1st Build, could use some input

[Jon59012]

Specs:

Case: Cooler Master Cosmos 1000 RC-1000-KSN1-GP Black/ Silver Steel ATX Full Tower Computer Case

Power Supply: OCZ Technology GameXStream OCZ850GXSSLI 850W Active PFC NVIDIA SLI Certified ATX Power Supply

Motherboard: EVGA 132-CK-NF78-A1 LGA 775 NVIDIA nForce 780i SLI ATX Intel Motherboard

Processor: Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 G0 Stepping Kentsfield 2.40GHz 8MB L2 LGA 775 Processor Retail BX80562Q6600 SLACR

Ram: Transcend aXeRam 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 1200 (PC2 9600) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory x2 (Total 4g's)

HD #1: Western Digital Raptor X WD1500AHFD 150GB 10,000 RPM 16MB Cache Serial ATA150 Hard Drive

HD Cooler: MASSCOOL SYTRIN Kuformula SHF1 Ultra HDD Cooler

HD #2: Western Digital Caviar SE WD5000AAJS 500GB 7200 RPM 8MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive

CD/DVD Drive: SAMSUNG Black 20X, 2MB Cache SATA 20X DVD±R DVD Burner with LightScribe

Video Cards (SLI) : XFX PVT88PYDF4 GeForce 8800GT 512MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card x2

Additional CPU Heatsink: Tuniq Tower 120 P4 & K8 CPU Cooler

Thermal Paste: Arctic Silver 5 Thermal Compound

Monitor: SAMSUNG 226BW Black 22" 2 ms (GTG) DVI Widescreen LCD Monitor 300 cd/m2 700:1(DC 3000:1)


Before you spend time answering my question, keep in mind I plan on overclocking a fair amount, and that this build will mainly be a Gaming one.

Questions:

1) I've tried my best to check compatibility issues between components, but I could use some oversight so that I don't do something overly stupid.

2) I'm also unsure of whether or not this particular HD cooler will fit in the HD slots of the case I've chosen, and I can't find the dimensions for the HD bay anywhere. If anyone could enlighten me on whether or not the two fit okay, I'd appreciate it.

3) Is a RAID configuration worth bothering to attempt, is the performance increase even noticeable?

4) This particular RAM has large heatsinks: (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...2bDDR2%2bSDRAM)
Will I be able to fit 4g's in this motherboard?: (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...e%2b780i%2bSLI)

5) There isn't a compatibility issue between SLI cards and Dual channel memory that's not SLI or EPP v1.0 certified is there?

6) 850 Watts enough?

If you read this far, thanks for taking the time to help out.

[Dave21]

I've personally never heard of transend ram. So I recommend Corsair XMS2 DDR-800 2 GB ram.

For HDD, get the new seagate 32 mb cache harddrives. A lot faster than the western digital 16 mb drives at the moment (the one you selected is 8 mb). Also don't go raid, it's not reliable. Just get a single large HDD.

Don't go SLI. The performance is not worth it (30% boost+). Unless your monitor is huge (24" +) then the performance increase will not be much. Just get a single card. You'll have plenty of power. Or wait for the new 9800 series video cards to come out.

Even if you decide to go SLI, a 700 W PSU will be sufficient.

[Katreat]

Agree with Dave on SLI, you would be money ahead sticking with one card. Smaller PSU, much cheaper MB, and with the monitor you picked you wont have any problems meeting resolution requirements with just one card.

Swap out he HD for a WD or Seagate 32 mb as Dave mentions. Much faster.

With the introduction of the 16 and 32 mb 7200 drives the performance gain from raptors has become much smaller. Persoanlly I doubt you will notice a real difference and you are paying a big primum for the raptor drive. I would just go with a larger 7200 drive if you need the space. I also dont really like raid and one large drive allows you to avoid that but that is more of a personal choice.

You must be planning on really OC'ing the system to need both a cooler and extra heatsink. I am not an OC'er so will leave that to others to offer advice. It just looks like a lot of overkill. Also, remember you void CPU warranty when you dont use stock cooler, but you do that anyway when you OC so maybe that is a mute point for you.

There have been a lot of posts on Samsung opticals failing so most recomend going with Lite-on, which has a great reputiation for quality and price.

Never heard of that ram either but if you even have a question about it fitting i would swap it out, ram is cheap right now so get a name brand with a good track record.

For PSU needs check out this site.

http://www.slizone.com/object/slizone_build_psu.html

Kat

[Jon59012]

Thanks guys, appreciate it

[Jon59012]

Thought I would list the update:

Case: Cooler Master Cosmos 1000 RC-1000-KSN1-GP Black/ Silver Steel ATX Full Tower Computer Case

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16811119138

Power Supply: Thermaltake W0106RU Complies with ATX 12V 2.2 & EPS 12V version 700W Power Supply 100 - 240 V CE, CB, TUV, FCC, UL, CUL, and BSMI certified

http://www.clubit.com/product_detail...temno=A6211185

Motherboard: EVGA 132-CK-NF78-A1 LGA 775 NVIDIA nForce 780i SLI ATX Intel Motherboard

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...e%2b780i%2bSLI

Processor: Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 G0 Stepping Kentsfield 2.40GHz 8MB L2 LGA 775 Processor Retail BX80562Q6600 SLACR

http://www.clubit.com/product_detail...temno=A1938452

Ram: OCZ FlexXLC Dual Channel 2048MB PC9200 DDR2 1150MHz (2 x 1024MB)

http://www.tigerdirect.com/applicati...600&CatId=2531

HD #1: Seagate Barracuda ES.2 ST3500320NS 500GB 7200 RPM 32MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...7200%2bRPM%2b3

CD/DVD Drive: LITE-ON LH-20A1S12 20X Dual Layer + DVD-RAM SATA Black Triple Format DVD Writer Retail

http://www.clubit.com/product_detail...temno=A1547202

Video Card (SLI): EVGA Geforce 8800GT Superclocked 512MB 256bit GDDR3 PCI-Express 2.0 HDCP & SLI Ready Video Card Retail 512-P3-N802-A1 x2

http://www.clubit.com/product_detail...temno=A9602860

Additional CPU Heatsink: Tuniq Tower 120 P4 & K8 CPU Cooler

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16835154001

Thermal Paste: Arctic Silver 5 Thermal Compound

Monitor: SAMSUNG 226BW Black 22" 2 ms (GTG) DVI Widescreen LCD Monitor 300 cd/m2 700:1(DC 3000:1)

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16824001096



I already have one EVGA Geforce 8800GT so I went with SLI, the 30% boost seems worth it since I'm not strapped for cash atm. Any other suggestions/comments would be appreciated, thanks for helping me out