I was hoping to get your opinions on my list below and help me decide. FYI, I already have a 24" monitor, hard drives, and other peripherals. I am only having trouble deciding what to pick on the option items below (especially motherboard and the Q9450) and whether I can improve anything else. Some items aren't out yet, so I will have to decide whether to wait. Primary uses are office apps (i.e. outlook and word are always open), photoshop, some graphic intensive games, and other stuff. Thank you.

1. Motherboard:
Option 1: GIGABYTE, GA-P35-DS3R, LGA775, Intel P35, 1333MHz FSB, DDR2-800 8GB /4, PCIe x16, RAID
Option 2: MSI P7N Diamond LGA 775 NVIDIA nForce 780i SLI ATX Intel Motherboard
Option 3: ABIT IX38 Quad GT LGA 775 Intel X38 ATX Intel Motherboard

2. Processor:
Option 1: INTEL, Core 2 Quad Q6600 Quad-Core (SLACR G0 stepping), 2.4GHz, 1066MHz FSB, 8MB (2 x 4MB) L2 Cache (overclocked)
Option 2: INTEL, Core 2 Extreme QX6850 Quad-Core, 3.00GHz, 1333MHz FSB, 8MB (2 x 4MB) L2 Cache (not overclocked)
Option 3: INTEL, Core 2 Extreme Quad-Core Q9450 (not overclocked)

3. RAM:
Option 1: G.SKILL, 4GB (2 x 2GB) PC2-6400 DDR2 800MHz CL4 (4-4-4-12) SDRAM DIMM, Non-ECC
Option 2: OCZ, Platinum XTC PC2-8000 4GB (2 x 2GB) DDR2-1000
Option 3: CORSAIR, Dominator 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 1066

4. Power Supply:
PC POWER & COOLING, Silencer 750W Quad (Black), 24-pin ATX12V EPS12V, Single +12V Rail, Quad SLI

5. Video Card:
Option 1: Two NVIDIA, EVGA GeForce 8800 GTS 512MB SLI
Option 2: One NVIDIA, a GeForce 9800GX2

6. Case: COOLERMASTER, Cosmos1000 (RC-1000-KSN1-GP)

7. Cooling:
Option 1: ZALMAN, CNPS9700 Copper CPU Cooler, Socket LGA775/AMD754/939/940/AM2, Blue LED
Option 2: THERMALRIGHT Ultra 120 Extreme + Scythe KAMA BAY SCKB-1000WH

8. Case Fan: THERMALTAKE, 120mm Thunderblade Case Fan, Green LED

9. Operating System: MICROSOFT, Windows Vista Ultimate Edition 64-bit, OEM

Budget?

Q6600
GA-P35-DS3R
RAM 2x2GB whichever is priced lowest
PC POWER & COOLING, Silencer 750W Quad
GeForce 9800GX2 if you can wait, or HD3870X2 if you can't
COOLERMASTER, Cosmos1000
THERMALRIGHT Ultra 120 Extreme + Scythe KAMA BAY SCKB-1000WH
THERMALTAKE, 120mm Thunderblade Case Fan, Green LED
MICROSOFT, Windows Vista Ultimate Edition 64-bit, OEM

This is what I would get to meet your needs. Don't bother with Yorkies. You can't find 'em. Maybe 1.5 - 2x the retail on ebay. BTW, a powerful video card can give performance similiar to that of 2 low-end cards. 1 card = usually less wattage, always less heat & space.

Are you overclocking this?

Thanks. No real budget. I am happy to get the best, but don't want to waste money either -- for example, I don't think I need DDR3. However, I am willing to purchase the Q9450, the 9800GX2 or Corsair or other CAS4 RAM if there is a performance gain. (I already have one GTS 512, but can still return it for another 7 days or I guess use the step up program.)

I am primarily trying to figure out what I can improve and what is the best for the money. I would like to get a really good PSU and components that aren't typically swapped out.

Also, can anyone compare the GIGABYTE, GA-P35-DS3R against the EP35C-DS3R? I know nothing about the latter, but I read on a post by enginurd that there are issues with the P35C.

Thanks again for any and all recommendations.

Only if I get the 6600. Thanks.

Those are my personal choices from your options but i would also consider the following

The Gigaybite DQ6 X38 board
The Lian Li A70 case... I think that's the right model.
And an 8800GTS for video.

A 'C' in the gigabyte model number means the board can do DDR2 or DDR3 but not both at the same time. Here's a X38 Gigabyte board that's cheaper than the DQ6;
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6813128089

chuckm, I agree that the DS4 is an excellent board choice for the OP. The one and only reason that I am considering the DQ6 over that is because of the PCI-E x 16 2.0 support.

The new version fo the DS4 has that.

really? Hmmm... I will be taking a peak for myself, that's about $60 I could save!

http://www.gigabyte.eu/Products/Mo [...] uctID=2740

E = energy saver. I think it's a new trend and tree huggers are buying it.

http://www.gigabyte.eu/FileList/We [...] erview.htm

The regular boards support a similar thing in place designed by Intel. It's EIST. I have it on. Electricity ain't free. Basically, the cpu at idle will throttle down:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/EIST

I'm taking a hard look at this board. I'm going to be on a very tight budget and I'm probably going to go ahead with a P5K-E wifi, yes I want the wifi, but an X38 for $207 @ newegg.....................

Werthan, sorry if it looks like we've hijacked your post.

Lol Yeah I prefer those Diesel powered mobos too

clubit.com has a great deal on the GIGABYTE GA-EX38-DS4 aswell. it's 200$ and if you buy a q6600 G0 with it you get an additional 20$ off = 435$ total. i might end up getting that
but i dont see newegg or clubit saying it has pci-e 2.0 but the gigabyte site says it has...
http://www.gigabyte-usa.com/Produc [...] A-EX38-DS4
i have tried asking newegg about wrong info before but the only thing they say is their info is from the manufacturer etc. so i dont know