower 120, it is just a superior cooler, but Im sure that the zalman will work out fine too.

Don't bother with the Raptor. I know that there is a proformance increase in dedicating it to your OS, but it does not justify the cost. For that price you could RAID two 320GB drives and get close to the same speed and over 4x the storage.
Save yourself $100 and go for the Antec P180 over the Stacker, I know the Stacker is the hot case right now, but it's overpriced.
Second the Silencer PSU recommendation.
If you're planning on going SLI, save some money with the 8800gts 320mb GPU. With two 760mb cards, you'll be paying alot of money for memory you'll never be using.

The GTX is faster, but the GTS is overclockable and I don't believe that the GTX is enough of an improvement to justify an additional $600 after SLIing. Even on a $2500 build, that's a quarter of the cost. Unless, of course, money is no object.

I would agree if he was planning on only one GPU then the GTX is the way to go, but even on that display I don't think he'll see enough of an improvement with the dual 8800gtx over dual 8800gts justify the cost.

Single GTX does fine at 2560x1600.
http://enthusiast.hardocp.com/arti [...] h1c2lhc3Q=

Outdoor Oblivion scenes crush every card, and probably any cards coming out anytime in the near future. If you want a card to pull down 60fps in outdoor oblivion scenes your going to need a DeLorean. Anyways we are way off topic. I won't argue that GTX>GTS, only that at double the cost, it's not worth it. IMHO, I'd pocket the extra money and put it towards a future 9800gt card.

Raptors have the same problem as a lot of gaming hardware. You're paying a LOT more for just that last little ounce of performance.
BTW, that G9 looks sweet, but have you seen the upcoming MS Sidewinder mouse. Tough tough call.

question. you are buying all this nice hardware, but what are you going to test it on? you need some games hehe... Bioshock comes to mind

Nice list, I'd add Lost Planet to that Simply because I love it

Striker is a POS.... and that ram is fine for 3Ghz OC...