$1000 build for PC gaming

I've decided to go with Intel/Nvidia for the first time in about 10 years....

- I've got about a $1000 to burn on a new build, as my old Athlon 3700+ build from a few years ago just aint cuttin it anymore. I've already got an 80 gig Maxtor 10,000 rpm SATA hdd and two other 7200 rpm sata seagates. Are they good enough for the new build or should I buy a new HDD for my primary OS install?

- What to do about dual core or quad core? I don't encode or rip videos on my desktop, I use my laptop for that function, so this build will focus almost 100% on gaming. I'm really tempted to get an E6850, but the Q6600 is so damn enticing as well. Is there another proc out there that's worth it, even though it might be a bit more expensive?

- I want to be able to go SLI down the road once I need a performance boost. Good idea, bad idea? Given that I'm going Nvidia this time around, what's the best mobo for an 8800GT/C2D or C2Q with SLI down the road?

- I'm guessing 2 gigs is a good choice. I've always liked Corsair and Mushkin. What's the best ram to go with the board recommended?

- Power supply? I want to go SLI in the future, so I would like to be future proofed.

Thanks in advance! I just need a little help and I'm off to the races again..

Hello, and welcome to the forums.

-Only you really know how much space you will need, but they do look good enough to me.
-Currently, faster clocked dual cores are better for gaming, but in the future, when games start using more than 2 cores, those processors will have an advantage. You could go with a cheap processor now and upgrade when the new quad cores come out. I really have no clue as to when they would come out though.
-Hmm...there are really so many choices out there. Do you happen to have anymore criteria than SLI? Good OCer? Raid Functions? Firewire? An uneducated guess would be something like the 680i.
-2 gigs should be good. If you will be using vista, I might suggest going with 4gigs, but it is certainly not *needed*. You could try Corsair, Kingston, Crucial, OCZ...I like any one of those.
-You will probably want to get a ~750W PSU. It will give enough for SLI and minor performance loss over time, etc. I'm not really sure how many amps you would need as that is not my forte. Also, there is a tiered PSU listing floating around somewhere...a quick search should find it.

Hope I helped,
-Adam

Designed for only gaming:

E6850
EVGA 680i
2 x 8800GT
Ballistix 2x1GB PC2-6400
750W PSU under Tier 1/2:

http://www.tomswiki.com/page/Tiere [...] ngs?t=anon

You can't get a newer nivida chipset cuz it's not out yet. The next one is 780i which is a minor update to 680i. Diff is Tri-SLI, PCI-E 2.0, etc. Even if it's out, it's gonna have some bugs to be weeded out. 680i is mature & ready.

ASUS has 680i boards, but for a premium. EVGA is the most popular choice. It's not as expensive, but packs the same chipset.

I wouldn't be too picky about 8800GT brands as they sell like hot cakes. You'd be lucky to get any at MSRP. Inflated prices is $300.

Looks awesome. Just so you know, if the 650w is barely enough for SLI, it'll have to be upgraded the next time you upgrade video cards. So get a bigger one like 750W-ish for a little leeway.

BTW, the 680i isn't as picky about ram as P965/P35. The board will work with practically any compatible ram. If you're not overclocking, you can get Corsair/OCZ/etc. if it's cheaper.