Budget AM2 SLI build with room to grow

[1wildbill]

I'm looking to build a new system that I don't have to drop a lot of cash up front (so I can justify doing it), that I can use some parts that I have on hand, and that will be an ongoing project that has plenty of head-room to upgrade over time. This will be replacing an Athlon XP 2400, 2 GB RAM, GeForce 6600 AGP system, so just about anything is going to be faster. I will probably dual boot with M$ and 64bit Suse Linux.

Would I be better served just getting a better video card later instead of going SLI with 2 cheaper models? According to Nvidia, you can get a pretty good boost going with a second card later (of course, they want to sell more cards too). Is a 600 watt PS enough, especially if I go with SLI?

Thanks for your input.

Parts on-hand:
300 GB ATA 100 HDD
Enlight Mid-tower ATX case
PNY GeForce 6200 LE 256 MB PCI video
Creative SB Platinum X-FI Platinum
IBM 21” P202 monitor (it’s a BEAST!!!)

Initial Purchase (@ $275 after MIRs):
MSI K9N4 SLI-F Motherboard (M452-2840)
AMD Athlon 64 X2 4000+ Processor (ADO4000DDBOX)
OCZ SLI-Ready Edition DC 2048MB PC6400 DDR2 800MHz Memory (2 x 1024MB) (O261-7054)
Ultra X-Finity 600-Watt SLI Ready PS (ULT31847 K)

Second Round (3 months out):
GeForece 8500 GT 512 MB
Case & fans (undecided model)
320-500 GB SATA II HDD

Final (6 months out):
AMD Athlon X2 5200 Processor
2nd GeForece 8500 GT 512 MB
Flat panel monitor

 

[nickc07]

First things first, what is this computer for?

One good video card is better than 2 not so good ones.
The amount of power is not nearly as important has the quality of power IMO. Just make sure you get a quality PSU.

 

[g-paw]

If you're not getting the CPU for 6 months, would suggest you save your money until you can get everything in 6 months. In 6 months prices will drop and new products will be out. Given you won't be able to run the machine for 6 months, no CPU until then, I think you're better off waiting for everything.