New gaming rig / 1000$-1500$

Haven't posted on here before, don't yell at me too too much!

APPROXIMATE PURCHASE DATE: Within the next week or two, soon-ish. BUDGET RANGE: Roughly 1000$-1500$

SYSTEM USAGE FROM MOST TO LEAST IMPORTANT: Gaming first and foremost, general entertainment.

PARTS NOT REQUIRED: Processor, monitor, mouse, keyboard, speakers, router/network adapter, motherboard, hard drive (will be buying a new one down the line, though).

Some backround info on already-purchased/acquired parts..

Processor: I already have a Q6600 lying around (only a stock HSF)
Motherboard: I already have a EVGA nForce 680i board (A1 revision, will allow quad-core OC'ing)
RAM: OCZ DDR2-800 2 x 2GB (PC2-6400, part number OCZ2N800SR2G)
Hard Drive: Relatively obscure frankenbuild part, Samsung 7200RPM 220GB.
Monitor: 24" LG (1920 x 1200, 60Hz)
Mouse: Razer Diamondback
Keyboard: Razer Tarantula
Speakers: Logitech X-540
Router: Linksys WRT54G
OS: will be installing Vista 64bit.

PREFERRED WEBSITE(S) FOR PARTS: ncix.com, tigerdirect.ca if needed.

PARTS PREFERENCES: I already have an Intel processor, so no Intel/AMD debate needed. Open-minded for video cards, mind you the motherboard (680i, already acquired) doesn't support Crossfire, just SLI (however it will run ONE ATI card).

OVERCLOCKING: Certainly. SLI OR CROSSFIRE: SLI, Crossfire not supported with the motherboard. Planning on starting with one video card, then eventually adding another for SLI down the line (assuming Nvidia, at that point)

MONITOR RESOLUTION: 1920 x 1200

ADDITIONAL COMMENTS: - Noise shouldn't be a huge concern, mostly performance.

- My only concern with the already-owned parts is the motherboard. Although recent Nvidia chipset motherboards may differ, I have heard some disturbing things about the Nvidia 680i boards. Even though I have the A1 revision, so I can overclock the Q6600, it is still concerning at best. I could relatively easily pick up a P5Q or similar Intel-based motherboard, especially considering the recent price drops as a result of newer DDR3 set-ups. ($150 CAD ish?)

- For now, I think I'll stick away from the i7/DDR3 set-ups, simply because of the high cost of all that is involved with i7/DDR3 and such.

- Also, adding the two brands/timings of RAM together seems kinda sketchy, let me know.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ~

Currently selected parts (looking to purchase)

- EVGA GeForce GTX 280 Superclocked 621MHZ 1024MB 2.268GHZ GDDR3 Dual DVI-I HDCP HDTV Out Video Card
http://ncix.com/products/?sku=3922 [...] cture=eVGA
After Mail In Rebate: $308.12 CAD

- Thermalright Ultra 120 Extreme 6 Heatpipe Cooler LGA775 Heatsink *Fan Not Included*
http://ncix.com/products/index.php [...] ermalright
Reg. Price: $64.43 CAD

Figured I'd go for a high-end cooler, to make the Q6600 last longer (higher overclock potential, more viable down the line)

- Arctic Cooling MX-2 Thermal Compound Paste NON-ELECTRICAL Conductive 4 Gram
http://ncix.com/products/index.php [...] %20Cooling
Reg. Price: $9.99 CAD

- Cooler Master Haf 932 Full Tower Black EATX Case 6X5.25 1X3.5 5X3.5INT No PSU USB eSATA 1394 Audio
http://ncix.com/products/index.php [...] OLERMASTER
Reg. Price: $177.99 CAD

- Corsair TX850W 850W CMPSU-850TX 12V 70A 24PIN ATX Active PFC 140M Fan Power Supply
http://ncix.com/products/index.php [...] re=Corsair
After Mail In Rebate: $149.99 CAD

Should be more than enough for a 280, future SLI potential will probably require one of Corsair's HW1000's, though.

- Patriot Viper Extreme Performance 4GB DDR2 2X2GB PC2-6400 DDR2-800 CL 4-4-4-12 Memory Kit
http://ncix.com/products/index.php [...] re=Patriot
After Mail In Rebate: $54.99 CAD

Slightly concerned about the differences in timings between this and my current OCZ memory.

- Scythe Slip Stream Kaze Jyuni 120MM Fan 1900RPM 110.3CFM 37DBA
http://ncix.com/products/index.php [...] ure=Scythe
Reg. Price: $8.76 CAD

2 of these, one for the HSF, another for the additional fan slot on the bottom of the HAF 932 case.

- Thermalright HR-05/IFX High Riser Northbridge Chipset Cooler Passive 80MM *Fan Not Included*
http://ncix.com/products/index.php [...] ERMALRIGHT
Reg. Price: $24.84 CAD

Figuring that this is worth the small price, considering the NB gets fairly warm when overclocking, so I've heard.

80mm fan to go with...

Arctic Cooling Fan 3 80MM Fan 1900RPM 28CFM 3PIN
http://ncix.com/products/index.php [...] %20Cooling
Reg. Price: $5.99 CAD

Couldn't find anything with better CFM, might have to look s'more.

- ASUS Xonar DX 7.1 Channel PCI-E Sound Card 24BIT Dolby Digital 116DB SNR W/ Low Profile Bracket
After Mail In Rebate: $73.99 CAD
http://ncix.com/products/index.php [...] cture=ASUS

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ~

I believe I have included most of the necessary info, hopefully I didn't forget much. If I did, please lemme know!

I'm checking for compatibility information, any issues that may arise or what not. Also, any advice in terms of picking better parts, alternative value-based options, or any other general suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Just for entertainment's sake, I figured I'd give you an idea of my current system. Pentium D @ 2.8Ghz and a MSI 8500GT... and a .. get this.. Asus EMERY board. EVER heard of it? Nope, that's the point. Should make for QUITE an improvement, ya think?

Thanks for the quick reply.

1 & 2) Only reason I was leaning towards the 280 was because I was considering adding another in a couple months. Now, if I were to start with the 2x 260, I wouldn't be able to add another card, because the board doesn't support tri-SLI or higher. Also, SLI performance depends on specific games and drivers a lot, and can often times do worse than similar single-GPU solutions. Sometimes it's worth it, other times it seems to falter, whereas a single-card solution is guaranteed consistent performance.

Just my thoughts though, nothing written in stone considering I am not all too knowledgeable with the 260s, SLI or otherwise.

3) Again, because of the plans to throw in another 280 down the line, I was thinking that 850W would be a safe bet. Also trying to get the Q6600 to 3.4 or higher, so I figured I'd get some insurance, so to speak. The extra 100W is only about 40$ difference (with rebates), so I just thought that would future-proof a wee bit more.

4) Um, the RAM is a little .. obscure, for the moment. If I'm not mistaken, from the product number I was able to track down the following on Newegg.com,

http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Produ [...] 6820227377

That should clear up any RAM wonderings. Only reason I opted for another brand of RAM is because of that snazzy deal for some pretty solid Corsair Dominator DDR2, quite a savings from Ncix.

Thanks again.

You can check yourself how much power you would need with this tool...
http://extreme.outervision.com/psucalculatorlite.jsp
Choose capacitor aging - 25/ 30%...