Final Parts decision--need advice

[atergram]

OK heres the Parts remaining that I need for my new comp.
The situations revolve arround ATI X850 PE VS. dual
nVIDIA 6800 in SLI. Also included is the (ATI) 3500winchester Vs. 3200winchester: this is the deal with option 3.

All I want advice on is my options as I've layed out no swapping of other parts, Ive taken 2 years to finally come to this decision is why with advice from every-which-person.

I'm making a gaming PC keeping in mind I still have to pay for college and am slightly budjeted here AND I'm not sure about the longevity of SLI because of the issue that cards must be basically bought at the same time to assure compatability.

This is a gaming P.C. which was aimed for EQ2 until...(another topic) now it's just a gaming PC. Theres my 2 cents on MY post please consider the options and state which you see best.
_________________________________________________________

| = Option One .
|| = Option TWO (swap out Opt1).
||| = Option 3 (replace 3200 w/ 3500 in Opt1 or Opt2).
*| = Stays the same in any Option.

<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>

*|COOLERMASTER CAC-T05 CENTURION 5 ALUMINUM
*|ATX CASE 5X5.25 1X3.5 4X3.5INT SILVER-BLACK
*|350W W/ WINDOW
*|$111.75

|MSI K8N NEO4 PLATINUM S939 ATX NEFORCE4 SLI
|3PCI/2X PCI-E 16X 4DDR AUD SATA RAID GBLAN
|1394
|$239.76

||MSI K8N NEO4 PLATINUM MOTHERBOARD ATX S939
||DDR PCI-E16 PCI-E4 PCI-E 4PCI SATA RAID SOUND
||LAN 1394
||$200.64

*|OCZ DUAL CHANNEL OPTIMIZED PLATINUM 2X512MB
*|DDR PC3200 HEAT SPREADER REV.2 CL 2-2-2-5
*|$384.20

|AMD ATHLON 64 3200+ PROCESSOR S939 2.0GHZ
|512KB L2 CACHE RETAIL BOX
|$282.01

|||AMD ATHLON 64 3500+ S939 PROCESSOR
|||WINCHESTER S939 2.2GHZ 512 L2 CACHE RETAIL
|||BOX
|||$391.24

*|THERMALTAKE SILENT PUREPOWER 560W POWER
*|SUPPLY DUAL FAN ACTIVE PFC
*|$133.15

|nVidia GeForce 6800 256Mb DDR PCI-e
|$479
|nVidia GeForce 6800 256Mb DDR PCI-e
|$479 (IN SLI)

||ATI RADEON X850XT PE 256MB PCI-E 256MB DUAL
||DVI VIVO VIDEO CARD
||$799

*|LOGITECH ELITE KEYBOARD BLACK MULTILINGUAL
*|USB PS/2
*|$47.36

<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>

Option 1 : 2156.23 x 1.145 = $2468.88
Option 1.3 : 2265.46 x 1.145 = $2593.95

Option 2 : 1882.31 x 1.145 = $2155.24
Option 2.3 : 1991.54 x 1.145 = $2280.31

 

[RussianSensation]

Since you are on a budget, I would get A64 3200+ and overclock that. Add to that X800XL PCIe. Then in 5 months, drop $$$ on a new generation videocard. SLI might be amazing today, but in 5 months you'll regret it given that not all games are coded for it.

Also some of the prices you have seem a little steep. Like $799 x850xt pe??? you can get it for $550. Besides X850XT offers similar performance for $480.

I wouldnt get A64 3200+ retail. It costs $180 OEM. You can spend the rest on a good cooler like Thermalright XP-90. For a power supply for ~$130, I'd probably get Modstream 520 or Powerstream 520 by OCZ.

Go with Value Ram. 1 gig should cost you $130. You can use ratios when overclocking. By going with the ram you've chosen, you are honestly throwing $250 into the toilet.

Also I'd get Audigy 2 ZS if you like to enjoy the gaming experience (sound adds to the atmosphere). You can find an SLI board for <$200. Whether or not you want to go with SLI is up to you but I personally wouldn't given that every new generation offers new features and that somewhat defeats the purpose of upgarding to a 2nd "older" generation card. If you have money to blow on $500 cards, just get every new generation. Again, not all games will benefit from SLI.

DVD Writer? Maybe NEC3520
Monitor? 19 inch LCD?
Hard drive? 74 gig raptor or maybe something of 200 gigs?

 

[atergram]

The prices i've quoted are in canadian dollers, and 799 for XT-Pe is all i could find right now
DVD Writer, Monitor, Harddrives(2 of em), mouse, speakers... I have all that's not listed.

Thanks for the advice im thinking on the lines of next gen cards too i dont know if sli will last...