I've got about 1,500 USD to spend the first PC I'm going to build. I have always been around PC's and have a pretty decent general knowledge on how to go about it. I've also taken apart and messed around with my previous PC quite a bit. I plan on making this a gaming machine, but nothing overly extreme.

Here's what I've got so far:

- EVGA nforce 780i SLI Motherboard (love the black mobo)
- Intel Core 2 Duo E8400
- EVGA GeForce 8800 GT (keep it simple till the 9 series)
- OCZ SLI-Ready Edition Dual Channel 2048MB PC6400 DDR2 800MHz Memory (maybe pick up another gig to top it off?)
- OCZ GameXStream 850-Watt

- Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 250GB Hard Drive
And I plan on installing Vista Premium 32bit.

What I need some help on is what DVD/CD drives to get. I'd like the ability to burn DVD/CD's as well. A heatsink is also important, but it seems there are so many types out there that I have no idea where to look.
Also, I have also been having problems finding a case to fit it all - yet still look cool. I've heard that the sideways rails for the HDD's are good for when you upgrade your GFX card, so that'd be a plus.

What I still need:

- CPU heatsink
- DVD/CD drive
- Case

If you find anything I should splurge on please let me know.

And to finish it up, If you know of any US based sites that I could (possibly) order everything from at once. I don't mind splitting it in two, but I'd like to save as much as possible on shipping.

Thanks,
Green

You might want a larger psu if you plan on tri-sli. You can google 780i reviews & look at the consensus of the psu's in the test systems. Particularly the power consumption.

Get a thermalright u 120 e for med to high overclocks or a Freezer 7 Pro for quietness.

Take a look at Antec 18x series full-tower cases & 900 mid-tower cases.

newegg.com
zipzoomfly.com
mwave.com
tankguy(?)

Get a quad for about the same and OC the $h!t out of it.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6819115018

Coolers: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6835887011
(I use one with a 5000+BE, under 40c with a decent OC)

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6835154001
(the old standby)

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6835186134
(cheap and quiet)


As for cases, shop around for a better deal, but I reccomend:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6811129021
(rip out fans, and replace with S-Flex)

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6811129025
(well any of the 180 series are good) (just be sure to have long PS cables)

Thanks for the advice guys! I'll take a look at this stuff asap. It'll be a little while before I buy anything though

Look at this build, well within your budget and a rock-solid kick-ass rig:

Intel Core 2 Duo E8400 Wolfdale 3.0GHz 6MB L2 Cache LGA 775 65W Dual-Core Processor
-
ABIT IP35 Pro LGA 775 Intel P35 ATX Intel Motherboard
-
G.SKILL 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit F2-6400CL4D-4GBPK
-
EVGA GeForce 8800GTS (G92) 512MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Supported
-
Antec 900 Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case
-
CORSAIR CMPSU-620HX ATX12V v2.2 and EPS12V 2.91 620W Power Supply
***(If you don't plan to OC or light to Moderate OC and only going with 1 video card and 2 hd's then this one will be plenty):
CORSAIR CMPSU-520HX ATX12V v2.2 EPS12V 2.91 520W Power Supply
-
ARCTIC COOLING Freezer 7 Pro 92mm CPU Cooler
-
Seagate Barracuda ST3250410AS 250GB 7200.10 RPM 16MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive
Seagate Barracuda ST3500320AS 500GB 7200.11 RPM 32MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive
-
Samsung SH-S203B SATA
-

I listed 2 hd's because if you want better performance then use the 250gb for the OS and the 500gb for Games, Video, mp3's, Data, etc

I listed a great heatsink for light to moderate OC and if you plan to get silly stupid crazy with OC then get this one PERIOD-END-OF-SUBJECT:

(These are 3 seperate components)
Thermalright Ultra-120 Extreme
Scythe S-Flex SFF21F fan
ARCTIC COOLING MX-2 Thermal Compound

newegg.com
buy.com

I forgot to ask you do you plan on doing SLI... do you plan on using 2-nVidia cards with a 30+" display???

I plan on just sticking with 1x 8800 GT until the 9 series comes out. Where afterwards I will probably dual them, or after a bit even triple SLI. And I won't be buying a new monitor anytime soon, so I'll be playing with my 17" until I can afford another/better one.

get the GTS... overkill at that res, but then again, it'll last longer for not too much more...

'less you plan to use an older card and then just buy the 9 series card outright

The Ultra 120 Extreme doesn't come with a fan and the Freezer 7 Pro does therefore depending on which fan you buy for the Ultra you can make it as loud or quiet as you want + it's larger and dissipates heat better than the Freezer 7. With many CPU's at stock the 120 Extreme can be used without a fan for a silent PC.

As other's have said, with a 17in screen any of the high end cards will be overkill so you might want to buy a mid level card and save the money toward your upgrade.

As for DVD drives one I have been planning on buying is a LG HD DVD/BlueRay player. Just something you might consider.
http://www.newegg.com/product/prod [...] 6827136133

You said that you won't be buying for a while, keep in mind that hardware changes very quickly and there might be better options by the time your ready to buy. Nvidia and ATI should be coming out with new cards within the next couple months also within the same time frame Nvidia should be releasing their new chipset and there should be many more Penryn options out soon.

I think you will be fine with the ARCTIC COOLING Freezer 7 Pro 92mm CPU Cooler. If not see my previous post.