So I told my wife that I needed to build a new computer and that it would cost $2500 knowing full well that she would say no. I figured we could agree on something around the $1500 mark. To my surprise she had no objections to $2500! This is my first real build, (I built one before, but with no research and paid to much $ for not enugh machine) and I want it to last me a while. I intend to use this for gaming, music, surfing, the usual stuff. I don't intend to order this for a couple of weeks, but here is what I am looking at so far.

Case: XCLIO A380Plus http://www.newegg.com/product/prod [...] 6811103014

Mother board: EVGA 780i http://www.newegg.com/product/prod [...] 6813188024

CPU: Intel Q6600 http://www.newegg.com/product/prod [...] 6819115017

CPU Cooler: Zalman 9700 http://www.newegg.com/product/prod [...] 6835118019

Ram: 4X2 (8 gigs) G-Skill DDR2 1000 http://www.newegg.com/product/prod [...] 6820231145

GPU: 2 EVGA 8800GTS (G92) in SLI http://www.newegg.com/product/prod [...] 6814130325

Hard Drive: 2 Seagate Barracuda 320 gig 7200 rpm http://www.newegg.com/product/prod [...] 6822148140

PSU: X-CLIO Great Power 850 Watt ( is this enough for 2 8800GTS in SLI?) http://www.newegg.com/product/prod [...] 6817189017

Optical Drive: Samsung DVD-R http://www.newegg.com/product/prod [...] 6827151154

Monitor: Acer 24" LCD 2ms http://www.newegg.com/product/prod [...] 6824009125

Right now this is all from The Egg, and after shiping totals out to $2430. I will be running Vista Ultimate 64 bit. Any input helps. Thanks in advance guys!

Oh, I also would like to over clock this.

Get a E8400 (Wolfdale) CPU, cheaper and faster
Get a Freezer 7 pro for the CPU or better [overclocking]
Scythe makes great case fans, look at their CFM when purchasing
Don't know much about aftermarket GPU coolers unfortunately.

Change the PSU to :
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6817814005
or
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6817703009
see: http://www.xtremesystems.org/forum [...] p?t=108088 for PSU tire listing. Every thing else looks good. .

Also get this RAM:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6820227199
(cheaper)

No. The Zalman is better. If going for an after market GPU cooler get:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6835118006
ZALMAN VF900

or better [overclocking]

That is why I said "or better"

With $70 budget left, and an OS and speakers to buy . . . and maybe some software . . . although she probably won't notice those separate little charges . . .

And maybe I'll learn something too lol . . .

Why not the Intel E8400 Dual Core for this Gaming Rig? It should run your games faster, cooler, and be cheaper - whether stock or OC'd - than your choice. And save $37.

Also, the Arctic Freezer 7 Pro cooler is a snap for anyone - even a first-time builder - to properly install. No worries about how to apply what thermal paste, can be installed after the mobo and PSU are installed/connected, seems to outperform the one you chose in tests I've looked at, in any case is overkill for a stock cpu, will be more than adequate for all but the most severe OCs, and save $28. If this is your first build, you will likely get a better result from this cooler than any other - nearly foolproof.

Second time I've seen that case suggested, unless this is your second post. Yeccch! But hey, if you want an arcade between your legs, go for it lol.

I'd consider taking a few of those dollars saved and trade one of those disks for a WD Raptor as my C: drive (Maybe someone knows of a faster drive - I don't.) You'll lose 170G and maybe $15 but compare the specs. But hey, that's just me thinking the disks are the slowest part of this system, and that problem always shows up at the wrong time, whether zoning in an MMORPG or an FPS.

He listed a Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 (GET THE 7200.11 DUDE), if...he got the 7200.11 which is nearly as fast as the raptors (literally 1 second~ behind on all load times except a cold boot), it would be many more times the space and a lot cheaper, if he puts them in raid 0 then the raptor truly becomes obsolete..unless compared to other overpriced raptors in raid 0, in which case you will again be a second behind.

EDIT: That one second will probably be a hell of a lot faster than anyone you encounter ever, seriously no big deal.

I would get 2 hd's for better performance the 250gb for OS and the 500gb for Data, Video,mp3's, etc.

Seagate Barracuda ST3250410AS 250GB 7200.10 RPM 16MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive
Seagate Barracuda ST3500320AS 500GB 7200.11 RPM 32MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive

I would seriosly look into this display: SAMSUNG 245BW Black 24" 5ms DVI Widescreen LCD Monitor with Height Adjustment

I would go with these for your build with 2 video cards:

Antec 900 Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case

CORSAIR CMPSU-620HX ATX12V v2.2 EPS12V 2.91 620W Power Supply

mlaporta one of those is the older 7200.10 models

You should have a look at this OCZ PSU http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 817341007.
It will give you loads of headroom for overclocking and adding hard drives.Also OCZ are a huge brand name and that means you will not have a cheap PSU and having a cheap one is very bad(Not saying the X-Clio PSU is cheap but I don't know much about that company compared to OCZ).The 1010 watts are pretty good for future proofing and will have no problem with that PSU.The 8GB's of RAM isn't needed unless your doing some serious photo and video editing.The impact of the 2nd 4GB's won't be as big as the 1st 4GB's.You should consider the Thermalright Ultra-120http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835109125.I have heard nothing but praise about it(just google it.I would consider if you're gonna o\c and sli you should have a look at the Antec Nine Hundred Case.It can fit 8800GTX sli and has 2 120mm fans on the front and 1 200mm on the top.Other than that it's fine.