[New System Build] Striker II Based Q9450

I am a gamer, but not quite an enthusiast. I built an SLi AMD 3200+ three years ago, upgraded the video card twice (now a EVGA 7900 GTO), and now it's long in the tooth and needs replacing. I used to be up to speed with hardware, but now I am solely focused on my DBA duties, making hardware difficult to keep up with. I feel it's best to ask the experts!

At any rate, I have looked around, read some forums, read some reviews, and have pieced the system together that I think will be a solid performer, and semi-future proof. I am only looking at numbers, however, and not neccessarily what makes sense. There are specifics I do not understand the benefit on a cost-per-performance basis, such as my choice of DDR and the GeForce 260 over the 280, or the 8800 I see often.

Also, please bear in mind that this is a time sensitive splurge, and I'm really not willing to wait a few months for new technologies. My total lack of discipline will make sure I have no cache of cash by then!

On to the stats:

Case: Thermaltake Armor+MX VH8000BWS Black Aluminum / Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case
Power Supply: Thermaltake toughpower W0117RU 750W ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply
Cooling: Thermaltake CL-W0175 Water Cooler
Memory: OCZ Platinum 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory
Motherboard: ASUS Striker II Extreme LGA 775 NVIDIA nForce 790i Ultra SLI DDR3 ATX Intel Motherboard
CPU: Intel Core 2 Quad Q9450 Yorkfield 2.66GHz LGA 775 95W Quad-Core Processor Model BX80569Q9450
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 260 FTW Edition 896-P3-1266-AR Video Card
Hard Disks: SAMSUNG Spinpoint F1 HD753LJ 750GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive
DVD RW: HP 20X DVD±R DVD Burner with LightScribe Black SATA Model DVD1070i

Price Tag (if sole-sourced): $1900.00

I also wanted to know if it is possible to modify the Evga GeForce GTX 260 with a water cooling block. I noticed it has a large outer casing (or heat spreader, I'm not sure).

Thanks in advance!

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Whoa. That 4870 is astounding for the price, and the GIGABYTE GA-X48T-DQ6 offers me the same features I need as the Striker II from what I can tell. Is there anything I will lose (besides knocking $200.00 off the price tag)? It looks like I will gain 6-10% with the 4870.

I haven't ever used an ATI card before, always used NVidia. I bought an SLi motherboard three years ago with a "Just in case" mindset, and never bought double cards for it (It's an A8N SLi Deluxe). If I keep buying a new PC every three years, and a new mid range video card every year and a half, will I really need SLi or Crossfire if I usually run my games at 1280x1024 (or it's widescreen equivalent)? I'm not huge on effects, as long as I get over 30FPS with decent graphics.

This seems like a move that cannot lose, from what I can tell. Again, is there anything the Gigabyte won't get me that the Striker II will, besides SLi?

Thanks again, Cal & Kill. Good, solid advice.

look at these charts comparing ddr3 to ddr2. it might help you decide

http://www.extremetech.com/article [...] 833,00.asp