I am 3 weeks away from building my first system, and these are the parts I plan to buy. This rig is for gaming only, I have another pc that I do everything else on. Gaming ONLY. I will be overclocking once I learn more about it. Here it is.
 
Case:  SILVERSTONE TJ09-SW Silver Aluminum ATX Mid Tower Computer Case  
 
Power Supply:  SILVERSTONE OP1000 ATX 12V 2.2 & EPS 12V 1000W Power Supply
 
Mobo:  EVGA 132-CK-NF78-A1 LGA 775 NVIDIA nForce 780i SLI ATX Intel Motherboard  
 
CPU:  Intel Core 2 Duo E8400 Wolfdale 3.0GHz LGA 775 65W Dual-Core Processor Model BX80570E8400  
 
RAM:  G.SKILL 4GB(2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 1066 (PC2 8500) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model F2-8500CL5D-4GBPK  
 
OS: 32 Bit XP or Vista Ultimate, what's your opinion????
 
Optical Drive:  LG 20X DVD±R Super Multi DVD Burner Black ATAPI / E-IDE Model GSA-H55NK  
 
HDD: (2) Seagate Barracuda ES.2 ST3250310NS 250GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive in RAID 0
 
Sound Card:  Creative 70SB046A00003 7.1 Channels PCI Interface Sound Blaster X-Fi Platinum Fatal1ty Champion Series Sound Card  
 
RAM Fan:  CORSAIR CMXAF1 Fans  
 
Case Fans: (4) Scythe S-FLEX SFF21F 120mm Case Fan  
 
CPU Cooler:  ZALMAN CNPS9700 LED 110mm 2 Ball CPU Cooler  
 
VGA Cooler: (2)  Thermaltake CL-G0102 VGA Cooler
 
Video Cards: (2)  EVGA 512-P3-N802-AR GeForce 8800GT Superclocked 512MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card
 
I already own the graphics cards. Thinking about EVGA's step up program though.  
 
So here is my first build, what do you guys think? Remember I will be OC'ing, and this rig is for gaming only. Hope you guys approve. Oh and what are your thoughts on Vista?
 
Once I build this machine, do I hook both hdd up, and then setup the raid 0 in the bios, and then install the OS?

it looks like you looking to spend big money!so why not get the 9800GTX instead since you got a SLI motherboard you can do 3 way SLI with it.the 1000W PSU i overkill for what you have now.the amount you spend on the VGA cooler is enough to make it for 9800GTX.
 
have a think before you buy it.step up is the best option as i would say.

no don't bother with the 9series get two 8800GTX's in SLI

overkill on PSU, Motherboard unless you plan to SLI.

Well, one reason that I am getting a 1000watt power supply, is because I will eventually be running up to tri-sli, and will be upgrading to watercooling, in the future. I had change of heart on the RAM, now I am thinking about getting some patriot 1200 mhz RAM.

^Ok, if Tri-SLI then 1kw PSU makes sense. DDR2 1200 is overkill, no need to spend that much money. Also most RAM natively above DDR2 800 seems to have compatibility issues.

So then what do you recommend then? I want the best 800mhz ram I can buy then, do you have any suggestions? I will be using the evga 780i mobo, and I want to overclock the ram as much as possible. Can you also recommend a really good watercooling system? I am thinking about ditching the air cooling and going water.

You don't need 4 SFF21F fans. The TJ09 comes with two good fans and mounts for 3 more. I added 3 SFF21E fans to my own TJ09 and kept the original fans too. I picked SFF21E rather than SFF21F because they're quieter.  
 
I'd buy a SATA burner, not IDE.  
 
Vista will give you DirectX 10, but lower fps. OK, with that much GPU power, Vista will be fine anyway. If you get Vista avoid the X-Fi, horrible drivers. Get an HT Omega or Auzentech.
 
I don't like the Zalman 9700. For that money you can get something quieter and better. There's a very nice cooler made by Xigmatek, for example, or the Thermalright Ultra-120 Extreme.
 
With a high-end PC like that it looks weird to get only a dual-core CPU. Why not a Q9450...

I recommend Crucial Ballastix (if OCing and/or doing 2*1GB) or Corsair XMS2 (if doing 2*2GB)

May want to look at this board also unless you hell bent on tri sli
 
 
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6813188026
 
 

You do know that you cant tri SLI with the 8800 gt right?
Tri sli is only possible with 8800 gtx/ultra i think. I am sure you cant tri sli with 8800 gt though.
Get this PSU. Its much better quality.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6817703013

^Agreed on PSU. Yeah, you are right you can't Tri-SLI with 8800GT
see:
http://www.evga.com/forums/tm.asp? [...] y=&#297333
 

I love that name. lol  EVGA NVIDIA nForce 750i FTW SLI

 
 
He's only doing gaming, so a dual core with higher fsb is hands down the best choice as there's lilttle multithreaded games and GPU speed scale better with higher CPU frequencies than with more cores.

I don't see too much difference between the 750i and the 780i. Other than price

aevm, good looking out, I just realized that I clicked on the wrong dvd burner, I deffinitely want a sata drive.

Between E8400 and Q9450 - the E8400 is the better choice indeed, if you're only playing games, you're not running other things in the background, you don't play FSX. Longer-term, that will change, of course, as games start supporting quads better.
 
Between 750i and 780i: 750i runs the PCI-E slots at x8, 780i at x16. For the 8800GT cards this is not a problem. For your next card(s) it will hurt. You decide. If you'll buy your next video cards at the same time as a new motherboard and a Nehalem CPU then no worries, go with 750i and save some cash.
 
Those VGA coolers will turn your single-slot cards into thick cards. You will probably lose some PCI slots, maybe all, depending on which motherboard you pick. If you want a soundcard or TV tuner you have to be careful when you pick a motherboard.
 

So the Nehalem CPU is a new type of processor right? Even when they do come out they will probably be rediculously priced, so they are out of the question for now. In 2 years I will probably step up to DDR3 and a new mobo and processor anyway, but I am thinking about using EVGA's step up program and bumping up to a card that supports tri-sli, for in the long term, if I can just pop another card in later, that will extend of the computer build even longer for me. As is in 2 years I will deffinitely want something faster, maybe even in a year or more. Once I get this first build under my belt and learn what the hell I am doing, then I will really wanna get serious and at least go watercooling, and build a bigger badder system. So then what's your opinion on the video card upgrading? You see what cards I have now, besides the super expensive cards, got any recommendations on card upgrades? By the way all I really play is FPS games(COD4 mainly). Keep the input coming, I am really learning alot on this forum thanks guys. AEVM, why is the pci-e speed not a problem for the 8800gt's, and do you think me adding coolers is a good choice? Since now I am not going with the 790i board and the DDR3 ram now I have saved a few bucks and can sink it in elsewhere in the build. As for the sound card, I deffinitely want an x-fi sound card.

 
The EVGA NVIDIA nForce 750i is listed with 2x x16 Sli slots you mentioned them at x8. i haven't seen any information like that, I remember the 680i boards had the tri-sli as 16x-8x-16x but see no mention of 750i being 8x.
and as a side note does anyone know what the FTW means in the 750i (for the win?) just weird it's on the box.