Antec P182
THERMALTAKE Toughpower 850W (W0131RU)
Gigabyte GA-X48-DQ6
Intel Core 2 Quad Processor Q9550
OCZ 2GB PC2-9200 FlexXLC Edition Dual Channel DDR2 Kit (2 x 1GB)
SAPPHIRE Radeon HD 4870 512MB GDDR5
SEAGATE 500GB Barracuda 7200.11
Thermalright Ultra-120 eXtreme with Scythe Slip Stream 120 mm fan

WinXp 32bit
I will primarily use this system for a racing simulation called iRacing. It uses 2 cpu cores. You pay yearly for it and they will hopefully continue to develop the game. They will eventually make available for use of more than 2 cores. Other games I will play include gtr2, rfactor, gpl, lfs, CnC, Ut, GTA. Primary use is for iRacing so if I can't play certain games because the system is outdated in 3 years that's fine as long as I'm still able to get iracing working with smooth framerate.

I would like to overclock a bit in the near future and go crossfire which is why I'm getting the 850W psu.

1) Does anyone know if this powersupply will have problems with cable lengths. I've read somewhere on another forum that the powersupply had a 470 mm length for the 24 pin connector and everything else was 500 mm. Is that enough?

2) Would it be wise to replace the rear and top exhaust Antec tri cool fans with a Scythe S-FLEX™ S-FDB 120mm Quiet Fan?

3)I would like to put my heatsink's longest side up to down. I would then put the fan on the rightside so I can push air into the heatsink because there are 2 exhaust fans at the rear and top of the case. Is this the right way to do this?

4) how heavy is too heavy for a heatsink where it's at risk of bending the motherboard or damaging it?

5) What safety steps should I take when building the pc?

Any criticism towards the system is much appreciated

1. No. I think you meant the 4/8-pin cpu power cable. You can route it through the underside of the mobo tray and the top-left opening. See pics:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] tec%20P182

2. Not unless noise is a huge issue. Even so, the bundled Antec fans have 3-speed controller. Look at the above picture. It's lying on top of the psu cage.

5. Plug the psu in a wall outlet and switch it to off. Touch it once in a while when you're building the pc.

Yes, touch an unpainted metal surface on the computer every now and then or buy an anti-static wrist strap..

have you thought about getting a hd 4870 x2, if you plan to get a second hd 4870 in the future, this may save you the trouble

It's a little too much in price for me for a video card. Tbh I havn't looked at any reviews about the 4870 x2. I just figured if the hd 4870 would get cheaper in the future I would get another one to boost the performance.

Also I'm running WinXP 32 bit, if the hd 4870 x2 has 2 gigs of ram on the card I will get less than 2 gigs of physical ram(is that the right terminology?).