Alright, so before I even begin, I'd just like to give a shout out to all of the people here at these forums. I've built this PC seven times over since I first got the idea to build a new one and you have all helped me for about 4 of those builds. I hope this is my final build and that I don't need to update this much longer, but here goes anyway.

The link can be found here: http://secure.newegg.com/WishList/ [...] stTitle=PC

The one thing not included is the case, which is the final thing on my checklist that I need help with. Any recomendations are great!

Notes:

I am eventually going to buy a second 4870 once the price drops just a bit. This is crucial to understanding my PSU concern.

My Concerns:

1. My first main concern is the PSU. Is it going to be sufficient? I believe that it will be when I consider the actual load, but I do not know how to calculate the aperage on the 12v rails.

Also, I have taken a look at the following PSU: http://www.buy.com/prod/corsair-tx [...] 78325.html

Would this be a better option, especially considering the price?

2. The second concern is the hard drive. I am certainly looking at purchasing a performance HDD in the future, but I A. Don't have the cash, and I B. do not really need much more storage space. What will a performance HDD let me do?

3. The HD 4870 cooling is my third concern. Overclockers club has said that there were some problems with the cooling. Does anyone know anything more about this? Should I purchase a third-party cooler? I did take a look at coolers, but I could not find any that were compatible (I presume because the card is so new)

4. Space on the MoBo. Will I be able to fit two 4870s?


And my final question: This is my first build in which I picked all the parts from scratch. I understand that a dual-core solution might be better right now, but I'm looking towards the future, as I don't think I will be able to update all that often. Did I do a good job?

Thanks,
DarkDwarf

You are buying a 4870. Excellent choice. Ditch the terrible nVidia motherboard which you cannot Crossfire with anyway.

Get this motherboard instead: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6813128336

Get the Corsair excellent PSU. Might even way to bump up to the 1kW version for future headroom, but its > $200.

Hard drive is just fine. Raptors are not worth the money you spend on them.

As the Duck says, you need a X38/X48 motherboard to Crossfire the ATI HD 4870/4850 cards. You probably had the SLI motherboard when you were considering using a Nvidia GPU choice. Because the new ATI cards are working so well in their price range it makes good sense to go with the X48 motherboard and the 4870 card. The Corsair is an excellent solution for that mobo choice and those cards. They recommend at least 600w for Xfired 4870s
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6817139006
Get this to go with that Xigmatek cooler....push pin mounting sucks
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6835233019

+1 for shadowducks and dirtmountains suggestions.
Yup! Push pin sucks! Raptors are not worth the money! HD4850 or 4870 is the best there is right now. Those new nVidia GPUs are too expensive.
Corsair PSU is good.

Get an RC-690 case. Add a bunch of SFF21E fans there if you're worried about the HD 4870s running hot.

Ditch one of the Lite-Ons and get a SH-S203B instead. With different burners you get some advantages you don't get with two identical ones. Some burners write better, others rip audio better, others rip video better, others read data faster, some come with better software than others (and anyway why would you want two identical CDs with software). If your burners are different you can figure where each of them is best. No burner is best at everything.

With the 750TX and the GA-X48-DS4 and that retention bracket, your build looks really nice.

The Antec 850W is a good PSU, but why spend $50 more when the 750TX is top quality and powerful enough.

You could get a WD6400AAKS for $95 instead of a WD3200AAKS for $70. 100% more space for 36% more $, same speed, not a bad deal. Of course, if you're sure even 320GB will be enough don't bother.

Sorry for the bump here guys. Whats the deal with the memory? Why is newegg only selling like four types of DDR2 1200?

Because 1) You don't need DDR2-1200 2) It is not an official standard.

Then 1. why does the spec sheet on the MoBo say DDR2 1200 and 2. what memory would I use instead?

1. Because that is the max it supports, not what you have to use.
2. DDR2-800. Patriot makes a good set here: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6820220269

So I can use any DDR2 < 1200?

*Can*

unless you overclock your FSB to > 400 anything over 800 cost you more money and give you exactly ZERO speed benefit.

Right. I decided to go with the DDR2 800 that you recommended! Thanks!