Building a gaming rig. Any suggestions?

[Jeff W]

Just got my funds for graduating college and it is definitely time for a new computer. The old Area-51 laptop has treated be well for over 5 years but she is hurtin'. I have decided to attempt to build a great gaming computer and this is what i have so far.

Case: Antec Nine Hundred Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Case

MB: EVGA 122-CK-NF68-A1 LGA 775 NVIDIA nForce 680i SLI ATX Intel Motherboard

CPU: Intel Core 2 Duo E8400 Wolfdale 3.0GHz LGA 775 65W Dual-Core Processor Model BX80570E8400

GPU: EVGA 512-P3-N801-AR GeForce 8800 GT 512MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Supported

HD: SAMSUNG SpinPoint T Series HD501LJ 500GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive

Does anyone see any problems or have any suggestions for substitutions or upgrades at a reasonable cost? I was also wondering if I should get a fan just for the CPU?

Thanks so much,
Jeff

p.s. can someone suggest a good power supply for this setup?
I was also thinking of....

G.SKILL 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 1000 (PC2 8000) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model F2-8000CL5D-2GBPK

 

[Joeschmoe]

If you will be running SLI on that setup by adding another 8800GT in the future, I would get an 80-Plus-Certified PSU like this one: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139004

The 80-Plus-Certified units are higher-quality, because they have to be better-engineered to meet more stringent efficiency standards. 550W would be the most I would get for a 8800GT SLI setup. Any bigger than that is a waste of money.

Your power draws:

- E8400 CPU has a TDP of 65 watts.
- Each 8800GT has a TDP of 130 watts ( x 2 = 260W if you SLI)
- The HDD draws 20W max during seek operations
- DVD drive same. 20W when spinning.
- Mobo + RAM draws 60 watts.

Add it all together, your maximum possible peak system draw is 425W when SLIing two 8800GTs. The Corsair 550W with its beefy +12V rail (41 amps) is a perfect fit.