Building New High-End System

[Archaicevil]

Let me first say that I've never really had a good computer. My dad worked with computers for years, so we always have old parts sitting around, but none of them were in working condition, and since he had a nice computer at work, he didn't need a god one at home. Finally I decided I want a really, really good computer. After years of using computers at least a generation behind everyone else, and a short stint with macs, I'm looking to build an awesome computer.

Unfortunately to someone who's more software savvy than hardware, this seems like quite the daunting task. So, I decided to start from the CPU:

Intel Core 2 Duo E8400 Dual Core Processor LGA775 3.0GHZ Wolfdale 1333FSB 6MB Retail

Decided to go with Intels 'newer' 45nm Core 2 duo, since I didn't foresee the need to go, say, quad core, because I wouldn't need it in the time I get this computer and when I get a newer one (whenever that may be). Most processor intensive processes I intend on running are games, and the most I plan on having open at the same time are a couple of programs.

As for the motherboard, I'm thinking of going with this:

ASUS P5K-E/WIFI-AP ATX LGA775 P35 DDR2 1333FSB 2PCI-E16 3PCI 2PCI-E1 SATA2 Sound WLAN Motherboard

Supports 1333 FSB and up to 1066 ddr2 (apparently, OC'd I suppose). Now, I wanted to go with ddr2, cause I don't think ddr3 is worth the money atm, and of course, want to get as much out of my RAM as possible, so I'd like some 1066s. It supports of to 8 gigs of DIMM RAM, so I hope to go with XP 64bit and plunk in 4, 2 gig sticks if possible (Overkill, yeah, I'll probably tone it down a bit, especially once I punch in the prices, but for theorycrafting, it's nice to know I could).

Where I'm stuck at right now is as to what kind of video card I want to check out. Go crazy and get one of the X2 or GX2 cards, go less crazy and put dual 8800s or something. I hope to use all the capabilities of these high end cards, but I just don't know how much of an upgrade the X2s are from their single card counterparts, and if they'd be worth the extra money.

And of course, I'm not sure exactly what kinda of cooling I'd want to keep these things running as long as they're still viable for gaming/etc.

Sorry if this is a bit too vague or broad of a topic, but I'd appreciate any feedback on this venture of mine.

Cheers.

[homer]

hey man. heres a list for you...

Motherboard: EVGA 780i
CPU: Intel E8400
CPU Heatsink: Thermalright Ultra 120 Extreme
CPU Heatsink Fan:Scythe Slip Stream Kaze Jyuni 1900RPM*
Graphics card: EVGA 9800gtx
RAM: OCZ SLI-Ready DDR2 1066 4x1gb sticks
HDD: Seagate Barracuda 500gb SATA **
Optical drive: X2 LG G-H20L-S10 DVD/CD burner with lightscribe***
Case: Antec 900 gaming case****
Power Supply: Corsair TX750W

Total: $1233.88 excluding taxes.

Notes:
* this is a high performance fan however it is plain black and does not have any LED's in it.

** i do not know how big of a harddrive you need so i threw in a 500gb. you may want a larger or smaller one, whatever your decision, i still suggest sticking with the seagate brand. also if you would like to setup a RAID 0 array you could buy 2 of the same size. (RAID 0 increases reading/writing speed by about 30-40% but if one drive fails all your data is lost.)

*** i suggest buying 2 of these, its always good to buy at least 2 optical drives, especially when they are only ~$30 a piece.

**** the case is totally up to you. this case is merely the one i would choose because of the good ventilation and cool blue look.

*EDIT*

Added Note: the $1200 total is alot less then your $1500-2000 budget, so if you like you could purchase another 9800gtx and a 1000W corsair PSU found here.

[Archaicevil]

Sweeeet, put through the order today, adding in a nice 22" monitor, second HD and other peripherals, which brought it around an even $2000, probably pick it all up tuesday, yay long weekend.