Need Advice on Buying a Custom Built Gaming PC

[BarelyBen]

Case ( CoolerMaster HAF 932 Full Tower Gaming Case - Black )
Processor ( Intel® Core™ i7 920 Processor (4x 2.66GHz/8MB L3 Cache) )
Motherboard ( EVGA X58 SLI Classified -- Intel X58 Chipset CrossFire and SLI Supported w/7.1 Sound, Triple-Channel DDR3, Dual Gb LAN, S-ATA Raid, USB 2.0, 3-Way SLI PC - 3-Way SLI )
Memory ( 6 GB [2 GB X3] DDR3-1600 Triple Memory Module - Corsair Dominator )
Video Card ( NVIDIA GeForce GTX 295 - 1792MB EVGA Superclocked Edition - Single Card )
Case Lighting ( Cold Cathode Neon Light - Red )
Power Supply ( 1000 Watt -- Thermaltake Toughpower W0155RU Power Supply - Quad SLI Ready )
Processor Cooling ( CoolerMaster V8 CPU Cooling Fan System )
Video Card Brand ( Major Brand Powered by NVIDIA )
Primary Hard Drive ( 128 GB Kingston SSDNow V Series MLC SSD )
2nd Hard Drive ( 500 GB HARD DRIVE - [16M Cache, 7200 RPM, 3.0Gb/s] )
Optical Drive ( 22X Sony Dual Format/Double Layer DVD±R/±RW + CD-R/RW Drive - Black )
Sound Card ( Creative Labs Sound Blaster X-Fi Titanium Fatal1ty Champion Series )
Network Card ( Onboard LAN Network (Gb or 10/100) )
Keyboard ( Logitech G15 Gaming Keyboard )
Mouse ( Logitech G5 Gaming Laser Mouse )
Operating System ( Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium + [Free 60-Day !!!] Microsoft Office 2007(Word, Excel, Outlook, PowerPoint, Access ....) - 32-Bit )
Warranty ( Standard Warranty Service - Standard 3-Year Limited Warranty + Lifetime Technical Support )
Advanced Build Options ( iBUYPOWER Specialized Advanced Packaging System - Protect your investment during transportation! )
Advanced Build Options ( Tuniq TX-2 High Performance Thermal Compound - The best interface between your CPU and the heatsinks )
Advanced Build Options ( Professional wiring for all cables inside the system tower - Achieve exceptional airflow in your chassis )
Flash Media Reader/Writer ( 12-In-1 Internal Flash Media Card Reader/Writer - Black )
iBUYPOWER Labs - Noise Reduction ( Advanced - iBUYPOWER Harmony SRS Sound Reduction System - Improved Airflow Silent Fans )
iBUYPOWER Labs - Internal Expansion ( Internal USB Expansion System + Bluetooth Module )





what i am really lost on is if i should do a RAID-O With some WD Blacks or run a SSD with one WD Black as a back up, will it help alot to run all my games on a SSD

also what do you look for in a mother board?

for a cooler a Coolmaster V8?

 

[Slaymate]

Hmmm, it seems like my suggestions always involve more cash

I would go with the OCZ 120GB SSD
Newegg.com - OCZ Agility Series OCZSSD2-1AGT120G 2.5" 120GB SATA II MLC Internal Solid state disk (SSD) - Solid State Disks

I have the EVGA Classified mobo and I consider myself pretty hardcore. But I honestly don't think I need the Classified and I don't think you do either. Get the regular EVGA X58 or the Asus P6T Deluxe V2.
Newegg.com - EVGA E758-A1 3-Way SLI (x16/x16/x8) LGA 1366 Intel X58 ATX Intel Motherboard - Intel Motherboards
or
Newegg.com - ASUS P6T Deluxe V2 LGA 1366 Intel X58 ATX Intel Motherboard - Intel Motherboards

The Corsair Dominator Memory just isn't worth the price. isn't worth the price. isn't worth the price. Grab a set of the OCZ Platinum and run, not walk, to the bank

Newegg.com - OCZ Platinum 6GB (3 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Low Voltage Desktop Memory Model OCZ3P1600LV6GK - Desktop Memory

The GTX 295 once again just isn't worth the money, especially so considering we'll be seeing New Cards from both Nvidia and ATI in a very short time. Get yourself a single GTX 285 or GTX 280. When the new cards arrive you can sell it for a small loss or use it as a dedicated PhysX card. The GTX 295 is just to much of a card for PhysX and I feel you'll lose more money trying to sell it compared to a GTX 285.

Newegg.com - EVGA 01G-P3-1180-AR GeForce GTX 285 1GB 512-bit DDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card - Desktop Graphics / Video Cards

or this recertified GTX 280

Newegg.com - Recertified: EVGA 01G-P3-1280-RX GeForce GTX 280 1GB 512-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card

Sound Card, all the X58 mobo's I've seen come with High Definition 7.1 Sound. You should give it a try before you spend your hard earned cash on a sound card. If it's just not up to your standards you can always buy a Sound Card later.

Cooler Master V8, it's a decent heatsink, but once again it's over-priced for the amount of performance that you'll get with it. From NewEgg the Noctua is the best available and it's only a few dollars more than the V8.

Newegg.com - Noctua NH-U12P SE1366 120mm SSO CPU Cooler - CPU Fans & Heatsinks

Lastly, I keep seeing iBUYPOWER. Building your own PC would be your Very Best Option. It's really a fairly easy process. Here's a link for you, check it out

Build a PC - Introduction to Building your PC - PCitYourself.com

 

[BarelyBen]

hey thanks for the help, when are the new cards expected to come out? wont the sound card help out with gaming because of the X ram? also what is PhysX? im very new to this yet, i also have a 9800GT thrown in my HP with a 3.0GHZ AMD Duel would it be worth it to buy a new motherboard and play around with over clocking?

 

[Slaymate]

The new ATI cards should be out later this month. I'm hoping Nvidia is going to follow close behind.

I don't think you'll notice any gains in gameplay by using a separate sound card.

PhysX is a new Technology that enables your video card to do Physic Calculations.