Complete Gaming Build (words of advice?)...

[RSinton]

Ok, so I've been researching here and there for a new system that I would like to build, it's not definitive yet, but I just wanted some feedback (or encouragement) about the options I've chosen thus far. This system is going to be geared towards having a decent amount of OCing options as a high performance gaming system. So, without further ado:

Motherboard:
Gigabyte GA-N680SLI-DQ6 (Note: I do have a 24" monitor, which is why I'm opting for SLI)
PSU:
PC P&C Silencer 750 Quad (heafty discount at newegg.com until 11/30)
CPU:
Intel Core 2 Duo E6850
RAM:
Crucial 4GB kit (2GBx2) DDR2 PC2-6400
Video Card:
NVIDIA GeForce 8800 GTS
Hard Drive:
Western Digital Caviar SATA 750GB 7200 RPM
Case:
Gigabyte 3D Aurora 570 GZ
Fan Replacements:
120mm DustProof AcoustiFans

So that's it, the main thing I'm worried about now is the PSU having long enough wires to reach across the case as I heard that some people were having a few problems with I believe both the Antec 900 and 180 cases. Also is there a good hard drive for RAID systems? Thanks for your time!
-Rob

 

[Onus]

They'll likely be scarce for a while, but a pair of 8800GT cards will give better performance than two 8800GTS cards, and may cost less too.

The extra money might be used to get a Q6600. Future games will almost certainly be able to actually use more cores.

 

[windndust]

are building on any sort of budget?

if so, you could reduce costs greatly with sacrificing much performance by switching to the E6750. and you can overclock it to be much faster. that is unless you plan to go Q6600 in which case that price range is about right.

for the video card you might want to look into the new radeons. the 3870 does a good job of keeping up with the 8800 GTS and for much cheaper. you could also crossfire two 3870's for ultimate performance but cheaper than the GTX and a small bit more expensive than the GTS

how much is the RAM you're paying for?

 

[RSinton]

I don't really have a budget. I realize this is a high cost build, but it's something I've been interested in doing for a while. So at the moment I'm just sort of looking at what I WANT (without being ridiculous).

I think switching from the E6850 to the E6750 is probably something I'm going to do, because it's just not practicle in my opinion to be buying quad cores when they'll be releasing a lot more cheaper models soon when new games actually consider using them, in which case I can upgrade at some later date.

As for the graphics cards, I'm partial towards NVIDIA, it just happens to be a personal preference. I've had a couple radeons DOA on me for one reason or another. I probably will consider the dual GT's.


Thanks for the input! Any ideas about the case? What about extension cables? Do they mess with PSU performance at all?

Also the RAM costs $239.99

 

[RSinton]

The 8800 GT cards I've found haven't been that much of a price difference between the 8800 GTS i'm looking at.

 

[aadamszc]

You shouldn't consider the 8800GTs. You should get them. They are better and cost roughly the same.

Switching to the E6750 is good because it does OC well.

You will probably want something with pretty good airflow. Antec 900, maybe.

 

[RSinton]

Ok, so I see my problem with looking for the GTs, is that they're actually pretty much all out of stock (the non factory OCed ones that is). I'll do that when they come out; I have a while before I need to buy the components anyway.

As for the case, I was under the impression that the gigabyte Aurora had sufficient airflow? Is the antec 900 really that much better? If not the gigabyte I'd likely opt for a more expensive case with really good airflow.