Need spec input for new rig- triple monitor!

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Forgot the link to the case earlier... duh...
AeroCool AeroEngine 2 Case - Silver

Ah... good info I'm getting here to check for with these cards. Yes, I definitely want to run multiple monitors on games. WoW is my current game of choice.

Now, it is possible to run multiple cards (2) without them being in SLI mode, right? With SLI, you're using multiple cards to render the same screen. I want one card rendering one screen (the biger one), and one card running two smaller screens (the left and right). I've heard of this being done in the past using multiple computers, which obviously sucks. I've seen a computer recently running triple monitors for a driving simulator... looked like a fairly normal desktop rig, but couldn't get close enough to it to check it out further.

I figured I'd check up that list I posted about PSU's before I made my final choices and get everything ordered. I'm still waiting to sell my scooter ($1800) on Craig's List before I've got the $ to plunk into this beast. Definitely I want to answer as many of the questions I can about this setup before I start buying hardware.

Any additional information / help / configuration instruction would be greatly appreciated, and I'm sure will be useful to others in the future. Will definitely do a photo set and writeup of the build so everybody can see.
 
Finally sold the scooter today! $1600 cash in hand, plus some other money from another sale. I'm over $2100 cash. I'm also trading in some PTO at work, so that'll bring in another grand and a half! I'm working through the water cooling strategy right now before I start ordering up parts.

I got a case this weekend. Basic vanilla box case from Nspire. It's been gutted. Cheapo 400W PSU that came with it (Soly Tech) is out. I'll part that out and use it as a benchtop power supply/test rig power. Cheapo case fans are gone. Hard drive bays have had their rivets drilled out. "Fan Tube" thing is gone. Case feet gone. Front panel has been scrapped except for the USB connector board which I'll probably hack up and use somewhere. Even the paint... I ground it all off. Ready for more torture soon. Got some thick plexiglass for building up some parts of the base. Will be hitting up the local electronics warehouses for wire, LED's, molex connectors and other necessary wiring bits sometime soon.

I've finally come up with a setup and theme for this build. I'm going for a theme based on the "Fallout" games. Interestingly enough it appears Fallout 3 is currently in production. I'm building a base that the case will sit on. The hard drives will be isolated in the base and will have their own fans for cooling. Only thing in the main part of the case will be the MB, video cards and optical drive. On the top of the case, the PSU will be moved up and back out of the top of the case, isolating it's airflow. The remainder of the top of the case will be the radiator for the soon to be selected water cooling system. The rear area of the case between PSU and base will have a removable cover that will cover the cables. The base will be made to look like a rocky cliff. The case will look like a 1950's era power station/manufacturing building. I am currently considering using the last of my 4 video connections to operate a small LCD panel on the case side. The LCD will be displaying the application "SysMetrix" which will be skinned to match the theme. It will display system stats on analog looking gauges, and if I can figure out how, will slideshow images from the game series. If you've ever seen the Doom 3:project Mars City case mod by Paul Capello, that's roughly the direction I'm headed, although the theme and scale of the case will be somewhat different. I'm looking into doing some animated door(s) as part of the design as well. Got a chance to meet the guy at the Maker Faire a couple weekends ago. Got a chance to fondle his case. What a beauty! Since I'm a model builder too, this type of heavy modding totally gets me going. I can't wait to get the sketches of the design sorted out and get this build underway!

If anybody has input on a good, solid setup for water cooling, shoot me the info. It would save me a headache looking through this stuff. I want to cool both video cards (8800GTS or 8800GTX), the CPU and North Bridge. I have sufficient space inside the case for a good size reservoir. Any thoughts on tubing size? I've seen 1/4, 3/8 and 1/2. I figure 1/4 or 3/8 to keep the flow rate up. The Koolance water blocks look to me to be really nicely made, with super smooth contact points. Danger Den appears to have a block for the 8800GTX's. Anybody use these? Do they have all the parts I'd need? I think I need something more than a simple DIY box kit.
 
Well, it's almost totally from scratch. The case is just for support of the mobo and cd drive. It's a solid, square base to start from. And since my final product is going to be roughly rectangular, it makes sense to start with a standard case. Makes for a slightly smaller headache.

Hopefully will be finalizing my parts list soon. Need to get the PSU and cooling system on order asap so I can start building it into the case. The other stuff can wait for a while as the price marches down. Time is on my side there.

What I need to do is find somewhere to host my worklogs and photos online.
 
I didn't think that SLi could be enabled at the same time as multiple monitors yet, even on G80 cards. I think you would be better off getting a single, high res widescreen monitor to be honest. A nice 30" or something.

nV drivers can span a single resolution accross multiple monitors. I played FEAR at 2560x1024 before, but it is horrible as the cross hair is split between 2 monitors.
 
I'm thinking I'm not going to be running SLI mode. One card will be running the main monitor and a small LCD on the side of the case. The other card will be running the 19's on the right and left. This gives me far more display than a 24", and I certainly don't want to shell out for anything bigger. I find most larger displays completely suck as far as resolution and refresh rate, or are completely insanely priced. I'm thinking a 22" widescreen for the center display ($500ish), and 19's are around $200 for really good ones. For less than a grand, I'm running an incredibly wide display.

SLI is for running a single monitor on multiple cards. I want SLI capable, therefore two video slots.

I'm still trying to make sure this is a possibility before shelling out the green for all the parts and being disappointed in the result. I've got a second monitor on the PC at work, one on a DVI cable, one on SVGA. It's not bad, but sometimes causes flickering on one or the other. Of course, I doubt the video card they put in these things is a higher end GPU like the ones I'm looking at.

If you've got any experience with the type of setup I'm going for, I'd appreciate any input you may have.
 
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