New Build. Need opinions please :D

[akondray]

So this is my first ever home built PC as I've always been a Mac fanboy and used macs. I have a few particular questions but I'll post those at the bottom..

The build thus far:


CPU
AMD Phenom II X4 965 Black Edition Deneb 3.4GHz
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103727

Mother board
ASUS M4N98TD EVO AM3 NVIDIA nForce 980a SLI ATX AMD Motherboard
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131636&nm_mc=AFC-C8Junction&cm_mmc=AFC-C8Junction-_-RSSDailyDeals-_-na-_-na&AID=10521304&PID=3463938&SID=

CD drive
ASUS DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS Black SATA 24X DVD Burner - Bulk - OEM
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827135204

GPU
(Might be switching to 2x Radeon HD 6870.. Thoughts on this vs sli GTX 470?)
2 x EVGA 012-P3-1470-AR GeForce GTX 470 (Fermi) 1280MB 320-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support Video Card
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130550

Memory
G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 (PC3 10666)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231311

HD
Western Digital Caviar Blue WD6400AAKS 640GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136218

PSU
CORSAIR CMPSU-850TX 850W ATX12V 2.2 / EPS12V 2.91 SLI Ready CrossFire Ready Active PFC Power Supply
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139009

Case
Antec Nine Hundred Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811129021


Questions
1. Does my Ram look decent right now? Would I be better off getting 4g of DDR3 2000 as compared to 8g of DDR 1333?
2. Will my case provide enough cooling for my dual graphics cards and cpu?
3. I'm pretty much completely lost on the mother board, so I just used the one that was on one of the "best configs" sticky, can someone please direct me towards an adequate motherboard?

My Intentions
I plan on using this computer pretty extensively for gaming. I currently am working on a CS degree so I naturally will be doing some programming and web browsing. Asides from that, I don't really do any sort of video editing or converting nor do I mess around much with photos (Although I do have spurts of time where I use photoshop pretty heavily).

 

[batuchka]

Ouch GTX 470..and 2 of em? Me thinks HD 6850/6870 CF with mind boggling lower power draw, temps and price @@
http://www.anandtech.com/show/3987/amds-radeon-6870-6850-renewing-competition-in-the-midrange-market/8

The power draw from a GTX 470 SLI is too x-rated to be shown on the chart above LOL

 

[akondray]

So you think I'd be better off going with CF 6870s? If that is the case, can you tell me what the major difference is between a 6870 made by say Sapphire and one made by XFS. On Newegg there's a $20 price difference and as far as I can tell nothing in terms of hardware has changed...



Also, if I go with CF 6870s, thoughts on a motherboard?

 

[batuchka]

You have to visit manufacturer's website before a shoot out/review is out currently to study cooling solutions, clocks, whats in the box, etc The Asrock 870Extreme at such a lovely price point already offers CF+ USB/SATA 3.0