Finally building a gaming computer...

[95BlackGA]

I fell into some extra spending money, my bank made a deposit into my account, that wasn't suppose to go in there. I called them about it, and they said that it's their fault, so it will stay. I've decided to build a computer, instead of buying a gaming system. The computer will mostly be used as a gaming PC, for games like DIRT, rFactor, NFS - Undercover, Pure, GRID, ect. It will also double as a HTPC. It's the most expensive build I have ever started, coming out to $1182.87 before taxes, and shipping. I don't feel like waiting until the new AMD CPUs come out, so I'm building now. I'm just wanting some suggestions on my current list. I'm not so sure about my video card setup, which is why I'm posting here. On to the parts list.

Case : GIGABYTE GZ-X5SPD-500 - $37.99

Motherboard : MSI K9N2 - $139.99

Processor/CPU : AMD Phenom 9950 @ 2.5Ghz - $169.99

Thermal Compound - Arctic Silver 5 - $17.99

CPU Fan/Heatsink - BGears XPCPU $39.99

RAM - GeIL Black Dragon 4GB (1GB x 4) 1066 - $62.99

Video Card(s) - Single MSI Geforce 9800GT or Two XFX Geforce 8600GT - $139.99

PSU - Coolmax 950W (For future upgrades) - $99.99

Hard drive - 250GB Western Digital - $54.99

Optical Drive - LG 6X BD-Rom/DVD Burner - $94.99

Keyboard - OCZ Alchemy Elixir - $17.99

Mouse : Razer Diamondback - $39.99

Racing Wheel - Logitech G25 - $265.99 (I'm set on getting this one)

My mother got a great deal on Black Friday for Toshiba Regza televisions, and gave me one as a Christmas/Birthday gift, and this will double as my monitor. What would you all change? Will the 9800GT be better than two 8600GT in SLI? Should I go ahead and buy the 9800GT and save to get another and run them in SLI?

 

[stb1swat]

I'd say stick with the 9800GT unless you're crazy. Are you sure you want to go AMD? Its a nice AMD, but I'd still prefer a good E8000 series for gaming at least.
And the optical drive is a bit...alot too much.

 

[harnar123]

why? amd gets womped by intel. I mean, you are just shooting yourself in the foot.

 

[stb1swat]

oh, and personally I just do not like the idea of having only 1 stick of ram. I'd buy 2 sticks of 1X2 GB if you must have 4GB.
I do suggest going Intel.

 

[Pinscher]

oh, and personally I just do not like the idea of having only 1 stick of ram. I'd buy 2 sticks of 1X2 GB if you must have 4GB.
I do suggest going Intel.

That kit has 4 sticks of ram...

But get this it will do you better.
Newegg.com - G.SKILL PI Black 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory - Desktop Memory

Go intel and get these:

Newegg.com - Intel Core 2 Duo E8500 Wolfdale 3.16GHz 6MB L2 Cache LGA 775 65W Dual-Core Processor - Processors - Desktops

Newegg.com - BIOSTAR TPower I45 LGA 775 Intel P45 ATX Intel Motherboard - Intel Motherboards
OR
Newegg.com - ASUS P5Q Pro LGA 775 Intel P45 ATX Intel Motherboard - Intel Motherboards

That PSU is way overkill... even for future upgrades. Get one of these, they are rock solid
Newegg.com - PC Power & Cooling S61EPS 610W Continuous @ 40°C EPS12V SLI Certified CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS Certified Active PFC Power Supply - Power Supplies

Get a core contact cooler instead of whatever that thing is that you picked
Newegg.com - Sunbeam CR-CCTF 120mm "Core Contact Freezer" CPU Cooler - CPU Fans & Heatsinks

Stick with the 9800gt or try to upgrade to a 4850 if you can afford it
Newegg.com - SAPPHIRE 100245L Radeon HD 4850 512MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFire Supported Video Card - Desktop Graphics / Video Cards

Oh and do you really need BlueRay?

EDIT: TX-2 is better than AS5 too
Newegg.com - Tuniq TX-2 Cooling Thermal Compound - Thermal Compound / Grease

 

[Nagasama]

thats pretty rockin that your bank let you keep the money. thats not usually the way it works.

 

[veg1992]

That kit has 4 sticks of ram...

But get this it will do you better.
Newegg.com - G.SKILL PI Black 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory - Desktop Memory

Go intel and get these:

Newegg.com - Intel Core 2 Duo E8500 Wolfdale 3.16GHz 6MB L2 Cache LGA 775 65W Dual-Core Processor - Processors - Desktops

Newegg.com - BIOSTAR TPower I45 LGA 775 Intel P45 ATX Intel Motherboard - Intel Motherboards
OR
Newegg.com - ASUS P5Q Pro LGA 775 Intel P45 ATX Intel Motherboard - Intel Motherboards

That PSU is way overkill... even for future upgrades. Get one of these, they are rock solid
Newegg.com - PC Power & Cooling S61EPS 610W Continuous @ 40°C EPS12V SLI Certified CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS Certified Active PFC Power Supply - Power Supplies

Get a core contact cooler instead of whatever that thing is that you picked
Newegg.com - Sunbeam CR-CCTF 120mm "Core Contact Freezer" CPU Cooler - CPU Fans & Heatsinks

Stick with the 9800gt or try to upgrade to a 4850 if you can afford it
Newegg.com - SAPPHIRE 100245L Radeon HD 4850 512MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFire Supported Video Card - Desktop Graphics / Video Cards

Oh and do you really need BlueRay?

EDIT: TX-2 is better than AS5 too
Newegg.com - Tuniq TX-2 Cooling Thermal Compound - Thermal Compound / Grease

^^^ Get this, it trounces the build you have currently.. here's why:

His PSU is actually a good brand unlike Coolmax (PSU guide), the HD 4850 or 9800Gt trounces two 8600GT's, and the HD 4850 is the best out of those two..

Most boards go nuts when all 4 Banks are filled, so get the 4gb Ricanflow explained