I'm building a new gaming pc, and I need this to last me a good, long time. Currently I'm using an Athlon XP 3000, with 1gig ddr 400 ram and a Radeon X850XT, and I bought all those when they were first released. Just to give ya an idea of how long I need this pc to last .

Was thinking about this build:

mobo:ASUS RAMPAGE FORMULA
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6813131284
(is this crossfire ? not sure)

cpu: q9450
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] &Tpk=q9450

ram: OCZ Platinum 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 1066
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6820227298

HD: 2x Western Digital Caviar SE WD1600AAJB 160GB 7200 RPM in RAID 0
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6822136112

ps: do i need a special controller i gotta buy to do the RAID 0?

As for the GPU, I wanted to wait for the HD4870x2, but I've heard such diferent opinions on when it's coming out, and I need to get this build ready prior to Aug 8, so I guess I'll go with the HD4870, was thinking Sapphire
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6814102748

Any input is very welcome! As far as OCing goes, I MIGHT do a lil bit of it, but I've never done it before and I'm afraid of ruining my pc, so most likely not.

Thanks!

looks good to me.
the rampage is crossfire, the good kind. pcie 2.0 x16. unlike a p45 thats x8
I JUST bought the gigabyte x48 ds4. might wana look into that one too. its cheaper but seems to be GREAT from all the reviews i read.

Hd and raid I dont know, I just bought a 640g Western Digital so...

what about PSU & case?

corsair 750wtx is great! and if you decide to Cf the 4879's later its got plenty of power and connectors. Im pwersonally getting 2 4850's. Half the price for a small decrease in preformance. But its your rig

BTW visiontek has a lifetime warenty, good for us folks who wana keep there rig for a long time. unlike some ppl herer who rebuilde every 6 months.

HAVE FUN GOOD LUCK

Thanks Licid completly forgot about PSU, was thinking about a 600ishW one, but that corsair you mentioned isn't all that expensive, I might just pick that one up.

And since I'm all for lifetime waranty, I'm switching to Visiontek for my HD4870

Drop those drives and get the SATA II WD Caviar SE16's. Loads better performance, the 250's are better than the 320's.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6822136055

The mobo will take care of the RAID 0, no need for a card.

Hum you think 1 of those HDs will perform better then 2 of the ones I was going to pick? Or is there a 160gb version so I can RAID 0 those instead? The one you linked is a bit more expensive.

On another one, I forgot to mention I game at 1440x900 (19"WS), and I'm getting a bit worried that the HD4870 won't last me long enough. I'd like to game on high settings with AA and AF on for a long time before needing a replacement, and I'm wondering if I'm making a mistake not waiting for the HD4870x2, as I've heard it won't be that much more expensive than the single GPU one... /confused...

The 160GB SATA II's are a couple of bucks cheaper than the UATA's you listed.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6822136075

But as you were spending nearly $300 on the mobo it doesn't seem worth skimping on the drives. Especially if it's meant to last. Might as well shell out a bit more and get 2 SATA II drives with 16MB caches. IMO

I meant to link the SE not RE first of all.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6822136161

Humm thanks for the input. Think I'm going to RAID 0 those last drives you linked there =P. Price is actually good, hehe.

I've got a couple new questions. I've heard somewhere that DDR2 800 with better timings will actually perform better then a DDR2 1066 with bad timings. The RAM I had picked has timings of 5-5-5-18, wich for my litle understand is pretty bad. Would it be better to get another ram like:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6820227278
that one is actually more expensive, or
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6820145194
same price?

Another thing, since the GTX260 and HD4870 are now priced the same, isn't it better to get the GTX260? Specially because that one has 800mb?

Another question, is there a good crossfire mobo that basicly does all that rampage formula does, but for a lot cheaper? I don't know much about mobos, and I'd like to cut costs wherever possible, so any help is very welcome.

bumpage for helpage

X48-DS4 by Gigabyte($225). The 4850's ($158 after rebate)in crossfire are way better bang/buck than 260's. The 4870's outperform the 260's, but are more expensive, at $255 after rebate. The 750W Corsair PSU is $100 after rebate and has a great single rail. It's very efficient, and a good deal. Similar specs to the PC Power and Cooling Silencer Quad, but $40 less. I would go with 1066 Ram with 5-5-5-15 timings if you can afford it, preferably with no more than 2.1 as the voltage. G-Skill makes a good set of 2x2GB ones for $105.