Need help with a new rig

[Nick624]

After having the same computer for five years, never even once upgrading it, and thinking it was fine for gamng was a mistake. So, instead of buying a retail computer i was thinking of building my own. This is going to be for high end gaming (Crysis anyone? :P). My budget is about 3.5 grand to 5 grand. (I've been working hard for the past two years. So far, I've picked out almost all the parts that i will need. It's an intel based system with SLI capabilities.

CPU: Intel Core 2 Extreme QX6850 3.0GHz
http://www.tigerdirect.ca/applicatio...533&CatId=2399
GPU: EVGA GeForce 8800 Ultra KO Video Card + XFX GeForce 8800 Ultra Video Card
http://www.tigerdirect.ca/applicatio...&sku=P450-8800
And http://www.tigerdirect.ca/applicatio...&sku=E145-8806
Motherboard: XFX nForce 680i SLI NVIDIA Socket 775 ATX Motherboard
http://www.tigerdirect.ca/applicatio...&sku=P450-9104
Hard Drive: Seagate Barracuda ES 500GB Hard Drive - 7200, 16MB, SATA-300, OEM
http://www.tigerdirect.ca/applicatio...&sku=TSD-500NS
RAM: OCZ Reaper HPC Dual Channel 2048MB PC9200 DDR2 1150MHz Memory (2 x 1024MB)
http://www.tigerdirect.ca/applicatio...&sku=O261-7058

The peripherals are already taken care of/

Altough i have a few questions. First off, i was thinking of installing liquid cooling, but this is going to be my first build, and I don't think i want to ruin a PC just for it. Also, my parents are divorced, so i move from my fathers house to my mothers every 2nd week. Would i have to drain the liquid any time i need to travel with it (About 5-10KM). It's also because of this I'm not sure if I should go with a full size case or a mid size one. That's about it, any comments or suggestions would be appreciated.

[chuck4456]

If I was going to spend that kind of money, I'd wait a few more weeks, or until the first of the year, when all of the X38 chipset stuff is finally out.
Skip the 680- go with an INTEL chipset.
Unless you are totally under the gun to build a new system.

[glc]

The X38 does not perform any better than the P35. If you have your heart set on SLI, the 680i is the best game in town, but you should order 2 *IDENTICAL* video cards and find a different brand of motherboard than XFX, think Asus Striker. You should also get a Barracuda .10 or .11, not a ES, the ES is a drive designed for servers, not workstations. I'd also go for more mainstream DDR2-800 ram, that hotrod stuff really won't make a noticeable difference. Stick with quality air cooling if you are going to be transporting the computer frequently. Make sure you have a quality brand certified power supply.

[Nick624]

Ok, thanks for the help

[Al Pollock]

Power supply, Power supply ,Power supply ....VERY IMPORTANT Don't pinch penny's here