Building New Rig----Need Lot's of Help Please

[myth8892]

For anyone that is reading this i could really use some help in building a new system, I can't upgrade every 6 mo. or something so i am hoping to build a descent rig to last me a little longer, perhaps a year or more.
Budget: i can get what i need but don't want to go overboard

I Have Now:
X-fi gamers sound card
Logitech G5 mouse
22" widescreen samsung monitor

Things i have bought but really uncertain about:
EVGA 780i motherboard
Raptor 150 g HD
Pc Silent power 750 psu
Thermaltake Duo-Orb vga cooler (not sure about this) paid 57.00

Things i really need alot of help on and what im thinking of buying but not sure
EVGA 8800GTS or 8800GTX---graphics, if i buy gts, i will buy 2, if i buy GTX, i will just buy one for now.
E8400 chip (if i can find one) E8500 i would like but dont know release date
Case I am thinking of getting the p182 at micro center for 65.00 (not sure)
Memory: really not sure which one to buy crucial or g.skill

What i really need alot of help on is for this type of system, which memory between crucial or G.skill do you think is could and can possibly OC.
Thinking of buying another Raptor X drive as well, they are selling for 159.95 at Micro Center right now and running them both at raid 0 on the EVGA
But i Honestly don't know if it is even running them like that or just staying one Raptor and using my older 150 WD HD as a backup or storage and not running Raid 0
Case: im still not really sure of, Im trying to keep mid tower mostly and not a loud case, I plan on going Air with a Thermalright 120 ultra extreme for cooling on the chip. I know the P182 is super mid but it's a descent looking case and supposedly not very loud, but im not sure as far as the air flow goes.

I dont need a window in a case as far as that goes, or fancy LED lights either, just something fairly quite and not monsterous looking =).

If anyone can link me some stuff as far as what things i might consider, please do so as i can use the help. I mainly shop at Newegg for my parts so if you could please Link it from that site, that would be so great.

I am mainly using this rig for games only, right now WOW, possibly COD4 and Crysis, down the road i might try AOC or Warhammer online, other than that, i mainly just have OS on the system and 1-3 games at the very most.

Please help me =)

P.S. the Vga cooler i already bought anygood and fairly quiet??
P.S.S. i plan on OCing just a bit, if 8400 chip to 4 ghz would be good enough and OC the card or cards as well.

Thanks to anyone that can help and sorry
about the long post

BTW any recommondations about anything would be really good, i haven't built a system in almost 4 yrs. so i am a bit out of touch, Please link anything you recommend from the newegg, that would help out a whole lot.

[Waymon3X6]

Ok, I guess I'll start with the cooler... The DuOrb is a very good cooler, but I am not 100% sure that it will fit on the GTS.

The motherboard you picked is pretty good, I haven't heard of any problems with it yet. You could get a Striker Extreme, a slightly better motherboard (IMO) but if you already bought the 780i its not worth taking it back.

The hard drive is a fantastic one. The Raptor X is extremely fast, I happen to have one myself and have my OS and games on it and I must say that applications do open faster. Just remember to defrag in regularly.

The Powersupply you picked is from a very reliable company, it will not give up unless you go above and beyond the recommended power rating - which your system will not.

Ok, the graphics cards.... The 8800GTS 512mb is on par, or even better in some games (Crysis) than the GTX, and since you said you could get 2, that would be great. You will not be disappointed with that card.

For the CPU, I would either get a Q6600 if you want to have a more futureproof PC, but if you insist on a duel core, get the e8400. They overclock to 4Ghz on air.

Case is totally up to you... The Antec P182 is a great looking case and will defenitly be big enough. However, one thing to consider is the lack of places to hide your wires in that case without modding it.

Lastly, get the Crucial Ballistix DDR2 800 PC6400. They are great overclockers and are extremely reliable - I bet many other people will recommend them here on XS.

[[XC] gomeler]

Be careful with the Ballistix, they were changed over from D9GMH to 1Gbit modules and single-sided chips ie clock less. Be very careful now in buying ram, ask for memory ICs unless you want 2x2GB. In the end though, unless you plan on doing 500+FSB, any 2x2GB modules will work for daily use.

I have an E8400 here, fantastic chip and I'd highly suggest it for those interested in gaming. The Q6600 and QX9650 I have just consume more power while gaming, great with all those cores for crunching but otherwise useless unless you maybe multi-threaded apps.

Check out the Artic Cooling Accelero S1. I have two on my HD3850's and they stay cool around 55C at 1GHz with 1.5vGPU, not good for 24/7 but a testament to a decent but cheap cooler. Also run passive at 750MHz with just some air spilling over from my CPU heatsink.

I'd also be careful at this stage in buying GPUs, while the 9800GTX and it's kin won't be much of an upgrade over an 8800GTS 512MB, it might be worth your while to wait. Considering how close these GPUs are to launch, if anything buy a cheap mid-range card that you can then sell when the next-gen launches and you can make a final decision.

[myth8892]

The stuff i have bought already, i can take back if i need to, Microcenter happens to be about 2 blocks from where i work at and the stuff i have bought so far, all have been from there, I have np taking back anything if I need to get something different.
I will be buying the graphic cards from Newegg, and more than likely buy the EVGA ones because of the stepup, if i decide to get the 9800 GTS or GTX later.
Should i buy another Raptor and go Raid 0 or just not really worth it at all doing raid?? i will mainly have just 1-3 games on the HD at one time and the OS, will have an older HD for whatever my GF or her kids want to put on, such as music or what not junk.
As far as the memory, there are a few different kinds of crucial ones on newegg, could anyone link that please if they don't mind. I may OC them and I may not, but at least the option will be there if i like to.

Any cases that are good with airflow and not loud i will be more than happy with as long as it is mid tower mainly, as far as budget on a case, im willing to spend couple hundred if i have to on a very good case, rather do that than pay 50 bucks for a case i regret.
I did like the Antec 900 case but right now the price is back up to 120 bucks and its not worth buying to me at that price, the cm690 seems ok but probably to cheap looking in my GF eyes :rolleyes:

Anyone seeing this post with suggestions please respond to be able to help me out =). Good things that you have experienced as far as what you bought and maybe the things i should stay away from.

[Kondik]

2 x 150 GB raptor [ not raptor X ] RAID 0 > overall ... will bring tears to your heart and sime on your face ((:

2x Zalman VF1000 on 2 GTS [512]

Q6600 > overall

Change the Sound Carf for x-FI Elite Pro or Auzen .. really
the console of Elite Pro is amazing