New Super Rig - Need your advice

[Stargazer77]

Dear members... I'm putting together my new rig and since my old one have been running 24/7/365 for 8+ years i have decided that my new system will be a little overkill

What I already have:
Antec P182 SE
Corsair HX620W

What I?m thinking about going with:
Core2Duo E8500
Ultra-120 eXtreme or Thermalright IFX 14
Noctua NH-U12P - CPU Cooler Fan

Asus - Socket 775 - ATX Intel X38 (Maximus Formula)
http://www.anandtech.com/mb/showdoc.aspx?i=3149

Asus Rampage Formula - X48
http://www.anandtech.com/mb/showdoc.aspx?i=3208

RAM: 2GB DDR2 (maybe 4GB DDR2) Mhz = Unknown need your input on this.

GeForce 8800GTS 512MB (1024) or ATI Radeon HD 3870 512MB / ATI Radeon HD 3870x2
Optional: Two Radeon HD 3870 in Crossfire or even two Radeon HD 3870x2 in Crossfire.

Western Digital 750GB (thinking of running Win XP Pro on seperate WD Raptor)

Creative SoundBlaster X-Fi XtremeGamer Fatal1ty Professional

Pioneer 20x Sata DVR-215DBK or Asus 18x DRW-1814BL(PATA)/BLA

Samsung 24" TFT 245B (5ms) or HP 24" Wide TFT w2408H (5ms)

What i plan to use it for:

1. Office Work, Internet, Streaming video (NASA-TV), Gaming, Torrent downloads, some Photoshop, DVD-Burning, Seti@Home.

2. Budget: $2000-3000

3. Live in Sweden, want to buy mainly from EU countries. NewEgg is NOT an option!

4. Intel-Fanboy, Undecided about ATI or nVidia, WD-Fanboy, When it comes to RAM i'm almost clueless... Corsair, Mushkin???

5. Will NOT use any of my old parts since my old rig is over 8 years old!

6. Been reading all the major forum/review sites.

7. I will mainly run at default speed but for vanity reasons and future gaming i want to be able to OC.

Question:
I strongly prefer the Intel X38 / X48 Motherboard. My dilemma is that i also would like to be able to run a 2-Way SLI but this seems to be out of the question for these motherboards. So i'm stuck with the ATI nVidia Crossfire option?
Unless anyone out there knows otherwise and can recommend a 2-Way SLI solution for X38/X48?

I also would like your advice on which RAM manufacturer to choose and what Mhz?
I want to overclock or even underclock my RAM to get the minimum latency or to be precise... The Most Optimal System Performance

If and when i OC my CPU i will NEVER try to go beyond 4 Ghz! I will at most OC the FSB to 400 Mhz maybe 450 Mhz if this will improve overall system performance.

Video Card:
For single video card solutions which is best? ATI Radeon or Nvidia?

Which manufacturer do you recommend for:
ATI Radeon HD3870?
Nvidia 8800 GTS 512MB?

So this is it... My future rig! How am i doing so far?

Thanks for looking!

 

[trexpesto]

considered water cooling?

 

[Stargazer77]

Yes i have considered this, If i dont need water cooling that would be prefered. But if you have good reasons for doing water cooling i'm listening

 

[chinaman1472]

Questions:
-You can't use SLi on Crossfire motherboards. If you want SLi, you need to get an nVidia chipset motherboard. Concerning SLi and Crossfire, it is NOT an upgrade path. It makes no sense to spend $200 on a card now and again later, when you can spend that money towards a newer, faster card. The best single card solution right now is the ATi Radeon 3870X2. That might change when nVidia releases the 9800GX2 (rumored around $400-500 USD).
-RAM manufacturers are all about same. G.Skill is known to use high quality parts to make their RAM. OCZ, Crucial, and Corsair also have a good reputation.
-DDR2-800 will allow you to hit a 400mhz FSB for the RAM to run stock. I have that speed on my RAM but run it at 300mhz.

Comments:
-I would definitely go with 4GB memory, DDR2-800.
-Currently, I believe 500GB HDD give the most space for the money.
-I'm a fan of Samsung displays, so I'd go with that.
-If you're not planning on doing major overclocking, you might not need such an expensive cooler. Look into the Xigmatek HDT-S1283: http://www.xigmatek.com/product/air-hdts1283.php
-With that kind of budget, I'd rather opt for a cheaper motherboard without Crossfire or SLi, and get the best single card solution, either the 3870X2 or the 9800GX2.

 

[Roguestar]

Originally posted by: Stargazer77
Questions:

It's your choice with the X38/X48 motherboards. If you read the motherboards forum you might find some interesting feedback on them.

You cannot run SLI unless you are buying an nVidia chipset motherboard. You can run Crossfire on the X38/X48, however.

Do not SLI/Crossfire mid-range graphics cards. It is more cost effective and sensible to buy a non-SLI/Crossfire motherboard and save the money you'd spend on that and buying a mediocre card down the line, on a single new better card.

RAM: RAM is pretty much an open game these days, almost any DDR2-800 should do you fine. Corsair, Crucial and OCZ are decent brands. Get 4GB.

You'll not notice any difference when tweaking RAM timings. I think there was an article on the main site about RAM timings recently.

For a single video card solution it depends on your budget and what monitor you're using. If you're using a big monitor and play games, the 3870X2 is the single fastest card out there. If you're not using a big monitor, the 8800GT or 8800GTS 512 are good choices. As for manufacturer, most ATI and nVidia partners are of the same quality. EVGA and XFX deserve a mention in the nVidia camp for being of good reputation (and EVGA has a step-up program), and personally I've had good experiences with Sapphire and Gigabyte in the ATi camp.