2,700$ gaming rig

[comp615]

Looking at another new compy for a friend, we came up with something like below for our budget of about 2,700:

NZXT Apollo Silver Case
ASUS P5N-E SLI Mobo
EVGA Superclocked 8800GTS x2
OCZ GameXStream 700w PSU
Corsair XMS2 6400 C4 2GB RAM
Seagate 320GB HD (or maybe a 150GB Raptor?)
Sony DVD-rom and Samsung DVD-RW Burner
Creative X-FI fatal1ty sound board
Vista and Office

Logitec MX518 mouse
Saitek Eclipse 2 keyboard
Viewsonic VX922 Monitor

My questions:
1. I know that vista doesn't support SLI yet, that's ok.
2. Is there a 64bit of Vista to purchase? IS it worth the problems it'd cause?
3. AS mentioned, would a Raptor be worth it?
4. Any other suggestions on parts? I wasn't sure on MOBO but i figured nvidia based board would go well with SLI cards.

Thanks!

EDIT: I forgot to choose, but any recommendations on 2.1 speakers? I know there's an altec lansing pair I have that are very nice and economical too

[glc]

1. What's the question?
2. Yes. No.
3. Not in my opinion.
4. If you MUST do SLI with Intel, get an Asus 680i board, not that one.
What processor?
Stay away from Samsung opticals. Sonys are overpriced too.

[comp615]

YEah I guess 1 isn't a question

I thought that board was a 680i....and I thought it was Nvidia not Intel lol. I guess its 650 isnt it, what would you recommend?

[newbuilder14]

Here's an Asus 680i board: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813131073

Get an SLI-certified power supply, too, such as a 750w or 850w Silverstone.

[comp615]

DOes it matter which SIlverstone 750w? I see SLI support: YES and SLI Support:NVIDIA certified....does it matter which?

[Mr.Ferrari]

SLi support usually means it has 2 pci-e conectors, nothing special. SLI certified means its certified by nvidia to run said cards. www.slizone.com

Even though nvidia does sometimes overdo powersupply requirements, in this case I would definately go with something up to the job.

The Silverstone ST75ZF or ETASIS ET-750 would be your best bets. Both available at newegg.

[comp615]

I think I am set except for the MOBO, looking for something that will do SLI, has a parallel port and is ~200. All the 680i based mobos seem to be 250~ and don't have parralell. THe supreme FX thing is nice, but when you get a soundcard its redundant.

[Mr.Ferrari]

If you want to do SLi be prepared to pay up.

The minimum board would be the Asus P5N32-E Sli.

[spartan015]

Lite-On are really good optic drives... especially if you get light scribe, and all the TDK burners i've had are decent, i have a NEC burner and it works great.

on ur mobo do you want dual 16x? most SLI boards (non-high end) are single 16x that are split in SLI to 8x 8x.

[glc]

You can get a parallel port PCI card if you need one.

2.1's? If you are spending that kind of money, get Klipsch.

[comp615]

I mean its a 100$ diff in mobo from 650i to 680i. The way I understand it 680 is 16x and 16x whereas 650 is 8x and 8x. But to my knowledge the cards dont even saturate a 8x bus yet neways

[Mr.Ferrari]

Its not that, 650i is a pretty new release. And with the finicky platform that intel SLi is, I would only go with somewhat proven chipsets. In which case, 680i.

Heck we try not to recommend SLi with Intel unless absolutely necessary.

[Katreat]

Can't find a CPU in your list or I am missing something? What processor are you planning to use?

[comp615]

That figures that I forgot lol...I was going to use the 6700 Core 2 Duo, but due to cost contraints I have selected the 6600 Core 2 Duo